Chavara Thekkumbhagom

Chavara Thekkumbhagom[1] or (Thekkumbhagom Panchayath) or (Chavara South) is a village in Kollam district in the Indian state of Kerala. It is a traditional village of about 20 km2 area fully surrounded by the Ashtamudi lake and this island is now connected with bridges, one from the south at Neendakara and one to the north at Thevalakara. It is thickly populated place of not less than 15000 and the number of houses not less than 3000.

Chavara Thekkumbhagom
island village
Coordinates: 8°57′48″N 76°33′43″E
Country India
StateKerala
DistrictKollam
Government
 • Panchayath PresidentAnilkumar
 • Vice PresidentSuseela
Languages
 • OfficialMalayalam, English
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN
691584
Vehicle registrationKL-23
Nearest cityKollam
Lok Sabha constituencyKollam
Vidhan Sabha constituencyChavara

Chavara Thekkumbhagom is famous place in Kollam. It is only 8 km from Kollam Boat Jetty. Also this place is the birthplace of story teller Prof V.Sambasivan, Mahakavi Azhakathu Padmanabha Kurup, Swami Shanmugha Das and O. Nanu Upadhyayan. There is a Chinese Net System (Cheena Vala) in the lake and it is surrounded by Ashtamudi Lake, the deepest lake in Kerala.

Geography

Coordinates: 8°57'48"N 76°33'43"E

Chavara Thekkumbhagom fully surrounded by the Ashtamudi lake, so it is an island.
Traditionally Panchayath divided into four lands named Kara, named Vadakkumbhagom, Malibhagom, Thekkumbhagom and Naduvathu chery. festivals and other cultural activities based on these karas.
Beyond lake this place is bordered by Thevalakkara Panchayath on north, Kollam town on south, Thrikkaruva Panchayath on east and Chavara, Neendakara Panchayath on west.

Transport

Nearest and main railway station is Kollam Railway Station (12 km) is considered to be one of the biggest railway stations in Kerala in terms of area after Shornur Junction. Kollam Railway Station is well-connected by regular trains with Thiruvananthapuram and some major places in India. Another important nearest station is Karunagappally railway station (15 km). Chavara Thekkumbhagom is well connected to other parts of Kerala through roads. The main roads in the Panchayath meet National Highway 47 at Vettuthara Jn. in Neendakara Panchayath, Kuttivattom Jn. in Panmana Panchayath, Kottamkulangara Jn. in Chavara Panchayath. There is no bus depot in the Panchayath. Nearest Bus Station is Kollam (18 km) and Karunagappally (16 km). Transport is provided by State owned Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and private transport bus operators from Thekkumbhagom to Karunagappally via Pavumba bridge and Karunagappally to Kollam via Thekkumbhagom and Pallikkodi-Dalavapuram bridge (Inaugurated in 2007). The first trip starts at 5.00 AM to Kayamkulam and a Fast Passenger to Thiruvananthapuram (and sees that a bus passes by 4.30 am to kollam side) and the last trip at 9.50 PM from Karunagappally to Thekkumbhagom. Road transport is also supported by private taxis and autorickshaws also called autos..

Water

The State water Transport Department operates boat services from Kollam to West Kallada, Muthirapparambu, Munroe Island and Alappuzha. The Kollam-Muthirapparambu boat service attracts a lot of tourist attention. The main boat jetties in the Panchayath are Guhanandapuram, Pallikkodi, Tholukadavu and Pavumba Jetty.

Luxury boats, operated by Government and private owners, operate from the main boat jetty during the tourist season. The West coast canal system, which starts from Thiruvananthapuram in the south and ends at Hosdurg in the north, passes through Kollam and Karunagappally taluks. The Thiruvananthapuram-Shornur canal, forms a part of the Thiruvananthapuram-Hosdurg system, runs a distance of about 62 km. The other canal systems include the Paravur Kayal, Kollam canal and Chavara canal.

Education

Educational institutions in this Panchayath are

  • Guhanandapuram H.S.S., Chavara South
  • Govt. U.P. School, Chavara South
  • N.S.S L.P.S., Vadakkumbhagom
  • L.V., L.P.S., Chavara South

Some Professional and Arts colleges near Thekkumbhagom Village

  • Govt College, Chavara.
  • MSN Institute of Management and Technology, Chavara
  • S.N. College, Kollam
  • Fathima Matha National College, Kollam (FMNC)

Economy

Agriculture, Fishing, Coir
The old song Chavara Panmana Thevalakkara chakiri kondu pizhaykkanam reveals these village's main source of income is coir industry and Thekkumbhagom its neighbour village
So many people from Thekkumbhagom working in various Govt. Departments in Keralam. Thekkumbhagom is the top panchayath in Kollam district that has the most number of Govt. employees. Also skilled people from Thekkumbhagom working outside Kerala and Middle East.

Chinese fishing net located in Ashtamudi lake at Chavara Thekkumbhagom

Festivals
Guhanandapuram Subramanya Swami Kshethram

All festivals based on the temples and Churches in the Panchayath.
There are various temples and Churches in Thekkumbhagom.

  • Mukkath Siva Temple
  • Dalavapuram Sree Daivamullathil Lekshmi Narayan Temple
  • Panakkattodil Devi Temple (Valya Nada)
  • Sree Narayanapuram Maha Vishnu Temple (Nadakkavu Temple)
  • Udayadithyapuram Siva Kshethram
  • Guhanandapuram Subramanya Swami Kshethram
  • Ammayarnada sree durga devi temple, vadakkumbhagam
St.Joseph Church located southernmost part of Chavara Thekkumbhagom Village. This shot from Pallikkodi Dalavapuram Bridge

Thalappoli Uthsavam

'Thalappoli Uthsavam' is a major event in Thekkumbhagom Panchayath which starts in 'Meenam Bharani' for every year. It is a festival of Panakkattodil Devi Temple (Valya Nada). It is a nostalgic event in every Thekkumbhagom people. The origin of Thalappoli is a long story. It is the only temple in the world, which take a five-year-old maiden girl as bhagavathi (Durga) and walk around four 'karas' in Panchayath and offer her blessings to all Thekkumbhagom peoples. Thalappoli or Vilakkeduppu starts from Panakkattodil Devi Temple at evening and reached at around 12 PM on next day to this temple. At that time Kanyavu, the girl who selected as bhagavathi never sleep and she has no tiredness
After Thalappoli reached to the Panakkattodil Temple, Starts Kodiyettu for festival. Then follows a ten days festival. The 9th day of festival called Pallivetta organised by 'Vadakkumbhagom Kara' is famous for its elephant show. More than 50 elephants arranged in this show. It is a major attraction and the highest number of elephant show after Kollam Pooram, Anayadi (Sooranadu) Pooram and Panmana Pooram. The 10th day of the festival is the last festival and is called Aaraattu. 'Aaraattukulam' near Kulangaraveli Temple is the bath place for Devi.

Other festivals

Sivarathri Mahothsavam - In 'Sivarathri' morning, people take 'Kavady' march from Sree Narayanapuram Maha Vishnu Kshethram to Udayadithyapuram Siva Kshethram and to Guhanandapuram Subramanya Swami Kshethram. Sree Narayanapuram Maha Vishnu Temple Festival is nearby.

Recreation

Since Thekkumbhagom is a SEMI-URBAN area, some follow an urban life style. Recreational activities include sports, such as football, cricket, kabbadi, volleyball, swimming etc. Thekkumbhagom has three main sports grounds. They are

  • Panakkattodil Devi Temple Ground
  • Uvathara
  • Shiva Nada Ground
  • Nadakkavu Maithanam
  • Kulangaraveli Ground
  • St.Jeromes Church, Vadakkumbhagom

People spend their evenings in these grounds. Panakkattodil Devi Temple Ground is known for its sugar-like sand and leveled surface. Sports events are held at these grounds, including cricket, football and volleyball games. In recent times, the grounds are shaped for playing Twenty20 cricket. Panakkattodil Devi Temple Ground is known for its temple pond, which is just less than 200 meters.

Major attractions
  • Boat journey around Thekkumbhagom
  • Pallikkodi-Dalavapuram bridge; Longest bridge in southern Kerala is around 500 m long. It was a long dream of Thekkumbhagom people. This bridge is a gateway of rural to urban development. When travelling from northern part of Kollam district to Kollam town, this bridge reduces the length and time to reach. The traditional way is Sasthamkotta-Padappanal-Chavara-Kollam and the new way is Sasthamkotta-Padappanal-Thekkumbhagom-(Pallikkodi-Dalavapuram bridge)-Kollam
  • Traditional food items like Tapioca(Kappa or Cheeni), Pearl Spot Fish(Karimeen), Prawn(Konchu), Lobster(chemmen) and Kallummakkaya(Muringayirachi),njandu ((Crab))
  • A walk through Thekkumbhagom roads on Thalappoli night.

Notable people

See also

References
  1. "Kollam". Kollam.nic.in. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
  2. "V Sambasivan-Kathaprasangam:Ayisha". Devaragam.com. Archived from the original on 28 January 2013. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
  3. "Sambashivan-Othello". Youtube.com. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.