Chirayinkeezhu taluk

Chirayinkeezhu Taluk is a Taluk (tehsil) in Thiruvananthapuram district in the Indian state of Kerala.[1] It is shares border with Varkala Taluk in North and with Thiruvananthapuram Taluk in South. It comprises 12 panchayats and Attingal Municipality. Chirayinkeezhu taluk is the birthplace of a host of illustrious personalities like the painter Raja Ravi Varma, the great poet and social reformer Kumaran Asan and Prem Nazir etc.

This article is about the taluk. For the village, see Chirayinkeezhu.
Chirayinkeezhu taluk

Chirayinkeezhu
taluk
Chirayinkeezhu taluk
Location in Kerala, India
Coordinates: 8.70°N 76.82°E / 8.70; 76.82
Country India
StateKerala
DistrictThiruvananthapuram
Named forChirayinkeezhu
HeadquartersAttingal
Government
 • BodyGram panchayat
Area
 • Total215.61 km2 (83.25 sq mi)
Area rank5th
Population
 (2011)
 • Total339,785
 • Rank4th
 • Density1,600/km2 (4,100/sq mi)
Demonym(s)Chirayinkeezhuaite
Languages
 • OfficialMalayalam, English
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
Telephone code0470
Vehicle registrationKL-16

Settlements

There are 16 villages and one municipalities are in the taluk.[2]

Villages

Alamcode, Azhoor, Chirayinkeezhu, Edakkode, Kadakkavoor, Keezhattingal, Kilimanoor, Ponganadu, Koonthalloor, Koduvazhannoor, Mudakkal, Nagaroor, Pazhayakunnummel, Perunguzhi, Pulimath, Sarkara-Chirayinkeezhu, Vakkom, Vellalloor [3]

Municipalities

There one Municipality Attingal.

Places of tourist interest

Chirayinkeezh has a network of backwaters and canals, which is quite typical of Kerala. Also there are many Temples and important tourist places. Some of them are given below.

Kilimanoor Palace

The estate of Kilimanoor originally belonged to a Pillai ruling chief and was forfeited to Travancore by Maharaja Marthanda Varma. The estate comprising several villages was then handed over to the family of the father of the King who had come south from Parappanad in Malabar around 1718. [4]

In 1705 (ME 880) the son and two daughters of Ittammar Raja of Beypore Thattarikovilakam, a Kolathunadu royal house, were adopted into the Royal house of Venad. Ittammar Raja's sister and her sons, Rama Varma and Raghava Varma, settled in Kilimanoor and married the now adopted sisters. Marthanda Varma, the founder of the Kingdom of Travancore, was the son of Raghava Varma. The nephew[5] of Raghava Varma, Ravi varma Koil Thampuran, married the sister of Marthanda Varma. Their son became known as Dharma Raja Kartika Thirunnal Rama Varma.

In 1740 when an allied force,[6] led by Dutchman Captain Hockert supporting the Deshinganadu King, attacked Venad, an army from Kilimanoor resisted and then defeated them. Although a small victory, this was the first time an Indian army had defeated a European power. In 1753, in recognition of this feat, Marthanda Varma exempted the areas controlled by the Kilimanoor palace[7] from taxes, and granted them autonomous status.[8] The present palace complex was built at this time, together with the Ayyappa temple.[9] for the family deity, Sastha or Ayyapan.[10]

Velu Thampi Dalawa held meetings at Kilimanoor palace while planning uprisings against the British. He handed over his sword at the palace before going into his final battle against the British, and India's first President, Dr Rajendra Prasad received this sword from the palace and it was kept in the National Museum in Delhi. Afterwards the sword was moved to the Napier Museum, Trivandrum.

Birthplace of Raja Ravi Varma with his studio in the foreground
Sarkara devi temple

References
  1. https://web.archive.org/web/20091108053235/http://trivandrum.gov.in/trivandrum/index.php/chirayinkeezh-citizen-services-389?task=view. Archived from the original on 8 November 2009. Retrieved 23 April 2010. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. Villages and municipalities Archived 8 November 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  3. https://web.archive.org/web/20110713144207/http://www.keralahotels.com/new_site/thiruvananthapuram.html. Archived from the original on 13 July 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2010. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. (See page 4 in Madras Presidency Records, 1915, Supt , Government Press, Madras.)
  5. Sister's son. According to the matrilineal system prevalent at that time children born of the female members only belonged to that house.
  6. The forces were from Kochi, Thekkumkoor, Deshinganad (present kollam) and Purakkad who had enmity towards Marthanda Varma
  7. Most of the area under the present Kilimanoor and Pazhayakunnummel panchayats.
  8. Although under his kingdom
  9. The original temple being at Nerumkaithakotta, near Kozhikode
  10. It is also said Shaastha and Ayyappa are different
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