Kottarakkara

For other uses, see Kottarakkara (disambiguation).

Kottarakkara (IAST: Koṭṭārakkara), also transliterated as Kottarakara, is a town and municipality in the Kollam district of Kerala, India.^[2] Kottarakkara lies 27 kilometres (17 mi) to the east of Kollam city centre.^[3]

Kottarakkara
Municipal Town
Kottarakkara Sree Mahaganapathi Temple
Kottarakkara Location in Kerala, India Show map of Kerala Kottarakkara Kottarakkara (India) Show map of India
Coordinates: 08°59′00″N 76°46′00″E
Country	India
State	Kerala
District	Kollam
Government
• Type	Council
• Body	Kottarakkara Municipality
• MP	Kodikunnil Suresh
• MLA	K.N.Balagopal
Area
• Total	17.39 km2 (6.71 sq mi)
Population [1]
• Total	29,788
• Density	1,713/km2 (4,436/sq mi)
Languages
• Official	Malayalam, English
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PINCODE	691506
Vehicle registration	KL-24
Nearest city	Kollam
Civic Agency	Kottarakara Municipality

Tourist attractions

• Kottarakkara Sree Mahaganapathy Temple – a famous pilgrimage centre known for its Ganapathi idol and the tradition of offering unniyappam as prasadam.^[4]
• Kottarakkara Palace – historic palace associated with the royal family of Kottarakkara and closely linked to the origin of Kathakali.^[5]

Culture

Kottarakkara is regarded as the birthplace of Kathakali, the classical dance-drama of Kerala. The art form is believed to have originated in the 17th century when Prince Kottarakkara Thampuran composed several plays and developed it as an alternative to Krishnattam of Guruvayur. Kathakali later evolved into one of the major cultural symbols of Kerala.^[6]

History

Main article: History and Culture of Kottarakkara

Kottarakkara, also known in the ancient days of the kings as the Elayadathu Swarupam, was a principality ruled by a branch of the Travancore Royal Family. It is the home of Kathakali, a well known dance drama which originated initially as Ramanattam created in the 17th century by Prince Kottarakkara Thampuran and later patronized by the Raja of Kottarakkara in the early 19th century absorbing other dance forms of Krishnanattam with further innovations.

Etymology

Kottarakkara, is a compound word made up of the words Kottaram, meaning "palace", and kara meaning "land", literally means "land of palaces". The area which had several palaces was thus named "Kottarakkara."^[7]

Geography

Kottarakkara is a small municipality and taluk headquarters, close to Kollam. The taluk has six panchayats and other small towns. It is surrounded by several other towns.

Towns and villages in Kottarakara Taluk

According to the Kollam district website, there are 27 villages in Kottarakara Taluk.^[8] These are:-

• Chadayamangalam
• Chakkuvarakkal
• Chithara
• Elamad
• Ezhukone
• Ittiva
• Kadakkal
• Kalayapuram
• Kareepra
• Kottarakkara
• Kottukkal
• Kulakkada
• Kummil
• Mankode
• Melila
• Mylam
• Neduvathur
• Nilamel
• Odanavattom
• Pavithreswaram
• Pooyappally
• Puthurv
• Ummannur
• Valakom
• Velinallur
• Veliyam
• Vettikkavala

Kottarakkara Sree Mahaganapathi Kshethram	Kottarakkara Thampuran Memorial Museum of Classical Arts	Kottarakara centre of KILA

Climate

Climate data for Kottarakkara, Kerala
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	30.4 (86.7)	31.2 (88.2)	32.3 (90.1)	32.4 (90.3)	32.0 (89.6)	29.9 (85.8)	29.3 (84.7)	29.5 (85.1)	29.9 (85.8)	29.8 (85.6)	29.5 (85.1)	29.8 (85.6)	30.5 (86.9)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	22.4 (72.3)	23.1 (73.6)	24.5 (76.1)	25.3 (77.5)	25.4 (77.7)	24.1 (75.4)	23.6 (74.5)	23.6 (74.5)	23.8 (74.8)	23.8 (74.8)	23.4 (74.1)	22.6 (72.7)	23.8 (74.8)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	17 (0.7)	34 (1.3)	67 (2.6)	166 (6.5)	261 (10.3)	477 (18.8)	411 (16.2)	277 (10.9)	228 (9.0)	311 (12.2)	214 (8.4)	54 (2.1)	2,517 (99)
Source: Climate-Data.org[9]

Politics

See also: Kottarakkara (Assembly constituency)

Kottarakara Assembly Constituency is one among the 11 assembly constituencies in Kollam district. K. N. Balagopal is the present MLA from Kottarakkara constituency. Kottarakkara comes under Mavelikkara (Lok Sabha constituency)(previously it was in Adoor Loksabha constituency) that represents a large area including Kottarakkara, Mavelikkara, Changanasseri, spread in Kollam, Alappuzha and Kottayam districts.^[10]

E Chandrasekaran Nair (CPI), D.Damodaran Potti (PSP), R.Balakrishna Pillai (Kerala Congress), E.Chandrasekaran Nair (CPI), C.Achutha Menon (CPI), Kottara Gopalakrishnan (INC) and R.Balakrishna Pillai (Kerala Congress - B),P. Aisha Potty (CPM) are the former elected members represented Kottarakara Assembly Constituency in the past.^[11][12]

Notable people

• Veliyam Bharghavan, Former General Secretary, Communist Party of India
• Bobby Kottarakkara, Malayalam actor
• K. B. Ganesh Kumar, actor and politician
• Sai Kumar, Malayalam actor
• Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair (1922–1986), actor
• R. Balakrishna Pillai, former Minister, MLA, MP and Panchayat President, Chairman of the Kerala Congress
• P. Aisha Potty, MLA
• Salim Yusuf - Physician, cardiologist and epidemiologist

Schools and Colleges

Main article: Education in Kollam district