Kalpathy

Kalpathy or Kalpathi is a residential area in Palakkad city, Kerala, India.^[2] It is famous for the Viswanatha Swamy Temple, which is located along the banks of the Kalpathy river, one of the tributaries of the Bharathapuzha. It is also famous for the Kalpathy Radholsavam, which is an annual car festival taking place in the month of Thulam(November).

Three chariots of Lord Shiva, Ganesha & Kartikeya in the Kalpathy Ratholsavam

Kalpathy കൽപ്പാത്തി
Suburb
Kalpathy
A view of one of the streets in Kalpathy
Nickname:  Half Benaras
Kalpathy Location in Kerala, India Show map of Kerala Kalpathy Kalpathy (India) Show map of India
Coordinates: 10°49′N 76°39′E
Country	India
State	Kerala
District	Palakkad
Government
• Body	Palakkad Municipality
Languages
• Official	Malayalam,English
• Regional	Malayalam,Tamil[1]
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	678 003
Telephone code	0491
Vehicle registration	KL-09
Parliament constituency	Palakkad
Assembly constituency	Palakkad

Kalpathy is an agraharam, or traditional village. It is the first heritage village in Kerala.^[3] This Tamil migrant brahmin village is more popular as the hub of Carnatic music in Kerala rather than for the legacy and tradition passed down through the generations for the past 600 years.

Kalpathy consists of five smaller villages, which are Old Kalpathy, New Kalpathy, Chathapuram, Govindarajapuram & Manthakkara. The similarity of the Viswanatha Swamy Temple to the Varanasi Kashi Viswanatha temple on the banks of Ganges is responsible for the moniker Kasiyil paathi Kalpathy(Half Kashi or Half Benaras) and the term Dakshina Kashi(Southern Kashi) associated with this temple.

The beauty of the architecture here - each brahmin quarter sharing walls and adjoined with the next one forming a linear pattern, the streets that wake up to the Venkatesha Suprabhatham, Vedic mantra recitals and Shiva Sthothram (hymns) - all musical, the rice flour kolam (artful drawing deemed religious and ritualistic) in the front courtyard of each quarter, Idli, Sambar and ghee rich sweets and savouries announcing the glory of Tamil food culture, and the magnificent Ratholsavam (Chariot Festival) celebrated with fervour; All of these constitute the stamp of life in Kalpathy.The rolling of heavily decorated majestic temple chariots through the village streets of Kalpathy is the major attraction of the car festival.

Sree Viswanathaswamy temple is the main centre of the festival while the three satellite temples in the village of new Kalpathy, old Kalpathy and Chathapuram also take part in it.These were all passed on through the generations of lives in the Agraharam without losing the original charm.^{[4] [5][6]} Kalpathy and its neighbourhoods have witnessed large settlements of people in colonies and apartments, making it one of the major residential areas of the city.^[7]

Kalpathy also has its very own sports event, called the Kalpathy Sports Fest which is conducted annually, it started on October-November 2024.

Aerial view of Kalpathy

Aerial view of a street in Kalpathy

Chathapuram Street of Kalpathy

Manthakkara street of Kalpathy

Govindarajapuram street in Kalpathy

Temples

• Sree Visalakshi Sametha Sree Viswanatha Swamy Temple
• Sree Lakshmi Narayana Perumal Temple^[8]
• Sree Prasanna Mahaganapathy Temple^[9]
• Manthakkara Sree Maha Ganapathy^[10]
• Sri Varadaraja Perumal Temple^[11]
• Vaidhyanathapuram Krishna Temple^[12]

Viswanatha Swamy Temple Entrance

Lakshmi Narayana Perumal temple, Old Kalpathy

Chathapuram Prasanna Mahaganapathy temple

Manthakkara Mahaganapathy temple

Poster of the Manthakkara Mahaganapathy temple

Lakshmi Narayana Perumal alangaram, Old Kalpathy

Muruga temple within the premises of Viswanatha Swamy temple

Viswanatha Swamy temple, New Kalpathy

Location

Kalpathy is located about 3 km from the center of the city. City service buses are there to connect Kalpathy with other parts. The nearest major railway station is Palakkad Junction railway station and the nearest airport is Coimbatore International Airport.