Elanji is a village in

Ernakulam district Ernakulam, ; ISO: ''Eṟaṇākuḷaṁ'', in Malayalam: എറണാകുളം), is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala, that takes its name from the eponymous city division in Kochi. It is situated in the central part o ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n state of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

Demographics

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

, Elanji had a population of 16,995 with 8,455 males and 8,540 females. The majority of people living in Elanji are Syro Malabar Catholic Christians. There are three main churches and more than 13 temples in Elanji. Mudhevar temple, located at Mutholapuram is the oldest one. It is more than 900 years old. The Chief among the churches is the St Peter's and St Paul's Syro Malabar Catholic church established in AD 1300 belonging to the Diocese of Pala. Mutholapuram church and the other one being Xavierpuram (Kooru) church. The St. Peter's and Paul's church is also a forane church. The nearest are

Piravom Piravom is a municipality in Ernakulam district and a suburb of Kochi in the Indian state of Kerala. It is located with in 31 km southeast of Kochi city center, at the boundary of the Ernakulam and Kottayam districts. Piravom is famous for ...

Kuravilangad Kuravilangad is an Indian town located in the northern part of the Kottayam district in Kerala. It is situated in the Meenachil taluk, about 22 km north of the district capital Kottayam and 17 km west of the municipal town Pala. Ku ...

Koothattukulam Koothattukulam is a town and municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinat ...

Peruva Peruva is a little small village in the Mulakulam panchayat of kottayam district in Kerala. It is located 35 km from Kottayam and 40 km from Ernakulam. The other nearby towns are piravom (6 km), Kaduthuruthy (8 km), and T ...

and

Thalayolaparambu Thalayolaparambu is a town situated in Kottayam district in Kerala, India. Spanning over an area of 19.3 square kilometres with a population of 22,571 people, this mini-town is home to some of the well-known personalities such as the former Ch ...

. The taluk headquarters at

Muvattupuzha Muvattupuzha () is a town in the midlands directly to the east of Kochi in Ernakulam district, Kerala, India. It is located about from downtown Kochi, and is a growing urban centre in central Kerala. The town is also the starting poin ...

is 27 km away. The village lies about 42 km southeast of Kochi and there are a number of buses that ply between Pala and Ernakulam, which connects Elanji with Kochi. Elanji is almost the mid-way point on the

Vaikom Vaikom, , is a municipal town and a capital town of Vaikom Taluk, situated in the northwest of Kottayam district in the state of Kerala, India. The town is also noted for its role in the Indian independence movement for being the venue of Vaikom ...

–

Thodupuzha Thodupuzha (തൊടുപുഴ) is a municipal town located in Idukki district, Kerala, India, that covers an area of . It lies on the banks of Thodupuzha river, which merges with the Kaliyar and Kothamangalam rivers at Muvattupuzha to for ...

bus route. Elanji lies about 32 km east of Kottayam town. There is a Panchayath bus stand in the heart of the Elanji town itself. Elanji is located in Ernakulam district and the last grama panchayth towards the eastern border (towards Kottayam side) of Ernakulam district. The Vijnan Institute of Science and Technology (VISAT), an engineering college established in the year 2011, is 2 km away from this town. The engineering college is AICTE approved and affiliated to APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University(KTU). This college comes under the Vinjyan Charitable Trust. Most inhabitants are engaged in agriculture, farming and trading, with the main cash crops being rubber, paddy, coconut, areca nut, ginger, turmeric, 'kacholam' and pepper. The Malayalam poet Sister Mary Benigna was born in Elanji.The Malayalam novelist Sri

Perumbadavam Sreedharan Perumbadavam Sreedharan ( ml, പെരുമ്പടവം ശ്രീധരന്‍) (born 12 February 1938) is a Malayalam author from Kerala, India. He is former Chairman of Kerala Sahitya Akademi. He has written several novels and short s ...

was born in Elanji. He is also known as Perumbadavam. Malayalam director

Jeethu Joseph Jeethu Joseph (born 10 November 1972) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. He has also worked in a few Tamil, Telugu and Hindi films. Jeethu made his directional debut with the 200 ...

(of

Drishyam ''Drishyam'' () is a 2013 Indian Malayalam-language crime thriller film written and directed by Jeethu Joseph. It stars Mohanlal and Meena, with Ansiba Hassan, Esther Anil, Kalabhavan Shajohn, Asha Sharath, Siddique, Roshan Basheer and Neera ...

fame) is also from Elanji. There is also a famous Hindu temple in the name of Shiva; the speciality of this temple is that the main door opens to the west direction. This type of Shiva temples is rare in Kerala state. The name Elanji was believed to be derived from the word Elavanjiyoor d-e-s-am. During the passage of time desam has been dropped off and Elavanjiyoor became Elanji. Elanji is also the name of a tree with fragrant blooms commonly nfound in Elanji village area. One of the oldest and famous high schools in and around Elanji (Monippally, Neezhoor, etc.) is St. Peter's High Secondary School Elanji, which used to be known as St. Peter's High School Elanji.

References

{{Ernakulam district Villages in Ernakulam district