Kothachira is a village in central
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 ...
, southern
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 ...
. The village is located on the border of
Thrissur
Thrissur (), formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the third largest urban agglomeration in Kerala after Kochi and Kozhikode, and t ...
and
Palakkad
Palakkad (), formerly known as Palghat, historically known as Palakkattussery is a city and municipality in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the Palakkad District. Palakkad is most densely populated municipal ...
districts and is also known as Kothara.
Transportation
Kothachira is connected by road to the nearest towns of
Pattambi
Pattambi is a town taluk and municipality in the Palakkad district of the state of Kerala, India. It is also the administrative headquarters of the Pattambi Taluk. Pattambi is located along the banks of Bharathappuzha river. A Mini Civil Station ...
and
Kunnamkulam
Kunnamkulam is a municipal town situated in the Thrissur District of Kerala in India, spread over an area of 34.18 km2. It is an old commercial town, with an ancient history, famous for its printing and book binding industry. In the past, t ...
and has a Chirakkal Vishnu temple, Ayyappan kavu at south Kothachira, Appathuvalappu Devi temple, Vishnu Temple - Aathrasseri, Anthyalan Kavu on Chalissery - Peringode road, Kalari (now only Temple remains). It was the Family Temple of Malayanchath Kalarikkal Tharavadu, recently it is run by a Public Committee. There is Govt.Schools in North and South Kothachira. Kothachira there is a Mana called VENGATTURMANA which belongs to Namboodiri family. Most of the properties was belongs to them and they distributed to the ancestors of families now remains there. They paid Pattom to the land lords (Mana) after each yield for collecting the Pattom there were Kariasthans under them workers to collect it. Most of the time the farmers has to deliver the pattom like kinds (agriculture produces) the high quality out of the products.
Culture
Kothachira has been a center of traditional performing arts -- especially
Kathakali
Kathakali ( ml, കഥകളി) is a major form of classical Indian dance. It is a "story play" genre of art, but one distinguished by the elaborately colourful make-up and costumes of the traditional male actor-dancers. It is native to the M ...
, the four-century-old classical dance-drama, and
Panchavadyam
Panchavadyam (Malayalam: പഞ്ചവാദ്യം), literally meaning an orchestra of five instruments, is basically a temple art form that has evolved in Kerala. Of the five instruments, four — timila, maddalam, ilathalam and idakka ...
.
Kalamandalam Gopi
Vadakke Manalath Govindan Nair popularly known as Kalamandalam Gopi, is an Indian dancer who is an exponent of the classical dance-drama style known as Kathakali.
Life
Born as Vadakke Manalath Govindan Nair in the Southern Indian village of ...
, one of Kathakali's all-time great actor-dancers, is from Kothachira.
Kalamandalam Neelakantan Nambisan
Kalamandalam Neelakantan Nambisan (1920–1985) was a trend-setter Kathakali musician who played a crucial role in remoulding the aesthetics of singing for the classical dance-drama of Kerala, south India. Nambisan imbibed a set of fresh musical id ...
, who revolutionalised the singing style for Kathakali in the second half of the 20th century, is also from this village. It is the birthplace of Panchavadyam master in
elathalam
Elathalam, or Ilathalam, is a metallic musical instrument which resembles a miniature pair of cymbals. This instrument from Kerala in southern India is completely made out of bronze and has two pieces in it.
Elathalam is played by keeping one pa ...
, Sekharan Nair, and the Kathakali artiste Kalamandalam Balasubramanian. The late Kathakali scholar Rama Varrier and the Kathakali musician Kalamandalam Raveendran were from Kothachira. The following persons were well known in the area during AD 1930 to AD 2000:- Kodavanparambil Malappurath Ittiri, Kodavanparambil Malappurath Kunjikrishnan, Kodavanparambil Achuthan who was Panchayath member for long period. Kodavanparambil Balan Vaidyar who was very well known ayurvedic medical practitioner. Shri. Kattekkan Parambil Thami was one of the well known agriculturist from the backward community of Kothachira. His son Shri. Manikantan was the first Computer Engineer of the area and his son Mr. K P Subramanian was Senior Manager of Canara Bank. Sri Subramanian is the founder vice president of Indian Labour Party. Kodavanparambil Sankaran was one of the largest agriculturist of the area during 20th century.
Old Illams
The village has mansions of Nampoodiri Illams, Kothara Mana being the central one. It provided a venue for several art forms -- classical, ritual and folk. Among them used to be
Ayyappan Thiyyattu
Ayyappan an incarnation of dharma sastha, also called Manikandan, is a Hindu deity popular in Southern India, He is considered to be the epitome of dharma, truth, and righteousness and is often called upon to obliterate evil.
Although devotion t ...
, traditionally performed by a
Thiyyadi Nambiar family from the nearby village of
Perumpilavu.
K P Vahajudeen, a very famous football player who has played for
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 ...
State, is from Kothachira.
Kothachira is connected to the nearest towns of Pattambi (Palakkadu) and Kunnamkulam (Trissur). Kothachira is well connected to neighboring cities by bus.
References
Kathakali
Villages in Thrissur district
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