Mankombu or Moncombu is a village in the
district of Alappuzha in the 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 ...
, India. Monkombu, part of the
Kuttanad
Kuttanad ( ml, കുട്ടനാട്) is a region covering the Alappuzha, Kottayam and Pathanamthitta Districts, in the state of Kerala, India, well known for its vast paddy fields and geographical peculiarities. The region has the lo ...
delta region popularly mentioned as 'Rice bowl of Kerala'; is one of the major paddy cultivation regions of the state. Its unique geography embodied by Vembanad lake, inter-linked Pambaa, Manimala and Achenkovil river systems, gives rise to islands, back waters, network of waterways and canals, below sea-level paddy fields and marsh. The farmers here have met the challenges of below sea-level cultivation over two centuries. Annual festivals, auspicious rites and religious events at Mankombu Bhagavathi Devi temple, St.Pius church and Pope John Paul Church are occasions for social communion, rejoicing and celebration. Once a prosperous hamlet of hundreds of households, Mankombu today is ravaged by climate change, pollution and dwindling population.
Rice Research Station
Alleppey-Changanasseri road (AC Road) opened up motor transport connecting hinterland to nearby towns and introduced farm machinery in wetlands, facilitated transport of farm inputs and harvested crop by road and gave boost to the economy. Mankompu is especially known for being home for the
Rice Research Station of the
Kerala Agricultural University
Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) is a state university for agricultural education, recognised as a State Agricultural University (SAU) by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). It is situated in Vellanikkara, Kerala, India. ...
. A unit of All India co-ordinated rice improvement program began here in 1974. It undertakes research and extension work of plant breeding, soil science, crop protection and crop production.Rice varieties UMA, GOURI and JYOTHI developed here is well adapted to agro-climatic conditions of Mankombu. The ancestors of Dr.
M. S. Swaminathan
Mankombu Sambasivan Swaminathan (born 7 August 1925) is an Indian agronomist, agricultural scientist, plant geneticist, administrator and humanitarian. Swaminathan is a global leader of the green revolution. He has been called the main archi ...
, a renowned agricultural scientist, who is a known father of the Indian
Green Revolution
The Green Revolution, also known as the Third Agricultural Revolution, was a period of technology transfer initiatives that saw greatly increased crop yields and agricultural production. These changes in agriculture began in developed countrie ...
and the first winner of the
World Food Prize
The World Food Prize is an international award recognizing the achievements of individuals who have advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity, or availability of food in the world. Conceived by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Nor ...
, hailed from this village.
Temples
The Moncombu Bhagavathy Temple here is well known in Kerala and devotees pray for family fortune, learning and protection when going on a long journey. It was built during reign of king Veera Marthanda Verma of Travancore. According to one story, a high official of Ambalappuzha Chieftain was transporting logs of wood by river in a big country craft, when three damsels beckoned him from the banks and told they wanted to go to a sacred place. He agreed to let them travel along, provided they became plain-faced, to avoid a scandal. When they transformed themselves into ugly women, he realized they were Avatarams and the party sailed down river. When it reached near present day of Mankombu, it refused to move further despite huffing-and-puffing of punters. Then the plain-looking women revealed their true Goddess form to the high official and wanted temples to be built for future generations. After this divine revelation they were transformed into idols. For the first Goddess the place chosen was Koyikkal, the second in Vadaiattu. When they were considering where to consecrate the third goddess, she possessed a mendicant among the crowd who picked up a mango log ( Manka in malayalam) threw it up in the air with all his might and where it fell was declared the holy spot. This place was named Mankombu, meaning “Branch of a mango tree” and temple was built. Descendants of this holyman are custodians of deity and enjoy privilege in the affairs of this temple. This temple was consecrated in the month of Meenam (March April ) in the star of Bharani. The founders day is celebrated during this occasion. The temple is open for daily poojas and attracts thousands during propitious days determined by Malayalam astrology. An annual 7 days festival begins on 14 April every year. This is followed by the Pathamudayam festival on 23 April every year.
Etymology
Since the
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
name is an approximate transliteration of the
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...
word, there may be ambiguity in the spelling. ''Moncombu'' is the spelling recognized by the Postal Department as well as in government communication. But yet other variants such as ''Mankombu'' is in use by the press.
save-our-rice.net
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Eminent Persons
* Dr.M.S.Swaminathan - Agriculture Scientist and Father of Green Revolution
* Late Sri.M.K. Neelakanta Iyer - Chief Secretary of Travancore State and Devaswom Commissioner and Sanskrit scholar
* Dr.K.V.Krishna Das - Retired Professor Medical College & Hospital Trivandrum, Author of Medical Textbooks, Farmer & philanthropist
* Late Dr.K.K.Haridas - Founder , Department of Cardiology, Amritha Institute of Medical Sciences
* Dr.N.N.Panickar - Expert in Ocean Engineering, philanthropist and co-coordinator of Nattukkuttam advocacy https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/K._P._Sasidharan
* Late Prof K P Sasidharan - Eminent Malayalam writer, Professor of English literature
* Sri. Beeyar Prasad - Poet , film lyricist , novelist and TV personality
* Late Sri. M.K.Ananthasiva Iyer - Founder of ATGVHSS Moncombu, Government Pleader , philanthropist
* Sri. Moncombu Gopalakrishnan - Poet, film lyricist and script writer
* Prof. K P. Mohandas - Retired Professor NIT Kozhikode, author and social media campaigner
* M.R.Narayanan - Expert in floating structures and solar energy
* Dr.Madhu Kumar - Former Registrar University of Kerala
* Late Prof.Parameswaran - Professor of Zoology, SD College Alleppey
References
Villages in Alappuzha district
{{Alappuzha-geo-stub