Palayam or Cantonment, as it is locally known, one of the busiest localities in

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

(also known as rivandrum), the capital of Kerala State in India">Kerala_State.html" ;"title="rivandrum), the capital of Kerala State">rivandrum), the capital of Kerala State in India. It is home to many of the administrative, cultural, and educational institutions in Kerala.

History

It gets its name from the fact that it used to be camp of the royal army and cavalry of the erstwhile kings of Travancore. It extended from the Cantonment House in the North up to A.K.G. Centre in the South, including areas now occupied by the University Stadium and Chandrasekharan Nair Stadium. The Army subsequently moved to

Pangode Pangode is an Indian village and a Grama Panchayat (Indian village council) located in the Trivandrum district in the state of Kerala.Census Village code = 00130400 The village is known for its participation in the Indian Independence Movement ...

. The cavalry, however, remained at Palayam. The name "Cantonment" is not much in use for the area, though that name is still associated with the police station near the Secretariat, "Cantonment Police Station". At present, "Cantonment House" serves as the official residence of the Leader of the Opposition.

Religious confluence

The

Palayam Juma Mosque Masjid-i Jahān-Numā (the 'World-reflecting Mosque'), commonly known as the Palayam Pally of Trivandrum, is the principal mosque of Trivandrum in Kerala, India. It is a Jama Masjid (Congregational Mosque). The Juma Masjid, Palayam Mosque is the ...

, St. Joseph's Latin Cathedral or ''Palayam Palli'' and a temple dedicated to

Lord Ganesh Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is found throughout India. Hindu d ...

are situated close to each other. The mosque and a temple are side by side, touching each other. The co-existence of these three centres of worship of different religions is quite unique and is a standing example of the religious tolerance and harmony in the state. Today hundreds of devotees offered prayers at the temple. The Friday prayers at the mosque are attended by a fairly high number of people. St. Joseph's Cathedral is under the Latin Archdiocese of Thiruvananthapuram . It is a major shopping area of the city. Offices of the

University of Kerala University of Kerala, formerly the University of Travancore, is a state-run public university located in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital of Kerala, India. It was established in 1937 by a promulgation of the Maharajah of Travancore, Chit ...

, Legislative Assembly, hostel of the Members of the Legislative Assembly, Jubilee Memorial Hospital,

Connemara Market Connemara market is situated at Palayam junction in Thiruvananthapuram city, in the state of Kerala, India. The recently renovated Market has merged with the Saphalyam Complex adjacent to it. The Palayam Market was established during 1857, whe ...

and Saphalyam Shopping Complex are at Palayam. Restaurants serving Arabian cuisine like

Shawarma Shawarma (; ar, شاورما) is a popular Middle Eastern dish that originated in the Ottoman Empire, consisting of meat cut into thin slices, stacked in a cone-like shape, and roasted on a slowly-turning vertical rotisserie or spit. Traditiona ...

and

Kabsa ), ''makbūs/machbūs'' ( ar, مكبوس/مچبوس) , country = Saudi Arabia , region = Arabian Peninsula , creator = , course = Meal , served = , main_ingredient = Rice (usually long-grain, ...

and multi-cuisine ones are many in number. ;Connemara Market Also known as Palayam Market, Connemara Market was established by

Lord Connemara Robert Bourke, 1st Baron Connemara, (; ; ; ; 11 June 1827 – 3 September 1902) was a British Conservative politician and colonial administrator who served as Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (1874–80, 1885–86) and Governor of ...

, Governor of Madras. Saphalyam Shopping Complex and many other shops such as Shoe Wagon, Lee are situated here. Connemara Market is going to be renovated into a big shopping complex and 3-star hotel by next 4 or 5 years.

References

External links

{{commons category-inline, Palayam Cantonments of British India Suburbs of Thiruvananthapuram