Pazhanji is a village with near

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, ...

in Thrissur district 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.The name "Pazhanji" is derived from the Malayalam word for "old".

Demographics

India

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 in ...

, Pazhanji had a population of 13,339 with 6,352 males and 6,987 females. Pazhanji is in the Kattakambal

panchayat The Panchayat raj is a political system, originating from the Indian subcontinent, found mainly in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. It is the oldest system of local government in the Indian subcontinent, and historical men ...

Economy

Pazhanji is well known for its

areca nut ''Areca'' is a genus of 51 species of palms in the family Arecaceae, found in humid tropical forests from the islands of the Philippines, Malaysia and India, across Southeast Asia to Melanesia. The generic name ''Areca'' is derived from a name ...

market and Pazhanji Palli / Pazhanji Church. The market is a hub for areca nut merchants from Monday through Saturday. This is where local areca nut (അടയ്ക്ക) sellers sell their product to authorised areca nut merchants. Buyers and sellers execute trade transactions by auction. Daily operations commence at 8 am and continue until 10:30 am. The place is located in the Kattakambal Gram Panchayath.

Transportation

Trichur or Guruvayur Railway Station or Nedumbasseri International Airport is connected to reach Pazhanji pproximately 80 km from Cochin From the railway station/airport a road connects

and then reaches Pazhanji.

Pazhanji Church

Pazhanji Church officially known as St. Mary's Orthodox Cathedral, Pazhanji or Pazhanji Cathedral is a Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church situated at Pazhanji near

in Thrissur District of

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 Church is locally called " Pazhanji Palli " (In Malayalam : പഴഞ്ഞി പള്ളി ) "Palli" imilar to the Malayalam word for "Church" It is a part of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. The church is said to have been constructed by believers who fled from Arthat and later settled and constructed the church. It is how the name ''Pazhanji'' (Malayalam meaning ''Old'') came into being for the place. According to the church's website, the ancestors of today's members of the Pazhanji Church earlier belonged to the Kunnamkulam Arthat Church. The first chapel founded in Pazhanji was situated in the northern side of the present church, whereas the chapel founded in the southern side. Both chapels are dedicated to St. Mary. There is a cemetery near the church. On 13 September 2015, the Pazhanji Cathedral was declared as the second cathedral of the Kunnamkulam diocese, the first being St. Mary's Cathedral, Arthat.

Education

* Mar Dionysius College, Pazhanji * Government HSS, pengamuck

References