Thanikkudam is a rapidly growing suburb north-east 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 ...

, in the

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 ...

. The village-town is home to the Thanikkudam Bhagavathi Temple which is popularly known across the central part of Kerala. A small river, which has become perennial in recent times stretches through the middle of the village, oriented in a north-east to South-west direction. The area is also wound around by the Right Branch Main Canal (RBMC) of the

Peechi Peechi Dam thrissur is situated outside Thrissur city in Kerala, India. The dam was started as an irrigation project for the surrounding villages in Thrissur. At the same time, it catered the drinking water needs of the population of Thrissur ...

hydro-irrigation project system.

Geography and Landscape

The geography and landscape of Thanikkudam is very typical of the middle-land villages of Kerala, and in particular that of Thrissur district. The land has an overall inclination along the North East to South west direction. This significantly affects the hydrology, precipitation, water drainage and wind flows. The village shares its eastern border at Chenkalli, a hill of heights up to 1000m above sea level with the south-western tips of Vazhani range and north-western slopes of

and Vellani mountains. Except for a few more hillocks such as Meppadam and Thaliyanpara, the land has a generally plain nature with intermediate undulating profiles. The populated areas have altitudes ranging from 15m to 30m above sea level. The village has a multitude of soil types such as

laterite Laterite is both a soil and a rock type rich in iron and aluminium and is commonly considered to have formed in hot and wet tropical areas. Nearly all laterites are of rusty-red coloration, because of high iron oxide content. They develop by ...

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

alluvial Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluv ...

slits and

gravel Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally throughout the world as a result of sedimentary and erosive geologic processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gravel is classifi ...

Geography

The protected natural forests lining the eastern borders and neighboring high ranges provide for satisfactory precipitation. The drainage is relatively retarded by the natural undulations and mixture of high and low terrains. The short and narrow

Thanikkudam river Thanikkudam is a rapidly growing suburb north-east of Thrissur, in the Indian state of Kerala. The village-town is home to the Thanikkudam Bhagavathi Temple which is popularly known across the central part of Kerala. A small river, which has ...

divides the village into two areas. Beginning from the slopes of Vazhani ranges and Chenkalli, the river has become mostly perennial over the last few decades owing to the change in climate and land use. However, it has important effect on the lifestyle, water use and weather of the place.

Natural resources

The village has been a traditional agrarian source of medicinal plants, honey, firewood and compost made of leaves besides a variety of crops ranging from rice to rubber.

People

The population consists of lower and upper class middle class with comparable economic and educational levels of other parts of Kerala. The majority belong to Hindu religion. Up to 5% of the people are Christians. Other religions are insignificantly lower in population. The common language is Malayalam. However, due to a large number of villagers who have been working in the past or at present at remote places (such as middle east or other parts of India), people who can manage English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Arabic can be seen among them.

Agriculture

the forest was cleared in 1940s famine period farming started

Thanikkudam Temple

There is an Upper Primary School, a village Library and several governmental service institutions which serve the village as well as her neighbors. Both the school and library have been in existence since more than 50 years ago and have been effective in raising the educational and social welfare of the inhabitants. Although the area was predominantly agricultural in nature (especially

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, and ...

and

cashew The cashew tree (''Anacardium occidentale'') is a tropical evergreen tree native to South America in the genus ''Anacardium'' that produces the cashew seed and the cashew apple accessory fruit. The tree can grow as tall as , but the dwarf cult ...

), the recent trends have reduced and replaced those crops to Banana plantain, horticulture etc. The increasing inrush of more inhabitants has reduced the available land for cultivation. Besides, the water resources are no longer sustainable over an annual period to support full-fledged agriculture. Thanikkudam - Paddy farms

References

External sources

Article about the rain festival in Bhagavathi Temple, Thanikkudam

{{Thrissur district Villages in Thrissur district Suburbs of Thrissur city