Peermade, also spelt Peerumedu (Malayalam: പീരുമേട്) is a village,

Grama Panchayat Gram Panchayat () is a basic village-governing institute in Indian villages. It is a democratic structure at the grass-roots level in India. It is a political institute, acting as cabinet of the village. The Gram Sabha work as the general bod ...

and hill station 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 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 ...

. It lies above sea level in the Western Ghats (Sahyadri) about east of

Kottayam Kottayam () is a municipal town in the Indian state of Kerala. Flanked by the Western Ghats on the east and the Vembanad Lake and paddy fields of Kuttanad on the west. It is the district headquarters of Kottayam district, located in south- ...

on the way to

Thekkady Thekkady( Idukki district) is a town near Periyar National Park, an important tourist attraction in the Kerala state of India. The name Thekkady is derived from the word "thekku" which means teak. Temperatures are lowest in the months of Dec ...

through the nearby city of

Kanjirappally Kanjirappally is a taluk and a town in Kottayam district situated about away from the district capital, in the state of Kerala, India. Climate Kanjirappally has the highest number of rainy days in Kerala. It receives the highest amount of su ...

Demographics

As of 2011 Census, Peerumade had a population of 22,213 with 11,049 males and 11,164 females. Peerumade village has an area of with 5,617 families residing in it. The average sex ratio was 1010 lower than the state average of 1084. In Peerumade, 8.8% of the population was under 6 years of age. Peerumade had an average literacy of 89.1% lower than the state average of 94%; male literacy was 93.9% and female literacy was 84.5%.

Geography

The landscape of Peermade includes spectacular waterfalls, open grass lands and pine forests. Predominantly it is classified as

Malanad Malnad (; Malēnādu) is a region in the state of Karnataka in India. Malenadu covers the western and eastern slopes of the Western Ghats or Sahyadri mountain range, and is roughly 100 kilometers in width. Malnadis a region of Karnataka ...

with an elevation ranging from from the mean sea level.

History

Peermade was once the summer retreat of the

Maharaja Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, a ...

s of

Travancore The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At ...

. During those periods these regions were quite inaccessible, covered by dense forests and was inhabited by certain tribes like 'Malappandarams' and 'Malayarans'. The archaeological excavations points out that there was an ancient

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several p ...

culture flourished in the high-ranges which wasn't written or recorded. But the findings of cultural remnants from the hill tracks near Kumily and

Vandiperiyar Vandiperiyar, , is a spice village in Idukki district, Kerala, India. It is known for tourism, tea and coffee plantations, black pepper and other spice products. A number of tea factories are situated in the town. The Periyar River flows throug ...

provides some factual evidences of the existence of a rich culture. Peermade was the highest elevation on the mountain route that once connected the

with

Madurai Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...

in ancient

Tamilakam Tamiḻakam (Tamil: தமிழகம்; Malayalam: തമിഴകം), refers to the geographical region inhabited by the ancient Tamil people, covering the southernmost region of the Indian subcontinent. Tamilakam covered today's Tamil Nad ...

. The mountain barriers created by the

ghats Ghat, a term used in the Indian subcontinent, depending on the context could refer either to a range of stepped hills with valleys (ghati in Hindi), such as the Eastern Ghats and Western Ghats; or the series of steps leading down to a body of ...

separated these two regions.

Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary Periyar National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary (PNP) is a protected area located in the districts of Idukki and Pathanamthitta in Kerala, India. It is notable as an elephant reserve and a tiger reserve. The protected area encompasses , of which ...

, one of the largest wildlife reserves in India, is away. It has herds of elephants and other wildlife as well as lakes.

Etymology

The name is sometimes related to the Sufi saint, 'Peer Mohammed', as "hill of the Peer" (പീരുമേട്).

Spices

The area is extremely fertile and until recently featured lush

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

s of

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. Seeds of ...

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of ''Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and north ...

cardamon Cardamom (), sometimes cardamon or cardamum, is a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genera ''Elettaria'' and ''Amomum'' in the family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to the Indian subcontinent and Indonesia. They are rec ...

, and coconut. With a long history of spice growing, the focus is now on the production of organic

black pepper Black pepper (''Piper nigrum'') is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, known as a peppercorn, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in dia ...

white pepper Black pepper (''Piper nigrum'') is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, known as a peppercorn, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in diam ...

, ginger and

turmeric Turmeric () is a flowering plant, ''Curcuma longa'' (), of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae, the rhizomes of which are used in cooking. The plant is a perennial, rhizomatous, herbaceous plant native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast ...

. At a 2006 show, spice growers from Peermade displayed samples of organically grown spices including

cardamom Cardamom (), sometimes cardamon or cardamum, is a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genera ''Elettaria'' and ''Amomum'' in the family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to the Indian subcontinent and Indonesia. They are r ...

, black pepper, white pepper,

nutmeg Nutmeg is the seed or ground spice of several species of the genus ''Myristica''. ''Myristica fragrans'' (fragrant nutmeg or true nutmeg) is a dark-leaved evergreen tree cultivated for two spices derived from its fruit: nutmeg, from its seed, an ...

, mace, cloves, turmeric, ginger,

vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the Mexican species, flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia''). Pollination is required to make the p ...

beans, vanilla powder and herbs such as oregano,

sage Sage or SAGE may refer to: Plants * ''Salvia officinalis'', common sage, a small evergreen subshrub used as a culinary herb ** Lamiaceae, a family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint or deadnettle or sage family ** ''Salvia'', a large ...

thyme Thyme () is the herb (dried aerial parts) of some members of the genus '' Thymus'' of aromatic perennial evergreen herbs in the mint family Lamiaceae. Thymes are relatives of the oregano genus ''Origanum'', with both plants being mostly indigen ...

and

rosemary ''Salvia rosmarinus'' (), commonly known as rosemary, is a shrub with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple, or blue flowers, native to the Mediterranean region. Until 2017, it was known by the scientific name ''Rosmar ...

. Oils of thyme and rosemary were also displayed.

Education

Mar Baselios Christian College of Engineering and Technology and Marian College are located at Kuttikanam in Peermade.

Politics

Peermade assembly constituency is part of

Idukki (Lok Sabha constituency) Idukki Lok Sabha constituency is one of the 20 Lok Sabha (parliamentary) constituencies in the Indian state of Kerala. Assembly segments Idukki Lok Sabha constituency is composed of the following assembly segments: Members of Parliament ...

. Vazhoor Soman is the current MLA of peermade.

Gallery

File:Taluk Office-Peermade. Majistrate Court and Sub-Treasury are also functioned in this building..jpg, Tehsil Office File:Peermade-taluk.JPG, Estate Bungalow File:Peermade-2006b (5).JPG, Peermade town File:Peermade estates3.JPG, Monsoon stream flowing through a tea estate in Peermade

Notes

Books

* The Story of Peermade by

George Thengummoottil George Thengummoottil (born 10 January 1985) is wildlife filmmaker, documentary editor,http://www.lalithkala.org/sites/default/files/Photography%20Selection%20List%20%28Website%29.pdf from India who is the founder of Moundain Films, a visual ar ...

() http://theindia.info/theIndiainfo/downloads/The%20Story%20of%20Peermade.pdf

External links

* * * *
{{Central Travancore Hill stations in Kerala Populated places in the Western Ghats Cities and towns in Idukki district Geography of Idukki district