Kayamkulam () is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the

Alappuzha district Alappuzha district (), is one of the 14 Districts of Kerala, districts in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. It was formed as Alleppey district on 17 August 1957, the name of the district being changed to ''Alapp ...

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, 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 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. It is located south of the district headquarters in

Alappuzha Alappuzha (, आलप्पुळ) or Alleppey is a municipality and town on the Laccadive Sea in the southern Indian state of Kerala. It is the district headquarters of the district, and is located about north of the state capital Thiruvana ...

and about north of the state capital

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the Capital city, capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the ...

. As per the 2011 Indian census, Kayamkulam has a population of 68,634 people, and a population density of . Kayamkulam was the erstwhile capital of the Kingdom of Onattukara, and today continues to be the largest town in the

Onattukara Odanad (Malayalam language, Malayalam: ''ISO 15919, ōṭānāṭŭ'', also known as Onattukara,Kayamkulam, Onad, Kallikoilon and Chirava Svaroopam) was a feudal state in late medieval Kerala. It was established in the 11th century, and disest ...

region.

History

Kayamkulam was a medieval feudal kingdom known as Odanad ruled by the Kayamkulam ''rajas''. Maha Raja

Marthanda Varma Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma (Malayalam: ; 1706 – 7 July 1758) was the founding monarch of the southern Indian Kingdom of Travancore (previously Venadu) from 1729 until his death in 1758. He was succeeded by Rama Varma ("Dharma Raja") ...

(1706–58) conquered Kayamkulam and annexed its territories to

Travancore The kingdom of Travancore (), also known as the kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor () or later as Travancore State, was a kingdom that lasted from until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvanan ...

Tourist attractions

The

Krishnapuram Palace The Krishnapuram Palace is a palace and museum located in Kayamkulam near Alappuzha in Alappuzha district, Kerala in southwestern India. It was built in the 18th century by Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma (1729–1758 CE), the Travancore ki ...

, built in the 18th century, now functions as a museum. Constructed in typical Keralan-style architecture, it has the largest mural painting in Kerala. The palace museum houses the Kayamkulam double-edged sword. The Kayamkulam Boat Race is held on the fourth Saturday of August every year. Chinese fishing nets can be found on the banks of the lagoon. Veliyaazheekal is a beach at Arattupuzha panchayat in Kayamkulam. The main attraction in this place ''bow string arch Bridge (biggest one of South India)''.

Transport

Roads

NH 66 passes through Kayamkulam, connecting it to the major cities

Kochi Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...

Thrissur Thrissur (, ), Renaming of cities in India, 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 List of most populous urban agglomerations in Ke ...

Kollam Kollam (;), is an ancient seaport and the List of cities and towns in Kerala, fourth largest city in the Indian state of Kerala. Located on the southern tip of the Malabar Coast of the Arabian Sea, the city is on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake ...

Palakkad Palakkad (), Renaming of cities in India, also known as Palghat, historically known as Palakkattussery, is a city and a municipality in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of P ...

and

Nagercoil Nagercoil, natively spelt as Nāgarkovil (, "Temple of the Nāgas", or Nagaraja-Temple), is a Municipal Corporation city and the administrative headquarters of Kanyakumari District in Tamil Nadu state, India. Situated close to the tip of the ...

. The Kayamkulam–Punalur road is a major road connecting it to major city's in east '' sengotai,''

Tenkasi Tenkasi () is a town and headquarters of the Tenkasi district in Indian state of Tamil Nadu.Tenkasi is the third largest city in tenkasi district after Kadayanallur and Sankarankovil. Being one of the most significant spiritual and cultural ...

'',''

Thirunelveli Tirunelveli (), also known as Nellai and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of the Tirunelveli District. It is the fourth-largest municip ...

via ''Pettah'' parts of the ''

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

'' state. The KSRTC bus station is located near the national highway.

Railways

Kayamkulam Junction railway station is a major railway junction located from the town on the Kayamkulam–Punalur road. Kayamkulam Railway Station

Demographics

According to the

2001 Census of India The 2001 census of India was the 14th in a series of censuses held in India every decade since 1871. The population of India was counted as 1,028,737,436 consisting of 532,223,090 males and 496,514,346 females. The total population increased b ...

, Kayamkulam had a population of 65,299. Males constituted 49% of the population and females 51%. Kayamkulam had an average literacy rate of 82%, higher than the national average of 59.5%. Male literacy was 84%, and female literacy is 79%. In Kayamkulam, 11% of the population was under six years of age.

Civic administration

Kayamkulam Assembly Constituency is part of

Educational and research institutes

The Central Coconut Research Station (CCRS) was established in 1948 as a field station of the Agricultural Research Laboratory. Presently, it is a regional station of the Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (CPCRI).
Onattukara Regional Agricultural Research Station
Kayamkulam is located in the Kayamkulam Municipality of Alappuzha District, one kilometer east of Kayamkulam town, on the northern side of Kayamkulam - Punalur road. The station was established in the year 1937 under the erstwhile University of Travancore. It was subsequently transferred to the Department of Agriculture in 1958 and continued to function under it till it became a part of the KAU on 07.02.72. I n April, 2000, this Station was upgraded to the status of RARS (Onattukara Region).

KPAC drama troupe

Kerala People's Arts Club Kerala People's Arts Club, abbreviated as KPAC, is a theatrical movement in Kayamkulam, Kerala, India. It was formed in the 1950s by a group of individuals having close ties with the Communist Party of India in Kerala. KPAC helped popularised ...

(KPAC) is a theatrical movement in Kayamkulam, Kerala. It was formed in the 1950s by a group of individuals that had close ties with the

leftist Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social hierarchies. Left-wing politi ...

parties of Kerala. KPAC Emblem

In 1951 KPAC staged its first drama, ''Ente Makananu Sari'' (), whose songs were written by Punaloor Balan. Its second drama '' Ningalenne Communistakki'' () was first performed in 1952. The success of Ningalenne Communistakki brought KPAC to the forefront of a powerful people's theatre movement in Kerala. KPAC played a significant role in popularising the Communist Party in Kerala through its dramas, road shows and ''kathaprasangams'' (story telling).

Power plant

The Rajiv Gandhi Combined Cycle Power Plant is a

combined cycle power plant A combined cycle power plant is an assembly of heat engines that work in tandem from the same source of heat, converting it into mechanical energy. On land, when used to make electricity the most common type is called a combined cycle gas turb ...

located in Cheppad, Haripad, Alappuzha district, Kerala.

Notable people

* Thopil Bhasi – Malayalam playwright, screenwriter, and film director * K. M. Cherian – heart surgeon; founder of Frontier Lifeline Hospital and the Dr. K M Cherian Heart Foundation *

Kambisseri Karunakaran Sri. P. N. Karunakaran (Puthenveettil Narayanan Karunakaran), popularly known as Kambisseri Karunakaran (3 March 1922 – 27 July 1977) was an Indian journalist who wrote in Malayalam language. He was the chief editor of '' Janayugam Daily'', ...

– journalist, politician, actor, satirist and rationalist *

P. Kesavadev P. Kesava Pillai (20 July 1904 – 1 July 1983), better known by his pen-name P. Kesavadev, was a novelist and social reformer of Kerala, India. He is remembered for his speeches, autobiographies, novels, dramas, short stories, and films. ''Oda ...

– novelist, writer, and social reformer *

Kayamkulam Kochunni Kayamkulam Kochunni (born c. 1818) was a revolutionary from Kayamkulam, who lived during the late 19th century. He was active in the Travancore area in the present-day Kerala, India. He is said to have stolen from the rich and given to the poor ...

– highwayman based in Kayamkulam, active in Central

in the early 19th century *

K. P. A. C. Lalitha Maheshwari Amma, better known by her stage name K. P. A. C. Lalitha (10 March 1947 – 22 February 2022), was an Indian film and stage actress who worked primarily in the Malayalam cinema, Malayalam film industry. Considered one of the greatest ...

– National Award-winning Indian film and stage actress * S. Guptan Nair – Malayalam writer, critic, scholar and educationist * K. Shankar Pillai – cartoonist, founder of ''

Shankar's Weekly ''Shankar's Weekly'' was an Indian satirical magazine published between 1948 and 1975. It was founded and run by Keshav Shankar Pillai, a pioneering political cartoonist. The magazine has been compared to the UK's '' Punch''. The weekly print ...

'' * Thachadi Prabhakaran – former Minister of Kerala * Kayamkulam Philipose Ramban – Christian priest *

T. P. Sreenivasan Thettalil Parameswaran Pillai Sreenivasan (born 17 June 1944 in Kayamkulam, Travancore) is an Indian former diplomat and is the head of the Council for Higher Education of the State of Kerala and also an adjunct professor of eminence at Somaiy ...

- diplomat; former High Commissioner to Fiji and Kenya and Ambassador to Austria

References

External links

Kerala Agricultural University
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Alappuzha district