1.
Geographic coordinate system
–
A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
Geographic coordinate system
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Longitude lines are perpendicular and latitude lines are parallel to the equator.
2.
India
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India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and it is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast. It shares land borders with Pakistan to the west, China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the northeast, in the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Indias Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a border with Thailand. The Indian subcontinent was home to the urban Indus Valley Civilisation of the 3rd millennium BCE, in the following millennium, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism began to be composed. Social stratification, based on caste, emerged in the first millennium BCE, early political consolidations took place under the Maurya and Gupta empires, the later peninsular Middle Kingdoms influenced cultures as far as southeast Asia. In the medieval era, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived, much of the north fell to the Delhi sultanate, the south was united under the Vijayanagara Empire. The economy expanded in the 17th century in the Mughal empire, in the mid-18th century, the subcontinent came under British East India Company rule, and in the mid-19th under British crown rule. A nationalist movement emerged in the late 19th century, which later, under Mahatma Gandhi, was noted for nonviolent resistance, in 2015, the Indian economy was the worlds seventh largest by nominal GDP and third largest by purchasing power parity. Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the major economies and is considered a newly industrialised country. However, it continues to face the challenges of poverty, corruption, malnutrition, a nuclear weapons state and regional power, it has the third largest standing army in the world and ranks sixth in military expenditure among nations. India is a constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary system. It is a pluralistic, multilingual and multi-ethnic society and is home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats. The name India is derived from Indus, which originates from the Old Persian word Hindu, the latter term stems from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, which was the historical local appellation for the Indus River. The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi, which translates as The people of the Indus, the geographical term Bharat, which is recognised by the Constitution of India as an official name for the country, is used by many Indian languages in its variations. Scholars believe it to be named after the Vedic tribe of Bharatas in the second millennium B. C. E and it is also traditionally associated with the rule of the legendary emperor Bharata. Gaṇarājya is the Sanskrit/Hindi term for republic dating back to the ancient times, hindustan is a Persian name for India dating back to the 3rd century B. C. E. It was introduced into India by the Mughals and widely used since then and its meaning varied, referring to a region that encompassed northern India and Pakistan or India in its entirety
India
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Flag
India
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The granite
tower of
Brihadeeswarar Temple in
Thanjavur was completed in 1010 CE by
Raja Raja Chola I.
India
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Writing the will and testament of the Mughal king court in Persian, 1590–1595
3.
States and union territories of India
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India is a federal union comprising twenty-nine states and seven union territories. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and further into smaller administrative divisions, the Constitution of India distributes the sovereign executive and legislative powers exercisable with respect to the territory of any State between the Union and that State. The Indian subcontinent has been ruled by different ethnic groups throughout its history. Between 1947 and 1950, the territories of the states were politically integrated into the Indian Union. The new Constitution of India, which came into force on 26 January 1950, the new republic was also declared to be a Union of States. The nine Part A states were Assam, Bihar, Bombay, Madhya Pradesh, Madras, Orissa, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. The eight Part B states were former princely states or groups of states, governed by a rajpramukh, who was usually the ruler of a constituent state. The rajpramukh was appointed by the President of India, the Part B states were Hyderabad, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Bharat, Mysore, Patiala and East Punjab States Union, Rajasthan, Saurashtra, and Travancore-Cochin. The ten Part C states included both the former chief commissioners provinces and some states, and each was governed by a chief commissioner appointed by the President of India. The Part C states were Ajmer, Bhopal, Bilaspur, Coorg, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Cutch, Manipur, Tripura, the only Part D state was the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which were administered by a lieutenant governor appointed by the central government. The Union Territory of Puducherry was created in 1954 comprising the previous French enclaves of Pondichéry, Karaikal, Yanam, Andhra State was created on 1 October 1953 from the Telugu-speaking northern districts of Madras State. The States Reorganisation Act of 1956 reorganised the states based on linguistic lines resulting in the creation of the new states, as a result of this act, Madras State retained its name with Kanyakumari district added to from Travancore-Cochin. Andhra Pradesh was created with the merger of Andhra State with the Telugu-speaking districts of Hyderabad State in 1956, kerala was created with the merger of Malabar district and the Kasaragod taluk of South Canara districts of Madras State with Travancore-Cochin. The Laccadive Islands which were divided between South Canara and Malabar districts of Madras State were united and organised into the territory of Lakshadweep. Bombay State was enlarged by the addition of Saurashtra State and Kutch State, Rajasthan and Punjab gained territories from Ajmer and Patiala and East Punjab States Union respectively and certain territories of Bihar was transferred to West Bengal. Bombay State was split into the states of Gujarat and Maharashtra on 1 May 1960 by the Bombay Reorganisation Act. Nagaland was formed on 1 December 1963, the Punjab Reorganisation Act of 1966 resulted in the creation of Haryana on 1 November and the transfer of the northern districts of Punjab to Himachal Pradesh. The act also designated Chandigarh as a territory and the shared capital of Punjab
States and union territories of India
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Hyderabad state in 1909
States and union territories of India
4.
Kerala
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Kerala historically known as Keralam, is an Indian state in South India on the Malabar Coast. It was formed on 1 November 1956 following the States Reorganisation Act by combining Malayalam-speaking regions, spread over 38,863 km2, it is bordered by Karnataka to the north and northeast, Tamil Nadu to the east and south, and the Lakshadweep Sea to the west. With 33,387,677 inhabitants as per the 2011 Census, Malayalam is the most widely spoken language and is also the official language of the state. The region has been a prominent spice exporter since 3000 BCE, the Chera Dynasty was the first prominent kingdom based in Kerala, though it frequently struggled against attacks by the neighbouring Cholas and Pandyas. In the 15th century, the spice trade attracted Portuguese traders to Kerala, after independence, Travancore and Cochin joined the Republic of India and Travancore-Cochin was given the status of a state in 1949. In 1956, Kerala state was formed by merging Malabar district, Travancore-Cochin, Hinduism is practised by more than half of the population, followed by Islam and Christianity. The culture is a synthesis of Aryan and Dravidian cultures, developed over millennia, under influences from other parts of India, the production of pepper and natural rubber contributes significantly to the total national output. In the agricultural sector, coconut, tea, coffee, cashew, the states coastline extends for 595 kilometres, and around 1.1 million people in the state are dependent on the fishery industry which contributes 3% to the states income. The state has the highest media exposure in India with newspapers publishing in nine languages, mainly English, Kerala is one of the prominent tourist destinations of India, with backwaters, beaches, Ayurvedic tourism and tropical greenery as its major attractions. The name Kerala has an uncertain etymology, One popular theory derives Kerala from Kera and alam is land, thus land of coconuts, this also happens to be a nickname for the state due to abundance of coconut trees and its use by the locals. The word Kerala is first recorded in a 3rd-century BCE rock inscription left by the Maurya emperor Ashoka, the inscription refers to the local ruler as Keralaputra, or son of Chera. This contradicts the theory that Kera is from coconut tree, at that time, one of three states in the region was called Cheralam in Classical Tamil, Chera and Kera are variants of the same word. The word Cheral refers to the oldest known dynasty of Kerala kings and is derived from the Proto-Tamil-Malayalam word for lake, the earliest Sanskrit text to mention Kerala is the Aitareya Aranyaka of the Rigveda. It is also mentioned in the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, the two Hindu epics, the Skanda Purana mentions the ecclesiastical office of the Thachudaya Kaimal who is referred to as Manikkam Keralar, synonymous with the deity of the Koodalmanikyam temple. Keralam may stem from the Classical Tamil cherive-alam or chera alam, the Greco-Roman trade map Periplus Maris Erythraei refers to Keralaputra as Celobotra. According to Hindu mythology, the lands of Kerala were recovered from the sea by the warrior sage Parasurama. Parasurama threw his axe across the sea, and the water receded as far as it reached, according to legend, this new area of land extended from Gokarna to Kanyakumari. The land which rose from sea was filled with salt and unsuitable for habitation, so Parasurama invoked the Snake King Vasuki, out of respect, Vasuki and all snakes were appointed as protectors and guardians of the land
Kerala
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A houseboat near
Alappuzha, Kerala
Kerala
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Parasurama, surrounded by settlers, commanding
Varuna (the
Hindu God of water) to part the seas and reveal Kerala.
Kerala
–
A
dolmen erected by Neolithic people in
Marayur
Kerala
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Silk Road map. The spice trade was mainly along the water routes (blue).
5.
Districts of Kerala
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The Indian state of Kerala borders with the states of Tamil Nadu on the south and east, Karnataka on the north and the Lakshadweep Sea coastline on the west. The Western Ghats, bordering the eastern boundary of the State, form an almost continuous mountain wall, when the independent India amalgamated small states together Travancore and Cochin states were integrated to form Travancore-Cochin state on 1 July 1949. However, Malabar remained under the Madras province, the States Reorganisation Act of 1 November 1956 elevated Kerala to statehood. The state of Kerala is divided into 14 revenue districts, such a regional division occurred being part of historical Kingdoms of Kochi, Travancore and British Province of Malabar. The Travancore region is divided into three zones as Northern Travancore, Central Travancore and Southern Travancore. Almost all of the districts in Kerala have the name as the important town or city in the district. The 14 districts are divided into 75 taluks, and 941 Gram panchayats. Some of the districts and their towns were renamed in 1990 like Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha, Thrissur, Palakkad, Kozhikode, Kerala State has been divided into 14 districts,75 taluks,152 community development blocks,978 Gram panchayats,6 corporations and 87 municipalities. A district is governed by a District Collector, who is an officer from Indian Administrative Service of Kerala cadre and is appointed by the State Government of Kerala. Functionally the district administration is carried on through the various Departments of the State Government each of which has an office of its own the district level, the District Collector is a key functionary of Government having large powers and responsibilities. He has a role to both as the agent of the Government of the state and also as the representative of the people in the district. He is also responsible for the maintenance of the law and order of the district, other than urban units such as town municipalities and rural units called Gram panchayats, other government administrative subdivisions includes taluks and community development blocks. A taluk consists of units such as census towns and rural units called gram panchayats. The Tahsildar is assisted in each village by village officers and village assistants, a block also consists of such as census towns and Gram panchayats. A block is administered by a Block Development Officer, who is appointed by the Government of Kerala, a gram panchayat, which consists of a group of villages, is administered by a village council headed by a Gram Panchayat President. A District Superintendent of Police, better known as a Superintendent of Police and this is as per the Police Act of 1861, which is applicable to the whole of India. The Superintendents of Police are officers of the Indian Police Service, for every subdivision, there is a Subdivision Police, headed by a Police officer of the rank of Assistant Superintendent of Police or Deputy Superintendent of Police. Under subdivisions, there are Police Circles, each headed by an Inspector of Police, a Police Circle consists of Police Stations, each headed by an Inspector of Police, or in case of rural areas, by a Sub-Inspector of Police
Districts of Kerala
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Districts of
Kerala,
south India.
6.
Kollam district
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Kollam district is one of 14 districts of the state of Kerala, India. The district has a cross-section of Keralas natural attributes, it is endowed with a coastline, a major Arabian Sea seaport. The district has many source of waterbodies, Kallada river is one among it and the east side land of river is EastKallada and the west side land is WestKallada. Kallada Boat race is one among the festival events of district. Even though it is a competition between two sides of river many boat clubs from various places even beyond the district use to participate in the event. Kollam is the capital of Keralas cashew industry, plains, mountains, lakes, lagoons and backwaters, forests, farmland and rivers make up the topography of the district. The area had trading relationships with Phoenicia and Ancient Rome and it covers 2,492 square kilometres, is the seventh-largest district in Kerala and is densely populated. It has the shortest coastal line among districts in Kerala, five major urban centres are, Kollam, Paravur, Punalur, Karunagapally, and Kottarakara. Sasthamkotta Lake, the largest freshwater lake in Kerala, is located in Kollam, two major rivers drain the district. Ashtamudi Lake and Paravur Lake are two important lakes in the district, Ashtamudi Lake covers 30 percent of total area of the district. Kollam is located on Ashtamudi Lake, Neendakara, a major fishing port in southern Kerala, is also located on this scenic lake. Edava and Nadayara Lakes are also located in Kollam district. The place is popular as Thangasseri. The lighthouse built at Quilon by the British in the year 1902 is visible as far as 13 miles in the sea, the lighthouse stands to an amazing height of 144 feet. The picturesque view of the sea from the place where the stands is breathtaking. In the vicinity lies the Portuguese Fort, the fort was built in the year 1517 and at present only a wall of the fort has escaped the assaults made by Time. Kollams temperature is almost steady throughout the year, the average temperature ranges from 25 to 32 degrees Celsius. Summer usually runs from March until May, the monsoon begins by June, Kollam receives an annual average rainfall of around 2,700 millimetres
Kollam district
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From top:
Paravur estuary, Light house and clock tower in
Kollam city, 13 Ring bridge of
Thenmala, Check dam across Kallada river
Kollam district
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Kollam District കൊല്ലം ജില്ല Quilon District
Kollam district
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Lighthouse, Thangasseri, Kollam
Kollam district
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Paravur estuary: Scenic beauty of backwaters and beaches
7.
Kollam Municipal Corporation
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Kollam Municipal Corporation is the civic body that governs the City of Kollam in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the fourth largest city corporation in the state by population, constituted in 1903 and officially recognized as city corporation in 2000, the body governs an area of 73.03 square kilometres centered on Kollam with about 55 wards and a population of 397,419. Kollam is the 2nd most revenue generating city in Kerala, as of 2015-16 reports, Kollam has a revenue of Rs.889.74 crore, expenditure of Rs.830 crore and a surplus of Rs.59.73 crore. Kollam, known historically as Quilon, was an ancient trade hub, the population density of the coastal belt of Kollam is very high compared to any other city in the state. After the constitution of Kochi as a corporation in 1967, there were demands to upgrade the densely populated Kollam City into a city corporation. As a result, on 1 October 2000, Kollam Municipality was upgraded by the Kerala Government to a Municipal Corporation, the city population of Kollam increased substantially from 139,852 in 1991 to 346,013 in 2011. In 1991, the Vadakkevila, Sakthikulangara, Eravipuram and Kilikollur panchayats were merged with Kollam City, as a result, the area run by the municipal corporation increased from 18.48 square kilometres to 58.18 square kilometres. Later in May 2015, Thrikkadavoor panchayath is merged with Kollam city, the City Corporation of Kollam has a 55-member council headed by a Mayor assisted by a Deputy Mayor. On an average, every ward consists of a population of around 7,000, each ward is represented in the municipal council by an elected councilor. The Kerala Municipalities Act,1994, governs all functions in KMC, also there are 8 standing committees in the corporation for the ease of smooth governance of the city. Each and every standing committee is headed by an elected councilor, there are zonal offices in each zones of the corporation. The presence of an existing Railway over bridge and three intersections with heavy traffic limits the option for traffic management measures including junction improvement. That caused the authorities to think about this underpass at Chinnakada, Chinnakada is a complex junction where roads from Thiruvananthapuram, Alappuzha, Downtown, Sengottai, Ashramam, Kollam Beach and the City bus stand road meets. Preliminary design prepared by NATPAC for the underpass involved the acquisition of 0.08 hectares of government land on a temporary basis. The height of the passage above the underpass was increased to 5.5 metres from 5 metres to facilitate movement of modern container trucks through the underpass. Underpass has been open to the public by the end of May 2015. On 22 June 2014, construction started on a marine aquarium at Kollam Beach. The Harbour Engineering Department is constructing the aquarium on the side of the beach on behalf of Kollam Corporation
Kollam Municipal Corporation
–
Kollam Municipal Corporation കൊല്ലം മുനിസിപ്പല് കോര്പ്പറേഷന് KMC
Kollam Municipal Corporation
–
Marine Aquarium under construction at
Kollam Beach
Kollam Municipal Corporation
–
City Corporations
8.
Communist Party of India (Marxist)
–
The Communist Party of India is a communist party in India. The party emerged from a split from the Communist Party of India in 1964, the CPI was formed at the Seventh Congress of the Communist Party of India held in Calcutta from 31 October to 7 November 1964. The strength of CPI is concentrated in the states of Kerala, West Bengal, as of 2016, CPI is leading the state governments in Tripura and Kerala. It also leads the West Bengal Left Front, as of 2014, CPI claimed to have 10,48,678 members. The highest body of the party is the Politburo, CPI emerged from a division within the Communist Party of India. The undivided CPI had experienced a period of upsurge during the following the Second World War. The CPI led armed rebellions in Telangana, Tripura, and Kerala, however, it soon abandoned the strategy of armed revolution in favour of working within the parliamentary framework. In 1950 B. T. Ranadive, the CPI general secretary, under the government of the Indian National Congress party of Jawaharlal Nehru, independent India developed close relations and a strategic partnership with the Soviet Union. The Soviet government consequently wished that the Indian communists moderate their criticism towards the Indian state, moreover, the Indian National Congress appeared to be generally hostile towards political competition. In 1959 the central government intervened to impose Presidents Rule in Kerala, simultaneously, the relations between the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the Communist Party of China soured. In the early 1960s the Communist Party of China began criticising the CPSU of turning revisionist, Sino-Indian relations also deteriorated, as border disputes between the two countries erupted into the Sino-Indian War of 1962. The basis of difference in opinion between the two factions in CPI was ideological – about the assessment of Indian scenario and the development of a party programme. This difference in opinion was also a reflection of a difference at international level on ideology between the Soviet and Chinese parties. The alleged right wing inside the party followed the Soviet path, whereas the faction of CPI which later became CPI referred to this as a revisionist approach of class collaboration. It was this ideological difference which later intensified, coupled with the Soviet-Chinese split at the international level, hundreds of CPI leaders, accused of being pro-Chinese, were imprisoned. Thousands of Communists were detained without trial and those targeted by the state accused the pro-Soviet leadership of the CPI of conspiring with the Congress government to ensure their own hegemony over the control of the party. In 1962 Ajoy Ghosh, the secretary of the CPI. After his death, S. A. Dange was installed as the party chairman and this was an attempt to achieve a compromise
Communist Party of India (Marxist)
–
AKG Bhavan, the CPI(M) national headquarters in
Delhi 28°37′53.6″N 77°12′17.9″E / 28.631556°N 77.204972°E / 28.631556; 77.204972.
Communist Party of India (Marxist)
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Communist Party of India (Marxist) भारत की कम्युनिस्ट पार्टी (मार्क्सवादी)
Communist Party of India (Marxist)
–
Campaign vehicle in
Ernakulam.
Communist Party of India (Marxist)
–
Bengali mural for the CPI(M) candidate in the Kolkata North West constituency in the 2004 Lok Sabha election,
Sudhangshu Seal.
9.
District collector
–
A District Collector, often abbreviated to Collector, is the foremost Indian Administrative Service officer in charge of revenue collection and administration of a district in India. The Collector is assisted by Deputy Collectors, Assistant Collectors, Sub Collectors, District Administration in India is a legacy of the British Raj. District Collectors were members of the Indian Civil Service, and were charged with supervising general administration in the district, warren Hastings introduced the office of the District Collector in 1772. As District Magistrate, he exercised general supervision over the courts and in particular. The office was meant to achieve the purpose of collecting revenue. The Superintendent of Police, Inspector General of Jails, the Surgeon General, the Divisional Forest Officer, until the later part of the nineteenth century, no native was eligible to become a district collector. But with the introduction of competitive examinations for the Indian Civil Services. The district continued to be the unit of administration after India gained independence in 1947, the role of the District Collector remained largely unchanged, except for separation of most judicial powers to judicial officers of the district. They are appointed by the State government, from among the pool of Indian Administrative Service officers in the state, the members of the IAS are either directly recruited by the Union Public Service Commission or promoted from Provincial Civil Services. A District Magistrate, District Collector, Deputy Commissioner or District Commissioner are transferred from this post by State government, District Collectors are entrusted with a wide range of duties in the jurisdiction of the district. Acts as ex-officio chairman of the District Development Authority in absence of Divisional Commissioner, a District Magistrate/District Collector/Deputy Commissioner/District Commissioner is assisted by some I. A. S and P. C
District collector
–
A District Collector/Magistrate during the weekly administrative meeting in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India.
10.
Indian Administrative Service
–
The Indian Administrative Service is the All India administrative civil service. IAS officers hold key and strategic positions in the Union Government, States governments, along with the Indian Police Service and Indian Forest Service, the IAS is one of the three All India Services — its cadre can be employed by both the Union Government and the individual States. On attaining the upper levels of Super Time Scale to Apex Scale, they can go on to head whole departments and subsequently entire Ministries of Governments of India, IAS officers represent Government of India at the international level in bilateral and multilateral negotiations. On deputations they work at Intergovernmental organisations like World Bank and United Nations or its Agencies, IAS officers at various levels of administration play vital roles in conducting free, fair and smooth elections in India under the direction of Election Commission of India and states. The erstwhile Imperial Civil Service was the highest civil service of the British Empire in British India during British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947, Civil servants were divided into two categories - covenanted and uncovenanted. The covenanted civil service consisted of only white British civil servants occupying the higher posts in the government, the uncovenanted civil service was solely introduced to facilitate the entry of Indians at the lower rung of the administration. With the passing of the Government of India Act 1919, the Imperial Services headed by the Secretary of State for India, were split into two – All India Services and Central Services. At the time of the partition of India and the departure of the British in 1947, the part which went to India was named the Indian Administrative Service, while the part that went to Pakistan was named the Civil Service of Pakistan. IAS officers are recruited from Civil Services Examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission and they are also promoted from State Civil Services and selected from non-state civil service. After getting selected, candidates undergo training at LBSNAA, Mussoorie for IAS, being an All India Service, officers of the IAS are allotted to State cadres at the beginning of their service. They continue to work in that cadre or are deputed to Government of India, there is one cadre for each Indian state, except for three joint cadres, Assam–Meghalaya, Manipur–Tripura, and Arunachal Pradesh–Goa–Mizoram–Union Territories. The insider-outsider ratio is maintained as 1,2, with one-third of the recruits as insiders from the same state. The rest are posted as outsiders according to the roster in states other than their home states, the next year the roster starts from H, for either Haryana or Himachal Pradesh. This highly intricate system, in vogue since the mid-1980s, had ensured that officers from different states are placed all over India, changes of state cadre is permitted on grounds of marriage to an All India Service officer of another state cadre or under other exceptional circumstances. The officer may go to their home state cadre on deputation for a limited period, the centralising effect of cadre system was considered extremely important by the systems framers, but has received increasing criticism over the years. There are also concerns that such reform, the IAS will be unable to move from a command and control strategy to a more interactive. A civil servant is responsible for the law and order and general administration in the area under his work, most IAS officers start their careers in the state administration at the sub-divisional level as a sub divisional magistrate. They are entrusted with the law and order situation of the city along with general administration and they proceed to various posts in the State and Central Governments, and also local-self Governments, and Public Sector Undertakings
Indian Administrative Service
–
Progression of career of IAS officers in State and Centre Government
11.
Malayalam
–
Malayalam /mʌləˈjɑːləm/ is a language spoken in India, predominantly in the state of Kerala. It is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and was designated as a Classical Language in India in 2013 and it was developed to the current form mainly by the influence of the poet Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan in the 16th century. Malayalam has official status in the state of Kerala and in the union territories of Lakshadweep. It belongs to the Dravidian family of languages and is spoken by some 38 million people, according to one theory, Malayalam originated from Middle Tamil in the 7th century. However, the current understanding proposes the separation of Malayalam from Proto-Dravidian in the pre-historic era, Malayalam incorporated many elements from Sanskrit through the ages. Before Malayalam came into being, Old Tamil was used in literature and courts of a region called Tamilakam, including present day Kerala state, silappatikaramit was written by Chera prince Ilango Adigal from Chunkaparra, and is considered a classic in Sangam literature. Modern Malayalam still preserves many words from the ancient Tamil vocabulary of Sangam literature, the earliest script used to write Malayalam was the Vatteluttu alphabet, and later the Kolezhuttu, which derived from it. As Malayalam began to borrow words as well as the rules of grammar from Sanskrit. This developed into the modern Malayalam script, many medieval liturgical texts were written in an admixture of Sanskrit and early Malayalam, called Manipravalam. The oldest literary work in Malayalam, distinct from the Tamil tradition, is dated from between the 9th and 11th centuries, the first travelogue in any Indian language is the Malayalam Varthamanappusthakam, written by Paremmakkal Thoma Kathanar in 1785. Due to its lineage deriving from both Tamil and Sanskrit, the Malayalam script has the largest number of letters among the Indian language orthographies, the Malayalam script includes letters capable of representing almost all the sounds of all Indo-Aryan and Dravidian languages. Malayalam serves as a language on the islands including the Mahl-dominated Minicoy Island. The word Malayalam originated from the Sanskrit resp, Malayalam words malai or mala, meaning hill, and elam, meaning region. Malayalam thus translates as hill region and used to refer to the land of the Chera dynasty, the language Malayalam is alternatively called Alealum, Malayalani, Malayali, Malean, Maliyad, and Mallealle. The word Malayalam originally meant only for the name of the region, Malayanma or Malayayma represented the language. With the emergence of modern Malayalam language, the name of the language started to be known by the name of the region, hence now, the word Malayanma is considered by some to represent the olden Malayalam language. The language got the name Malayalam during the mid 19th century, the origin of Malayalam, an independent offshoot of the proto-Dravidian language, has been and continues to be an engaging pursuit among comparative historical linguists. Together with Tamil, Toda, Kannada and Tulu, Malayalam belongs to the group of Dravidian languages
Malayalam
–
Cover page of Nasranikal okkekkum ariyendunna samkshepavedartham which is the first book to be printed in Malayalam in 1772.
Malayalam
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Malayalam-speaking area
Malayalam
–
Thunchathu Ramanujan Ezhuthachan
Malayalam
–
Shakuntala writes to Dushyanta. Painting by
Raja Ravi Varma. The poetry was translated by
Kerala Varma as
Abhijnanasakuntalam
12.
Indian Standard Time
–
Indian Standard Time is the time observed throughout India and Sri Lanka, with a time offset of UTC+05,30. India does not observe daylight saving time or other seasonal adjustments, in military and aviation time IST is designated E*. Indian Standard Time is calculated on the basis of 82.30 E longitude, in Shankargarh Fort, in the tz database, it is represented by Asia/Kolkata. The Central observatory was moved from Chennai to a location at Shankargarh Fort Allahabad district, daylight Saving Time was used briefly during the China–Indian War of 1962 and the Indo–Pakistani Wars of 1965 and 1971. Inhabitants of the states have to advance their clocks with the early sunrise. In the late 1980s, a team of researchers proposed separating the country two or three time zones to conserve energy. The binary system that they suggested involved a return to British–era time zones, in 2001, the government established a four–member committee under the Ministry of Science and Technology to examine the need for multiple time zones and daylight saving. In Assam, tea gardens follow a separate time zone, known as the Chaibagaan or Bagan time, still Indian Standard Time remains the only officially used time. The filmmaker Jahnu Barua has been campaigning for a time zone for the past 25 years. In 2010, he suggested creating a time zone for the Development of Northeastern Region. In 2014, Chief Minister of Assam Tarun Gogoi started campaigning for another time zone for Assam, however, the proposal would need to be cleared by the Central Government of India. Official time signals are generated by the Time and Frequency Standards Laboratory at the National Physical Laboratory in New Delhi, the signals are based on atomic clocks and are synchronised with the worldwide system of clocks that support the Coordinated Universal Time. IST is taken as the time as it passes through almost the centre of India. To communicate the exact time to the people, the time is broadcast over the state-owned All India Radio. Telephone companies have dedicated phone numbers connected to mirror time servers that also relay the precise time, another increasingly popular means of obtaining the time is through Global Positioning System receivers
Indian Standard Time
–
IST in relation with the bordering nations
13.
Postal Index Number
–
A Postal Index Number or PIN or Pincode is a code in the post office numbering or post code system used by India Post, the Indian postal administration. The code is six digits long, the PIN Code system was introduced on 15 August 1972 by Shriram Bhikaji Velankar, an additional secretary in the Union Ministry of Communications. The system was introduced to simplify the manual sorting and delivery of mail by eliminating confusion over incorrect addresses, similar place names, there are nine PIN zones in India, including eight regional zones and one functional zone. The first digit of the PIN code indicates the region, the second digit indicates the sub-region, and the third digit indicates the sorting district within the region. The final three digits are assigned to individual post offices, a state may have one or more sorting districts depending on the volumes of mail handled. The fourth digit represents the route on which a Delivery office is located in the sorting district and this is 0 for offices in the core area of the sorting district. The last two represent the delivery office within the sorting district starting from 01 which would be the GPO or HO. The numbering of the office is done chronologically with higher numbers assigned to newer delivery offices. If the volume of mails handled at an office is too large, a new delivery office is created. Thus two delivery offices situated next to each other only have the first four digits in common. Each PIN code is mapped to exactly one delivery post office which receives all the mail to be delivered to one or more lower offices within its jurisdiction, all of which share the same code. The delivery office can either be a General Post Office, a Head Office or Sub Office which are located in urban areas. The post from the office is sorted and routed to other delivery offices for a different PIN or to one of the relevant sub offices or branch offices for the same PIN. Branch offices are located in areas and have limited postal services
Postal Index Number
–
A post box with PIN (571120) marked on it
Postal Index Number
–
2-digit postcode areas in India(defined through the first two postcode digits)
14.
Telephone numbers in India
–
Subscriber Trunk Dialling codes are assigned to each city/town/village, with the larger Metro cities having shorter area codes, the shortest being 2 digits. Land line numbers are at most 8 digits long, the total length of all phone numbers in India is constant at 10 digits, for example 7513200000 signifies a STD code i. e.751 Gwalior & the phone number 3200000. Due to the availability of multiple operators offering fixed line services, there is an operator-code for each telephone number, no prefix is required to call from one landline to another in the same STD area. A prefix of 0+STD code is required to dial from a phone in one STD code area to another. A prefix of 0+STD code is required to dial from a phone in India to any landline number, irrespective of STD area. g. to dial Delhi from Gurgaon. This feature was stopped with effect from 00,00 hours of 10 March 2009, a typical mobile number in India is +91-XX-XXX-XXXXX. Where the first two digits indicate a system, the next three denote the mobile switching code while the remaining five digits are unique to the subscriber. Short codes are five digits in length and have to start with the digit 5 like 58888 as of 2007, previously, they were four-digit in number and could be of any combination, like 8888 or 7827. The current five digits can be extended by three digits further representing 3 additional characters. Messages sent to these Short Codes are commonly referred to as Premium Rate SMS Messages and cost from Rs.3 to Rs.6 per message depending on the operator as well as the service and the company. Telemarketers have been issued 10-digit telephone numbers starting with 140 by the Department of Telecommunications on TRAIs request, Department of Telecommunications, Government of India Telecom Regulatory Authority of India India National Numbering Plan of 2003
Telephone numbers in India
–
A
public call office (PCO) in
Auroville,
India
15.
Vehicle registration plate
–
A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate or a license plate, is metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identification purposes. The registration identifier is a numeric or alphanumeric ID that uniquely identifies the owner within the issuing regions database. The first two letters indicate the state to which the vehicle is registered, the next two digit numbers are the sequential number of a district. Due to heavy volume of vehicle registration, the numbers were given to the RTO offices of registration as well, the third part indicates the year of registration of the vehicle and is a 4 digit number unique to each plate. In some countries, the identifier is unique within the entire country, whether the identifier is associated with a vehicle or a person also varies by issuing agency. In the vast majority of jurisdictions, the government holds a monopoly on the manufacturing of vehicle registration plates for that jurisdiction. Thus, it is illegal for private citizens to make and affix their own plates. Alternately, the government will merely assign plate numbers, and it is the owners responsibility to find an approved private supplier to make a plate with that number. In some jurisdictions, plates will be assigned to that particular vehicle for its lifetime. If the vehicle is destroyed or exported to a different country. Other jurisdictions follow a policy, meaning that when a vehicle is sold the seller removes the current plate from the vehicle. Buyers must either obtain new plates or attach plates they already hold, as well as register their vehicles under the buyers name, a person who sells a car and then purchases a new one can apply to have the old plates put onto the new car. One who sells a car and does not buy a new one may, depending on the laws involved, have to turn the old plates in or destroy them. Some jurisdictions permit the registration of the vehicle with personal plates, in some jurisdictions, plates require periodic replacement, often associated with a design change of the plate itself. Vehicle owners may or may not have the option to keep their original plate number, alternately, or additionally, vehicle owners have to replace a small decal on the plate or use a decal on the windshield to indicate the expiration date of the vehicle registration. Plates are usually fixed directly to a vehicle or to a frame that is fixed to the vehicle. Sometimes, the plate frames contain advertisements inserted by the service centre or the dealership from which the vehicle was purchased. Vehicle owners can also purchase customized frames to replace the original frames, in some jurisdictions licence plate frames are illegal
Vehicle registration plate
–
Some
jurisdictions license non-traditional vehicles, such as
golf carts, particularly on on-road vehicles, such as this one in
Put-in-Bay, Ohio.
Vehicle registration plate
–
Burkina passenger plate
Vehicle registration plate
–
Burkina Faso Gendarmerie plate
Vehicle registration plate
–
Botswana plate
16.
Malayalam language
–
Malayalam /mʌləˈjɑːləm/ is a language spoken in India, predominantly in the state of Kerala. It is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and was designated as a Classical Language in India in 2013 and it was developed to the current form mainly by the influence of the poet Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan in the 16th century. Malayalam has official status in the state of Kerala and in the union territories of Lakshadweep. It belongs to the Dravidian family of languages and is spoken by some 38 million people, according to one theory, Malayalam originated from Middle Tamil in the 7th century. However, the current understanding proposes the separation of Malayalam from Proto-Dravidian in the pre-historic era, Malayalam incorporated many elements from Sanskrit through the ages. Before Malayalam came into being, Old Tamil was used in literature and courts of a region called Tamilakam, including present day Kerala state, silappatikaramit was written by Chera prince Ilango Adigal from Chunkaparra, and is considered a classic in Sangam literature. Modern Malayalam still preserves many words from the ancient Tamil vocabulary of Sangam literature, the earliest script used to write Malayalam was the Vatteluttu alphabet, and later the Kolezhuttu, which derived from it. As Malayalam began to borrow words as well as the rules of grammar from Sanskrit. This developed into the modern Malayalam script, many medieval liturgical texts were written in an admixture of Sanskrit and early Malayalam, called Manipravalam. The oldest literary work in Malayalam, distinct from the Tamil tradition, is dated from between the 9th and 11th centuries, the first travelogue in any Indian language is the Malayalam Varthamanappusthakam, written by Paremmakkal Thoma Kathanar in 1785. Due to its lineage deriving from both Tamil and Sanskrit, the Malayalam script has the largest number of letters among the Indian language orthographies, the Malayalam script includes letters capable of representing almost all the sounds of all Indo-Aryan and Dravidian languages. Malayalam serves as a language on the islands including the Mahl-dominated Minicoy Island. The word Malayalam originated from the Sanskrit resp, Malayalam words malai or mala, meaning hill, and elam, meaning region. Malayalam thus translates as hill region and used to refer to the land of the Chera dynasty, the language Malayalam is alternatively called Alealum, Malayalani, Malayali, Malean, Maliyad, and Mallealle. The word Malayalam originally meant only for the name of the region, Malayanma or Malayayma represented the language. With the emergence of modern Malayalam language, the name of the language started to be known by the name of the region, hence now, the word Malayanma is considered by some to represent the olden Malayalam language. The language got the name Malayalam during the mid 19th century, the origin of Malayalam, an independent offshoot of the proto-Dravidian language, has been and continues to be an engaging pursuit among comparative historical linguists. Together with Tamil, Toda, Kannada and Tulu, Malayalam belongs to the group of Dravidian languages
Malayalam language
–
Cover page of Nasranikal okkekkum ariyendunna samkshepavedartham which is the first book to be printed in Malayalam in 1772.
Malayalam language
–
Malayalam in Malayalam script
Malayalam language
–
Thunchathu Ramanujan Ezhuthachan
Malayalam language
–
Shakuntala writes to Dushyanta. Painting by
Raja Ravi Varma. The poetry was translated by
Kerala Varma as
Abhijnanasakuntalam
17.
Kollam
–
Kollam or Quilon, formerly Desinganadu, is an old seaport and city on the Laccadive Sea coast of Kerala, India. The city is on the banks Ashtamudi Lake, Kollam has had a strong commercial reputation since the days of the Phoenicians and Romans. Fed by the Chinese trade, it was mentioned by Ibn Battuta in the 14th century as one of the five Indian ports he had seen during the course of his twenty-four year travels, desinganadus rajas exchanged embassies with Chinese rulers while there was a flourishing Chinese settlement at Kollam. In the 9th Century, on his way to Canton, China, Marco Polo, the great Venetian traveller, who was in Chinese service under Kublai Khan in 1275, visited Kollam and other towns on the west coast, in his capacity as a Chinese mandarin. V. Nagam Aiya in his Travancore State Manual records that in 822 AD two East Syrian bishops Mar Sabor and Mar Proth, settled in Quilon with their followers. Two years later the Malabar Era began and Quilon became the city of the Malabar region ahead of Travancore. Kollam is a city on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake that took the title Gods Own Country without much demur. The braids of Ashtamudi Lake lie about 71 kilometres north of the state capital, the city hosts the administrative offices of Kollam district and is a prominent trading city for the state. The proportion of females to males in Kollam city is second highest among the 500 most populous cities in India, Kollam is the least polluted city in India. Four major trading centers/towns around Kollam are Kottarakara, Punalur, Paravur, There was also internal trade through the Punalur Pass connecting the ancient town to Tamil Nadu. The rail links later established to Tamil Nadu supported still stronger trade links, the factories processing marine exports and the processing and packaging of cashewnuts extended its trade across the globe. Kollam is the fourth most populous city in Kerala and the fifth largest in incorporated area and it is known for cashew processing and coir manufacturing. Ashtamudi Lake is considered the gateway to the backwaters of Kerala and is a prominent tourist destination at Kollam. The Kollam urban area includes towns such as Paravur in the south, Kundara in the east. Other important towns in the city suburbs are Eravipuram, Kottiyam, Kannanallur, Kollam appeared as Palombe in Mandevilles Travels, where he claimed it contained a Fountain of Youth. During the later stages of the rule of the Chera monarchy in Kerala, Kollam emerged as the point of trade. Kollam continues to be a business and commercial centre in the Southern Kerala. In 825 CE, the Malayalam calendar, or Kollavarsham, was created in Kollam at meetings held in the city, the present Malayalam calendar is said to have begun with the re-founding of the town, which was rebuilt after its destruction by a fire
Kollam
–
From top clockwise:
RP Mall in
Downtown Kollam,
Lighthouse in
Tangasseri,
British Residency in
Asramam,
Kollam Junction railway station and
Kollam MEMU Shed, Aerial view of
Ashtamudi Lake,
Kollam Port,
Asramam Adventure Park, Jalakeli Kendram near
Kollam Beach
Kollam
–
Kollam in the 1500s
Kollam
–
Kollam in the 1700s
18.
Cashew
–
The cashew tree is a tropical evergreen tree that produces the cashew nut and the cashew apple. It can grow as high as 14 m, but the dwarf cashew, growing up to 6 m, has proved profitable, with earlier maturity. The cashew nut, often called a cashew, is widely consumed. It is eaten on its own, used in recipes, or processed into cashew cheese or cashew butter, the shell of the cashew seed yields derivatives that can be used in many applications from lubricants to paints. The cashew apple is a reddish to yellow fruit, whose pulp can be processed into a sweet. The species is native to northeastern Brazil. Major production of cashews occurs in Vietnam, Nigeria, India and its English name derives from the Portuguese name for the fruit of the cashew tree caju, which itself is derived from the Tupian word acajú, literally meaning nut that produces itself. The generic name Anacardium, originally from the Greek, refers to the location of the seed outside the core or heart of the fruit. A mid-seventeenth century ethnographic painting by Albert Eckhout, who accompanied Dutch governor-general Johan Maurits, the cashew tree is large and evergreen, growing to 14 m tall, with a short, often irregularly shaped trunk. The leaves are arranged, leathery textured, elliptic to obovate, 4–22 cm long and 2–15 cm broad. The flowers are produced in a panicle or corymb up to 26 cm long, each flower is small, pale green at first, then turning reddish, with five slender, acute petals 7–15 mm long. The largest cashew tree in the covers a area around 7,500 m2, it is located in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte. The fruit of the tree is an accessory fruit. What appears to be the fruit is an oval or pear-shaped structure, a hypocarpium, that develops from the pedicel, called the cashew apple, better known in Central America as marañón, it ripens into a yellow and/or red structure about 5–11 cm long. It is edible, and has a sweet smell and a sweet taste. The pulp of the apple is very juicy, but the skin is fragile. The true fruit of the tree is a kidney or boxing-glove shaped drupe that grows at the end of the cashew apple. The drupe develops first on the tree, and then the pedicel expands to become the cashew apple, within the true fruit is a single seed, which is often considered a nut, in the culinary sense
Cashew
–
Cashew
Cashew
–
'Anacardium occidentale', from Koehler's 'Medicinal-Plants' (1887)
Cashew
–
Flower of cashew tree
Cashew
–
Cashew tree
19.
National Highway 744 (India)
–
National Highway 744 or NH744 is a National Highway in Southern India that links Kollam in Kerala with Madurai in Tamil Nadu. Starting from NH66 in Kollam, it joins Tirumangalam in Madurai at National Highway 44. Kallupatti and this route has historically connected the cashew and spice producing Kollam District with the erstwhile Madras State. Nowadays, hoards of lorries carrying various goods from Tamil Nadu ply through this highway, the road cuts through the narrow low altitude gap at Aryankavu, and is a visual delight, especially the stretch from Thenmala to Sengottai. The historic Kollam-Sengottai Railway line goes by the side of the road, List of National Highways in India List of National Highways in India National Highways Development Project
National Highway 744 (India)
–
NH-744 at
Kadappakada,
Kollam City
National Highway 744 (India)
–
13 Ring Bridge near the side of NH 744,
Thenmala
National Highway 744 (India)
–
A sign board in NH 744
20.
Kilikollur railway station
–
Kilikollur railway station is a railway station in the cashew hub of Kollam city - Kilikollur. Kilikollur Railway Station is coming under the Madurai railway division of the Southern Railway Zone, the station is one among the three railway stations serving the city of Kollam. Other railway stations in the city are Kollam Junction railway station, all the trains passing through have halt in this station. Nearest railway stations are Kollam Junction and Chandanathoppe, Kollam Junction railway station Paravur railway station Punalur railway station Kundara railway station
Kilikollur railway station
–
Kilikollur railway station building
21.
Paravur, Kollam
–
Paravur, or South Paravoor, is a town and a municipality in the Kollam district of the Indian state of Kerala. The lakes and sea coast of Paravur attract visitors and foreigners with the attraction the interconnection of Paravur Kayal. Paravur lies 21 kilometres from Kollam by road and can be reached within 15 minutes by train from Kollam Junction, Paravur Municipality consists of Kottapuram, Koonayil, Thekkumbhagam, Chillakkal, Perumpuzha, Nedungolam, Pozhikara, Maniyamkulam, Kurumandal, Kottamoola, Attinpuram & Kochalummoodu. Paravur Municipality is a Grade-II Municipality of Kerala, Paravur is located at 8.78 N76 E. It has an elevation of 10 metres. Paravur,21 kilometers from the Kollam, is a skirt of land stretching in between the backwaters and the sea. The famous Varkala beach is a mere 12 kilometres drive from here, there is an elevation of 6 metres above sea level, extending to 16 metres on the inland. As of 2011 India census, Paravur has a population of 43,739, males constitute 47% of the population and females 53%. Paravur has an literacy rate of 79%, higher than the national average of 59. 5%, male literacy is 81%. In Paravur, 10% of the population are under 6 years of age, total number of households are 9,155. Pozhikara was the headquarters of Paravur. Remnants of the old fort, Thaana and Anchalappees still remain, a mint of the erstwhile Travancore Kingdom for printing and punching their currencies was once situated at Paravur. Paravur panchayat was formed in 1936 as one of the four panchayats sanctioned by Sir C. P. Ramaswamy Iyer, the others were Boothapandi, Nedumangadu, and Perumbavoor. The so formed Paravur panchayat included nine territories-Thekkumbhagam, Kottappuram, Kongal, Pozhikara, Kurumandal, Koonayil, Kalakkode, Bhoothakkulam, sree Ramavarma koyi thampuram from Kilimanoor Palace was the first executive officer of the panchayat. The first election for Paravur panchayat was held in 1942 and Sri Achuthan Pillai became the first elected panchayat president, later Paravur became a Municipality on May 1,1988. For the first seven years it was ruled by special officers, in 1995 after the first Municipal election, Smt. Bhanumati became the first Municipal Chairperson, in April 2016, over 100 people were killed in a fireworks explosion at a local temple in the town. There are so many important roads in Paravur, connecting Kollam city and neighbouring towns like Varkala, Chathannoor, Parippally, Poothakkulam
Paravur, Kollam
–
From top:
Paravur railway station,
Paravur Lake(Kaayal), Aayiravilli Temple Festival, Pulimuttu in
Paravur Pozhikara
Paravur, Kollam
–
Entrance of
Paravur railway station
Paravur, Kollam
–
Paravur Lake – An evening scene from
Paravur Thekkumbhagam
22.
Punalur
–
Punalur ) is a city situated near the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border in the Kollam district of the southern Indian state of Kerala. It is situated on the banks of the Kallada River and derives its name from the Tamil words, punal, meaning water and ooru, meaning city, literally and it is about 45 kilometres north-east of Kollam and 75 kilometres north of Thiruvananthapuram. It is also known as the Gateway of Western Ghats, Punalur become an important trading and transport centre between Kollam and Sengottai under the rule of the Travancore Kingdom. Steady progress by the Punalur Panchayat administration saw an upgrade to municipality status in 1972, despite this elevation in status, Punalur still lacks the basic infrastructure to cope with an ever growing population and an influx of tourists and pilgrims. Oldest bridge in India is situated in Punalur and it is also the first motorable bridge in India, constructed in 1877. It is believed that Punalur derived its name from Punel - the Malayalam word for funnel, the other school of thought attributes the etymology to the word punal, and ooru, referring to the river passing through the town. Yet another suggestion is associated to Hindu epic, Ramayana, that the name originated from the pursuit of Khara for Rama, Khara on seeing the duo, removed his sword from sheath, first at a place now known as Karavaloor. But unable to attack there, followed and removed his sword again at Punalur. Punalur is a city on a path which had good relations with Tamil Nadu to the East from time unknown. Most parts of Punalur taluk were inhabited before the Indus Valley Civilization, human civilizations existed in Punalur during the Mesolithic period, mainly around Thenmalai. Punalur is described in inscriptions of Mithranandpuram and Vellayani, until 1734, Punalur was under the direct rule of the Ilaydathu Swaroopam. Later it was annexed by Marthanda Varma and came under the rule of Travancore, the British Raj established a good hold over this part of India due to its rich agricultural resources. Historically, Shenduruny has a rich heritage, a recent study conducted by Dr. P. It was proved that these belong to the Mesolithic period. This study brought out the fact that the Shenduruny River Valley Civilization was one of the oldest river valley civilizations in India and it dates to between 5210 and 4420 BC, making it older than the Indus Valley Civilization which is believed to have flourished from 4400 to 3700 BC. Cave paintings seen here are comparable to the Mesolithic paintings found in the caves of central India, the cave found here is large enough to hold at least twenty people at a time. According to Dr. Rajendran, the place seen below just in front of the cave once must have been a lake. Now the Shenduruny River has the reputation that it had nourished a civilization in the prehistoric past and this act of the local traders evoked the anger of the Captain and he sent his troops and killed many people
Punalur
–
View of Punalur Railway Station
Punalur
–
Punalur KsrtcBustand
Punalur
–
Thirteen- Arch Railway Bridge
23.
Thiruvananthapuram
–
Thiruvananthapuram, formerly known as Trivandrum, is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Kerala. It is located on the west coast of India near the south of the mainland. Referred to by Mahatma Gandhi as the Evergreen city of India, Thiruvananthapuram was a trading post for spices, sandalwood and ivory. The city was ruled by the Ays and was captured by the rulers of Venad in tenth century A. D, in 1729, Marthanda Varma founded the princely state of Thiruvithamkoor and made Thiruvananthapuram the capital in 1745. It remained as a state ruled by Travancore under the loose governance of the British before joining the Indian Union in 1948. With nearly 80% of the software exports, Thiruvananthapuram is a major IT hub with the Technopark. Indias first and only magic academy, Magic Academy Research Centre run by Merlin award-winning magician Gopinath Muthukad is situated in Thiruvananthapuram, the city is home to animation companies like Toonz India Ltd and Tata Elxsi Ltd. The Kinfra Film and Video Park is one of the most advanced film and it is consistently ranked among the best cities to live in Kerala as well as India. The city was referred to as Trivandrum until 1991, when the government decided to reinstate the citys original name Thiruvananthapuram. Thiruvananthapuram is an ancient region with trading traditions dating back to 1000 BCE, the city was a trading post for spices, sandalwood and ivory. The early rulers of the city were the Ays and after their fall in the 10th century, in 1729, Marthanda Varma founded the princely state of Thiruvithamkoor and Thiruvananthapuram was made the capital in 1745 after shifting the capital from Padmanabhapuram in Tamil Nadu. In the mid-19th century, the city was under the reign of Swathi Thirunal, an observatory was established in 1837 with the Oriental Research Institute & Manuscripts Library and the University College established in 1873. Several colleges were established by Moolam Thirunal, sree Moolam Assembly, established in 1904, was the first democratically elected legislative council in any Indian state. After Indian Independence in 1947, Travancore chose to join the Indian union, in 1949, Thiruvananthapuram became the capital of Travancore-Cochin, the state formed by the integration of Travancore with the Kingdom of Cochin. The king of Travancore, Chitra Thirunal Bala Rama Varma, became the Rajpramukh of the Travancore-Cochin Union from 1 July 1949 until 31 October 1956, when the state of Kerala was formed on 1 November 1956, Thiruvananthapuram became its capital. The city has a population of 752,490 according to the 2011 census, the sex ratio is 1,032 females for every 1,000 males. In October 2010, the number of wards was increased from 86 to 100 post expansion of city limits by adding Sreekaryam, Vattiyoorkavu, Kudappanakunnu, hindus comprise 68. 5% of the population, Christians about 16. 7% and Muslims form 13. 7%. The major languages spoken are Malayalam and English, in Palayam in the city centre, there is a mosque, a temple and a Christian church next to each other as neighbours, establishing the communal harmony of Keralites
Thiruvananthapuram
–
Clockwise from top right:
Kovalam Beach,
Napier Museum,
Trivandrum Central,
Kowdiar Palace,
Niyamasabha Mandiram,
Infosys Building,
The Sculpture of Jalakanyaka Mermaid
Thiruvananthapuram
–
Seal
Thiruvananthapuram
–
Painting by
Raja Ravi Varma depicting
Richard Temple-Grenville, 3rd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos being greeted by
Visakham Thirunal, with
Ayilyam Thirunal of Travancore looking on, during Buckingham's visit to Thiruvananthapuram,
Travancore in early 1880.
Thiruvananthapuram
–
Kowdiar Palace built in 1915 was the official residence of the
Travancore Royal Family.
24.
Kanyakumari
–
Kanyakumari pronunciation, also known as Kanniyakumari, formerly known as Cape Comorin, is a town in Kanyakumari District in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. The name comes from the Devi Kanya Kumari Temple in the region and it is the southernmost tip of peninsular India. Kanyakumari town is the tip of the Cardamom Hills, an extension of the Western Ghats range. The nearest town is Nagercoil, the headquarters of Kanyakumari District,22 km away. Kanyakumari has been a town since Sangam period and is a popular tourist destination, ptolemys geography describes commercial relations between western India and Alexandria, the chief eastern emporium of the Roman Empire. He identified Kanyakumari along with the Gulf of Mannar as a center for pearl fishery and he also identifies Korkai, a place to the east of Kanyakumari, as an emporium of pearl trade. Kanyakumari District consists of those known locally as Nanjil Nadu. The names of the villages of the such as Azhagiapaandipuram, Bhoothapandy. Nanjilnadu was under the rule of Pandiyas till the early 10th century, the Kalkulam and Vilavancode taluks were under the rule of the Chera Dynasty. Veera Kerala Varma, one such chieftain, styled himself as Nanjil Kuravan, the annexation commenced by Veera Kerala Varma was to a large extent continued by his successors and completed by AD1115. For about four centuries, the Venad was ruled by powerful kings who were making incursions into the Pandian territories. As a result, Vijayanagar kings proceeded against Venad, in 1609 Kanyakumari fell into the hands of Viswanatha Nayak of Madurai. Consequent on this, there was no threat to Nanjilnadu until 1634. During the regime of Ravi Varma and Marthanda Varma, Venad was disturbed by the internal strife, sanda Sahib of Arcot took advantage of this situation and attacked Nanjilnadu. After Marthanda Varma, Venad had weak rulers and as a result there was frequent interference by the British whose control was established over Venad. From 1947 to 1956, it was under the rule of Maharaja of Travancore. During the period between 1956–1961, the system has fallen in line with that of other districts in Tamil Nadu. Kanyakumari has been a centre for art and religion for centuries
Kanyakumari
–
Kanyakumari
Kanyakumari
–
Thiruvalluvar Statue at Night
Kanyakumari
–
Gandhi Memorial Kanyakumari
Kanyakumari
–
Thiruvalluvar Statue
25.
Ernakulam
–
Ernakulam refers to the eastern, mainland portion of the city of Kochi in central Kerala, India. The city is the most urban part of Kochi and has lent its name to the Ernakulam district, Ernakulam is called the commercial capital of the state of Kerala. The Kerala High Court, the Office of the Corporation of Cochin, the Ernakulam Junction or South station, Ernakulam Town or North Station and Ernakulam Terminus railway stations of the Indian Railways lies in Ernakulam. Initially, Ernakulam was the headquarters of the Ernakulam District but was shifted to Kakkanad. Ernakulam was once the capital of the Kingdom of Cochin and it is located 220 kilometres towards north-west of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The city has served as an incubator for many Malayali entrepreneurs and is a financial and commercial hub of Kerala. Starting from the Stone Age, Ernakulam has been the site of human settlement, monolithic monuments like Dolmens and rock-cut caves can be seen in many parts of Ernakulam. The region can claim to have played a significant part in fostering the trade relations between Kerala and the world in the ancient and medieval period. The early political history of Ernakulam is interlinked with that of the Chera Dynasty of the Sangam age, after the Cheras, the place was later ruled by the Kingdom of Cochin. Ernakulam was the capital of the erstwhile Cochin State, in the first state census of 1911, the population of Ernakulam was 21,901,11,197 Hindus,9,357 Christians,935 Muslims, and 412 Jews. The City of Ernakulam is situated in Ernakulam District of Central Kerala in India, Ernakulam is located at 9. 98°N76. 28°E /9.98,76.28. It has an elevation of 4 m. Under the Köppen climate classification, City of Ernakulam features a Tropical monsoon climate, since the region lies in the south western coastal state of Kerala, the climate is tropical, with only minor differences in temperatures between day and night, as well as over the year. Summer lasts from March to May, and is followed by the South-west monsoon from June to September, october and November form the post monsoon or retreating monsoon season. Winter from December through February is slightly cooler, and windy, the City is drained in the monsoonal season by heavy showers. The average annual rainfall is 3000 mm, the South-west monsoon generally sets in during the last week of May. On an average, there are 124 rainy days in a year, the maximum average temperature of the City in the summer season is 33 degree Celsius while the minimum temperature recorded is 22.5 degrees Celsius. The winter season records an average of 29 degree Celsius
Ernakulam
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High Court of Kerala at Ernakulam
Ernakulam
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Ernakulam Town Hall
Ernakulam
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Ernakulam skyline.
26.
Guruvayur
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Guruvayur, also written as Guruvayoor or Gurupavanapuri, is a municipal town in Thrissur District, of Kerala State in India. It houses the Guruvayur Sree Krishna Temple, the fourth largest temple in India in terms of the number of devotees visiting per day, Guruvayur, according to the legends may be 5,000 years old as the Guruvayur temple idol is. There are no records to establish it. It is also believed that Lord Krishna, asked 2 sages to take the idol from his temple in Dwarka while the city was being destroyed, the idol of lord krishna was brought by Vayu deva and brhaspathi and was placed in guruvayur. The name guruvayur is a merge of both their names (guru brahaspathi and vayu deva, in the 14th century, Tamil literature Kokasandesam, references about a place called Kuruvayur is made. As early as the 16th century, many references are seen about Kuruvayur, in ancient Dravidic, Kuruvai means sea, hence the village on the coast may be called Kuruvayur. According to eminent historian Professor K. V. Krishna Iyer, Guruvayur was a subordinate shrine of Trikkunavay Shiva temple before the latter was destroyed by the Dutch in 1755. Trikkunavay in the Guruvayur documents is the same as Thrikkanamathilakam or Mathilakam mentioned in the Dutch, and this place was in between Guruvayur and Kodungallur. The story of Pandyan King building a shrine here may be a reference to the Azhavars and it was Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiris Narayaniyam through which the Guruvayur temple got famous all over India. As of the Indian census of 2001, Guruvayur had a population of 21,187, males constitute 46% of the population and females 54%. Guruvayur has an literacy rate of 85%, higher than the national average of 59. 5%, male literacy is 86%. In Guruvayoor, 10% of the population is under 10 years of age, Guruvayoor Township was formed on January 26,1962 with four electoral wards with an area of 6.49 km2. Later the wards were increased to 10 and in 1994 to 20 when the township was upgraded to Municipality status with an area of 29.66 km2, in 2010, the electoral wards were increased to 43. The Municipality has a population of 20,216 with a population density of 31,14 per km2. Guruvayoor assembly constituency is part of Trichur, Ekadasi, the eleventh day of every lunar fortnight, is very auspicious to the Hindus. Of the 24 Ekadasis in a year, the Vrishchika Ekadasi has got special significance in Guruvayur temple, a memorial honour for Gajarajan Kesavan is conducted in Guruvayur. The Karanavar or head of the elephant family places a wreath at the statue of Kesavan in front of Sreevalsam guest house and all the other elephants stand around, on Ekadasi day, the Udayasthamana Pooja is conducted by the Devaswom itself. After the morning seeveli, on Ekadasi there is a grand elephant procession to the Parthasarathi temple since it is regarded as Geethopadesam Day also, on Ekadasi after night pooja, the famous Ekadasi Vilakku with elephant procession takes place and provides a fitting finale to the festival
Guruvayur
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Guruvayur ഗുരുവായൂർ Guruvayupuram, Gurupavanapuram
Guruvayur
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Guruvayur Municipal Office
Guruvayur
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Inscription on the
Guruvayoor temple
Guruvayur
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Guruvayur Municipal town hall
27.
Thangal Kunju Musaliar College of Engineering
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Thangal Kunju Musaliar College of Engineering, founded in 1958, was the first government aided engineering institution in the private sector in the Indian state of Kerala. The college is located at Karikode,6 kilometres from the city of Kollam in southern Kerala, the foundation stone was laid by Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the erstwhile President of India on 3 February 1956. The college is affiliated with the University of Kerala, Admission to the college is based on the Kerala Engineering Agricultural Medical conducted by the Commissioner of Entrance Examinations, Kerala. The college is preferred by most students who complete this examination, the college was founded by the TKM Educational Trust, an organization established by Thangal Kunju Musaliar. The colleges foundation stone was laid in 1956 by Rajendra Prasad, the college was inaugurated by Prof. Humayun Kabir, the Cabinet Minister for Scientific and Cultural Affairs, on 3 July 1958. The main building is designed in the grand medieval Mughal architectural style with courtyards, around which are spread the departmental buildings, library block, laboratories, workshops and hostels. The college started with 120 students and a faculty of six, offering courses in engineering, civil engineering. The college now has more than 2000 students with about 200 faculty, the college has laboratories and computer facilities. The institute offers B. Tech programs in eight branches of engineering, the programs are accredited by the National Board of Accreditation, All India Council of Technical Education, New Delhi. Dr. S. Ayoob is the current principal of the college, the college is located at Karicode, a suburb town of the coastal city of Kollam on the Kollam-Schencottah NH-208 road. There is a station at Karicode called Kilikollur railway station. Direct trains connect Kollam Junction Railway station to all important cities of the country, the college is six kilometres away from Kollam city centre. Undergraduate level Admission to the college is based on the competitive Entrance Examination KEAM administered by the Government of Kerala, some seats are reserved for students from Arunachal Pradesh, Andaman and Lakshadweep. Postgraduate level M. Tech. Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering conducted by the Indian Institutes of Technology, MCA Kerala MCA Entrance Examination, conducted by the Office of the Commissioner of Entrance Exams run by the Government of Kerala. MBA Management Aptitude Test conducted by the All India Management Association, the library is open on all working days and Saturdays. The library system is computerized, and has also Internet facility, apart from the central library, each department has its own library with specialized collections. One of earliest e-campuses in India, the campus including 14 hostels for boys. The Alumni Association was formed in 1963, chapters of the association are in several countries
Thangal Kunju Musaliar College of Engineering
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Thangal Kunju Musaliar College of Engineering
Thangal Kunju Musaliar College of Engineering
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Thangal Kunju Musaliar College of Engineering
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View of Kollam-Punalur Passenger Train passing by the college.
28.
Kollam Junction railway station
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Kollam Junction railway station is a junction station situated in the city of Kollam in Kerala, India. It is the second largest railway station in Kerala in terms of area and is one of the oldest railway stations in the state, indias second longest railway platform is situated at Kollam railway station. Kollam Junction lies on Kollam-Thiruvananthapuram trunk line and it is an A-class station operated by the Southern Railway Zone of the Indian Railways and comes under the Thiruvananthapuram railway division. The annual passenger revenue of Kollam railway station is ₹60.44 crore and 23,350 is the daily ridership through this station. Kollam was the city in Kerala to be connected to the nascent Indian Railway. The idea of a link from Tirunelveli to Kollam, then the trading capital of the Travancore Kingdom was first conceived in 1873. The line was sanctioned by the Madras Presidency in 1899 and a survey completed in 1900, the railway line was built jointly by South Indian railway, Travancore state and the Madras Presidency. Kollams railway station was built in 1904 by Sree Moolam Tirunal Rama Varma and it was the ruler’s desire to create a rail link between Kollam, the then commercial capital of his State and Madras. The meter gauge line from Kollam to Punalur was inaugurated on 1 June 1904, the Kollam-Sengottai railway line was inaugurated on 26 November 1904. The meter gauge line was extended to Chala at Trivandrum via Paravur and Varkala. The meter gauge line from Kollam was extended to Ernakulam via Kottayam on 6 January 1958. The meter gauge lines between Kollam and Ernakulam were converted to broad gauge in 1975 and inaugurated on 13 September 1976, the broad gauge conversion between the Punalur and Kollam sections was inaugurated on 12 May 2010. There was once a 2.4 kilometres meter gauge line connecting Quilon Junction, during the inauguration of the Kollam-Punalur meter gauge line in 1904, parts of locomotives which were to be used for Quilon-Schencottah line were shipped to Quilon Port from Tuticorin Port. They were assembled at the Ashramam Maidan, which was an open ground, the line was laid to carry these locomotives to the main station. The line was dismantled in 2000 to allow for town expansion, there are a total of 17 tracks in the Kollam railway station,2 lines are passing through the MEMU shed. The station has 6 platforms for handling long distance, passenger, the platform 1 is divided into two sections. Platform 1A handles the trains to Punalur-Sengottai line and platform 1 handles trains towards Trivandrum Central, the platform 1 and 1A together have a length of 1,180.5 m making them together the second longest railway platform in India. The station has a MEMU shed which is situated near to Platform 1A, an FCI godown owned and operated by Food Corporation of India is also situated near Kollam junction.68 crore, for Mainline Electric Multiple Unit rakes
Kollam Junction railway station
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From Top: Entrance of Kollam Junction Railway Station, A
MEMU train at
Kollam railway station, Foot over bridge, Name board of the station,
Kollam MEMU Shed building
Kollam Junction railway station
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Kollam railway station in 1905
Kollam Junction railway station
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Railways in Kerala cities
Kollam Junction railway station
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Main foot overbridge in Kollam Railway Station
29.
Andamukkam City Bus Stand
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Andamukkam City Bus Stand, Kollam is one of the two bus stands in the city of Kollam in the Indian state of Kerala. Situated in the Downtown Kollam area, it is known as Andamukkam Private bus stand. The bus stand is only for city buses and Kerala State Road Transport Corporation ordinary bus services running to Chinnakada. It is the point of various city bus services connecting Chinnakada to Mayyanad, Elampalloor, Sakthikulangara, Chavara, Thoppilkadavu, Prakkulam, Kottiyam, Perumon. KSRTC have plans to start an operations centre at the bus station, kollams city bus stand was originally in Chinnakada until in 2006, Kollam Municipal Corporation took the decision to build an underpass on the former site. The bus station was moved to Andamukkam in 2008, following a decision by the District Traffic Advisory Committee. Kerala Public Service Commission District Office Hotel Naani Corporation building, Andamukkam Corporation building, Chinnakada Quilon Co-operative Urban Bank
Andamukkam City Bus Stand
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Andamukkam City Bus Stand
30.
Kollam KSRTC Bus Station
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Kollam KSRTC Bus Station is an important transport hub in the Indian city of Kollam owned and operated by the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation under the depot code KLM. The bus station is located in Taluk Cutchery and is close to Kerala State Water Transport Departments Kollam City Water Transport terminal, long distance intrastate, inter-state and city buses run regularly from the bus station. Kollam KSRTC Bus Station is one among the major KSRTC depots in the state, because of the geographical position of Kollam, the depot is easily handling service through National Highways – NH66, NH183, NH744 of Kerala. Inter-state service towards Thoothukkudi, Madurai, Tirunelveli, Tenkasi are also running from here, the depot is also serving as a hub for KURTCs A/C Volvo Kollam city bus services & Kollam-Thiruvananthapuram Intercity A/C Volvo Bus services. KSRTCs regular A/C Garuda, Super Deluxe, Super Express, Super Fast, Limited Stop, Fast Passenger, Ordinary, Kollam zone of KSRTC is the second most revenue generating zone in Kerala. Kollam Depot will soon become a part of KSRTCs real-time booking system, would be setting-up in the Kollam depot, along with Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, Thrissur and Kozhikode. KSRTC also have a plan to start an operating centre in the Andamukkam City Bus Stand situated at Downtown Kollam area, Kollam Andamukkam City Bus Stand Downtown Kollam Kollam Junction railway station Chinnakada
Kollam KSRTC Bus Station
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A view of Kollam KSRTC Bus Station from
Asramam Link Road
Kollam KSRTC Bus Station
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View of
Kollam KSRTC Bus Station from Adventure Park
Kollam KSRTC Bus Station
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View of Kollam KSRTC Bus Station from
Asramam Link Road
31.
Kollam Port
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Kollam Port is one of Indias 20 major ports situated 4 kilometres from Downtown Kollam. It is the second largest port in Kerala by volume of cargo handled, located on the south west coast of India, under the name of Quilon Port it became one of the countrys most important trade hubs from the ninth to the seventeenth centuries. It was founded by Mar Abo at Thangasseri in 825 as an alternative to reopening the inland sea port near Backare, also known as Nelcynda and Tyndis to the Romans and Greeks and Thondi to the Tamils. V. Nagam Aiya in his Travancore State Manual records that in 822, the Chinese traders were one of the oldest foreign communities to settle in Kollam. That was the period when Kollam evolved as a trade center. In January 2014, the port trust discovered thousands of Chinese coins and stone age weapons at Kollam Port, revealing the historic background and this was the first discovery of such a quantity of artifacts at a port in India. Archaeologists believe that a city lies on the seabed of current Kollam Port. Today, ships frequently anchor at the port for shipping operations as well for urgent repairs when required, chief Minister Oommen Chandy launched the Coastal Shipping Project at Kollam Port on 9 November 2013 while passenger ships began operations in 2014. The first container ship, MV Suryamukhi arrived at Kollam port as part of the coastal shipping project on 18 January 2014, major shipping companies are now showing interest in the port to commence shipping operations. The companies have plans to choose the port as an intermediate base, at present, about four companies have assured their frequent presence at the port. Sooryamukhi, the ship of Kerala State Maritime Development Corporation has sailed to Mudra Port in Gujarat to load tiles. The Great Sea Shipping Company will also berth at the port soon, after modernization of the port, the first foreign ship anchored in the port on 4 April 2014. Now it is proven that huge ships can easily operate from Kollam Port. The tugs MT Chaliyar and MT Kerala along with a new German made Rs.12 crore crane are used for the operations in the port. The wharf at Kollam Port is 177 metres in length and 12 metres wide with a draught of 6.5 metres. The wharf is protected from the waves by a 2,100 metres seaboard breakwater, the length of the wharf will be increased to 200 metres in due course. In 2007, Kollam Port handled about 500,000 tonnes of cargo, several major modernization projects have been proposed for Kollam with Maladives port in order to transform it into the port city of Kerala. Projects already planned are some of the largest ever mooted for the state, a face lift of the Maruthadi-Iravipuram area will be carried out by the government as part of the Kollam Port City project and will include facilities for sports, fishing, tourism and entertainment
Kollam Port
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Kollam Port as seen from
Thangassery
Kollam Port
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Kollam in the 1500s
Kollam Port
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A distant view of Kollam Port from
Thangassery harbour
Kollam Port
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Kollam in the 1800s
32.
Chinnakada
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Chinnakada or Chinnakkada is considered as the heart of the city of Kollam, in the state of Kerala, India. Chinnakada is one of the junctions in the city where National Highways – NH66 meets NH744. The citys symbolic clock tower is located in Chinnakada, because of the presence of a huge traffic circle in the junction, it became as one of the busiest junctions in the city. To reduce the congestion in Chinnakada, Kollam Municipal Corporation now constructed a new underpass near to the clock tower. Marine Products Export Development Authoritys Kollam sub-regional office is situated at Chinnakada, the name Chinnakada may be derived from China-Kada, which means China bazaar. Another explanation is that due to the presence of a number of Tamil people in Kollam, they named the area Chinnakada. This derivation fits with the toponomy of Valiakada adjacent to Chinnakada, the presence of an existing Railway over bridge and three close intersections with heavy traffic limits the option for traffic management measures including junction improvement. That caused the authorities to think about this underpass at Chinnakada, Chinnakada is a complex junction where roads from Thiruvananthapuram, Alappuzha, Downtown, Sengottai, Ashramam, Kollam Beach and the City bus stand road meets. Preliminary design for underpass was prepared by NATPAC involving the acquisition of 0.08 hectares of government land on a temporary basis. Height of the passage above the underpass was increased to 5.5 metres from 5 metres to facilitate movement of modern container trucks through the underpass. Underpass has been open to the public by the end of May 2015. Kollam Kollam Junction railway station Kollam district Kollam Port Kollam Technopark Kollam Beach Kollam Pooram Andamukkam City Bus Stand Kadappakada Asramam Maidan
Chinnakada
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A night view of Chinnakada
Chinnakada
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Aerial view of Chinnakada in 2008
Chinnakada
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Panorama of Chinnakada, the
CBD of
Kollam(Quilon) city in
India in September 2015
Chinnakada
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Upcoming Pulimootil Silks building at Chinnakada,
Kollam
33.
Thangassery
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Tangasseri or Thangassery is a heavily populated beach area on the shores of the Arabian Sea in Kollam city, Kerala, India. Tangasseri is located about 5 kilometres from the city centre and 71 kilometres from Thiruvananthapuram, archaeologists recently discovered Chinese coins and other artefacts along the coast, which reveal the historic background of the location. Kollam Port makes Tangasseri an important place on the world maritime map, in 1502, the Portuguese were the first Europeans to establish a trading centre in Tangasseri and the area soon became a major centre for the pepper trade. In the wars with the Moors and Arabs that followed, the ancient church of St Thomas was destroyed, tangasseris St Thomas Fort, built by the Portuguese in 1517, was destroyed in the subsequent wars with the Dutch. In 1661, the Dutch took possession of the city, the remains of both the Dutch and Portuguese forts can still be seen in Tangasseri. In the 18th century, the kingdom of Travancore first conquered Kollam, Tangasseri remains an Anglo-Indian settlement in character, though there are few Anglo-Indians in the population. The Infant Jesus Church in Tangasseri, an old Portuguese-built church, the old cathedral was demolished and replaced by a new cathedral at a cost of around ₹4.5 crore, it was consecrated and blessed on 3 December 2005. The metallic cross on the top is one of the largest crosses in India, Tangasseri is a picturesque seaside village with a three kilometre long beach on which stands a 144 feet tall lighthouse—a silent sentinel warning seamen since 1902 of the treacherous reefs. There are also ruins of Portuguese and Dutch forts and 18th century churches, the fishery harbour at Tangasseri is a basin for traditional fishermen, achieved by the construction of two breakwaters. The length of the breakwater is 2100 m and of the leeward breakwater 550 m. This provides sufficient beach length for landing facilities for all operational craft, Tangasseri is home to Keralas oldest schools, Mount Carmel Convent Anglo-Indian Girls High School and Infant Jesus School Kollam. Official website A brief history of Tangaserri
Thangassery
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Tangasseri Gate
Thangassery
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Tangasseri beach lighthouse
Thangassery
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Fishing activities at Thangassery
34.
Mar Sabor and Mar Proth
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In 825 AD, the seaport of Quilon was part of the Venad Kingdom. The then ruling monarch, Iyyanadikal Thiruvadikal, welcomed the monks on their arrival and showered them with special privileges, maruvan Sapir Iso built the Nilalkkal ashram near St. Thomas Church in Chayal, he died and buried in Chayal ashram. The start of the Malayalam era, also referred to as Kollavarsham, is associated with Kollam, the era was started by these East Syrian Saints who settled in Korukeni Kollam, near to the present Kollam. The start of the ME has been dated to 825 AD and it also signified the independence of Malabar from the Cheraman Perumals. V. Nagam Aiya in his Travancore State Manual records that in 822 AD two Nestorian bishops Mar Sapor and Mar Peroz, settled in Quilon with their followers. Two years later the Malabar Era began and Quilon undoubtedly became the city of the Malabar region including Travancore. Tradition says that st. M. G. S and this was the period when the Cera-Pandya conflict was developing in the south. The foundation of Kollam in 825 A. D. must have coincided with victory of Chera in the Vel province. This incident reveals the practical wisdom of the rulers and throws light on the motivations of men who promoted ideas of religion. The Syrian Christian Monks who took advantage of the situation were equally clever, in the absence of materials for a detailed history, it is difficult to ascertain whether Mar Abo was a or missionary. Perhaps he was both at the time and there was no inherent contradiction between the two roles. ”This means that they did not remain as a separate group but rather they intermarried with the Hindus of Kerala. “The deity of the Tarsa Church was referred to the tevar. ”When they arrived on the Malabar Coast, Quilon, Angamaly, Kaduthuruthy and Cranganore had the largest population of Saint Thomas Christians in Kerala. Giovanni Empoli, who came to Quilon in 1503, estimated there were more than three thousand St. Thomas Christians in Quilon alone. Mar Sapor writes, the forgiving Miseha who saved me from persecution, though the Synod of Diamper in 1599 proclaimed Mar Sabor and Mar Proth heretics, the Christians of Malankara respected them. According to decisions of Synod of Diamper these saints of Malankara Nazranis were considered as schismatics, Mar Sabor gained the necessary rights from the local ruler of Kadamattom to build a church there. He established the church in the forest regions of Kadamattom in the 40th year of Kollam Era and he stayed there at first in a small home with a mother and a son. Afterwards he left for Thevalakara to visit an influential and reputed Nambuthiri family who were traditional ophthalmologists to the families in the adjoining area. This family is known as Thevalakara Vaidyan family and most of their members retain the surname Vaidyan
Mar Sabor and Mar Proth
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Kottakkavu Sliva, the Persian cross founded by Mar Sabor and Mar Proth, is preserved at
Kottakkavu Mar Thoma Syro-Malabar Pilgrim Center, North Paravur.
Mar Sabor and Mar Proth
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Mar Sabor
Mar Sabor and Mar Proth
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Tomb of Mar Sabor at Marth Mariam church,
Thevalakkara
35.
Chera dynasty
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The Cheras were the principal ruling dynasty of the present-day state of Kerala and to a lesser extent, parts of Tamil Nadu in South India. Along with the Ay kingdom and the Ezhimala kingdom, they formed the kingdoms of Kerala in the early years of the Common Era. The origins of the dynasty are unclear and it is understood that they were speakers of Proto-Tamil-Malayalam while some being practitioners of literary writing in Old Tamil. In fact, most of their history is reconstructed from the body of known as the Sangam literature written in Old Tamil around the 3rd century CE. While Pliny and Ptolemy refer to the Cheras as Calobotras, the Periplus refers to them as the Keprobotras, the earliest Sanskrit works which refer to the Cheras and Kerala is probably the Aitreya Aranyaka. It refers to the land as Chera-pada - and as one of the three peoples who did not follow some ancient injunctions, there are also brief references by Katyanana, Edicts of Ashoka, Patanjali and Kautilya though Panini does not mention of the land. However, it is the Tamil works collectively known as the Sangam literature that form the most important sources for a detailed history of the Cheras. These works roughly span the period 100 CE to 300 CE, among them, the most important sources for the Cheras are the Pattittupattu, the Agananuru, the Purananuru and the Silappatikaram. The exact antiquity of the Chera dynasty is difficult to establish, however, based on the travellers accounts and the Sangam literature, it can be confirmed that they were already existing around the 4th century BCE. The Sangam literature describes a line of Chera rulers. It records the names of the kings, the princes, the internal chronology of this literature is still far from settled and a connected account of the history of the period is an area of research. Uthiyan Cheralathan, Nedum Cheralathan and Senguttuvan Chera are some of the referred to in the Sangam poems. Senguttuvan Chera, the most celebrated Chera king, is famous for the legends surrounding Kannagi, the exact location of the Chera capital has been subject to some speculation. The Chera capital has been called, Vanchi and Karur in several works and this has led to several theories identifying the Chera capital in places called Karur in both Kerala and Tamil Nadu. However, it is clear that the capital was near the famous port known as Muziris. Pliny refers to Muziris as the Chera capital, while the author of the Periplus identifies the capital to be a couple of away from the mouth of the river at Muziris. Ptolemy who identifies the capital as Karoura gives a location that is very close to Muziris as well. The Cheras also seem to have battles with other neighbouring dynasties such as the Pallavas, the Rashtrakutas
Chera dynasty
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Extent of Chera kingdom
Chera dynasty
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Family tree of the kings of the Chera dynasty based on Sangam literature. The monarchs ruled in the first two centuries of the Common Era.
36.
Tharisapalli plates
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The inscription describes the gift of a plot of land to the Syrian Church at Tangasseri near Quilon, along with several rights and privileges to the Syrian Christians led by Mar Sapir Iso. The Tharisappalli copper plates are one of the important historical inscriptions of Kerala, the grant was made in the presence of important officers of the state and the representatives of trade corporations or merchant guilds. It also throws light on the system of taxation that prevailed in early Venad, as several taxes such as a tax, sales tax. It also testifies to the policy of religious toleration followed by the rulers of ancient Kerala. There are two sets of plates as part of document, and both are incomplete. The first set documents the land while the details the attached conditions. The signatories signed the document in the Hebrew, Pahlavi, the Tharisappalli copper plates are kept at Poolatheen Aramana of Malankara Marthoma Syrian Church K. Sivasankaran Nair, Venadinte Parinamam, D C Books,2005
Tharisapalli plates
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References [edit]
37.
Travancore
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The Kingdom of Travancore (/ˈtrævəŋkɔər/, Malayalam, തിരുവിതാംകൂർ Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, the official flag of the state was red with a dextrally-coiled silver conch shell at its center. In the early 19th century, the became a princely state of the British Empire. When the region was part of the Chera empire, it was known as Thiruvazhumkode. It was contracted to Thiruvankode, and anglicised by the English to Travancore. In course of time, the Ay kingdom, part of the Chera empire, which ruled the Thiruvazhumkode area, became independent, the Aayis controlled the land from present day Kollam district in the north, through Thiruvananthapuram district, all in Kerala, to the Kanyakumari district. There were two capitals, the one at Kollam and a subsidiary one at Thrippapur. The kingdom was also called Venad. Kings of Venad had, at times, travelled from Kollam and built residential palaces in Thiruvithamcode. By the time of King Marthanda Varma, the half of the kingdom had become dominant. During his reign, it absorbed the north and Thiruvithamcode or Travancore became the official name, Travancore was located at the extreme southern tip of the Indian subcontinent. Geographically, Travancore was divided into three distinct regions, the eastern highlands, the central midlands, and the western lowlands. Venad was a state at the tip of the Indian Subcontinent. Till the end of the 11th century AD, it was a principality in the Ay Kingdom. The Ays were the earliest ruling dynasty in southern Kerala, who, at their zenith and their capital during the first Sangam age was in Aykudi and later, towards the end of the 8th century AD, was at Quilon. Though a series of attacks by the resurgent Pandyas between the 7th and 8th centuries caused the decline of the Ays, the dynasty was powerful till the beginning of the 10th century, when the Ay power diminished, Venad became the southernmost principality of the Second Chera Kingdom. An invasion of the Cholas into Venad caused the destruction of Kollam in 1096, however, the Chera capital, Mahodayapuram, also fell in the subsequent Chola attack, which compelled the Chera king, Rama varma Kulasekara, to shift his capital to Kollam. Thus the end of the Second Chera dynasty in the 12th century marks the independence of Venad, the history of Travancore began with Marthanda Varma, who inherited the kingdom of Venad, and expanded it into Travancore during his reign
Travancore
Travancore
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Flag
Travancore
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Map of Travancore in 1871
Travancore
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Canal scene, Travancore
38.
Cantonment Maidan
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Cantonment Maidan or Peeranki Maidan or Peeringee Maidan is a historical ground, closely associated with the social and political history of Kerala. It is situated at the portion of Old Quilon town. It hosts the exhibitions, party meetings and citys main cultural. Cantonment Maidan is situated at the east of old Quilon city, two hundred years back, the maidan extended over a sizeable area of East Kollam. There were no railway connectivity in South Kerala then, in 1809, the local militia and the Army of Travancore stationed around Kollam attacked the British Garrison at the Cantonment Maidan on the heels of Velu Thampi Dalawa. The British force led by Col. Chalmers proved victorious in six hours lasted war. All the insurrectionist who participated in the war were court-martialled and got hanged at the maidan, apart from this, Cantonment Maidan has been the venue for many significant events. A compromise meeting was held here in 1915 as part of Pulayar-Nair Revolt at Perinad, also called the Kallumala Agitation, a statue of Ayankali can be seen at the maidan. Mahatma Gandhi addressed the people here On October 11,1927, historic Chingam 17 Struggle happened at Cantonment Maidan on September 2,1938 in which six people were killed in firing by the British police. As per the History of Modern Kollam penned by journalist late V. Lakshmanan, the four identified among them were Asramam Lakshmanan, Ayathil Balakrishna Pillai, Kolloorvila Moideenkunju, and Kureepuzha Kochukunju. Thousands marched from Polayathode to Chinnakkada led by state leaders, including Kumbalathu Sankupillai. Police arrested the speakers and opened fire at the gathering, British Police used to exhibit five cannons at the adjacent park accounts for the name Peeringee Maidan, by which name this ground was earlier called. These cannons were used for firing at the patriots of the land is now kept at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Police Museum in Kollam city. The present Armed Reserve Camp is situated at the old Cantonment ground, Kollam Asramam Maidan Polayathode Chinnakada Sree Narayana College, Kollam
Cantonment Maidan
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An Exhibition going on at Cantonment Maidan
39.
Tangasseri
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Tangasseri or Thangassery is a heavily populated beach area on the shores of the Arabian Sea in Kollam city, Kerala, India. Tangasseri is located about 5 kilometres from the city centre and 71 kilometres from Thiruvananthapuram, archaeologists recently discovered Chinese coins and other artefacts along the coast, which reveal the historic background of the location. Kollam Port makes Tangasseri an important place on the world maritime map, in 1502, the Portuguese were the first Europeans to establish a trading centre in Tangasseri and the area soon became a major centre for the pepper trade. In the wars with the Moors and Arabs that followed, the ancient church of St Thomas was destroyed, tangasseris St Thomas Fort, built by the Portuguese in 1517, was destroyed in the subsequent wars with the Dutch. In 1661, the Dutch took possession of the city, the remains of both the Dutch and Portuguese forts can still be seen in Tangasseri. In the 18th century, the kingdom of Travancore first conquered Kollam, Tangasseri remains an Anglo-Indian settlement in character, though there are few Anglo-Indians in the population. The Infant Jesus Church in Tangasseri, an old Portuguese-built church, the old cathedral was demolished and replaced by a new cathedral at a cost of around ₹4.5 crore, it was consecrated and blessed on 3 December 2005. The metallic cross on the top is one of the largest crosses in India, Tangasseri is a picturesque seaside village with a three kilometre long beach on which stands a 144 feet tall lighthouse—a silent sentinel warning seamen since 1902 of the treacherous reefs. There are also ruins of Portuguese and Dutch forts and 18th century churches, the fishery harbour at Tangasseri is a basin for traditional fishermen, achieved by the construction of two breakwaters. The length of the breakwater is 2100 m and of the leeward breakwater 550 m. This provides sufficient beach length for landing facilities for all operational craft, Tangasseri is home to Keralas oldest schools, Mount Carmel Convent Anglo-Indian Girls High School and Infant Jesus School Kollam. Official website A brief history of Tangaserri
Tangasseri
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Tangasseri Gate
Tangasseri
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Tangasseri beach lighthouse
Tangasseri
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Fishing activities at Thangassery
40.
Portuguese Empire
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The Portuguese Empire, also known as the Portuguese Overseas, was one of the largest and longest-lived empires in world history and the first colonial empire. It existed for almost six centuries from the capture of Ceuta in 1415 to the grant of sovereignty to East Timor in 2002, the first era of the Portuguese empire originated at the beginning of the Age of Discovery. Initiated by the Kingdom of Portugal, it would eventually expand across the globe, in 1488, Bartolomeu Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and in 1498, Vasco da Gama reached India. In 1500, either by an accidental landfall or by the secret design. Over the following decades, Portuguese sailors continued to explore the coasts and islands of East Asia, establishing forts, by 1571, a string of naval outposts connected Lisbon to Nagasaki along the coasts of Africa, the Middle East, India and South Asia. This commercial network and the trade had a substantial positive impact on Portuguese economic growth. Though the realms continued to be administered separately, the Council of Portugal ruled the country and its empire from Madrid. As the King of Spain was also King of Portugal, Portuguese colonies became the subject of attacks by three rival European powers hostile to Spain, the Dutch Republic, England, and France. With its smaller population, Portugal was unable to defend its overstretched network of trading posts. Eventually, Brazil became the most valuable colony of the era until, as part of the wave of independence movements that swept the Americas during the early 19th century. The third era represents the stage of Portuguese colonialism after the decolonization of the Americas of the 1820s. The colonial possessions had been reduced to the African coastline, Portuguese Timor, the disastrous 1890 British Ultimatum led to the contraction of Portuguese ambitions in Africa. Macau was returned to China in 1999, the origin of the Kingdom of Portugal lay in the reconquista, the gradual reconquest of the Iberian peninsula from the Moors. There were several motives for their first attack, on the Marinid Sultanate. In 1415 an attack was made on Ceuta, a strategically located North African Muslim enclave along the Mediterranean Sea, although Ceuta proved to be a disappointment for the Portuguese, the decision was taken to hold it while exploring along the Atlantic African coast. At the time, Europeans did not know what lay beyond Cape Bojador on the African coast, under his sponsorship, soon the Atlantic islands of Madeira and Azores were reached and started to be settled producing wheat to export to Portugal. Fears of what lay beyond Cape Bojador, and whether it was possible to return once it was passed, were assuaged in 1434 when it was rounded by one of Infante Henrys captains, Gil Eanes. Once this psychological barrier had been crossed, it became easier to further along the coast
Portuguese Empire
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The
Conquest of Ceuta, in 1415, was led by
Henry the Navigator, and initiated the Portuguese Empire.
Portuguese Empire
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Map of Western Africa by Lázaro Luis (1563). The large castle in West Africa represents the
São Jorge da Mina (Elmina castle).
Portuguese Empire
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Vasco da Gama 's departure to
India, in 1497
41.
Dutch Malabar
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Dutch presence in the region started with the capture of Portuguese Quilon, and ended with the occupation of Malabar by the British in 1795. They possessed military outposts in 11 locations, Alleppey, Ayacotta, Chendamangalam, Pappinivattom, Ponnani, Pallipuram, Cranganore, Chetwai, Cannanore, Cochin, and Quilon. The Dutch virtually ruled Malabar for a period of over 130 years, the Kingdom of Cochin was under the complete influence of the Dutch and the king was a mere puppet of the Dutch East India Company. They enlarged the Royal Palace built by the Portuguese at Mattancheri for the King of Cochin, in 1744, an impressive country house, later called Bolgatty Palace, was erected on Bolghatty Island for the Dutch Governors. The Dutch contributed a work called Hortus Indicus Malabaricus on the medicinal properties of Malabar plants. In Cochin, the Dutch established an orphanage for poor European children, although also motivated by the lucrative pepper trade on Malabar, the primary aim for the Dutch in capturing the coast from the Portuguese was to secure Dutch Ceylon from Portuguese invasions. After failed attempts to capture the main Portuguese fort of Goa in 1604 and 1639, in 1650s the Dutch possessed only the unfortified factories at Kayamkulam and Cannanore. They took Quilon on 29 December 1658, but it was reconquered by the Portuguese on 14 April 1659. It was agreed that Calicut, the most powerful ruler in Malabar, according to the treaty between the two parties, Fort Cranganore was to be made over to Calicut after its successful capture. Van der Meyden dispersed a Nair detachment sent to stop his advance on the way, the Portuguese made no attempt to resist and fled by the backwaters. On March 21, Rijckloff Van Goens signed a treaty with the chief of Paliyam on a ship anchored off the coast. Dutch forces soon landed and attacked the palace of the queen at Mattanceri, subsequently, the queen was taken as a prisoner. Later in December 1661, Portuguese Quilon was captured by a Dutch expedition under Rijckloff Van Goens and this is often regarded as the beginning of the Dutch presence in Malabar. On January 3,1662 Van Goens was joined by the Calicut army in a siege of Fort Cranganore in the tropical heat, after a fortnight, the fort surrendered, and the Dutch demolished the structure with the exception of the bastion, where they stationed a garrison. A new treaty was now signed between Calicut and Van der Meyden, Calicut agreed to cede Fort Cranganore and Vypin to the Dutch after the capture of the Portuguese fort at Cochin. The allies moved towards Cochin and marched upon the palace of the Raja on 5 February 1662, the raja was killed in the subsequent battle along with two of his juniors. The Dutch installed another prince on the throne and proceeded to besiege the Portuguese fort, Cochin and the chief of Paliyam provided supplies to the Dutch, who faced heroic Portuguese resistance during the prolonged siege. The Native rulers of Porca and Cembakasseri kept the besieged supplied with provisions, though disrupted by monsoon rains and the deaths of the ruler of Calicut and important Dutch officers, the garrison finally capitulated on January 8,1663
Dutch Malabar
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Quilon rulers submit to the Dutch at Quilon
Dutch Malabar
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Flag
Dutch Malabar
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The battle between the Dutch and the Portuguese in December 1661
Dutch Malabar
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Capture of
Cochin in 1663.
42.
4th Portuguese India Armada (Gama, 1502)
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The 4th Portuguese India Armada was assembled in 1502 on the order of King Manuel I of Portugal and placed under the command of D. Vasco da Gama. It was Gamas second trip to India, along the way, in East Africa, the 4th Armada established a Portuguese factory in Mozambique, made contact and opened trade with the gold entrepot of Sofala and extorted tribute from Kilwa. Once in India, the set about attacking Calicut shipping and disrupting trade along much of the Malabar Coast. But the ruling Zamorin of Calicut refused to accede to Portuguese demands, the 4th Armada left without bringing the Zamorin to terms and leaving matters unresolved. Before departing, the established a crown factory in Cannanore and left behind a small patrol under Vicente Sodré. The Second India Armada, commanded by Pedro Álvares Cabral, had arrived in Portugal in the summer of 1501 in a terrible shape, ship and human losses were tremendous, its mission objectives failed. By the time this news was received, the 3rd India Armada under João da Nova had already departed, a commercial expedition unequipped to deal with the hostile turn of events in the Indian Ocean. As a result, King Manuel I of Portugal ordered a new fleet to be assembled, the command of the 4th Armada was offered to Pedro Álvares Cabral. But various factions in the Portuguese court and the Casa da India, opposed Cabrals appointment, however, Cabral had his own political supporters that could not be ignored. Finding this condition an unacceptable affront, Cabral withdrew his name in a huff, Manuel I immediately appointed Vasco da Gama himself as captain-major. The intrigues behind the appointment have been variously told, by some accounts, the initial offer to Cabral was a pro forma gesture to palliate his faction rather than an earnest offer. In other words, the never had any intention of letting Cabral lead the expedition. But that he had made a promise to Cabral and could not break it, on this hint, Gama produced a royal letter, promising Gama a determining role in any future India expedition, and demanded command of the expedition for himself. The king was caught between two commitments - honoring the letter to Gama, or his appointment to Cabral, hearing of the kings quandary, Cabral voluntarily withdrew his name to graciously allow Manuel I to honor his letter. But some later authors have interpreted the accounts differently, that King Manuel I was wholly behind Cabral, the vintena would continue until 1522. The 4th Armada was composed of 20 ships and between 800 and 1800 men, the Armada was originally envisaged as two squadrons -15 ships under the admiral to head to India,5 under the vice-admiral designated to patrol the mouth of the Red Sea. The exact composition of the three squadrons differs in the various accounts, the following list of ships should not be regarded as authoritative, but a tentative list compiled from various conflicting accounts. The list of names is from Gaspar Correias Lendas da Índia
4th Portuguese India Armada (Gama, 1502)
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The 4th India Armada (1502) From Memorias das Armadas
4th Portuguese India Armada (Gama, 1502)
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Vasco da Gama
4th Portuguese India Armada (Gama, 1502)
4th Portuguese India Armada (Gama, 1502)
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4th Armada of 1502 (from Livro de Lisuarte de Abreu)
43.
St Thomas Fort, Tangasseri
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St. Thomas Fort also known as Tangasseri Fort, is a ruined fort located in the beach town of Tangasseri on the shores of the Arabian Sea in the city of Kollam, Kerala, India. It is located around 5 kilometres from the city center of Kollam and 71 kilometres from the state capital Thiruvananthapuram, Tangasseri was associated with the Chinese trade from the first millennium AD and later colonised by the Portuguese, Dutch and the British to become the gold village. According to Historians, Captain Rodriguez came to Quilon and was appointed as the captain of the factory and trade, St. Thomas Fort was built by the Portuguese under Afonso de Albuquerque for the protection of the newly developed trade. In 1505 the Portuguese established a port here, and in 1518 established its sovereignty through the construction of Fort St. Thomas. Later in 1661 the town and the fort were handed over to the Dutch who made it the capital of Dutch Malabar, the Dutch occupied the fort for several years. In 1795, the British East India Company took possession of the fort, in 1823 Fort St. Thomas accepted a lease by Travancore from the British Government for a period of twenty years. Fort St. Thomas was originally around 20 feet tall, today, the remains of the fort, popularly known as Tangasseri fort remain facing the beach. The government of India has taken over the fort and it is being considered an historical landmark, restoration of the fort is ongoing. At present, the fort is managed by the Archaeological Survey of India, mining rampant at Tangasseri fort Tangaserri a brief history
St Thomas Fort, Tangasseri
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Front View of St Thomas Fort
St Thomas Fort, Tangasseri
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Sketch of the Thangaserri, 1505. The fort can be seen close to the shore.
St Thomas Fort, Tangasseri
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Old - St.Thomas Fort - Front-view
44.
Kollam Cantonment
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Kollam Cantonment is a residential neighbourhood in the city of Kollam. It arose as a cantonment of the British Raj in the 17th century and it is now a thickly populated area of the city of Kollam. Some of the important business centres, shopping complexes and Government offices are located here, Kollam Junction railway station is also located near to cantonment area. City of Kollam was a trade hub in British India. Kollam Port was a flourishing and favorite port of Phoenicians, Arabs, old Quilon city was conquered by Portuguese, Dutch and British people during 16th to 18th centuries. The garrison was situated at the Cantonment Maidan during those days
Kollam Cantonment
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Bhima Jewellers situated at Kollam Cantonment area
45.
Christianity in India
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Christianity is Indias third-largest religion according to the census of 2011, with approximately 27.8 million followers, constituting 2.3 percent of Indias population. Old legends say that Christianity was introduced to India by Thomas the Apostle, Christians are found all across India and in all walks of life, with major populations in parts of South India, the Konkan Coast, and Northeast India. Indian Christians have contributed significantly to and are represented in various spheres of national life. They include former and current chief ministers, governors and chief election commissioners, Indian Christians have the highest ratio of women to men among the various religious communities in India. Christianity in India has different denominations, the state of Kerala is home to the Saint Thomas Christian community, an ancient body of Christians, who are now divided into several different churches and traditions. They are Eastern Syrian Saint Thomas Christian churches, the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, the Christian Church runs thousands of educational institutions and hospitals which have contributed significantly to the development of the nation. Roman Catholicism was first introduced to India by Portuguese, Italian, most Christian schools, hospitals, primary care centres originated through the Roman Catholic missions brought by the trade of these countries. Evangelical Protestantism was later spread to India by the efforts of British, American, German, even though Christians are a significant minority, they form a major religious group in three states of India - Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Nagaland. Other states with historic Christian population like Goa and Kerala, there the number, still Christianity is widespread across India and is present in all states. Two ancient testimonies exist about the mission of Saint Bartholomew in India and these are of Eusebius of Caesarea and of Saint Jerome. Both these refer to this tradition while speaking of the visit of Pantaenus to India in the 2nd century. Many of these Jews presumably spoke Aramaic like St. Thomas, also a Jew by birth and this is a plausible reference to the earliest Indian churches which are known to have used the Syriac New Testament. Pantaenus evidence thus indicates that Syriac-speaking Christians had already evangelised parts of India by the late 2nd century. An early 3rd-century Syriac work known as the Acts of Thomas connects the tradition of the apostle Thomas Indian ministry with two kings, one in the north and the other in the south, the year of his arrival is widely disputed due to lack of credible records. The apostles ministry resulted in many conversions throughout this northern kingdom, including the king. The Acts of Thomas identifies his second mission in India with a kingdom ruled by King Mahadwa and he reputedly preached to all classes of people and had about seventeen thousand converts, including members of the four principal castes. According to legend, St. Thomas attained martyrdom at St. Thomas Mount in Chennai and is buried on the site of San Thome Cathedral and it is now declared an international St. Thomas pilgrim center. The colony of Syrian Christians established at Kodungallur may be the first Christian community in South India for which there is a written record
Christianity in India
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A
Peutinger Table 's depiction of
Muziris near the tip of India where
St. Thomas is believed to have landed in 52 A.D.
Christianity in India
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Nasranis or Syrian Christians of Kerala in ancient days (from an old painting). Photo published in the Cochin Government Royal War Efforts Souvenir in 1938
Christianity in India
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Marth Mariam Syrian Catholic Church (Syro-Malabar Rite) at
Arakuzha, Kerala is an ancient
Nasrani church established in 999
Christianity in India
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The renovated Mar Thoma Syro-Malabar Catholic Church,
Kodungaloor; the first Christian church in India, built 52 A. D.
46.
Christianity in Kerala
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Christianity is the third-most practised religion in Kerala, accounting for 18% of the population according to the Indian census. Although a minority, the Christian population of Kerala is proportionally larger than that of India as a whole. A significant portion of the Indian Christian population resides in the state, other main places where churches were built are Angamaly, AD300 Ambhazhakkad and other parts of kerala. The medieval historian Pius Malekandathil believes these were adopted and privileges won during the beginning of the Brahmin dominance of medieval Kerala. Some writers believe that the original converts would have included the Jews already present in Kerala at that time, Church, Fort Kochi, built in 1503 C. E. is the oldest European church, declared as a National Monument in India. St. George Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, Edathua, St. Antonys Latin Catholic Church, Kaloor, Kochi. St. Mary’s Jacobite Syrian Church Kattachira, Kayamkulam St. Josephs Latin Catholic Shrine, Kannamaly, Kochi Holy Cross chapel, Marth Mariam Syro-Malabar Catholic Forane Church, Arakuzha, estd. 999 Marth Mariam Syro-Malabar Catholic Forane Church, Kuravilangadu St. Marys Syro-Malabar Catholic Forane Church, Athirampuzha, benedict Vadakkekara, Origin of Christianity in India, Media House, Delhi,2007. ISBN 81-7495-258-6. Agur C. M. Church History of Travancore, Madras,1903 Reprint, Asian Educational Services, visvanathan Susan, The Christians of Kerala, Oxford University Press, Delhi1993,1999. George Menachery, The St. Thomas Christian Encyclopaedia of India, SARAS, George Menachery, Ollur, Vol. I1982, Vol. II1973, Vol. III2009. George Menachery, Ollur, Vol. I The Nazranies 1998, C. I. Issac, The Evolution of Christian Church in India, DK Printworld, New Delhi, ISBN 978-81-7255-056-1
Christianity in Kerala
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Marth Mariam Syro-Malabar Catholic Forane Church, Arakuzha was founded in 999
47.
Roman Catholic Diocese of Quilon
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The Roman Catholic Diocese of Quilon or Kollam is the first Catholic diocese in India in the state of Kerala. The diocese, which covers an area of 1,950 km². and it was first erected on 9 August 1329, and was re-erected on 1 September 1886. It belongs to the province of Trivandrum. As of 2013 the bishop was Stanley Roman, according to tradition, St. Thomas the Apostle established seven churches along the southern part of west coast of India, and Quilon is the second in the list of the above seven churches. John of Monte Corvino, a member of the Societas Peregrinantium Pro Christo on his way to China, landed in Quilon in 1291, the Venetian traveller Marco Polo who visited India in 1292 testified to the presence of a Christian community in Quilon. Since the latter half of the 13 th century, Quilon became the centre of missionary expeditions. Franciscan and Dominican Missionaries in the 13 th and 14 th centuries visited Quilon, by a separate bull, tah goes Venerabili Fratri Jordano, the same Pope, on 21 August 1329 appointed the French or Catalan Dominican friar Jordanus Catalani as the first Bishop of Quilon. The ancient diocese of Quilon had extensive jurisdiction over modern nations of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burma, Jordanus Catalani arrived in Surat in 1320. After his ministry in Gujarat he reached Quilon in 1323 and he not only revived Christianity but also brought hundreds to the Christian fold. He might have come again to Quilon as the bishop in 1330 to build the church at Quilon, George happened to be the patron saint of the Catalans, besides being popular among other Christian communities on the Malabar coast. His book Mirabilia Descripta is a work on plants, animals and the people of India and of other countries in Asia. This book is considered to be a chronicle of its time written around 1327. The first Latin Bishop of Quilon was received with jubilation by the faithful of Quilon. He brought a message of good wishes from the Pope to the local rulers, as the first bishop in India, he was also entrusted with the duty of spiritual nourishment of the Christian community in Calicut, Mangalore, Thane and Baruch. In the year 1348 John De Marignoli, the Papal Legate to China on his way back to Rome sojourned here for 14 months, with the martyrdom of the first Latin Bishop, the See of Quilon remained vacant. There was a gap with regard to ecclesiastical administration in India till the Portuguese landed here in 1498 AD. It follows from the Friar Jordanus tradition that Catholicism – not just Christianity – is deep rooted in Quilon and it is now settled that Latin Catholicism was brought to Kerala in the early fourteenth century by this Catalan or Occitan speaking Dominican. It is now evident that while Bishop Jordanus introduced Latin Catholicism, in the 1340s, an Italian friar called Marignolli called on Kollam and still found a Catholic church that he mentions as Saint George of the Latins, probably built by Jordanus
Roman Catholic Diocese of Quilon
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New cathedral of Quilon at Tangasseri
Roman Catholic Diocese of Quilon
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John De Marignolli, Papal legate in Quilon, 1348-1349
Roman Catholic Diocese of Quilon
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Episcopal Bishop's house and chapel in Quilon
Roman Catholic Diocese of Quilon
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Episcopal chapel with Bishop Joseph Fernandez, 1998. In 1930 the
Syro-Malankara Catholic Church was founded.
48.
Quilon Aerodrome
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Quilon Aerodrome or Kollam Airport was an aerodrome in the city of Kollam in the former state of Travancore, now in Kerala, India. During the 1920s, there were no other civil aerodromes in the kingdoms of Cochin, Travancore, with the 1932 commissioning of Trivandrum International Airport in the state capital 57 kilometres to the south, the aerodrome fell into disuse and came to be known as the Asramam Maidan. The landing strip of the aerodrome was strengthened with red soil from the adjoining hills because the local loose soil was unsuitable for the purpose. There were no buildings in the aerodrome, however, a concrete pad for parking aircraft was built. The aerodrome was under the control of the Public Works Department, the aerodrome was also used for training operations. These were stopped when an accident involving an aircraft at the boundary of the aerodrome, resulted in the death of the pilot. During 2009 -2012, local authorities made plans to revive the aerodrome for an academy with a 4,000 foot runway for light aircraft. Trivandrum International Airport Cochin International Airport Calicut International Airport Kannur International Airport Aranmula International Airport List of airports in India
Quilon Aerodrome
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Quilon Aerodrome Kollam Airport കൊല്ലം വിമാനനിലയം
49.
Ashtamudi Lake
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Ashtamudi Lake, in the Kollam District of the Indian state of Kerala, is the most visited backwater and lake in the state. It possesses a unique ecosystem and a large palm-shaped water body. Ashtamudi means eight coned in the local Malayalam language, the name is indicative of the lakes topography with its multiple branches. The lake is called the gateway to the backwaters of Kerala and is well known for its houseboat. Ashtamudi Wetland was included in the list of wetlands of international importance, as defined by the Ramsar Convention for the conservation, along both banks of the lake and its backwater canals, coconut groves and palm trees interspersed with towns and villages are seen. Kollam, is an important historic city located on the right bank of the lake. Boat cruises are operated by the Kollam Boat Club from Kollam to Alappuzha providing transport access to other towns. Luxury houseboats also operate on the lake, the boat journey is an 8-hour trip, winds through lakes, canals and water bound villages, and gives complete exposure to the beauty of the backwaters of Ashtamudi Lake. Chinese fishing nets, called cheena vala in Malayalam, are used by local fisherman and are a common sight along the waterway, the lake is the source of livelihood for people living close by from fishing, coconut husk retting for coir production and inland navigation services. In 2014, Clam Governing Council of Ashtamudi lake became the first Marine Stewardship Council certified fishery in India for their sustainable clam fishing, the lake and the life on its shores have inspired many artists and writers. It has been the subject of poems by the renowned poet Thirunalloor Karunakaran who was born. Quilon or Kollam and inevitably the Ashtamudi lakes importance is claimed to be dated to the days of the Phoenicians, ibn Batuta, during his 24-year sojourn in the 14th century, is reported to have mentioned about the Quilon port as one of the five ports for Chinese trade. Links with Persia, Chinese mandarin in 1275 AD, Portuguese in 1502 AD, velu Thampi is credited with organizing the rebellion against the British from this place. National Highway 47 passes through the lake not only from Quilon. Southern Railways network of metre gauge and broad gauge lines connects with Quilon, the metre gauge train journey from Quilon to Chennai via Madurai is stated to offer a picturesque journey. Ferry services operate daily to Alleppey and boats operate to all villages located in the canals of the backwater system, the boat jetty is located at about 3 km away from the railway station. Famous Paravur estuary and backwaters are just 21 kilometer away from Ashtamudi, Kallada River is a major river discharging into the Ashtamudi Lake. The Kallada river, which originates near Ponmudi from the Kulathupuzha hills Western Ghats is formed by the confluence of three rivers, viz, with a maximum depth of 21 ft at the confluence, it is Kerala’s deepest estuary
Ashtamudi Lake
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View on a bank of the Lake
Ashtamudi Lake
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Luxury house boat in the backwaters
Ashtamudi Lake
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View of Ashtamudi Lake and
Downtown Kollam
Ashtamudi Lake
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A top view of Ashtamudi backwaters
