Kottayam is a city in the Indian state of Kerala, flanked by the Western Ghats on the east and the Vembanad Lake and paddy fields of Kuttanad on the west. It is the district headquarters of Kottayam district, located in south-west Kerala. Kottayam is located in the basin of the Meenachil River at an average elevation of 3 metres (9.8 ft) above sea level. It has a moderate climate. It is located approximately 155 kilometres (96 mi) north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram.
Purple Swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio) photographed in Vembanad Lake, Kottayam
Mahatma Gandhi at Vaikom Satyagraha
The Kingdom of Travancore, also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor or later as Travancore State, was an Indian kingdom that lasted from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At its zenith, the kingdom covered most of the south of modern-day Kerala and the southernmost part of modern-day Tamil Nadu with the Thachudaya Kaimal's enclave of Irinjalakuda Koodalmanikyam temple in the neighbouring Kingdom of Cochin. However Tangasseri area of Kollam city and Anchuthengu near Attingal in Thiruvananthapuram were parts of British India.
A Canal scene in Travancore.
Sree Padmanabha Swamy was the national deity of the Kingdom of Travancore.
Thambiran Vanakkam was printed at Kollam, the capital of Venad in 1578, during the Portuguese Era. It holds the record of the first book printed in any Indian language. It was written in the language Lingua Malabar Tamul, which was spoken in southern Kerala (Kollam-Thiruvananthapuram-Kanyakumari area) during the medieval period.
The British Residency in Quilon, where the resident of Travancore resided