Chittur

Chittur
Town
Chittur Municipal Office
Chittur Location in Kerala, India
Coordinates: 10°42′N 76°45′E / 10.70°N 76.75°ECoordinates: 10°42′N 76°45′E / 10.70°N 76.75°E
Country	India
State	Kerala
District	Palakkad
Area
• Total	1,155.10 km^2 (445.99 sq mi)
Elevation	131 m (430 ft)
Languages
• Official	Malayalam, English, Tamil
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
Vehicle registration	KL-70

Chittur is a town in Palakkad district of Kerala, South India and was once part of the erstwhile Cochin state. The town consists of the famous Chittur Bhagavathi temple, which is under the Cochin Devaswom board. The other major temples are the Pazhayannur Bhagavathi temple, Durga temple, and Sivakshethram (in Lankeswaram agraharam). The municipality consists of Chittur, Tathamangalam, Kacherimedu, Anicode, Thekkegramam and Kadambidi. Chittur M.L.A is K.Achuthan of INC. Agriculture is the main occupation of the people. The town is home to some of the major Menon tharavads of Kerala. There are also many agraharams (settlement of Iyers) and Moothan tharas. Sokanashini river flows through Chittur, and it is on the banks of this river Thunjathu Ramanujan Ezuthachan, the father of Malayalam language, spent his last days. His final resting place is famous for Vidyarambham celebrations, where young children are initiated into the world of words and knowledge. Music is a part of the lifestyle of the people here with the Government College training students towards higher degrees in music. Kongan pada is the main celebration of Chittur and it is celebrated in the month of March. Sooranporu, Niramala and Ayyappan vilakku are also celebrated here. Others include Onam, Pongal, Vishu, Deepavali and Navarathri. At the time of Vishu, vishu vela is also celebrated. There are music concerts in Chittur Kavu at the time of Navarathri and Konganpada.

Politics

Chittur assembly constituency is part of Alathur (Lok Sabha constituency).^[1] It contains 16 panchayats.

Demographics

Chittur River. A view from the bridge near Chittur Govt. College

As of 2001 India census,^[2] Chittur-Thathamangalam had a population of 31,884. Males constitute 49% of the population and females 51%. Chittur-Thathamangalam has an average literacy rate of 79%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with male literacy of 84% and female literacy of 74%. 9% of the population is under 6 years of age. The population is predominantly Hindu followed by Christian and Muslim minorities. Malayalam and Tamil is the main language.

Transport

There is frequent bus service to Palghat, Kollengode, Pollachi, Coimbatore, Thrissur etc. Mass road transportation consists of private busses as well as public Kerala State Road Transport Corporation busses. There is K.S.R.T.C bus depot in town. There are services to Ernakulam, Guruvayur, Calicut, Thrissur etc. and the nearest railway station is Palghat and nearest airport is Coimbatore and Kochi.

Education

There are several educational institutions located in Chittur that provide a very high level of education. Government College offers several degrees, including one in music. The college is situated on the banks of the Sokanashini.

Notable people

• P. Leela (singer)
• Swarnalatha (singer)
• M.S. Viswanathan (music composer)
• Vidhubala (actor)
• Raghuvaran (actor)
• M. Sukumaran (writer)
• [Krishnachandran] (Singer/Actor)

Panchajanyam cultural & film society

Panchajanyam is an organisation actively involved in the promotion of Arts, Sports and Culture. It started functioning in 1982 in the village of Thekkegramam in Chittur as a small library and is today affiliated to the Kerala Grandhasala Sangham and is rated as an A Grade library. Panchajanyam has also added a Reference Library section and this is the first such in Chittur. Panchajanyam conducts an annual International Film Festival (PIFF) under 'Panchajanyam Film Society', started in 2005 in order to promote good films and a film culture in Chittur and neighbouring areas. The society first started off by screening one-off films and expanded its activities by launching the Panchajanyam International Film Festival in 2008. PIFF is now an annual event and is held in January

References

1. "Assembly Constituencies - Corresponding Districts and Parliamentary Constituencies" (PDF). Kerala. Election Commission of India. Retrieved 2008-10-19.
2. "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 2004-06-16. Retrieved 2008-11-01.

Taluks of Palakkad District, Kerala
Alathur • Chittur • Mannarkkad • Ottapalam • Palakkad