Kannur

"Cannanore" redirects here. For other uses, see Cannanore (disambiguation).
This article is about the city in Kerala, India. For the former city state, see Kolathunadu. For the district, see Kannur district. For the town in Karnataka, see Kannur, Dakshina Kannada.
Kannur
കണ്ണൂർ
Cannanore
City

Clockwise from top: Gandhi Circle (formerly Caltex), St. Angelo's Fort, Thavakara Bus Terminal, Sea Pathway, Payyambalam Beach
Kannur
Coordinates: 11°52′08″N 75°21′20″E / 11.8689°N 75.3555°E / 11.8689; 75.3555Coordinates: 11°52′08″N 75°21′20″E / 11.8689°N 75.3555°E / 11.8689; 75.3555
Country  India
State Kerala
District Kannur
Talukas Kannur, previously known as Chirakkal Taluk
Government
 • Type Municipal Corporation
 • Body Kannur Municipal Corporation
 • Mayor E.P.Latha (CPIM)
 • Deputy Mayor C Sameer (IUML)
Population (2011)
 • City 232,634
 • Metro 1,642,892
Languages
 • Official Malayalam, English
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN 670 xxx
Telephone code 0497
Vehicle registration KL-13 KL-58 KL-59
Website www.kannur.nic.in
Town and bay of Kannur by Thomas Cussans

Kannur (IPA: [kaɳɳuːr]), formerly known as Cannanore,[1] is a city and a Municipal Corporation in the Kannur district, state of Kerala, India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kannur District and 518 km north of state capital Thiruvananthapuram. During British rule in India, Kannur was known as Cannanore, which is used now only by the Indian Railways.[2] It is the largest city of the North Malabar region.

Kannur is one of the million-plus urban agglomerations in India with a population of 1,642,892 in 2011, the 6th largest in Kerala and 27th in India.[3]

Kannur district is known as the land of Looms and Lore, because of the loom industries functioning in the district and ritualistic folk arts held in temples. Kannur is famous for its pristine beaches, Theyyam, its native performing art, and its handloom industry. Kannur is of great strategic military importance. One of the 62 military cantonments in the country is in the Kannur Cantonment and is the headquarters of the Defence Security Corps and Territorial Army’s 122 Infantry Battalion (under Madras Regiment). Ezhimala Naval Academy (INS) is 35 km north of Kannur City. It is Asia's largest and the world's third largest naval academy. An Indian Coast Guard Academy is approved to be built at Kannur. This academy will be built on the banks of Valapattanam River at Irinave, east of Azhikkal. Kannur Cantonment is one of the important cantonments in India.

Etymology

The name Kannur may have been derived from Kanathur, an ancient village. Another opinion holds that Kannur was originally a portmanteau derived from two Malayalam words: Kannan (Krishna), a Hindu deity, and Ur (place)—making it "the place of Lord Krishna." One support for this theory is that the deity of the Kadalayi Sriracha Temple was originally installed in a shrine at Kadalayi Kotta in the southeastern part of the present Kannur town. During the British Raj, the city was known as Cannanore, the anglicised form of the Malayalam word Kannur.[4] The above theory is alien to the people of Kannur since Kadalayi and Kanathur are outside of the original ancient Kannur. It is just an assumption from the people outside of Kannur, since they see the present day Kannur which comprises the old city and the modern town. Actually the modern town is part of the place called Chalad, which was outside of original Kannur. People above 50 years still remember that in old days (twenty years back) people of Chalad used to call the people of Kannur City (old city) Kannurkar (means people of Kannur) which is a real proof that the original Kannur is the Kannur city and its immediate surroundings. In ancient days, a city only comprises a strip of four to five kilometers. If anyone asks the original Kannur people they still stay that Kadalayi and Kanathur are out of the old Kannur area.

As per the Malayalam language which is the native language of Kannur, Kannur means Kann (eye) Ur (land or place). Together it is called Eye of the Land - "Kannaya Ur" = Kannur (Eye of the Land; means the best of the lands = the best land)). Original name Kannur belongs to the old city which is still known as Kannur City. Kannur town is the modern day Kannur town.

History

Main article: History of Kannur

Kannur was an important trading center in the 12th century with active business connections with Persia and Arabia. It served as the British military headquarters on India's west coast until 1887. In conjunction with her sister city, Tellicherry, it was the third largest city on the western coast of British India in the 18th century after Bombay and Karachi.

Kannur is a very ancient city which used to be one of the three important cities of the whole western Indian sub continent 200 years ago; competing with Bombay and Karachi. It is said to be that the Loud Sage - the ship of King Solomon had anchored off the coast of Kannur to gather wood for the construction of the temple of the Lord. Kannur's name was mentioned in the Periplus of the Eritrean Naura and sea, a Work of the great Greek antiquity.

The original place called Kannur was previously under the Kerala's only Muslim Royal Kingdom called Arakkal Sultanate and it was their capital. This area is still known as Kannur City. The modern town is called Kannur Town. Kannur as a whole district and surrounding areas were mostly ruled by the famous Kolathiri rajas (kings). When the state of Kerala was formed the district took the name Kannur since the administrative offices were established here. Before that Kannur was under Chirakkal Taluk of Madras state under British rule. When the British dominated this part of the world, they preferred Madras and Cochin as their major stations and Kannur started to lose its old glory. The people of Kannur is still waiting for their old glory to get back and they feel they are being sidelined because the state administration is located exactly opposite side of the state.

Kannur was known to the Chines, Greeks, Romans, Persians, Hebrews and Arabs thousands of years back and it was used to be the trading hub for mainly spices, timbers, etc. It is the only place in the whole of India (!!!) which was targeted by Portuguese, Dutch, French, British and Germans and used for trading by Arabs, Hebrews, Persians, etc. for reasons no one knows and there is no clear history to go back and verify. The border town of Kannur district named Mahe is still called French Mahe, because it was ruled by French and still under Pondicherry not under Kerala Government. The Portuguese built their first fort in Kannur and looks like Kannur was their main target when they came to India. As mentioned above and it is logical to assess, since Kannur was the biggest town in the western Indian Sub Continent, up to 200 years back, it must have been well known outside India and become a target for all the Europeans. Kannur with its twin sister towns Tellicherry and Mahe is well known for several type of very tasty foods and it is the quality symbol for the tasty foods in Kerala, may be because so many nations had influenced the food culture of Kannur for the last several centuries.

St. Angelo Fort was built in 1505 by Dom Francisco de Almeida, the first Portuguese Viceroy of India. The British conquered it in 1790 and used it as one of their major military stations on the Malabar Coast. During the 17th century, Kannur was the capital city of the only Muslim Sultanate in India, known as Arakkal.[5] During the British Raj, Kannur was part of the Madras province in the North Malabar District.

City of Cannanore, 1572

The guerrilla war by Pazhassi Raja, the ruler of Kottayam province, against the British had a huge impact in the history of Kannur. Changes in the socio-economic and political sectors in Kerala during the initial decades of 20th century created conditions congenial for the growth of the Communist Party. Extension of English education initiated by Christian missionaries in 1906 and later carried forward by government, rebellion for wearing a cloth to cover upper parts of body, installing an idol at Aruvippuram in 1888, Malayali Memorial in 1891, establishment of SNDP Yogam in 1903, activities, struggles etc. became factors helpful to accelerate changes in Kerala society during a short time. Movements for liberation from the colonial rule of British imperialism and struggles launched by these movements grew with them.

Very soon, ideas about socialism and Soviet Revolution reached Kerala. Such ideas got propagated in Kerala through the works of Swadeshabhimani Ramakrishna Pillai, Sahodaran Ayyappan, P. Kesavadev and others.By the beginning of the 1930s some other useful developments were taking place. Important among them was Nivarthana Agitation in Travancore. That was the demand of people suppressed so far as untouchables and weaker sections for participation in government. This brought to the forefront struggles like proportional representation in government and reservation of jobs. This imparted a new enthusiasm among oppressed masses.[6]

Administration

Kannur Fort on the Arabian Sea

Politics

Kannur has been referred to[7] as a stranglehold[8] of the left parties and has a strong presence of trade unions as well as left-leaning organizations.[9][10][11] However, other parties have some influence in certain small pockets.[12]

Kannur is the most politically aware district in Kerala and it is the main center for Congress, CPM, IUML and BJP. Though Kannur had produced highly talented political leaders in the past including very talented two chief ministers Mr. K. Karunakaran and Mr. Nayanar, central ministers E. Ahmed, C. M. Ebrahim, Venugopal, etc. the benefits of development was very slow to reach the place. CPM's next generation leaders are mainly from Kannur and the people are hoping that they will bring the much awaited development Kannur was eargerly waiting for.

Geography and climate

Kannur has an elevation of 1.02 metres (2.98 ft) along the coast of the Laccadive Sea, with a sandy coastal area. The town has an 8 km-long seashore and a 3 km-long beach at Payyambalam.

Kannur experiences a rare humid tropical monsoon climate under the Köppen climate classification (Am). In April and May, the average daily maximum temperature is about 35 °C (95 °F). Temperatures are low in December and January: about 20 °C (68 °F). Like other areas on the Malabar Coast, this town receives heavy rainfall during the Southwest monsoon. The annual average rainfall is 3438 mm, around 68% of which is received in July.[13]

Climate data for Kannur (1978–2000)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 35.8
(96.4)		 37.6
(99.7)		 38.2
(100.8)		 38.3
(100.9)		 37.7
(99.9)		 36.8
(98.2)		 33.0
(91.4)		 33.2
(91.8)		 34.0
(93.2)		 35.0
(95)		 37.0
(98.6)		 35.8
(96.4)		 38.3
(100.9)
Average high °C (°F) 32.7
(90.9)		 33.1
(91.6)		 33.6
(92.5)		 34.1
(93.4)		 33.3
(91.9)		 29.6
(85.3)		 28.9
(84)		 29.0
(84.2)		 30.1
(86.2)		 31.0
(87.8)		 32.0
(89.6)		 32.5
(90.5)		 31.7
(89.1)
Average low °C (°F) 21.5
(70.7)		 22.3
(72.1)		 24.1
(75.4)		 25.6
(78.1)		 25.3
(77.5)		 23.6
(74.5)		 23.1
(73.6)		 23.1
(73.6)		 23.4
(74.1)		 23.5
(74.3)		 23.0
(73.4)		 22.0
(71.6)		 23.3
(73.9)
Record low °C (°F) 16.4
(61.5)		 17.8
(64)		 19.0
(66.2)		 21.9
(71.4)		 20.0
(68)		 20.6
(69.1)		 20.4
(68.7)		 20.7
(69.3)		 20.9
(69.6)		 19.4
(66.9)		 17.8
(64)		 16.8
(62.2)		 16.4
(61.5)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 3.9
(0.154)		 0.2
(0.008)		 13.1
(0.516)		 37.4
(1.472)		 199.8
(7.866)		 1,035.5
(40.768)		 879.1
(34.61)		 553.7
(21.799)		 225.1
(8.862)		 213.1
(8.39)		 113.2
(4.457)		 32.2
(1.268)		 3,306.4
(130.173)
Average rainy days 0.2 0.0 0.5 2.5 7.9 24.2 25.0 21.6 11.2 10.5 5.2 1.3 110.0
Source: India Meteorological Department (record high and low up to 2010)[14][15]

Demographics

According to the 2011 census of India,[16] Kannur city has a population of 56,823. Males constitute 46.2% of the population and females 53.8%. Kannur has an average literacy rate of 96.23%, higher than the national average of 74.04%. Male literacy is 98% and female literacy is 94%. In Kannur, 12% of the population is under six years of age.

Muslims form the majority of the population with 32026 members forming 56.3% of the population.[16] There are 21557 Hindus forming 37.9% of the population.[16] Christians form 5% of the population with 2892 members.[16] Malayalam is the most widely spoken languages. While tulu,Beary and Kannada is also spoken and understood by many people

Kannur Taluk has 34 villages.

Kannur Fort

Tourism

Chalad Chalil Bhagavathy Temple

Temples

Temple festival at Chalad

Kannur got the name as the Land of Krishna (Kannande uuru) because of the Kadalai Shri Krishnaswami Temple, Shri Rajarajeshwaram, Parassinikadavu Sree Muthappan Temple and Annapurneshwari Temple and Madayikavu, the famed temples of the region.

Other temples:

Kottiyoor Utsavam

Kottiyoor Vysakha Mahotsavam is a huge religious pilgrimage attracting thousands of pilgrims. It is a festival commemorating the Daksha yaga. It is in June–July period of Malayalam calendar for 27 days.

Skyline of seashore apartments, Payyambalam, Kannur
Growing skyline of Kannur Payyambalam seashore

Education

Sir Syed College, Taliparamba

In the 14th and 15th centuries, during the regime of the Kolathiri Rajas, Taliparamba was renowned in Kerala as a seat of learning, enlightenment and culture. The beginning of western education in the district may be traced back to the middle of the 16th century. The first English school, known as the Basel German Mission English School, was started on 1 March 1856 at Thalassery. The Brennen School at Thalassery, the nucleus of the present Government Brennen College, was started in 1862 with a generous donation made by Mr. Brennen, master attendant at Thalassery.

Govt College of Engineering Kannur is also a renowned engineering college in Kerala situated in Mangattuparamba.

Major Government Institutes

Civil Station, Kannur

Transportation

Road

Thavakkara Bus Station has very green surroundings

Kannur is on National Highway 66 or NH 66 (formerly National Highway 17) between Kozhikode and Mangalore. This highway is scheduled to be expanded to four lanes. A bypass for Kannur city is proposed under the NH widening project. Kannur is connected to Kodagu, Mysore and Bangalore in Karnataka through the Thalassery–Coorg–Mysore interstate highway.

Kannur has several private and KSRTC buses plying places inside and outside Kannur district. Kannur is well-connected to its suburbs through several city buses. Kannur city has four bus terminals — Kannur Central Bus Terminal at Thavakkara which is Kerala's biggest bus terminal, Old Bus Stand near to Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, City Bus Stand near to the District HQ Hospital and the KSRTC bus stand at Caltex Junction (on NH-66). The busiest section of the national highway is between the towns of Puthiyatheru and Thazhe chovva (about 10.5 km )on the outskirts of Kannur.

Railway

Kannur Railway Station is one of the major stations of the Southern Railway, under the jurisdiction of the Palakkad Division. All trains including the Thiruvananthapuram Rajdhani Express and Kochuveli Garib Rath stop at Kannur. Six daily trains and around 15 weekly or bi-weekly trains connect Kannur to the capital Thiruvananthapuram.

Trains starting from Kannur are:

Passenger trains

Kannur South, Chirakkal, Valapattanam and Pappinisseri are minor railway stations near Kannur where only passenger trains stop. A survey for a railway line from Kannur South to Kannur International Airport in Mattannur was announced in the 2011–2012 Union Railway Budget.

Air

Kannur International Airport is being constructed at Mattanur in Kannur District, Kerala, India. It is the fourth international airport in Kerala. The airport will have a 4,000m runway (the longest in the State) and state of the art passenger terminal as well other amenities. It will be well connected by a comprehensive network of roads and a proposal for railway line has also been mooted. In the 2016-17 Union Railway budget, ₹400 crores were dedicated for under Extra Budgetary Resource (EBR) in which a part of the bill will be borne by the State Government.

The Airport's foundation stone was laid by V. S. Achuthanandan, chief minister of Kerala, on 17 December 2010.[19][20] On February 29 2016, trial landing was conducted. The airport is proposed to operationalize by 2017.

Seaport

Kannur is an ancient seaport. The nearest all-weather seaport is Mangaluru in Karnataka state. Azhikkal port in Kannur has been included for developing coastal shipping by the Government of India under the National Maritime Development Programme (NMDP). A detailed project report (DPR) has been prepared by ICICI-KINFRA for the development of Azhikkal port.

Media

Statue of Albert Einstein at the Science Park, Kannur

Malayalam movie actors Sreenivasan, Vineeth Sreenivasan, Dhyan Sreenivasan, Vineeth, Vineeth Kumar, Samvrutha Sunil, TV Chandran, Manju Warrier, Sreekala Sasidharan, Anju Aravind, Archana Kavi, Kavya Madhavan, Sanusha, Saleem Ahmed, Geethu Mohandas and Sruthi Lakshmi are from Kannur District. So are music composers Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri, K. Raghavan, Kannur Rajan, Ramesh Narayanan, Sathyan Edakkad, dancer Shamna Kasim, baby serial actor Niranjana G - Manjurukum kalam fame and singers Ramachandran Cherukunnu Erancholi Moosa, Kannur Shareef and Sayanora.

Many local cable television channels are available in Kannur. The most popular cable channels are City Channel, City Gold, City Juke, Network Channel(s), Zeal Network, Kannur Vision, World Vision, Worldvision Music, Chakkarakkal, and Gramika channel Koothuparamba.

All India Radio is broadcast in Kannur at 101.5 MHz. Private FM radio stations in Kannur include:

A number of newspapers are published from Kannur, including the Malayala Manorama, Mathrubhumi, Madhyamam, Deshabhimani, Deepika, Chandrika, Kerala Kaumudi, News First, Janmabhumi, Veekshanam, Thejas, and Siraj.

Location

Areas Of Kannur
Pazhayangadi Taliparamba Parassinikkadavu
Arabian Sea Kannur Airport
   Kannur City  
Arabian Sea Arabian Sea Thalassery

Image gallery

See also

References

  1. ↑  Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Cannanore". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
  2. ↑ "indianrailways.info". Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  3. ↑ Urban Agglomerations/Cities having population 1 million and above
  4. ↑ "The Official Website of Kannur District". Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  5. ↑ Arakkal royal family
  6. ↑ "Pazhassi Raja Museum and Art Gallery, Kozhikode - Kerala Tourism". Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  7. ↑ "Dread and Belonging in Kerala’s Party Villages". OPEN Magazine. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  8. ↑ "Conduct Of A Perfect Murder". The Caravan - A Journal of Politics and Culture. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  9. ↑ "In CPM bastion Kannur, political violence takes a turn for the worse". timesofindia-economictimes. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  10. ↑ "The Telegraph - Calcutta (Kolkata) - Nation - Long wait to decode Kannur poll riddle". Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  11. ↑ "News Archives: The Hindu". Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  12. ↑ "India Together: Winds of change in killing fields: Nileena M.S. - 14 March 2013". Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  13. ↑ Climate: Kannur (Cannanore) CalicutNet.com
  14. ↑ "Kannur Climatological Table Period: 1971–2000". India Meteorological Department. Retrieved April 22, 2015.
  15. ↑ "Ever recorded Maximum and minimum temperatures up to 2010" (PDF). India Meteorological Department. Retrieved April 22, 2015.
  16. 1 2 3 4 http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-01/DDW32C-01%20MDDS.XLS
  17. ↑ Administrator. "Welcome". Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  18. ↑ "Bansal announces 19 new trains". New Delhi: The Hindu. 15 March 2013. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
  19. ↑ Special Correspondent. "VS lays foundation stone for Kannur international airport". The Hindu. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  20. ↑ NK. "Online News, Information & Entertainment - newkerala.com, India". Retrieved 5 April 2015.

External links

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