Alappuzha At a Glances
Alappuzha is a veritable maze of bridges and canals, the presence of which has given it the appellation the "Venice of the East". Alappuzha district stands foremost among the districts of Kerala in regard to the density of population. It also stands first among other districts of Kerala in respect of its literacy rate. The entire area of the district lies in the low land and the midland divisions, and is the only district in Kerala having no area under the high lands. Kuttanad, the rice bowl of Kerala is in Alappuzha district. The total production of rice here is almost ten percent of the total production of the State. Alappuzha is the most important centre in the State for coir industry. Almost 80 per cent of the coir factories in the State are in this district.
A Brief History about Alleppey
Alappuzha, came into being as a district, in the political map of Kerala on the 27th of August, 1957. Before the formation of the district, a major part of this area was of Kollam district and the rest, of Kottayam district. Though Alappuzha, with its past glory has a historic tradition of its own, with its abundant trade activity. Alappuzha is famous for the first labour upsurge against autocratic regime which is known as Punnapra-Vayalar agitation.
Alappuzha town has earned for itself the fame of being styled as the Venice of the East. The port at this place owes its origin to the ingenuity and imagination of a great administrator of the erstwhile Travancore, Raja Kesavadas, the Dewan of His Highness the Maharaja Rama Varma. He constructed the two main canals, running parallel to each other through the heart of the town, linking the backwaters with the seashore. He brought here the Gujaratis, Kutchimemons and Parsis to start trade in hill-produce, copra and coconut oil. The port was open for foreign trade in 1792 and it remained the commercial metropolis of Travancore for over a century. The lighthouse in the western coast was put up in 1862 under the supervision of a European engineer, Mr.Crawford. Alappuzha market was once the solitary supplier of coir yarn, mats and matting, coconuts, coconut oil, pepper, ginger, tea, rubber, cashew and cardamom to the world markets before the establishment of the Cochin Port. The development of Cochin harbour during the second quarter of the century marks the beginning of the decline of Alappuzha market and port. The business community found better prospects in Kochi and a large number of them moved to Kochi.
Alappuzha District consists of two revenue divisions, six taluks and 91 revenue villages. There are 71 panchayats in the district.
Alappuzha Topography and Climate
Bounded on the northeast by Ernakulam and Kottayam districts, on the east by Pathanamthitta, on the southeast by Kollam on district and on the west by the Arabian Sea, this district lies between north latitude 90° 05' and 90° 52' east longitude 76° 17' and 76° 48'.
The climate is moist and hot in the coast, and it is slightly cooler and drier in the interior of the district. The average monthly temperature of this district is approximately 18° C. As in the case of other parts of the State, this district also gets the benefit of two outstanding monsoons.
The soil of this district may be classified as sandy, peaty, alluvial and laterite. Sandy soil covers the western portion of Cherthala, Ambalappuzha and Karthikappally taluks. Coconut is mostly grown in this area. Peaty and kari soil occur as a small belt on the eastern regions of Cherthala and Ambalappuzha and on the western portions of Kuttanad. This soil is of poor fertility and of low yields. To the east of the peaty soil lies the belt of the alluvial soil which covers the residuary portions of Kuttanad, northern portions of Karthikappally, Chengannur and the northwestern sector of Mavelikkara. The alluvial soil is heavy in texture, consists mostly of fine silt and is generally well supplied with organic matter, nitrogen and potash. Major portions of Chengannur and Mavelikkara taluks are covered by laterite soil which is formed by weathering mainly of acidic rocks under alternate wet and dry tropical conditions.
Alappuzha Rivers
The following three important rivers flow through this district.
Manimala River: The villages of Manimala, Mallappally, Kaviyoor, Kalloppara, Thalavadi, Kozhimukku and Champakulam lies in the course of the river Manimala, which has a length of 91.73 kms. and drainage area of 802.90 sq. kms.
Pamba River: The river Pamba, which has its origin at Peerumedu, after traversing a distance of 177.08 kms. itself in the Vembanad lake. The catchment area of this river is 1987.17 sq. kms. And has a marginal length of 74.02 kms.
Achancovil River: The Achancovil river on entering this district at about three miles from the west of Kaipattoor adopts a westerly course till it reaches Chennithala. After that it takes a southwesterly course and joins Pamba at Veeyapuram. The catchment area of this river is 1155.14 sq.kms. And has a marginal length of 32.19 kms.
Alappuzha LAKES:
Vembanad Lake: The Vembanad lake stretching from Alappuzha to Cochin borders Cherthala, Ambalapuzha and Kuttanad taluks of this district.
Kayamkulam Lake: Kayamkulam lake lies in both Alappuzha and Kollam districts.
The lakes are used for inland water transport of passengers and cargo.
Alappuzha Art and Culture
The art, culture and customs of the people of Alappuzha district are mostly the same as those of the people in other districts of central Kerala. The folk songs in the fields during sowing and harvesting, the awakening songs by the Panans, and a few other dance forms of the traditional style associated with festivals like Onam can still be seen. A large number of art forms including folk dances, dramas, folk-songs, etc., have gone into oblivion. We find the reasons for this decline in the society's march towards social transition brought about by the spread of communism and a social consciousness of the downtrodden and the labour class who constitute the majority. It is believed that Thullal propounded by Kunchan Nambiar had found its stage in the famous Ambalapuzha temple.
The customs, behaviour and practice of the people of different parts of the district are almost the same. Alappuzha has only a small number of tribal population. Their way of life and attire are far from the same of those of their counterparts in Manantoddy, Nilambur etc., of Wynad and Malappuram districts. The small number of Ulladas settled in the district to not maintain their traditional tribal way of life, but they have become one with the rest of the society.
Alappuzha has contributed its might to the development of Malayalam language and literature. Two stalwarts of Malayalam literature namely Sahitya Panchananan P.K.Narayana Pillai and Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai hailed from this district. The great linguist and grammarian, I.C. Chacko, was also born and brought up in this district. It is also worth mentioning that the first cinema studio in Kerala was started in Alappuzha district.
Alappuzha district can be proud of being the centre of snake boat races. All the important boat races, namely the Nehru Trophy Boat Race at Punnamada, the Payippad boat race at Payippad near Harippad, the Thiruvandoor, Neerettupuram, Karuvatta and Thaikkoottam boat races are held on or around the Onam holidays at different parts of the district. Thousands of people from all parts of the world come and witness these races.
