Thalassery
Thalassery, also known as Tellicherry, is a city on the Malabar Coast of Kerala, India. This is the second largest city of North Malabar in terms of population. The name Tellicherry is the anglicized form of Thalassery. Thalassery municipality has a population just less than 100,000. Established in 1866, it is the second oldest municipality in the state. Possessing an area of 23. 98 km2, Thalassery is a town strategically located on the western coast of Kannur district on the Malabar Coast of Kerala.
It is 22 km from the district headquarters at Kannur. The town is situated between 11°44’N latitude and 75°26’E longitude, at an altitude ranging between 2. 5m above the mean sea-level in the low-lying areas, to 30m above the mean sea-level in the higher regions. Geography: Thalassery is in Kannur district. The palm-fringed terrain of Thalassery has a scenic coastline and features four rivers, canals and hills with orange-hued rock. One of the four rivers is the Mahe River (Mayyazhi river).
Muzhappilangad, a 5 km long beach, is located within 6 km of the city centre. Demographics: As of 2001 India census, Thalassery has a population of 99,386, making it the 8th largest city of Kerala in terms of population. Thalassery has an average literacy rate of 86%. In Thalassery, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age. The Thalassery urban agglomeration is considered as consisting of the Thalassery municipality and panchayaths of Eranholi, Kadirur, Dharmadam, Muzhappilangad, Pinarayi and New Mahe with a present population of around 200,000.
Thalassery Assembly Constituency: The Thalassery assembly constituency consists of Thalassery Municipality and four neighboring Panchayats namely Eranholi, Kadirur, New Mahe and Chokli. Dharmadam has been excluded from Thalassery recently, becoming a separate constituency. Sree Jagannath Temple: Sree Gnanodayayogam, the prominent social organisation of North Malabar is the governing body of Sree Jagannath Temple. The temple is open to people of all religion. Sree Andaloor Kav: Andaloor kav is well known for the variety of theyyams, the ancient ritual of North-Kerala.
It is believed to be the early Buddhist shrine in Kerala. During the festival season the entire Dharmadam village accepts vegetarian diet, they purchase new utensils, clothes and paint their homes. Everyone will be accepted as guests at homes in Dharmadam during the temple feast season, which is also the festival of the village. The guests will be cordially treated with rice flakes and plantains. Villoppikkal (presentation of arrow), meyyalovital, kuluthattal etc. are some the rituals performed by the men of the village. Cultural forums: Akam Samithi-conducts discourses on literature and culture and published books related to literary philosophy,aesthetics and fiction. Akam magazine published by Kairali books Kannur owes its name to the Akam Samithy, Thalassery. ?Drishyakala Samskarika vedi-Conducts cultural programs. ?Kesarikrithikalute Prasathaka Samithi -Published books of Kesari Balakrishnapillai. Kesari was a journalist, literary critic, historian, essayist, translator and he is considered as one of the most influential figures in modern Kerala’s intellectual life. Kesari samithi also conducts speeches and seminars on the contributions of Kesari. Elders forum-a community of the senior citizens of the city forum arranges amateur theatre performances. ?Sarada Krishnaiyer Fine Arts Society ?Multimedia Artists Forum-Conducts painting and photography exhibitions and publishes pamphlets on art and local history. Libraries and reading rooms ?Azad Academic library , Near Fort, Gundert Road ?Sporting Youths Library, Thiruvangad ?State Central Revenue reference library, Gundert road ?Thalassery Courts Bi-centenary Memorial Libaray, district court premises. Auditoriums ?Thalassery Municipal Town Hall – This is the largest of its kind owned by a municipality in Kerala ?
Thalassery Co-Operative Bank auditorium ?Sarda Krishnaiyer Memorial Auditorium – A venue of book, painting and other exhibitions and conferences. ?Sangamam Auditorium Entertainment Cricket: The Thalassery Stadium, located close to the sea, hosts the Ranji Trophy cricket matches quite often. Lord Arthur Wellesley is believed to have introduced this game in Kerala in the 18th century for the British soldiers who were garrisoned in the Tellichery Fort. India’s first Cricket Club, which was later renamed as the Town Cricket Club, was formed in 1860 at Tellichery. It has been reported that an exhibition match was conducted in this ground to raise funds during the First World War. In 2008 a new stadium only for cricket was inaugurated in Conor Vayal near Venus Junction in Thalassery, as a project of the Kerala Cricket Association. Cinema ?Liberty Paradise, a multi-theatre complex, AVK Nair road ? Liberty Movie House, Manjodi ?Prabha, Thalassery-Coorg road ?Chitravani, O. V. Road ?Lotus, near the railway station Art Galleries ?Kerala Lalitkala Akademi Art Gallery, Sporting Youth’s Library, Thiruvangad ? Kathiroor Gramapanchayath Art Gallery, C road High Touch Art Gallery, Gundert road. Education: Thalassery is home to the Government Brennen College, Thalassery, founded in 1851, one of the oldest educational institutions in the region. The Basel Evangelic Mission Parsy (B. E. M. P High school) is the first English Medium school set up in Thalassery. MESBRS is the first CBSE school set up in Thalassery. Other notable educational institutions in Thalassery: ?Nettur Technical Training Foundation ?St Joseph’s Higher Secondary School, Thalassery ?College of Engineering, Thalassery ?Kannur University Thalassery Campus ?Sports Authority of India SAG Centre. Kerala School of Fine Arts ?Govt. Brennen College of Teacher Education ?Medical College, Anjarakkanty ?Co-Operative College of Nursing ?Co-Operative College of Physiotherapy and para-medical sciences ? Auriga college of Media studies ?Kerala Institute of Travel and Tourism Studies (KITS) study centre ? IHRD College of Applied Science ?BKJM School of Nursing ?Govt Brennen Higher Secondary School ?Govt. Vocational Higher Secondary School Koduvally ?Govt. Vocational Higher Secondary School Chirakkara ?Mubarak Higher Secondary School ?Basel Evangelical Mission Parsi Higher Secondary School Sacred Heart Girls Higher Secondary School ?Govt Girls Higher Secondary School ?Tellicherry Public School ?Sanjos Metropolitan School ?NIIT Training Centre ,Thalassery ?Al-Madrasathul Mubaracka Higher Secondary School Healthcare ?Malabar Cancer Centre, Moozhikkara Commerce Malls ? Thalassery City Centre, Venus Corner ? Harbour City, Old bus stand Transportation Railway station: Thalassery Railway Station is one of the major railway stations in Kerala under Palakkad Railway Division. It’s an ‘A’ class railway station. Bus station: Thalassery has three bus stations. Most of the buses operate from the New Bus Stand estd 1982.
Buses to suburban areas operate from Town bus stand adjacent to the new bus stand vegetable market. A few suburban buses operate centering Old bus stand and all buses towards north halt at Old bus stand. KSRTC depot is located at Konor vayal, behind Thalassery Cricket stadium. Passengers to Bangalore, Thiruvanathapuram andMadurai make use of KSRTC bus station. Inter-state buses to Karnataka and Tamil Nadu operate via New bus stand. Buses are available to Kudagu and Wayanad in a frequency of once in an hour and to Mysore in a frequency of once in three hours from New bus stand.
Ticket reservation counters of Kerala RTC and Karnataka RTC (Online) are located in New bus stand complex. Private travel agencies, where you can book tickets to Bengaluru (Day & Night services), Coimbatore, Mumbai and Ernakulam, also function in New bus-stand complex. How to reach ?By air: The nearest airport is at Kozhikode International Airport, about 93 km south. The works of Kannur International airport commenced recently. The new airport will be near Mattanur, a town en-route Tellicherry and Coorg around 28 km from the city. Airport can be accessed via Thalassery-Anjarakkanty road, around 20 Kilometers from Thalassery. By rail: Thalassery Railway Station. Thalassery railway station is well linked to major towns up country as well as within the state. ?By road: NH-17 passes through Thalassery. Kozhikode is 66 km away from Thalassery. Thalassery Coorg Road is a major road linking Kerala to kudaku >Thalassery – Kadirur -Koothuparamb- Nirmalagiri College – Mattannur -Iritty- Koottupuzha – State Boundary 55. 1 km. Interstate buses ply on this route in a frequency of once in an hour. ?Thalassery is well connected with the Bangalore(Bengaluru) through road. There are a lots of private buses operating between Thalassery and Bangalore, usually at night.
Places of interest ?Dharmadam ?Dharmadam Island ?Dharmadam Beach ?Muzhappilangad beach ?Kanakamala ?Sree Ramaswami Temple ?Sree Moozhikkara Bhagwati Temple ?Sree Jagannath Temple ?Sree Andalur Temple ?Overbury’s Folly ?Centenary Park ?Sea view Park ?Odathil Palli ?Thalassery Pier (Kadalpaalam) ?Thalassery Fort ?Thalassery Stadium ?Kadavathur ?Mariamman Koil, Pilakool ?Sri Narayana Velayudhan Kovil, Pilackool ?Melut Sri Muthappan Madappura Notable residents ?Hermann Gundert, German missionary and scholar, lived in Thalassery for 20 years ? Keeleri Kunhikannan, a martial arts trainer and Gymnast, known as the father of Kerala Circus
