Chittur-Thathamangalam is a town and municipality in Palakkad district of Kerala State, India. It is the headquarters of Chittur taluk, 13 km (8.1 mi) south-east of Palakkad, on the banks of the Kannadipuzha, a major headstream of the Bharathapuzha, the second longest river in Kerala. A Mini Civil Station is also located here which provides government related services. It consists of two areas, Chittur and Thathamangalam which together form the municipality.
Etymology
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Temples
Chittur-Thathamangalam 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).
Andayil temple
Economy and Society
Agriculture is the main occupation of the district's people. The town is home to some of the major Menon tharavads of Kerala. There are also many agraharams (communities of Iyers) and Moothan communities.
History
The Sokanashini river flows through Chittur, and it is on the banks of this river that Thunjathu Ramanujan Ezuthachan, the father of the 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.
Thathamangalam is sometimes mentioned in history books and maps as Tattamungalum.[3]
Chittur, Thathamangalam and nearby towns are also mentioned in "Memoir of the Survey of Travancore and Cochin 1816-1820", and in this book the spelling used is "Tattamungalum".[4]
An old map of the Kingdom of Kochi showing the Thathamangalam and Chittur areas
Festivals
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 festival 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. Other than these, there is an important festival in Lankeswaram village, called Ardra Dharsanam (Thiruvathira Radholsavam), at the end of December or first of January month every year.
Demographics
As of 2001[update] India census, Chittur-Thathamangalam had a population of 31,884. Males constitute 49% of the population and females 51%.[5]
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. Chittur is sometimes called as Kerala's "nellara" along with Alappuzha, meaning the rice bowl.[6]
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