ABOUT

About Chavara Thekkumbhagom

Chavara Thekkumbhagom (ചവറ തെക്കുംഭാഗം) or (Thekkumbhagom Panchayath) or (Chavara South) is

a village in Kollam district in the Indian state of Kerala. It is a traditional village of about 20 sq. km area fully surrounded by the Ashtamudi lake and this island is now connected with bridges, one from the south at 

Neendakara and one to the north at Thevalakara. It is thickly populated place of not less than 15000 and 
the nu-mber of houses not less than 3000Chavara Thekkumbhagom is very famous place in Kollam. It is
only 8 km from Kollam Boat Jetty. We can enjoy the natural beauty and very silent in nature.Also this place 
is the birth place of very famous personalities like the story teller Prof V.Sambasivan, Mahakavi Azhakathu Padmanabha Kurup, Swami Shanmugha Das and O. Nanu Upadhyayan etc. Thekkumbhagom is named as Maamala Nadu for its plenty of beauty. We can see the Chinese Net System (Cheena Vala) in the lake and 
it is surrounded by Ashtamudi Lake, the deepest lake in Kerala.

About Ashtamudi

Geographical data’s reveal that Ashtamudi lake is the second largest lake of Kerala. It comes a part of Kollam District with a total area of 2200 sq. kms and 1/3 of it is coming as the Ashtamudi Lake and its wet lands. It is also the deepest lake or an estuary – an extension of the Arabian sea from Neendakara harbor.


Kallada river falls here after a journey of   more than 120 kms. This lake by its Ashtamudi (Ashta =Eight and mudi = branch) has branched with eight lakes. Water covered area is more than 60 sq.kms The central place is of this lake Chavara Thekkumbhagom facing the Ashtamudi on the east, Kollam District centre on the south, Neendakara and Chavara on the west with sea shore ,Thevalakara and Kallada on the northern sides.


It looks like a neglected story as it is one of the best places for promoting backwater tourism. Kovalam in Trivandrum is  popular. Then skips to Alapuzha as the next place of tourism in kerala today.


Even though it is late to open up here ,Kollam is blessed with the natural beauty of not only of this lake, the Sahyan mountains on the east, Thenmala forest areas, Sasthamkotta fresh water lake etc. are of great attraction.

Location

Coordinates: 8°57'48"N 76°33'43"E

Geography

Chavara Thekkumbhagom fully surrounded by the Ashtamudi lake, so it is an island.
Traditionally Panchayath divided into four lands named Kara, named Vadakkumbhagom, Malibhagom, Thekkumbhagom and Naduvathu chery. festivals and other cultural activities based on these karas.
Beyond lake this place is bordered by Thevalakkara Panchayath on north, Kollam town on south, Thrikkaruva Panchayath on east and chavara,Neendakara Panchayath on west.

Transport

Air

Trivandrum Intenational airport (70 km) is the nearest airport


Rail

Nearest and main railway station is Kollam Railway Station (12 km) is considered to be one of the biggest railway stations in Kerala in terms of area after Shornur junction and Palakkad Junction. Kollam Railway Station is well-connected by regular trains with Thiruvananthapuram and some major places in India. Another nearest station is Karunnagappally railway station (15 km)


Roads

Chavara Thekkumbhagom is well connected to other parts of Kerala through roads. The main roads in the Panchayath meet National Highway 47 at Vettuthara Jn. in Neendakara Panchayath, Kuttivattom Jn. in  Karunnagappally Panchayath, Kottamkulangara Jn. in Chavara Panchayath. There is no bus depot in the Panchayath. Nearest Bus Station is  (12 km) Kollam and Karunnagappally(15 km). Transport is provided by State owned Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and private transport bus operators from Thekkumbhagom to Karunnagappally via Pavumba bridge and Karunnagappally to Kollam via Thekkumbhagom and Pallikkodi-Dalavapuram bridge (Inaugurated in 2007). The first trip starts at 5.00 AM to Kayamkulam and the lasr trip at 9.50 PM from Karunagappally to Thekkumbhagom. Road transport is also supported by private taxis and autorickshaws also called autos.


Water

The State water Transport Department operates boat services from Kollam to West Kallada, Muthirapparambu, Munroe Island and Alappuzha. The Kollam-Muthirapparambu boat service attracts a lot of tourist  attention. The main boat jetties in the Panchayath are Guhanandapuram, Pallikkodi, Tholukadavu and Pavumba Jetty.Luxury boats, operated by Government and private owners, operate from the main boat jetty during the tourist season. The West coast canal system, which starts from Thiruvananthapuram in the south and ends at Hosdurg in the north, passes through Kollam and Karunnagappally taluks. The Thiruvananthapuram-Shornur canal, forms a part of the Thiruvananthapuram-Hosdurg system, runs a distance of about 62 km. The other canal systems include the paravur Kayal, Kollam canal and Chavara canal

Education

Educational institutions in this Panchayath are

• Guhanandapuram H.S.S., Chavara South
• Govt. U.P. School, Chavara South
• N.S.S L.P.S., Vadakkumbhagom
• L.V., L.P.S., Chavara South
• St. Johns L.P.S., Njarammoodu
• St.Joseph L.P.S., Thekkumbhagom

Some Professional and Arts colleges near Thekkumbhagom Village

• Baby John Memorial Govt College, Chavara.
• MSN Institute of Management and Technology, Chavara
• Fathima Matha National College, Kollam
• S.N. College, Kollam
• T.K.M. College of Engineering. Kolla            

     Important Offices

• Govt. Primary Health Center, Madathil Jn.
• Govt. Ayurveda Hospital, Nadakkavu Market Jn.
• Govt. Homoeo Hospital, Thekkumbhagom
• Govt. Veterinary Dispensary, Nadakkavu
• Krishi Bhavan, Nadakkavu Market Jn.
• Post Office, Madathil Jn.
• Kerala Water Authority, Nadakkavu Market Jn.
• Village Office, Nadakkavu
• BSNL Exchange, Chavara South
• SBT, Chavara South
• Thekkumbhagom Service Co-Operative Bank
• Vengayil Hospital, Madathil Jn.
• Athira Clinic, Thekkumbhagom

Economy

Agriculture, Fishing, Coir
The old song Chavara Panmana Thevalakkara chakiri kondu pizhaykkanam reveals these village's main source of income is coir industry and Thekkumbhagom its neighbour village
So many people from Thekkumbhagom working in various Govt. Departments in Keralam. Thekkumbhagom is the top panchayath in Kollam district that has the most number of Govt. employees. Also skilled people from Thekkumbhagom working outside Kerala and Middle East.

Festivals

All festivals based on the temples in the Panchayath.
There are various temples in Thekkumbhagom.

• Panakkattodil Devi Temple (Valya Nada)
• Sree Narayanapuram Maha Vishnu Temple (Nadakkavu Temple)
• Udayadithyapuram Siva Kshethram
• Guhanandapuram Subramanya Swami Kshethram

Thalappoli Uthsavam

'Thalappoli Uthsavam' is a major event in Thekkumbhagom Panchayath which starts in 'Meenam Bharani' for every year. It is a festival of Panakkattodil Devi Temple(Valya Nada). It is a nostalgic event in every Thekkumbhagom people. The origin of Thalappoli is a long story. It is the only temple in the world, which take a five-year-old maiden girl as bhagavathi (Durga) and walk around four 'karas' in Panchayath and offer her blessings to all Thekkumbhagom peoples. Thalappoli or Vilakkeduppu starts from Panakkattodil Devi Temple at evening and reached at around 12 PM on next day to this temple. At that time Kanyavu, the girl who selected as bhagavathi never sleep and she has no tiredness
After Thalappoli reached to the Panakkattodil Temple, Starts Kodiyettu for festival. Then follow ten days festival. The 9'th day festival called Pallivetta organised by 'Vadakkumbhagom Kara' is very famous for Elephent show. More than 50 elephants arranged in this show. It is a major attraction and the highest number of Elephent show after Kollam Pooram, Anayadi(Sooranadu) Pooram and Panmana Pooram. The 10th day festival is the last festival and is called Aaraattu. 'Aaraattukulam' near Kulangaraveli Temple is the bath place for Devi.

Other festivals

Sivarathri Mahothsavam - In 'Sivarathri' morning People take 'Kavady' march from Sree Narayanapuram Maha Vishnu Kshethram to Udayadithyapuram Siva Kshethram and to Guhanandapuram Subramanya Swami Kshethram. this march is very visual treat.
Sree Narayanapuram Maha Vishnu Temple Festival is famous

Recreation

Since Thekkumbhagom is a rural area, they don't have any urban life style. All recreations all natural. Thekkumbhagom has three main grounds. They are

• Nadakkavu Maithanam
• Kulangaraveli Ground
• Panakkattodil Devi Temple Ground

People spend evening in these grounds. Nadakkavu Maithanam famous for its sugar like sand. Very calm and quiet environment. Also all major sports events held at these grounds like cricket, footballand volleyball. In recent time grounds are shaped for playing  Twenty20 cricket.

Major attractions

• Boat journey around Thekkumbhagom
• Pallikkodi-Dalavapuram bridge

Longest bridge in southern Kerala is around 500 m long. It was a long dream of Thekkumbhagom people. This bridge is a gateway of rural to urban development. When travelling from northern part of Kollam district to Kollam town, this bridge reduces the length and time to reach. The traditional way isSasthamkotta-Padappanal-Chavara-Kollam and the new way is Sasthamkotta-Padappanal-Thekkumbhagom-(Pallikkodi-Dalavapuram bridge)-Kollam

• Traditional food items like Tapioca(Kappa or Cheeni), Pearl Spot Fish(Karimeen), prawn(Konchu), Lobster(Njandu) and Kallummakkaya(Muringayirachi), ((Crab))
• A walk through Thekkumbhagom roads on Thalappoli night.                                                                        

Famous personalities

Mahakavi Azhakathu Padmanabha Kurup
He writes 'Ramachandravilasam', the first 'Mahakavyam' in malayalam literature
Prof V.SambasivanHe is a noted performer of the art kadhaprasangam. His famous performances includes "Ayisha", written by himself and Othello by Shakespeare.

Swami Shanmugha Das
Spiritual leader, Philanthropist. Founder of Guhanandapuram H.S.S. Chavara South and Thekkumbhagom Service Co-Operative Bank
O. Nanu Upadhyayan
Freedom fighter, Writer
Karana Narayana Pillai
Freedom fighter
J.P. Subhash IAS
IAS Officer in Kerala Govt. Service
Prof. (Dr.) Shaji Senadhipan M.Tech, Ph.D
Principal of College of Engineering, Perumon
G. Venunath
Businessman, Founder of 'Ashtamudi Resorts' (The first resort in the Panchayath), now it is Club Mahindra Resort.
Dr. Alphonse Louis Earayil IPS, M.A., MBA (Morgan State University Baltimore, US), Ph.D.
Former Director General of Police (DGP) Rtd in 2008. Winner of Indian president's Police Medal for distinguished service.

Dr.Godfrey Louis, Earayil
Professor and Pro Vice Chancellor, Cochin University of Science and Technology Kochi, India
Research field: Physics - Condensed Matter Physics Red rain of Kerala, Astrobiology, Experimental Solid State physics

                                                                         

                                                                                                               കടപ്പാട്  wikipedia