Parayakad, Alappuzha

Parayakad, Alappuzha is a village in Kuthiathode gram panchayat, India. [nb 1] in Cherthala Taluk in Alappuzha district in the Indian state of Kerala. There is another place known as Parayakad or Parayad in Ernakulum District. This is a small area / block (muri[nb 2]) in Chittattukara Village in North Paravoor. Parayakad Village[nb 3] in Alleppey district is listed in the Central Government Indian Village Directory.[4] Kuthiathode comes under the Pattanakad Block in Aroor Assembly constituency.

History

The name Parayakad comes from the Parayakattil Kalari which existed in this area.[5] A martial arts specialist known as Kunjan Parayakattil, originally from North Kerala and a fugitive from the ire of his local ruler, settled and started a Kalari, teaching the ancient Indian martial art of Kalaripayattu in this area.[6] People came from the local area and traveled long distances to acquire training to develop advanced skills. The kalari also used to treat injuries and general ailments, but specializing in muscle and bone tissue.[7] In time the area came to be known as Parayakad. The Parayakattil Kalari is no longer in existence. Nalukulanagara, Tirumalabhagom and Thuravoor North are the local areas adjacent to Parayakad.

Demographics

Parayakad has a local post office and the pincode is 688540.[8] There is a Government Lower Primary School in Parayakad.[9] The population consists mainly of Hindus and a minority of Christians and Muslims. The presiding deity at Nalukulangara Temple is Bhagavathy.[10] St.Sebastians Catholic Church in Parayakad comes under Alappuzha diocese.[11]

Geography

The village is connected to the nearest towns by NH-47, Thuravoor-Ezhupunna road and the Pallithode-Chellanam-Kochi beach road. The Alapuzha-Ernakulam Railway has a station nearby at Thuravoor. The Kuthiathode canal nearby was once the major waterway for transporting goods to the local market from Cochin via the Vembanad lake. The Kuthiathode canal connects the Vembanad lake with the Tazhappu backwaters. A small backwater lake at Tazhappu connects Kuthiathode with Valiathode. During Onam boat racing is held in Tazhappu backwaters.

Contents

Temples and churches

• Nalukulangara Bhagavathi Temple
• St. Sebastian’s Church, Naluklangara
• Ponpuram Muslim Jamath Mosque

Government offices

• Parayakad Post Office

Banks

• Parayakad Service Co-operative Bank

Schools

• Govt. L.P. School

Geographical co-ordinates

• Latitude 9.73066
• Longitude 76.33355

Notes

1. politically organised local administrative units.[1]
2. Means piece, fragment, slice, in Malayalam.[2]
3. Census villages are more numerous and heterogenous than political units (gram panchayats).[3]

References

1. "MoPR-Home - NPP". Panchayat.gov.in. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
2. "Online Malayalam English Dictionary - Malayalam English Translation". Malayalam English dictionary. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
3. Clark-Decis, Isabelle (2011). A Companion to the Anthropology of India. John Wiley & Sons. p. 1980. ISBN 9781444390582.
4. Director, census operations (1981). Census of India Volume 3. Kerala, India: Controller of Publications. p. 126, 196, 214.
5. P.L., Sebastian (1998). The Parayakattil Story. Mukhachitra Publications. p. 3.
6. Fali E., Doctor (1973). "Kalaripayattu- Ancient Art of India". Black Belt. 11 (7): 23.
7. D.H., Luijendijk (2008). Kalaripayattu. The Netherlands: Stichting Oprat, Elst. p. 86.
8. "Pincode of Parayakad". Pin-code.in. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
9. "Cherthala" (PDF). Itschool.gov.in. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
10. https://web.archive.org/web/20140111201956/http://www.keralatemples.us/alapuzha.htm. Archived from the original on 11 January 2014. Retrieved 11 January 2014. Missing or empty |title= (help)