Kozhikode

   

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Location of Kozhikode

Kozhikode, also known as Calicut, is the third largest city (pop. 801,190:1991) in the state of Kerala, India and was part of erstwhile Malabar District. This city is famous for receiving Vasco da Gama in 1498. He landed in the remote beach Kappad which is 18 km away from the Calicut City.The name of the fibre calico is derived from the name of this city.

Geography

Kozhikode district is situated on the south west coast of India. The district is bounded on the north by Kannur District, on the east by Wayanad district, on the south by Malapuram district and on the west by Arabian sea. It is situated between North Latitudes 11degrees 08’ and 11degrees 50’ and East longitudes 75degrees 30’ and 76degrees 8’.

History

Calicut is the anglicised form of ‘Kalikut’ the Arabic for the Malayalam Kozhikode. It is also called the Cock Fort. According to the historian, K.V.Krishnan Iyer, the term means Koyil (Palace) Kodu (fortified). Anyhow, it is a historical town with a hoary past. From time immemorial, the city attracted travellers, with its charming physical features and prosperity. Even today, the glory that Calicut had, has not faded. The political history of Kozhikode is a story of treacherous and ill-conceived conspiracies hatched by the Western powers. Vasco Da Gama landed at Kappad (16 kilometers north of Kozhikode) in May 1498, as the leader of a trade mission from Portugal and was received by the Zamorian himself

Climate

The district has a humid climate with a very hot season extending from March to May. The most important rainy season is during the South West Monsoon, which sets in the first week of June and extends up to September. The North East Monsoon extends from the second half of October through November. The average annual rainfall is 3266 mm

People

Hindus constitute the majority of the population and next come the Muslim and the Christian communities respectively. The Muslims of the district are known as Mappilas. A great majority of them are sunnis following the Shafi School of thought. They are noted for their piety. Though Christianity is believed to have been introduced in Kerala in 52 A.D. not much progress was made by the Christian of this district before the advent of the Portuguese towards the close of 15th century.

Media

Kozhikode district occupies a prominent place in the history of Malayalam Journalism. The origin of the Journalism in this district can be traced back to 1880. The ‘Kerala Pathrika‘ is likely to be the earliest newspaper published from Kozhikode. ‘Keralam’, ‘Kerala Sanchari’ and ‘Bharath Vilasam’ are among the Other news papers published from Kozhikode before 1893. The Kozhikode station of All India Radio was commissioned on 14th May 1950 and its has two transmitters Kozhikode. A of 10 Kilowatt power and Kozhikode B (Vividh Bharathi) of 1 kilowatt power. A television transmitter has been functioning in Kozhikode from 3rd July 1984 relaying programmes from Delhi and Thiruvananthapuram Doordharsan. Besides Cable TV network and Satellite Television are also available in many parts of the District

Places of Interest

The temples and mosques of this district contains sculptures and inscriptions which are of considerable interest to the students of art. Kozhikode town itself has many temples the most important of which are the Tali Temple, Thiruvannur Temple, Azhokodi Temple, Varakkal Temple, Bilathikulam Temple and Bhairaggi Madam Temple. There is an art gallery and Krishna Menon Musiam at East hill in Kozhikode City. Lalitha Kala Accademy also has an art gallery adjacent to Townhall, Kozhikode

Culture

In the field of Malayalam Language and literature kozhikode has made most significant contributions. The district is famous for folk songs or ballads known as Vadakkan Pattukal. The most popular songs among them are those which celebrate the exploits of Thacholi Meppayil Kunhu Othenan ‘The Robinhood of North Malabar’. One of the favourite past times of the Muslim of this district is the singing of the Mappilapattu and Oppana. The songs are composed in a composite language of Arabic and Malayalam. The famous intellectual debate for vedic scholars to win the coveted position of Pattathanam takes place at Thali temple during the month of Thulam.

Educational institutions

  1. National Institute of Technology, Calicut: One of the most renowned engineering instituions in India. It was formerly known as Regional Engineering College (REC) and was affiliated to University of Calicut. It is now a deemed university.
  2. Indian Institutes of Management: The latest in the IIM series, this institution was ranked in the top 10 B-schools in India.
  3. Calicut Medical College: One of the most prestigious medical institutions in India. The Institution recently made headlines by creating the Calicut Medical Journal, the premier Open Access Medical Journal in India.
  4. Zamorins Guruvayurappan College: One of the oldest and most prestigious colleges in the country, founded by Zamorins of Calicut.
  5. St. Joseph's College, Devagiri: A prestigious arts and science college, accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council with a grade A.
  6. Farook College ,Calicut:The only College in Calicut University to be recognised as a Center of Excellence by the UGC and accredited at 5 star level by NAAC

See also

External links



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