Kothachira

Kothachira is a village in central Kerala, southern India. The village is located on the borders of Thrissur and Palakkad districts and is also known as Kothara.

Transportation

Kothachira is connected by road to the nearest towns of Pattambi and Kunnamkulam and has the Chirakkal Vishnu temple, Ayyappan Kavu at south Kothachira, Appatthuvalappu Devi temple, Vishnu Temple - Aathrasseri Anthyalan Kavu on Chalissery-Peringode road and a Kalari (now only the temple of which remains). It was the Family Temple of Malayanchath Kalarikkal Tharavadu, currently it is run by a public committee. There are public schools in North and South Kothachira. In Kothachira there is also a Mana called VENGATTURMANA which belongs to a Namboodiri family. Most of the properties belong to them and they distributed them to the ancestors of families now remaining there. The tenants paid Pattom to the landlords (Manas) after each yield. For collecting the Pattom there were Kariasthans and under whom workers to collect it. Most of the time the farmers had to deliver the pattom in kind (agriculture produce) being the highest quality of the produce.

Culture

Kothachira has been a center of traditional performing arts -- especially Kathakali, the four-century-old classical dance-drama, and Panchavadyam.Kalamandalam Gopi, one of Kathakali's all-time great actor-dancers, is from Kothachira. Kalamandalam Neelakantan Nambisan, who revolutionalised the singing style for Kathakali in the second half of the twentiethth century, is also from this village. It is the birthplace of Panchavadyam master in elathalam, Narayanan Nair, Sekharan Nair, Thavil master Vadakkath Sankaran Nair and the Kathakali artiste Kalamandalam Balasubramanian. The late Kathakali scholar Rama Varrier and the Kathakali musician Kalamandalam Raveendran were also from Kothachira. The following persons were well known in the area:- Kodavanparambil Malappurath Ittiri, Kodavanparambil Malappurath Kunjikrishnan, Kodavanparambil Achuthan who was Panchayath member for a long period and also Kodavanparambil Balan Vaidyar who was a very well known ayurvedic medical practitioner. Kodavanparambil Sankaran was one of the largest agriculturists of the area during 20th century. Shri Kattakkan Parambil Thami was one of the well known agriculturists in Kothachira and his son Shri Manikandan was part of the first ever batch of 45 computer science engineers of Kerala University in 1984. Manikandan is known to be working as senior director in the software field of artificial intelligence.

Old Illams The village has some mansions of Nampoodiri Illams, Kothara Mana being the central one. It provided a venue for several art forms -- classical, ritual and folk dance. Among them Ayyappan Thiyyattu, traditionally performed by a Thiyyadi Nambiar family from the nearby village of Perumpilavu. K P Vahajudeen, a very famous football player who has played for Kerala State, is from Kothachira.

Kothachira is connected to the nearest towns of Pattambi (Palakkadu) and Kunnamkulam (Trissur) by road. Kothachira is well connected to neighboring cities by bus.