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Revision as of 11:31, 30 September 2004 by Samnambiar (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Kannur :A district (and also the name of the town which is its headquarters)in northern Kerala, which is in southern part of India. Kannur or Cannanore district consists of three revenue districts or taluks, which are Thalassery, Kannur and Taliparamba. The total area of the district is 2,996 Sq Kms. It has a population of 24,412,365.
The name Kannur is derived from the two Malayalam words 'Kannan' (Sri Krishna) and 'Ur'(place). It is quite common in India that the names of villages and districts are associated with Indian mythological characters, even if there is no mention of such a village in the respective mythology. The name 'Kannur' also is not an exception.
There are lots of myths and legends associated with Kannur. It is said that the ships of Solomon had anchored along the coasts of Kannur to collect timber for building the 'Temple of the Lord'. Kannur finds mention as NAURA in the 'Periplus of the Erithrean Sea' a Greek work of great antiquity.
Formerly the capital of the Kolattiri Raja, it had engaged in trades with Arabia and Persia in the 12th and 13th centuries. Vasco da Gama visited Kannur in 1498 after which it became a Portuguese settlement. In the mid-17th centuries control of Kannur passed to the Dutch from whom the British captured it in 1783.
Kannur has two fantastic beaches in the heart of the main city- one is at Payyambalam (this also is adjacent to the main Hindu cemetry of the city), with an unbroken coastline of a few kilometres. From the beach, you can see ships in transit along the Malabar coast, i.e beyond Calicut (Kozhikode) and moving towards Managlore, Goa and Bombay (Mumbai). the other beach is called the Baby Beach (owing to its being smaller than its bigger neighbourhood!), and it also has the famous Angelos Fort adjacent to it. Kannur was once the nurturing ground and think tank of the Communist Revolution of Kerala and is home of the famous 'Red' leaders AK Gopalan (a.k.a AKG) and EK Nayanar (former CM). Congress honcho Karunakaran also hails from here. The city has a mix of Portuguese, french, Punjabis and Gujaratis, apart from the ubiquitous Malayalees. Is a very politically educated and active district, but the life goes on normally even when two factions are fighting it out with knives and sticks. Another famous landmark is the Snake Park at Pappinissery, en route from Kannur to Taliparamba, 2 kms from NH 17. here one gets to see a large genre of snakes and other small animals and there is even a live show, where trained personnel play and 'interact' with a variety of snakes, including cobras and vipers, and seek to quell mythical fears and superstitions about snakes. You can even touch a python or sling it like a chain around your neck if you are of the adventurous variety!!
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