Sooranad North

Sooranad North ശൂരനാട് വടക്ക്
village
Sooranad North Location in Kerala, India
Coordinates:
Country	India
State	Kerala
District	Kollam
Population (2011)
• Total	27,959
Languages
• Official	Malayalam, English
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN	690561
Telephone code	0476
Vehicle registration	KL-
Nearest city	karunagappally
Sex ratio	93.76 ♂/♀
Vidhan Sabha constituency	Kunnathur
Climate	moderate (Köppen)

Sooranad North (Malayalam:ശൂരനാട് വടക്ക്) is a village in Kollam district in the south west Indian state of Kerala.

The village is part of Kunnathur Taluk, which lies in Kerala's Kollam District and sits on the border of the Kollam, Pathanamthitta and Allappuzha Districts. Sooranad North and Sooranad South are collectively known as Sooranad and have their own local panchayats. Sooranad North covers an area of 22.67 square kilometres (8.75 sq mi) and is 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) from Sasthamcotta, 30 kilometres (19 mi) from Kollam, 90 kilometres (56 mi) from the state capital Thiruvananthapuram and 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from Karunagappalli, which is the nearest city. Sooranad North's Pin Code is 690561.

Overview

The main employment for men and women of the village is cashew nut processing, which takes place in several factories. There are also workers who manufacture tiles and "country burnt" bricks. In addition, there are people who work as casual laborers.

There are three Higher Secondary schools: the Government High School of Sooranadu and the Santhinikethan Model High School, and other Upper Primary and Lower Primary Schools provide basic education to both the local students from other administrative subdivisions (taluks).

Padmasri Dr. Sooranad Kunjan Pillai, the renowned poet, writer, and linguistic expert who formulated Malayalam Lexicon, hailed from the area. Barrister N. Padmanabha pillai of Panayamcherril veedu, of vayyankara who was member of Sreemoolam Assembly and Municipal Chairman, Kollam during whose time the clocktower in Kollam was built.Wellknown writer and journalist Sri.Gopi Anayadi also from this village and he belongs to Vandematharam veedu near Anayadi bridge.

A tributary of the Kallada River flows through this village as well as the Pallikkal River. Across this there is a dam that can irrigate about 200 acres (81 ha) of paddy and other summer crops. There are many markets in Sooranad such as Kannamath chandha, Vayyankara chantha, and Parakkadavu chantha. There are many temples in Sooranad including Kalarivadukal Temple, Kumaranchira temple, Komalavalleeswaram temple, Anayadi narasimha moorthy temple, Azhakiyakavu sree kurumba kaalli devi temple, Puthiyakavu Temple, kalarivathukkal temple, Sree narayana puram temple and Puthiyidam Krishnaswami temple, Kunniradathu malanada and Ponal Kalari Shree Bhuvaneswari Temple. The last two are under one administration and the former is famous for Anayadi pooram with hundred and odd elephants partaking to decorate the festival.

A large elephant festival, the Anayadi Gajamela, takes place at Anayadi Narasimha Moorthy Temple and involves a hundred-odd caparisoned elephants lined up accompanied by a traditional orchestra. The ten-day festival is conducted every year on the Thiruvonam day in the month of Makaram. Devotees offer 250–300 elephants almost every year. The main deity of the temple is Narasimha, the lion-headed incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Anayadi Gajamela has become a favourite with locals and has also found a place on the tourism map. Anayadi Narasimha Moorthy Temple is located on the northern border of Kollam district of which Pathanamthitta and Alappuzha districts share the boundaries. It is also reachable from Adoor Charummoodu and Sasthamcotta and also via Kayamkulam Punaloor route and traveling south, 17 kilometres (11 mi) from Charummoodu.

Kunnathur Taluk

The following villages are part of Kannathur Taluk:

• Kunnathur
• Sasthamcottah
• West Kallada
• Poruvazhy
• Sooranad North
• Sooranad South
• Mynagappally

See also

• Sooranad
• Sooranad South