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| Please keep "Kozhikode" as it is. Do not play with it. | |||
| '''Kozhikode''', also known as '''Calicut''', is the third largest city (pop. 801,190:1991) in the southern state of ], ]. It is the capital of ], and was formerly the capital of an independent kingdom, and later of the erstwhile ]. This city is famous as the place where ] of China first visited, and later ] in ]. The name of the fibre ] is derived from the name of this city. It is also the pepper capital of the world. | |||
| ] | |||
| ==History== | |||
| Calicut is the ] form of ‘Kalikut’, ] for the ] name Kozhikode. It is also called the Cock Fort. According to the historian K.V. Krishnan Iyer, the term means ''koyil'' (palace) ''kodu'' (fortified). | |||
| The ports of the ] have been participated in the Indian Ocean trade in spices, silk, and other goods for over two millennia. Kozhikode emerged as the centre of an independent kingdom in the 14th century, whose ruler was known as the ]. | |||
| [[Image:Stellardiagram-Zhengho.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Admiral Zheng He's navigation chart from | |||
| Hormuz to Calicut, 1430]] | |||
| During the Yong Le era of the ] of ], Admiral ] and his treasure fleet visited Kozhikode. Their visits were documented by on-board Arab language translators ], Fei Xin and Gong Zheng. Each one of them published a book documented their visits to various countries, including Calicut. Ma Huan’s book "Ying yai Sheng lan" (translated into English as ''The Overall Survey of the Ocean Shores'') contains the following observations of Kozhikode: | |||
| *Calicut was a large kingdom on the West Ocean, bordering ] kingdom to the east, ] to the south, and ] to the north. | |||
| *The king of Calicut (Vana Vikraman) was a Brahmin, a Buddhist; his chiefs were Muslims. | |||
| *The throne pass to the king's sister's son. | |||
| *In the fifth year of Yong Le ], the emperor of Ming dynasty ordered Admiral Zheng He to deliver an imperial honor to King of Calicut, with grant of silver seal, and promoted the chiefs with titles and awards of hats and girdles of different grades. | |||
| *Admiral Zheng He erected a pavilion with ceremonial stone tablet in Calicut to celebrate this event. | |||
| *The king minted fanam coins of 60% gold and also silver coins as currency. | |||
| *The people of Calicut were honest and trustworthy. | |||
| *The people of Calicut made ] out of silkworn, and dyed silk into different colors. | |||
| *Main produce in Calicut were ], ], ], eggplants in four seasons; also red and white rice, but no wheat. | |||
| *The king of Calicut ordered craftsmen to draw fifty ounces of gold into hair-like fine threads, and weaved them into ribbon to make a gold girdle embedded with pearls and precious stones of all sort of colors, and sent envoy Naina (Narayana) to present the gold girdle to the Ming emperor as tribute. | |||
| *According to Ming dynasty Imperial Guard Recruitment Record, Nanking area town guard chief Shaban was a native of Calicut. He was recruited to join Zheng He’s expedition, and was promoted on his return. Another officer Shasozu from Nanking military division was also a native from Calicut, who joined Zheng He’s expedition and too was promoted. | |||
| Admiral Zheng He later re-visited Calicut several times. On April of ] during his 6th and last expedition, he died in Calicut. This ceremonial stone tablet erected by Zheng He stood at least another two hundred years in Calicut; Jesuit Godinho de Eredia wrote that he saw this tablet in ]. | |||
| ] landed at Kappad (18 kilometers north of Kozhikode) in May ], as the leader of a trade mission from ] and was received by the ] himself. During the 16th century the Portuguese set up trading posts to the north in ] and to the south in ], but the Zamorin resisted the establishment of a permanent Portuguese presence in the city, although in ] the kingdom was forced to accept a Portuguese trading post in ]. The Zamorins later allied with Portuguese's rivals the ], and by the mid-17th century the Dutch had captured the Malabar Coast spice trade from the Portuguese. In the ] ] of ] captured Kozhikode and much of northern Malabar Coast, and came into conflict with the ] based in ], which resulted in four ]. Kozhikode and the surrounding districts were among the territories ceded to the British by ] of Mysore at the conclusion of the ] in ]. The newly-acquired possessions on the Malabar Coast were organized into ] of ], and Calicut became the district capital. | |||
| After Indian Independence in ], Madras Presidency became ]. In ] the Indian states were reorganized along linguistic lines, and Malabar District was combined with the state of ] into the new state of ] on ] ]. Malabar District was divided into the districts of ], Kozhikode, and ] on January 1 ]. | |||
| ==Climate== | |||
| The district has a generally humid climate with a very hot season extending from March to May. The most important rainy season is during the South West ], 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. The best weather is found in towards the end of the year, in December and January - the skies are clear, and the air is crisp. | |||
| The highest temperature recorded was 39.4ºC in March 1975. The lowest was 14ºC recorded on 26 December 1975. | |||
| ==People== | |||
| The centuries of trade across the Indian Ocean gave Kozhikode a cosmopolitan population. ]s constitute the majority of the population, and next come the ] and the ] communities respectively. The Muslims of Kozhikode District are known as ]s. A great majority of them are ]s following the ] School of thought. Christianity is believed to have been introduced in Kerala in ] CE, and the Christian population expanded with the presence of the Portuguese, Dutch, and British starting in the 16th century. | |||
| ==Media== | |||
| Kozhikode occupies a prominent place in the history of Malayalam Journalism. The origin of the Journalism in this district can be traced back to ]. The ''Kerala Pathrika'' is likely to be the earliest newspaper published from Kozhikode. ''Keralam'', ''Kerala Sanchari'' and ''Bharath Vilasam'' are among the Other newspapers published from Kozhikode before ]. The two major Malayalam newspapers, the and the bring out Kozhikode editions while one of the major national dailies in English, the also has its offices in the city. | |||
| The Kozhikode station of ] was commissioned on 14th May ] and it 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 July 3 ], relaying programmes from ] and ] ]. Cable and satellite television are also available in many parts of the district. | |||
| ] | |||
| ], popularly known as ,] is a ] ] . He was born July 16, 1977 in poilkave beach, a small village in kozhikode district, Kerala. One of the most Software Design in the World, Also World First Electro Resume Builder and modern Bio Data Design. praveenpoil was awarded the IT award in India, for the Bonita Software in 2002 He is also the receipient of many awards including: Kerala State IT Award and Central Information Technology Award National IT Award for Best Software Design (five times) National IT Award and for Best Marketing & Software Builder ( Bonita Software 2003) Kerala State IT Award for Best Desktop Designer (2001.Mona ) Satayam Inforamation Technology Award for the Best website Design(2003 ) Fore More Inforamtion | |||
| ==Places of interest== | |||
| The temples and mosques of this district contain 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, Valayanadu Temple, Varakkal Temple, Bilathikulam Temple, Bhairagi Madam Temple, and the ]. | |||
| There is an art gallery and ] Museum at East Hill in Kozhikode. Lalitha Kala Academy also has an art gallery adjacent to the Kozhikode town hall. There is a planetarium, situated in the heart of the city near Jaffer Khan Colony. Kozhikode Beach and Mananchira Square are other popular gathering spots. | |||
| Thusharagiri, a very beautiful Waterfall is about 55 Km from Calicut Railway Station. Thusharagiri is served by a KTDC (Kerala Tourism Development Corporation) hotel. | |||
| ==Culture & Cuisine== | |||
| ] | |||
| 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 ]. | |||
| One of the favourite past times of the Muslims of the district is the singing of the ] and ]. The songs are composed in a composite language of ] and ]. | |||
| The famous intellectual debate for vedic scholars to win the coveted position of Pattathanam takes place at Thali temple during the month of Thulam. | |||
| Kozhikode also has strong associations with two things - ghazals and football. The game has a huge fan following here, and the Football World Cup is followed with even greater enthusiasm than the unofficial national sport of India - cricket. Local clubs even pick favourites among competing nations, and vociferously support their teams. | |||
| The city also has a strong mercantile streak to it, with the major vein of commerce being the "''Mithai Theruvu''", a long street crammed with shops that sell everything from sarees to cosmetics, and house hotels to sweetmeat shops. The name "''Mithai Theruvu'' or "''S M Street''" comes from the famous sweet 'Kozhidoe Halwa' which was often called as the Sweet Meat by European traders. The multi cultural mix of Kozhikode ensures that ], ] and ] (the festivals of the Hindus, Christians and Muslims) are celebrated with equal pomp. | |||
| Kozhikode also offers fare for every palette. Vegetarian fare includes the 'sadya' (the full-fledged feast with rice, sambhar, and seven different curries and pappadum). However, the non-vegetarian food offered in the city is a unique mix of Muslim and Christian preparations. Some popular dishes include the Biriyani, Ghee Rice with meat curry, a whole host of sea-food preparations (prawns, mussels, mackerel, sea-fish) and paper thin ''Pathiri''s to provide accompaniment to spicy gravy. Another well known Kozhikode speciality are banana chips, which are made crisp and wafer thin, and the 'Kozhikode Halwa' . | |||
| ==Educational institutions== | |||
| : One of the most prestigious medical institutions in India. The Institution recently made headlines by creating the , the premier Open Access Medical Journal in India. | |||
| ]: 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. | |||
| ]: The latest in the ] series, this institution was ranked in the top 10 B-schools in India. | |||
| ]: One of the oldest and most prestigious colleges in the country, founded by ] of Calicut. | |||
| ]: A prestigious arts and science college, accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council with a grade '''A'''. | |||
| ]: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 == | |||
| * ] | |||
| * Ma Huan: ''Ying-yai Sheng Lan (Overall Survey of the Ocean's Shores) '' translate with notes by J.V.G Mills, 1970. Hakluyt Society, London; Reprint 1997, White Lotus Press, Bangkok. ISBN 974-8496-78-3 | |||
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Revision as of 11:44, 29 January 2006
Please keep "Kozhikode" as it is. Do not play with it.