BANK INTERVIEW-ABOUT YOUR DISTRICT

11.  What is the main crop in your area?  What are the favourable features for the same there?

The chief crop in my area is rice.  The black soil in Chittur taluk of Palakkad District  is highly suitable for its cultivation.  There is natural alkalinity in the soil (negative pH value) which is also favourable for its growth.  Added with this, the District is blessed with irrigation facilities.  Six out of the ten completed irrigation projects of Kerala are in Palakkad district. They are Walayar, Malampuzha, Cheerakuzhi, Gayathri (Meenkara, Chulliar), Malnagalam and Pothundy. In addition to this, the construction of two major irrigation projects, viz., Chitturpuzha and Kanhirapuzha are in progress.  This makes the district the rice bowl of Kerala. (Nellara)

12.  Name some of the educational institutions for higher studies in Palakkad

 There are a number of schools and colleges, including engineering colleges. Government Victoria College  was founded in 1866 and has many eminent persons as its former students. They include E. M. S. Namboodiripad, (the late Communist Party leader), T. N. Seshan, former Chief Election Commissioner, E. Sreedharan, the architect of Konkan Railway and Delhi Metro, writers like O. V. Vijayan and M. T. Vasudevan Nair and cartoonist Ravi Shankar.

      The NSS College of Engineering  is an institution founded in 1960 by the Nair Service  Society. The undergraduate admission into this engineering college is based on merit ranking in the Kerala engineering entrance exam. A sizeable number of seats are also reserved for students belonging to socially deprived castes and religious minorities, such as Muslims. The major engineering departments are Civil, Electrical and Electronics, Mechanical, Electronics & Communication, Instrumentation & Control and Computer science Engineering.

       The Chembai Memorial Music College, Government College Chittur, and NSS Colleges at Ottapalam and Nemmara are some of the older colleges in Palakkad. Royal dental college, chalissery

 

13.  Name some of the famous personalities from Palakkad

Several famous Kathakali artists are from Palakkad district, which include Pattikkanthodi Ravunni Nair, Vellinezhi Nanu Nair and Kalamandalam Raman kutty Nair. Poet Olappamanna, Jnanapeetom awardee M.T.Vasudevan Nair, Artist Nambudiri, Artist A.S., Kathakali Chenda Artist Krishnan kutty Poduval, Kathakali musician Unnikrishna kurup,Kathakali Maddhalam artist Cherpulassery Sivan, Dr.Sasi Tharoor(MP), Prakash Karat (CPI-M General Secretary), P.T.Bhaskara Panikkar,E.P.Gopalan, V.P.Menon and Prof.M.G.K.Menon are some other personalities hailing from Palakkad district.

14.  Could you state some art forms or sport events for which your district is famous?

Palakkad district has a traditional form of art known as "Nizhal Pava Koothu" (Shadow puppet play), which is presented in a shed made for this, during the festival seasons of certain selected temples, which include Puthanalikkal Temple of Cherpulassei, Palakkeezhu Temple of Mundur, Palakkad, etc. Both Chakyar koothu and Koodiyattom had its origin in this district. Porattu Natak and Kanyarkali are two art forms, which one cannot see anywhere in the State. Ox race, referred as Kalapoottu in Malayalam is celebrated in January month. This is the well known agrarian sport celebrated in Palakkad.  Cockfight (Kozhipporu) is also a sport event in the border regions of this district.

15.  Name some of the places of both tourist cultural importance in your district.

Sir, really a number of such places come into my mind.  Among these, the Palakkad Fort a historical monument constructed by Hyderali of Mysore in 1784, Malampuzha dam garden; Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary which is a virgin forest procted without human inhabitation; Silent Valley National Park, an ‘evergreen forest’in werstern ghats;  Killikkurussimangalam, the birth place of Kunjan Nambiar, the creator of Ottan thullal;  Nelliyampathi, popularly known as ‘poormen’s Ootty’;  Attappady, important for anthropologists because of the existence of many forms of tribal people (adivasis);  Jain Temple of Jainimedu;  Kalpathy, a place famous for music, dance and agraharas;  Chembai gramom, the birth place of Sri. Chembai Vaidya Natha Bhagavathar,  centre of music and culture are the most important ones.