Kanyakumari – The land of rising sun was once a part of our “Gods own Country”. This is a fact not known by all malayalees. Those who have a glimpse of history would be well aware of this fact. Our ruling authorities have exchanged this place of scenic beauty with Palakkad, a place where we conduct Radhotsav and where we have the Nelliyampathi hills known for adventurous trips, trekking etc.
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Kanyakumari[/caption]
Let’s see the specialities of both of these places and it’s high time that we think if it was a wise decision to exchange KanyaKumari for Palakkad. This happened long back and after independence all states were separated on linguistic basis and as part of this Kanyakumari was detached from our state Kerala as majority of people in Kanyakumari district were Tamilians. This has really disappointed the keralites who are settled in Kanyakumari as they lost their identity as they feel they neither belong to TamilNadu nor to Kerala. As they followed the same culture and rituals as that of Kerala, it was really hard for them to accept the fact that they belong to a foreign state then onwards. They still follow a mixed culture. Till 1956, Kanyakumari was part of the Travancore kingdom (now Kerala). The capital of Travancore used to be in Padmanabhapuram. After independence there were many riots organized in Kanyakumari under the leadership of Marshall Nesamony to join Tamil Nadu. As a result of that Kanyakumari was made part of Tamil Nadu.
Kanyakumari has an equally balanced population of malayalees and Tamilians which may be a bit more on the Tamil side. The main tourist attraction of Kanyakumari, Padmanabhapuram Palace is still maintained by Kerala Government. The beaches in Kanyakumari, Kanyakumari Beach, Sanguthurai Beach and Sothavilai Beach would have developed a lot like beaches of Kerala if they were part of Kerala State.
Now Kanyakumari is a popular tourist place and a good source of revenue in the state of Tamil Nadu. This is a place of natural miracle. Three seas namely Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea meet here in this place making it an amazing place to visit in South India. I would say that in this place you can watch a very clear beautiful sunrise and sunset in India. There is a lighthouse from where you can get a panoramic view. This beach does not really offer the opportunity to sunbathe on soft golden sands. Here the seashore is dangerous and rocky. There is also a manmade wall running along it.
The beach is also enriched with a lot of adventurous activities such as trekking, biking, swimming and surfing. Eventhough the main aim of a holiday trip to Kanyakumari is to watch the sunsrise and sunset people also visit Kanyakumari Temple, Gandhi Mandapam, and Vivekananda Memorial Rock. It is best to visit the beach between the months of November and March.
Even the capital of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram is totally dependent on Kanyakumari. They are that much dependent on Kanyakumari that if there is a lorry strike then they can’t even meet their daily needs.
Moreover Kanyakumari is really a paradise for nature lovers and tourists.
Palakkad on the other hand, is famous for it’s festival Radhotsav and most of the residents here still follow the Tamil culture. If you take a closer look you may find several people speak Tamil at home as it’s their mother tongue. We do have scenic beauty spots like Nelliyampathi, Malapuzha and all here, but these are not something which will attract the tourists and bring in revenue to our state Kerala.
After reading this article don’t you think “Kanyakumari should have been part of Kerala!” ?
Share your views …