Bharananganam

Bharananganam ഭരണങ്ങാനം
town
Bharananganam Syro-Malabar Catholic Church
Nickname(s): Lisieux of India
Coordinates: 9°42′00″N 76°43′40″E / 9.70000°N 76.72778°E / 9.70000; 76.72778Coordinates: 9°42′00″N 76°43′40″E / 9.70000°N 76.72778°E / 9.70000; 76.72778
Country	India
State	Kerala
District	Kottayam
Population
• Total	17,000
Languages
• Official	Malayalam, English
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN	686578
Telephone code	914822
Vehicle registration	KL- 35
Literacy	100%
Lok Sabha constituency	Kottayam
Vidhan Sabha constituency	Pala

Bharananganam, an important pilgrim centre in South India, is located on the banks of Meenachil river, 5 km east of Pala in Kottayam district in the state of Kerala. Bharananganam and surrounding places are bestowed with natural beauty due to hilly areas and lot of vegetation. Agriculture is the main occupation of the people, who cultivate plantation crops such as Rubber.

The Population of Bharananganam comprises Catholic Syrian Christians and Hindus. The Syrian Christian community here is said to be 1000 years old, who migrated from the nearby Aruvithura area, along the upper course of the Meenachil River, in the 10th and 11th centuries. Also many other Christian families migrated to the region from other ancient Christian centers, in the following centuries. The community is traditionally into farming. Both the Christians and Hindus live in absolute peace and harmony.

Bharananganam is known for its many aristocratic and affluent Nasrani families who've branched out from the place to other agrarian areas of Kerala, following the early agrarian expansion of Central Travancore, in the mid-19th century. This expansion lasted till the 1980s, with the last few waves of migrant Syrian Christians from in and around the area, migrating to the hilly villages of Northern Kerala.

Bharananaganam is well known for Sree Krishna Temple in the banks of river Meenachil. This is one of the major temple of South Kerala. The east facing Sree Krishna Swami temple is located 1.3 km away from Bharanaganam junction in Ettumanoor - Poonjar State Highway. The 8 day long annual festival in Makaram (January) is a very vibrant event in the whole region commencing with the hoisting of the temple flag on Makara Samkramam day, and concluding with ‘Arattu’ (Ritual Bath of the deity) on 8th day. Besides the regular daily rituals the festivities include processions of the deity on elephant’s back to the suburban villages like Kizhaparayar, Keezhambara, Chittanappara and bharananganam (on 5 days) the precious ‘Utsava Bali’ (for 6 days) and art and cultural programs every day. The ‘Arattu’, typical of the 'Arattu' in almost any temple, is a magnificent night-long ceremony including procession of several elephants and performances by major percussion teams. The slow-moving procession of the caparisoned elephants carrying decorative silken umbrellas and other paraphernalia, illumined by multi-tongued oil torches, is a gorgeous spectacle, a delightful experience for the participants.

The official website of the temple is https://web.archive.org/web/20110202214457/http://bharananganamtemple.com/