Chittur

Chittur ചിറ്റൂർ
Town
Chittur Municipal Office
Coordinates: 10°42′N 76°45′E / 10.70°N 76.75°E / 10.70; 76.75Coordinates: 10°42′N 76°45′E / 10.70°N 76.75°E / 10.70; 76.75
Country	India
State	Kerala
District	Palakkad
Government
• Type	Panchayati raj (India)
• Body	Gram panchayat
Area
• Total	1,155.10 km2 (445.99 sq mi)
Elevation	131 m (430 ft)
Languages
• Official	Malayalam
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
Vehicle registration	KL-70

Chittur is a town in Palakkad district of Kerala, South India and was once part of the erstwhile Cochin state.

Chittur Thathamangalam town consists of the famous Chittur Bhagavathi temple, which is under the Cochin Devaswom board. The other major temples are the Pazhayannur Bhagavathi temple, Durga temple, and Sivakshethram (in Lankeswaram agraharam). The municipality consists of Chittur, Tathamangalam, pallimokku, kammanthara, puzhampalam, Kacherimedu, Anicode, Thekkegramam and Kadambidi. Chittur M.L.A is K. Krishnan Kutty of Janatha Dal(Secular).

Agriculture is the main occupation of the people. The town is home to some of the major Menon tharavads of Kerala. There are also many agraharams (settlement of Iyers) and Moothan tharas.

Sokanashini river flows through Chittur, and it is on the banks of this river Thunjathu Ramanujan Ezuthachan, the father of Malayalam language, spent his last days. His final resting place is famous for Vidyarambham celebrations, where young children are initiated into the world of words and knowledge.

Chittur was formerly a military cantonment.

Music is a part of the lifestyle of the people here with the Government College training students towards higher degrees in music. 'Kongan pada' is the main celebration of Chittur and it is celebrated in the month of March. Sooranporu, Niramala and Ayyappan vilakku are also celebrated here. Others include Onam, Pongal, Vishu, Deepavali and Navarathri. At the time of Vishu, vishu vela is also celebrated. There are music concerts in Chittur Kavu at the time of Navarathri and Konganpada.

As of 2001^[update] India census, Chittur-Tattamangalam had a population of 31,884. Males constitute 49% of the population and females 51%. Chittur-Tattamangalam has an average literacy rate of 79%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with male literacy of 84% and female literacy of 74%. 9% of the population is under 6 years of age. Chittur is sometimes called as Kerala's "nellara" along with Alappuzha, meaning the rice bowl.