Karamana is a suburb of Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city ofKerala, India. It is one of the most densely populated, but green part of Thiruvananthapuram. The land of Karamana is made fertile by the river, Karamana River which starts from the southern tip of the Western Ghats at "Agastyakoodam". The river flows 68 km westward and merges into the Arabian Sea at Thiruvallom-Karumam area near Kovalam.The Juma Masjid in Karamana is a famous landmark. Karamana is also known for its busy "Daily market" and is a major transit point for both trade and people travelling to or coming in from the Kanyakumari district of neighbouring Tamil Nadu.
Etymology
According to myths, 'Karamana' the place name came from a famous namboothiri family who lived in the bank of the river. The life of people at that time was sticking around the Brahmin family. So, simply referring as the 'mana', meaning house on 'kara' meaning bank, became "Karamana". In the flow of time, this family became extinct and still the name is there.
Civil Society and Administration
Karamana is situated inside the city limits of Thiruvananthapuram Corporation. It is the 20th ward of TC and is represented by a Councillor in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation Council. Like most parts of Trivandrum, Karamana too has a substantial non-Malayalam speaking population, which contributes immensely to the rich and vibrant cultural scene in Trivandrum. It has one of the oldest Tamil Brahmin settlements of Thiruvananthapuram and the old "Theruvu" style of wall-sharing town-houses, gives one a peek into the Brahmin life-style of yore. It maintains a large community of various religions and castes. Karamana is a model for secularism and religious/cultural tolerance. National Highway 47, the main travel and trade corridor of Kerala, passes through Karamana onward to the Central business districts of Thiruvananthapuram.
Famous personalities
Among many illustrious persons who had made Karamana their home was "Divan Bahadhur Veeraraghavapuram Nagamaiya". The Divan was one of the persons who contributed to the growth of the State of Travancore. In memory of the Diwan, the avenue where he lived is named as "Nagamaiya Avenue".The Famous journalist of the time A.Padmanabha Iyer was born to Shri.C.Yegnanarayanan and Seethalakshmi in this street. He lived in this place throughout his life. In the meantime he wrote about 179 books. To mention some, Modern Mysore, modern Travancore Souvenir on the Shashti Abdhapoorti of Sir C.P. Ramaswamy Iyer. Neelakanta Sivan, later known as Nilakanta Dasar, a resident of Karamana, man of great spiritual attainments, he wrote many devotional songs in Tamil. His disciple, Papanasam Sivan was greatly influenced by his compositions. He was in Government service till his 35th birthday. Then, he began to compose his lyrics, in praise of Siva. He composed more than a thousand songs. He used "Nilakanta" as the mudra. His greatest contribution was 'Lalitha Mahatmiyam'. The famous Diwan Sankarasubba Iyer, Diwan of Travancore during the 1890s was from Karamana. S.S Street and a lower primary school also were named after him. Diwan lived in a majestic mansion located in the S.S.Street, well known as "Diwanji Aam". His grandchildren, Justice T.S. Krishnamoorthy Iyer and Justice S. Padmanabhan, Judges in Kerala High Court and Madras High Court respectively. Their father, Sankarasubba Iyer was also a Judge of outstanding merit in the Travancore High Court. Their nephew, Jus Sankarasubban was a judge of the Kerala High Court from 1996 to 2006. Dr.Sambasivan, one of the leading Neurosurgeons in India, hails from Karamana. He devised a technique to operate posterior third-ventricular tumours — extremely complex brain surgery . He is also the Tantri of Sathyavageeswarar Temple and Durga Temple at Sreekanteswaram. Karamana is also home to Sooranadu Kunhan Pillai, great lexicographer and Malayalam scholar. Malayattoor Ramakrishnan, a famous Malayalam novelist lived in Shastri Nagar in Karamana. The award-winning thespian Karamana Janardhanan Nair hails from this area. Cukkoo of the south - K.S Chithra hails from this place. Karamana has been referred in various historic literature works, especially in the period detective novelDharma Raja, written by Sri C.V. Raman Pillai. The well-known fisheries NGO, SIFFS, has its headquarters on the banks of the Karamana river here.
Places of interest and topology
Karamana is home to the famous temple of Sri Satyavageeswara. The Mahadeva Temple of Thaliyal is very near, a walkable distance. Every year, the Thaipusam festival is conducted with grandeur. Karamana settlement is mainly divided into streets. They are: Sivan Kovil street, Kinattumkara Theruvu, Telugu chetty theruvu, Keezhetheruvu, single street, Aattinkara street, S.S Street, Deekshan Bhagavathar theruvu, Kozhakka theruvu, Nagamaiyya Street and Krishnan Kovil Street. These are all mainly occupied by Tamil Brahmins of different vedas like Rig Veda, Yajur Veda and Sama Veda Nearest places of interest: Sri Padmanabha Swamy temple, 3 km; Attukal Temple, 3 km;Sree Kanteswarem, Sree Varaham, 3 km, Ananthankadu temple 3 km, Muthumari amman temple, krishnan kovil, murugan kovil, vaniamman kovil, chilanthivala dharma sastha temple, hanuman swamy temple. Sathyavageeswara temple: The main deity is Lord Shiva, next Sri. Gomathy ambal, hanuman swami, ganapathi, murugan, ayyappan and nandikesa.A function known "ATI RUDRA" is held every month in this temple. Chilanthival Dharma Sastha Temple, main deity is Lord Ayyappa. Ganapathi, Melangode Bhagavathi, and Yakshi deities are also there in the temple.
