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Kerala Districts
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District Head Quarters – Kozhikode Literacy – 92.24 Percent. Kozhikode Pincode – 673580 Kozhikode Std Code – 0495, Dial : 00 – (Country/ISD Code 91)-(City/STD Code 495)-(Followed by Telephone Number) Important Places – Kappad Beach, Thusharagiri Waterfalls Kozhikode is situated on the southwest coast of India. The city of Kozhikode, also known as Calicut, is the district headquarters.The name Kozhikode is thought to be derived, according to Prof. K.V.Krishna Ayyer, from Koyil (Palace) + Kota (Fort) meaning 'Fortified Palace'. The place was also referred to as Chullikkad meaning 'shrubby jungle' probably referring to the marshy nature of the land. Linguistically, ya and zha are interchangeable in Malayalam, and Kode stands for fort (kotta). Others have called the city by different names. The Arabs called it Kalikooth, Tamils called the city Kallikkottai, for the Chinese it was Kalifo and all the while, it has been Kozhikode for the Malayalees. The word Calicut is also thought to have derived from a fine variety of hand- woven cotton cloth that was exported from the port of Kozhikode. Now, although the city's official name is Kozhikode, it is also very commonly called by its Anglicized version, Calicut. As of 2001 India census, Kozhikode had a population of 436,530 and is the third largest Urban agglomeration in Kerala. The city is projected to have a population of 440,367 by 2010. Kozhikode has an average sex ratio of 1,055 females for every 1000 male. Males constitute 49% of the population and females 51%. Kozhikode has an average literacy rate of 92.24% (National Avg.: 59.5%) wherein male literacy rate is 96.6% and female literacy rate is 90.6%. 11% of the total city population is under 6 years of age.
The History of the district is inevitably intertwined with the history of the city of Kozhikode. Calicut is the anglicized form of Kalikooth, the name used by Arabs to refer to Kozhikode. It was also called the Cock Fort, a usage that may have came from kozhi (Rooster) kodu (fortified). According to the historian K.V. Krishnan Iyer, the word Kozhikode is derived from koyil (palace) kodu (fortified), meaning 'Fortified Palace'. Kozhikode emerged as the centre of an independent kingdom in the 14th century, whose ruler was known as the Zamorin. Kappad (Kappakkadavu) Beach is located 16 km to the north of Kozhikode along the Kannur road at Tiruvangoor. Apart from the fact that it is a
Reference: Wikipedia |
beautiful rocky beach with high potential for tourism, it is the site where Vasco Da Gama landed on 27 May 1498 with three vessels and 170 men. A monument erected here commemorates this 'historic landing'. However, many authors have questioned the emphasis given to the Portuguese sailor who was one amongst hundreds of traders who reached the shores of Calicut and was guided by a Portuguese-speaking Arab. An ancient temple on a hillock, facing the sea, is an added attraction.
Thusharigiri