PALAI

Pala (Malayalam: പാലാ, also written as Palai), is a municipaltown 32 km east of Kottayam in the Indian state of Kerala. It is situated on the banks of theMeenachil River and is the headquarters of the MeenachilTaluk and the Pala Revenue Division. It is the main gateway to the southern high ranges. Located at .7°N 76.7°E, Pala is 56.7 meters above MSL. Nearby towns are Kottayam, Ponkunnam,Erattupetta, Thodupuzha andMuvattupuzha. Pala is on the Main Eastern Highway (Muvattupuzha -Pathanamthitta- Punalur Road / SH - 08). The state highway 'SH-32' (Ettumannor to Poonjar) also passes through Pala. There are various versions regarding the origin of the place name. According to one, Pala gets its name fromPalazhi (Ksheera Sagara), the mythological ocean of milk from which nectar was churned out. Another view is that the name was derived from Palathu Chettiyarfamilies, the prominent early settlers of the region.

Pala was part of the erstwhileprincely state of Travancore, and was ruled by the "Travancore Rajas" for a long time. The local chieftains were "Meenachil Karthas". The first royal Karthafamilies were known as Njavakattu Karthas.They had a title called "Damodara Simhar" and they were rulers of a small kingdom called "Meenachil" which is today's Palai (Kottayam district). They originally were Rajputs who migrated to Madurai in the 14th century (the reason for their exodus or their roots in Rajasthan are still not known). They settled in Madurai (which was a great cultural centre and capital during that time). Later they migrated to Kerala (the reason for which is stated as outbreak of an epidemic in Madurai) and settled in this place "Meenachil" which was named after "Meenakshi" of Madurai.

There are also many other attributes which make them distinct from the normal Nair folks. "Simhar" (Singh) family deity (Bhavai instead of Bhadrakali) and family name was Mevada (Mewar). They also used to have very colorful funeral processions. They were pure vegetarians though they had no sacred threads (poonul), and they followed "Marumakkathayam."

They ruled Meenachil taluk and were instrumental in promoting the Christian settlement in this place. Later they were defeated by the Travancore army of Dharma Raja (successor of Marthanda Varma) and their kingdom was annexed to Travancore (the ruling king committed suicide). All their male folks including boys were slaughtered. However, the ladies were spared. Also, the Travancoreking gave them pension. The family had a successor only after a very long gap due to this genocide by the travancore

Pala has the largest proportion of Roman Catholics in Kerala. The reason why its so often referred among the Catholic circles as the "Mini Vatican of India."

Source : Wikipedia