Pampady

According to Malayalam Dictionary, Sabdatharavali of Sreekandeswaram means "The Land of Lord Vishnu". The area where a Sreekrishna Temple was located was named Pampady, possibly influencing the town's current name.

Vennimala, located on the western border of Pampady, was once the capital of the Thekkumkur kingdom. In 1749, Marthanda Varma of Venad conquered Thekkumkoor and annexed it to the Kingdom of Travancore. After the formation of the state of Travancore-Cochin in 1949 and the reorganisation of states in 1956, Pampady became part of the new state of Kerala. Old records dating back to ME 352 (AD 1176), kept with Kaithamattom Illam in Velloor, shed light on the history of Pampady. It details human inhabitation roughly 1,000 years ago. Up until the middle of 16th Century, Pampady was ruled by the king of Thekkumkoor. Pampady had three portions, Velloor, Pampady and Thekkan Pampady. In earlier times, Velloor was owned by the Kaithamattam Illam, while Pampady was held by the Madathil and Ambazhathinal families. Major portions of Thekkan Pampady were originally owned by the Kongoor Pallimana and later passed to the Arackal and Vallatt families.

National Highway 183 (formerly National Highway 220) passes through the centre of Pampady City. It is also connected to Kottayam, Ponkunnam, Kanjirappally, Pala, Pallickathode and Karukachal. Local railway stations include the Kottayam railway station (16km) and Changanacherry railway station (22km). The nearest international airport is Cochin International Airport (90km).

Pampady has several temples and churches. Among them is the Pampady Dayara Chapel (Mar Kuriakose Dayara), which contains the tomb of Kuriakose Mar Gregorios (5 April 1885, 5 April 1965), popularly known as Pampady Thirumeni. The chapel is situated on the Pothenpuram hills of Pampady. Cheruvallikavu Devi temple, Pampady Mahadeva temple, Alampally Sreekrishnaswamy temple. Catholic churches nearby include St. Mary's Malankara Catholic Church, Devamatha Syro Malabar Catholic Church, Holy Immanuel CSI Church in Pampady,St. Mary's Simhasana Cathedral, St. Simon's Jacobite Church,Martha Mariam Jacobite Church Pampady East (Jacobite Syrian Christian Church) and St.John's Orthodox Cathedral Pampady, St. Thomas Orthodox Church Velloor, St. Thomas Orthodox Church, South Pampady.

Schools in Pampady are managed under the Block Resource Centre. The town has several high schools, higher educational institutions, and a number of primary schools.

• GOVT.V H S S KOTHALA

• ST MARY S H S S, MANARCAD, KOTTAYAM

• G H S AREEPARAMPU

• SHGHS PANGADA

• PEMHS THIRUVANCHOOR

• Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Higher Secondery School LAKKATTOOR

• MGMHS PAMPADY

• GHSS PAMPADY

• GHS MEENADOM

• St. Thomas HS South Pampady

• GOVT.PTMHS VELLOOR

• NSSHS KOTHALA

• I J B C G H S MANARKAD

• CROSSROADS HIGHER SECONDARY SCHOOL, PAMPADY

• Govt TECHNICAL H S PAMPADY

• Manarkad Govt. UPS

• Meenadam St. Mary`s UPS

• Meenadom T.M.U. UPS

• Neerikad St. Mary`s UPS

• Sree Bhadra Public School South Pampady

• Pangada Govt. LPS

• Kooroppada C.M.S. LPS

• Kooroppada N.S.S.K. LPS

• Kothala C.M.S. LPS

• Lakkattoor Govt. LPS

• Lakkattoor North Govt. LPS

• Manarcad C.M.S. LPS

• Manarcad Govt. LPS

• Meenadom Eest C.M.S. LPS

• Meenadom Govt. LPGS

• Meenadom West C.M.S. LPS

• Nennala C.M.S. LPS

• Pampady M.D. LPS

• Pampady N.M. LPS

• Pampady North C.M.S. LPS

• Pampady St. Thomas GLPS

• Thiruvanchoor C.M.S. LPS

• Thiruvanchoor Govt.LPS

• Velloor Govt. Central LPS

• Velloor Govt. LPS

• GUPS Cheerumkulam

• Malam Govt. UPS

• MGM NSS English Medium School Lakkattoor

• Infant Jesus E M L P School Manarcad

The Malayalam writer Ponkunnam Varkey was born in Pampady. Navalokam is an active cultural forum in the town. An Arts Society also functions here and organises cultural programmes at the Community Hall every month. In the 1970s, the Deepa Arts Club was active and affiliated with Manorama Balajanasakhyam; its members participated in the Balalokam programme of All India Radio.

The Pampady Block headquarters is located at Pallickathode, about 9 km from the city centre. Pampady has several government and semi-government institutions, including the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology, a Police Circle Inspector office, a BSNL telephone exchange, a panchayat office, and a KSEB sub-station.

• Kuriakose Mar Gregorios (Pampady Thirumeni)
• Ponkunnam Varkey, writer
• Pampady John Joseph, Dalit activist and the founder of the socio-religious movement Cheramar Mahajan Sabha
• Thomas Kurian, business manager and CEO of Google Cloud
• George Kurian, CEO of NetApp
• Baiju N Nair, prominent automotive and travel journalist