This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Poovar" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (December 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Poovar
Town
Poovar beach
Poovar Location in Kerala, India Show map of Kerala Poovar Poovar (India) Show map of India
Coordinates: 8°19′3″N 77°4′17″E / 8.31750°N 77.07139°E / 8.31750; 77.07139Coordinates: 8°19′3″N 77°4′17″E / 8.31750°N 77.07139°E / 8.31750; 77.07139
Country	India
State	Kerala
District	Thiruvananthapuram
Languages
• Official	Malayalam, English
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
Vehicle registration	KL-20

Poovar is a tourist town in Neyyattinkara (tehsil) in the Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala state, South India. This village is almost at the southern tip of Thiruvananthapuram while the next village, Pozhiyoor, marks the end of Kerala. This village beach attracts tourists throughout the year.

Thiruvananthapuram Greenfield Shipyard

A major Greenfield Shipyard is coming up in Poovar.^[1] Kerala government owns 200 acres of land in this location which reduces land acquisition. The depth of the sea is 30-meter depth by nature. The Vizhinjam International Seaport is 10 km from this location.

State government offices

• Panchayath Office
• Sub Registrar's Office
• Village Office
• Agriculture Office
• Govt. Hospital
• Govt. Homeopathic Hospital
• Govt. Ayurveda Hospital
• Fisheries Office
• Govt.V & HSS^{[clarification needed]}
• Fire & Rescue Office
• Police Circle Office
• KSRTC^{[clarification needed]} Depot
• Coastal police station

Geography

Poovar lies very close to Vizhinjam, a natural harbour. The beach of Pozhiyoor named Pozhikkara is located near Poovar. The 56 km Neyyar River passes through Neyyattinkara Taluk into the Arabian Sea near Poovar.^[2]

History

Poovar was a trading centre of timber, sandalwood, ivory and spices. It is believed that ships owned by King Solomon of Israel landed in Ophir, which is identified by some sources as Poovar,^[3][4] The village was one of the ancient Muslim settlements along the western coast of India. The central mosque in Poovar was built by Malik Deenar, an eighth century Muslim preacher. During the reign of the Chola dynasty, Poovar was a major port. The explorer Megasthenes, Roman writer Pliny the Elder and Venetian traveller Marco Polo mention connections with Greece and Rome.

There were a merchant named Pokku Moosa Maraikkar who lived in Poovar during the 18th century in a house called Kallaraickal Tharavad, which many times gave shelter to Marthanda Varma (1706–58), king of Travancore from his enemies. Poovar also had trade relations with international markets at this time as well as a well trained army and some ships. At the Battle of Colachel and Battle of Kayamkulam these forces assisted the Travancore army against the Dutch East India Company during the Travancore–Dutch War.

The origin of the name "Poovar" has a story related to Marthanda Varma. Before that it was called Pokkumoosapuram. During internal riots in Travancore and while escaping from the Ettuveetil Pillamar (Lords of the Eight Houses), the king reached Poovar. It was a spring season and the trees on either sides of the Neyyar were full of flowers. These flowers fell into the river making it more attractive. On seeing this pleasant scenery, Marthanda Varma commented that this was poo-var, a conjunction of the Malayalam words for "flower" and "river".^[5]

Transportation

Nearest Airport : Trivandrum International Airport - 30 km, Nearest Railway Station : Trivandrum Central -30 km, Nemom - 20 km, Neyyattinkara - 10 km Nearest Harbour : Vizhinjam - 14 km

^[6]

Tourism: Boating in Poovar

Poovar has emerged as a popular tourist destination recently. There are various resorts, floating restaurants and backwater cruises in Poovar. Resorts are not very costly. Starting price for boating in Poovar is Rs. 200. The backwater cruise in Poovar will go through Neyyar river, mangrove forests, and the golden sand beach.

References

Poovar Wonder by G. Shrinithyaa - A book published by Amazon.com

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Poovar.