Location:Kottayam railway station and Meenachil river,Kerala. Time:12th April 2014 10:49 17229 Trivandrum Central-Hyderabad Sabari Express departs Kottayam and crosses Meenachil river. Kottayam district has acquired its name from the Kottayam town which is the headquarters of the district. It is believed that the name Kottayam is derived from the combination of Malayalam words kott (fort) and akam (inside), and could be translated as "the interior of the fort".Kottayam is situated in the basin of the Meenachil River and in the basin of the Vembanad backwaters, which are formed from several streams in the Western Ghats in Idukki district. Kottayam is an important trading center of spices and commercial crops, especially rubber. Major Kerala print media such as Malayala Manorama, Deepika and Mangalam are headquartered in the town. Also a pioneering center of modern education in Kerala, Kottayam became India's first city to achieve 100% literacy in 1989 and the district became the first tobacco free district in India on September 28, 2008. The city of Kottayam is also known as Akshara Nagari (അക്ഷര നഗരി) (City of Alphabets) in honour of its contributions to print media and literature. It is known as the Land of Letters, Lakes and Latex, and it was recently also titled 'the Mural City'. The Meenachil (Malayalam: മീനച്ചിലാര്) river flows through the heart of Kottayam.The river, 78 km long, flows through Poonjar, Teekoy, Erattupetta, Palai, Ettumanoor and Kottayam before emptying itself into the Vembanad Lake at Kumarakom, the famous tourist place of Kerala.The Meenachil river is formed by several streams originating from the Western Ghats. It is also called Gauna Nadi, Kavanar and Valanjar. The name Meenachil comes from Goddess Meenakshi of Madurai, the deity of the ruling Karthas of Meenachil. Meenakshi became Meenachi and later Meenachil. According to legends this river starts from the Kamandalu of great sage Gauna Maharshi like the river Kaveri from Agasthya Maharshi's Kamandalu. Hence this river got the name Gauna Nadi. Gauna Maharshi filled his Kamandalu with Sapthanadi Theertham (water from the 7 holy rivers -Ganga,Yamuna, Saraswathy,Sindhu, Narmmada,Godavari and Kaveri). The river is also mentioned in the Booker Prize winning book "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy. The story is centred around the Aymanam village through which the Meenachil river flows. 17229 departs Trivandrum at 07:15 daily and arrives Hyderabad at 13:40 on next day. Travel Time: 30h 25m 39 halts Distance: 1567 km Avg Speed: 51 km/hr 17230 departs Hyderabad at 12:00 daily and arrives Trivandrum at 18:55 on next day. Travel Time: 30h 55m 39 halts Distance: 1567 km Avg Speed: 50 km/hr

• published: 06 May 2014
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