Palai

Pala (Malayalam: പാലാ, also written as Palai), is a municipal town 28 km east of Kottayam in the Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of 15.93 km². It is situated 173 km North from the state capital Thiruvananthapuram, on the banks of the Meenachil River and is the headquarters of the Meenachil Taluk and the Pala Revenue Division. It is the one of the main gateways to the southern high ranges of Western Ghats. Pala connects to highranges through Thodupuzha and Kanjirappally taluks.

Etymology

There are various versions regarding the origin of the place name. According to one, early Christian settlers from Kottayam (near Chavakad in today's Thrissur district), who settled down in Meenachil on the other side of the Meenachil River, named the place as Pala - a shortened form of Palayoor. Another view is that the name was derived from Palathu families, the prominent early settlers of the region. Another version is that Pala gets its name from Palazhi (Ksheera Sagara), the mythological Ocean of milk from which nectar was churned out. But there are no supportive explanation why or how this place is connected with the Puranic ocean of milk.