Kasaragod
—  municipality and town  —
A bird's eye view of kasaragod town
Kasaragod Location of Kasaragod in Kerala and India
Coordinates	12°30′N 75°00′E / 12.5°N 75.0°E / 12.5; 75.0Coordinates: 12°30′N 75°00′E / 12.5°N 75.0°E / 12.5; 75.0
Country	India
Region	Malabar, Tulu Nadu
State	Kerala
District(s)	Kasaragod
Population	52,683 (2001[update])
Official languages	Malayalam
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)
Area • Elevation	• 19 metres (62 ft)
Codes • Pincode • 671121 • Telephone • +91–4994 • Vehicle • KL-14

Kasaragod is a town and a municipality in Kasaragod district in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of Kasaragod district as well as of Kasaragod Taluk. Landmarks of note includes the famous Madhur Temple, Mallikkarjuna Temple, Theruvatthu Mosque, Chandragiri Fort, Malik Deenar Mosque and the Central Plantation Crops Research Institute.The Bekal Fort is also a major tourist attraction near Kasargod.

Malik Deenar Mosque

Madhur Temple

Chandragiri bridge which connects Kasaragod town with Chemnad panchayath

Economy[link]

Ship building industry[link]

The ship building industry of Thalangara was well known in India. In the past years a number of ships were built here and sold in various states of India and exported to foreign countries. The Kasaragod economy is mainly agrarian; cash crops such as coconut, rubber are grown and commercially exploited. Other industries include tile manufacture, timber industry etc. Foreign investment or N.R.I Income is high in this part of the state.

CPCRI[link]

Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (CPCRI) was established in 1970 as one of the agricultural research institutes in the National Agricultural Research System (NARS) under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). The Coconut Research Station at Kasaragod in Kerala was initially established in 1916 by the then Government of Madras and subsequently it was taken over by the Indian Central Coconut Committee in 1948. (http://www.cpcri.gov.in/) ^[1]

Culture[link]

Fairs and festivals[link]

People dressed in Yakshagana attire during a local festival in Kasaragod

Onam and Vishu are widely celebrated festivals here. Eid, Bakrid, 'Milad-e-sherif' and Muharram are celebrated in a manner similar to that seen in Kozhikode. These festivals along with Shivaratri and Pooja Vaypu (Dasara) are enthusiastically celebrated by the local people, as is Deepavali. 'Milad-e-sherif' celebration includes cultural activities, competitions such as speech, songs and processions by madrassa students.

There are also local festivals like Kumbala Veddikett. Another festival of importance is Moodappaseva, a local festival celebrated in the Madhur Temple periodically.

Folk dances and traditions[link]

The region is rich in traditional folk art forms. Muslims have their own common folk and celebration art forms such as Oppana, Kolkalli, Dauf muttal etc. Oppana is a celebration dance held on the eve of Muslim marriage, where the women to be married are decorated, with whom her friends and relatives do this ritual dance. Theyyam is the dominant folk art form.

Bootha kola- A spiritual act performed in Kasargod.

Language[link]

The principal and recognized administrative language of Kasaragod is Kannada, though Malayalam language is of equal importance in Kasaragod. ^[2] Tulu, Marathi and Konkani are also widely spoken.^[2] Besides these Marathi and Hindi/Urdu are spoken by minorities.

Politics[link]

Kasaragod assembly constituency is part of Kasaragod (Lok Sabha constituency). CPI(M) member P.Karunakaran is the present MP from Kasargod.^[3] N.A. Nellikunnu of Muslim League is the sitting MLA of Kasaragod Legilative constituency.

Transport[link]

Kasaragod town lies on the path of NH 17. It is well connected by road to Kannur, Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi , Mangalore and Kozhikode. Kasaragod is well connected by rail to parts of India such as Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Kozhikode, Payyanur, Kannur, Mangalore, Thrissur, Goa, Surat, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Chennai, Coimbatore, Jammu Tawi, Kanyakumari, Palakkad etc. The nearest airport is at Mangalore (49 km).

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kasaragod

• C.P.C.R.I
• CPCRI
• Official Website of the District Administration

Swami Nithyananda (also known as Paramahamsa Nithyananda, Tamil: பரமஹம்ஸ நித்யானந்தா; born 1 January 1978) is a spiritual master, mystic ^[3] and the founder of Dhyanapeetam, a worldwide movement for meditation, based in Bangalore, India ^[4]. He came into fame after his series Kadavai Thira, Kattru Varattum (Open the door and let the breeze in) (Tamil: கதவை திற காற்று வரட்டும்) ^[5][6] was published in the widely circulated Tamil weekly, Kumudam (Tamil: குமுதம்) and due to the popularity of his spiritual healing processes. Nithyananda Swami has a huge following in southern India and his mission has branches in several countries, including the US and Europe ^[7]. His followers and acquaintances included a number of high profile politicians such as Narendra Modi, the Chief minister of Gujarat ^[8] and B.S.Yeddyurappa, the former Chief Minister of Karnataka ^[9] and famous actors from the Indian film industry such as Vivek Oberoi ^[10] and Juhi Chawla ^[11]. In April 2010, Nithyananda was arrested after failing to answer bail for criminal charges regarding allegations arising after a video was released allegedly showing him in a compromising situation with a woman. In June 2010 he was released on bail. The group of people purportedly involved in the production and release of the video were charged with conspiracy and cheating, and arrested. In 2012, Swami Nithyananda was named by Watkins' Mind Body Spirit magazine as one of the 100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People in the world ^[2]. He was also coronated in April 2012 as the 293^rd pontiff of The Madurai Aadheenam, which is the oldest Saivite mutt in south India ^[12].

Biography[link]

Nithyananda, was born as Rajasekaran in January 1978 ^[13] in the spiritual town of Thiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu made famous by spiritual masters such as Arunagiri Yogeshwara, Arunagirinathar, Ramana Maharishi and Yogi Ramsuratkumar. He studied Yoga, Vedanta, Sidda, Tantra and other eastern metaphysical sciences from his mentors Raghupati Yogi,^[13] Kuppammal, Annamalai Swami and others.^[1] According to his biography, he had an intense spiritual experience at the age of 12 and after long years of wandering and spiritual practice he says to have attained, in the year 2000, the state of spiritual enlightenment or eternal bliss ^[1] - and hence the name Nithyananda (Sanskrit - नित्य Nithya (eternal) and अनन्दा Ananda (bliss)). In the year 2003 he started his ashram or spiritual center, Dhyanapeetam, in Bidadi near the city of Bangalore in south India and the US branch named the Life Bliss Foundation, headquartered in Los Angeles.^[8].

Teachings[link]

Swami Nithyananda's teachings are aligned with the Advaitic school of thought of Sri Adi Shankara. However, he integrates many streams of Vedic Hindu thought into his teachings including Jnana, Bhakti, Yoga, Dhyana and Karma. He is primarily popular for his meditation techniques and the idea of Dhyana or meditation ^[14] as the way to reach what he calls the state of Jeevan Mukti or Living Enlightenement. He defines Living Enlightenment in simple terms as living a conflict free life.^[15] He is well known for his spiritual discourses ^[9] and has given discourses on scriptures such as the Brahma Sutras, Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, Shiva Sutras, Jain Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita.

Life Bliss Foundation[link]

Swami Nithyananda has developed a diverse range of meditation courses catering to a wide cross section of people ^[8] which he teaches at his centers and public programs. He has followers across the world and runs a number of ashrams in India and abroad.^[16] The mission claims to run more than 1000 spiritual centers and temples worldwide with the main ones being in Bidadi, Thiruvannamalai and Los Angeles. Since 2003, Nithyananda's following has grown rapidly mainly in south India and the US.^[7] There is, however, a wide variation in publicly reported numbers of his following ranging from 2 million ^[17] to a self published 10 million followers.^[1]

Awards and honors[link]

Swamy Nityananda's banner in Bangalore in 2008.

• In 2007, he was elected chairman of the Hindu University of America, also known as the International Vedic Hindu University, an institution in the U.S. state of Florida.^[18]
• In 2012, Paramahamsa Nithyananda featured in the Watkins' list of the top 100 most spiritually influential living people in the world ^[2].
• On April 27th 2012, Swami Nithyananda was coronated as the 293^rd pontiff ^[12] of The Madurai Aadheenam, which is the oldest Saivite mutt in south India - established 1400 years ago by Thirugana Sambandar a poet saint and one of the most prominent of the sixty-three Nayanars, Tamil Saiva bhakti saints who lived between the sixth and the tenth centuries CE.

Controversy[link]

A video that claimed to show Nithyananada hugging and kissing a woman while watching television^[19] was broadcast on the Tamil television channel Sun News on 2 March 2010. This resulted in protests outside the Ashram during which a fire broke out. The Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam's website called the video defamatory, terming it "a mix of conspiracy, graphics and rumour". On March 4, Nithyananda made an application to a civil court in Chennai, seeking an injunction blocking further broadcasting of the video material.^[20]

Swami Nithyananda was arrested on April 21, 2010 in Arki in Himachal Pradesh by Bangalore Police with the help of the police of Himachal^[21] and the interrogation was done in Bangalore by the CID of the Bangalore Police.^[22] On 11 June 2010 Nithyananda was granted bail, and was released from judicial custody after fifty two days in Ramanagaram sub-jail. In October 2010, the releaser of the video who worked as Nithyanda's driver was charged by Bidadi police under several sections of the IPC with accusations of defaming Nithyanada through distributing the video.^[23] .^[24] Subsequently in July 2011, Nithyananda's ashram has filed a complaint against Sun TV Network, claiming they were the agents behind what the ashram alleged was a morphed video and the repeated telecast of it^[25]

Works[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website of Paramahamsa Nithyananda