Aluva

Aluva (also known by its former name Alwaye) is an eastern suburb of the city of Kochi in Kerala, India. It is a part of the Kochi metropolitan area and is situated around 15 km from the city centre on the banks of Periyar River. A major transportation hub, with easy access to all major forms of transportation, Aluva acts as a corridor which links the highland districts to the rest of Kerala. Cochin International Airport at Nedumbassery is 11.7 km from Aluva. Aluva is accessible through rail (Aluva railway station), air (Cochin International Airport), metro (Kochi Metro) along with major highways and roadlines. Aluva KSRTC bus station is an important transport hub in Kerala and one of the busiest stations in central part of the state.

Aluva, home to the summer residency of the Travancore royal family (the Alwaye Palace), is also known for the Sivarathri festival, which is celebrated annually on the sandbanks of Periyar. The Advaita Ashram in Aluva, which was founded in 1913 by Sree Narayana Guru, an Indian social reformer, adds to the cultural aspect of the region. Today, despite being a part of the city as well as the Kochi urban agglomeration, Aluva is still an autonomous municipality, with its civic administration conducted by the Aluva Municipal Council, since Kochi Corporation has not expanded its limits for over 53 years.

Aluva also serves as the administrative centre of the Aluva taluk. The taluks of villages including Mukundapuram, Kanayannur, Kunathunad and North Paravur were combined to form the Aluva taluk in 1956. The headquarters of the District Police Chief of Ernakulam Rural Police District, Superintending Engineer, PWD (Roads) and the District Educational Officer are also located there. It is the northern starting point of Kochi Metro rail's first phase, which began its operations in June 2017, as well as the Kochi city bus network. The Metro station is at Bypass, Aluva.

Etymology
The etymology of the name of the town of Aluva has been the subject of speculation for centuries. One of the more accepted versions of the story of its naming relates to the story of the Hindu god Shiva drinking the Kalakootam poison to save the world. It is said that Shiva with the poison (Alam) in his mouth (Vaa) was then made into a deity that rested in a temple in Aluva. The Sivarathri festival is celebrated in honour of Shiva. The city is also known as the "gateway to the east". Some leaflets and websites still refer to the town by its old name (Alwaye).

History
Archaeologists have found evidence of settlements in Aluva dating from as far back as 250 BC. Aluva was a continuous area of land spread across Kakkanad and Alangad until 1341 CE. The town, by then densely populated, became a holiday resort and a centre of commerce. Mangalappuzha, a branch of Periyar that bifurcates at Aluva, was known to be a centre of trade and commerce in its area of South India. Before Indian independence, Aluva was part of the Kingdom of Travancore and was the official summer residence of its royal family. In the twentieth century, when there was a community of Jews in Cochin, some people had holiday homes in Aluva on the banks of the River Periyar.

Politics
Aluva is a constituency in the Kerala Legislative Assembly. The Aluva constituency is also part of the Chalakudy (Lok Sabha constituency); Anwar Sadath is the MLA for Aluva. It is part of Chalakudy (Lok Sabha constituency), which Benny Behanan is a member of.

Administratively, Aluva is a municipality. The current municipal council is ruled by the Indian National Congress Party, led by M. O. John, who was elected in December 2020. Previously, it was led by Lissy Abraham (2015–2020) and M. T. Jacob (2010–2015).

Travel
Aluva is connected to other parts of India by air, road, and rail.

Air
Cochin International Airport is located 15 km away from the town centre. Domestic and international connections are available from the airport.

Train
Aluva Railway Station (IR Code: AWY) is a grade-A railway station in Kerala, and is the third busiest railway station in Kochi after Ernakulam Junction railway station and Ernakulam Town railway station. All passenger and express trains bound to southern Kerala have a stop at it. People travelling from the Idukki district must also use either the Aluva railway station or the Tripunithura railway station for all their train journeys, since the Idukki district's topography cannot accommodate a railway station. There are no trains with routes that start or end at the Aluva Railway Station. Aluva Railway Station is situated at the Railway Station Road junction near the KSRTC stand. The KSRTC stand hosts buses from Ernakulam and City Low Floor buses (with and without A/C) in order to connect the majority of the places in Kerala.

There is also a small railway station near Aluva named Chowara, which is 4 km away from the Aluva railway station.

Metro
Kochi Metro Phase 1 starts at the Aluva Bypass and operates until it reaches Pettah. The construction of the project was started in mid-2013; Phase 1 commenced its operations on 19 June 2017. Kochi Metro Rail Limited is a project of the Kerala Government undertaken by DMRC aside from Aluva Flyover. Aluva metro station is the northern terminus of Phase 1. Kochi Metro is expected to overcome the traffic problems in the Aluva-Edappally-Ernakulam road corridor, which is the second busiest road corridor in Kochi after the Kundannoor-Edappally section of NH 66. It is also expected to increase the amount of civil infrastructure in the city. Development of Kochi metro has raised the commercial value of the land, and has played a role in Aluva's assimilation into Kochi city.

The metro system's third phase is supposed to extend the line further north from Aluva to the northern suburb Angamaly in order to connect to the Cochin International Airport.

Bus
Rajiv Gandhi Central Bus Station is one of the largest private bus terminals in Kochi and Kerala. Aluva KSRTC bus station is also a bus station in central Kerala. The daily passenger buses of Karnataka RTC and Tamil Nadu's SETC have routes to places such as Mysore, Mangalore, Bangalore, Trichy, Coimbatore, Salem, Palani, and Kodaikanal.

Privately operated inter-state buses to Bangalore, Chennai, Mysore, Mumbai, and other cities have stops in points of Aluva.

Rajiv Gandhi Central acts as a node for Kochi city buses, with intra-city services to city regions such as Fort Kochi, Tripunithura, Kakkanad, etc. It is also a hub for private bus companies in the city, such as Kochi Wheels.

Kochi Metro Rail Limited also runs a bus service from Aluva metro station to Cochin International Airport named Pavan Doot. It uses an electric bus.

Ferry
Aluva is a stop for National Waterway 3; the waterway connects to Thiruvananthapuram in the south and to Kottapuram (Thrissur) in the north.

Landmarks


 * Marthanda Varma Bridge Aluva
 * Aluva Mahadeva Temple

Culture
Aluva's culture has been influenced by the people native to it and by those attracted to it due to factors such as its proximity to the Periyar River.

Several Malayalam movie songs are dedicated to the river Periyar. Poets such as Changapuzha Krishna Pillai, G. Sankara Kurup and Balachandran Chullikkadu, and critic Kuttipuzha Krishnapilla, and novelist Subash Chandran are from Aluva and lived there. Though not from the Aluva area, Vayalar Ramavarma and O.N.V Kurup wrote about Periyar; Aluva influenced their writing.

The mimicry comedy that dominated the cultural landscape of Kerala beginning in the 1980s was originated in Aluva by stand-up comedians from that area, though they got larger audiences and fans in Kochi and Malayalam movies later, which would make them fixations of Kerala's popular culture. The actor known as Dileep is from the latter part of the time in which parody was considered to be popular. With Kochi becoming the base for Mollywood, several parts of the city, including Aluva, have featured in films such as Premam (portraying the erstwhile Aluva town in the 90s and early 2000s) and Nizhal.

Several newspapers and magazines were published in Aluva during the print era. Continuing with the tradition of published writing, the first online magazine and blogging platform was started in Aluva by puzha.com, which still exists on the Internet.

Tourists can find the Manappuram as a long stretch of sand bank followed by a plain. Sivagiri Ashram has a small temple that worships Sree Narayana Guru. Tourist spots include Mahadeva Temple and Aluva Palace.

Business
Aluva is the home of multiple business headquarters. Aluva is known for its "Aluva Pukayillatha Aduppu" (smokeless stove), which was invented by the Alwaye Settlement Church. One private sector bank in India, The Federal Bank, has its headquarters in Aluva.

Aluva serves as a prominent centre for aspiring Chartered Accountants (CAs) and Company Secretaries (CS). Noteworthy chartered accountancy firms in the area encompass Balan & Co and Yesjay Associates, among others. Additionally, the Kerala State Civil Service Academy has established a branch in Aluva.

Colleges
• Union Christian College

• St.Xaviers College for Women

• Bharata Matha College of Commerce and Arts

Schools and other educational institutions
• Vidyadhiraja Vidyabhavan Higher Secondary School

• Jyothi Nivas Senior Secondary School, Aluva-2

• Jeevass CMI Central School

Aluva Mahadeva Temple
The Mahadeva Temple is 1 km away from the Marthanda Varma bridge in NH-47. Periyar river splits into two rivers near the Aluva railway bridge. After the splitting, one part of the river is known as Mangalappuzha. Aluva Mahadeva Temple is located on the sand bank between the Mangalppuzha and Periyar river.

The temple's Shiva linga is not enshrined in a sreekovil; it rises out of the sand banks of the Periyar river. The land on which the sand banks are located is called the Aluva Manal Puram (land with sand).

People from Aluva
• Dileep (film actor)

• John Abraham (Bollywood actor)

• Nivin Pauly (film actor)

• Amala Paul (film actress)

• Pearle Maaney (film actress, TV host)

• Varghese Payyappilly Palakkappilly

• M. K. Mackar Pillay (industrialist)

• M. M. Abdul Khader (former Advocate General of Kerala)

• M. M. Pareed Pillay (former Chief Justice of Kerala)

• Kalamandalam Haridas (musician)

• Sainuddin (actor)

• Siju Wilson (film actor)

• N. F. Varghese (film actor)

• Ajmal Ameer (film actor)

• Alphonse Puthren (film director)

• Sharaf U Dheen (film actor)

• Shabareesh Varma (film actor, poet, singer)

• Venu V. Desom (poet)

• Tini Tom (film actor, comedian)

• Sitaraman Sankaranarayana Iyer (nature activist)

• N. K. Desam (poet)

• G.N. Gopal (Chess player)

• Krishna Sankar (film actor)

• Sajin Gopu (actor)

• Shritha Sivadas (actor)

• Adv Vishnu Radhakrishnan (lawyer, politician)