Bharananganam
Bharananganam, an important pilgrimage centre in South India, is located on the banks of the Meenachil River, 5 km away from Pala and 4 km from Plassanal, in Kottayam district in the state of Kerala. Bharananganam and surrounding places are hilly areas with a lot of vegetation. Agriculture is the main occupation of the people, who cultivate plantation crops such as rubber.
The population of Bharananganam comprises Catholic Syrian Christians and Hindus. The Syrian Christian community here is said to be 1000 years old, who migrated from the nearby Aruvithura area, along the upper course of the Meenachil River, in the 10th and 11th centuries. Also, many other Christian families migrated to the region from other ancient Christian centers in the following centuries. The community traditionally practices farming. Both the Christians and Hindus live in absolute peace and harmony.
Bharananganam is known for its many aristocratic and affluent Nasrani families who've branched out from the place to other agrarian areas of Kerala, following the early agrarian expansion of Central Travancore, in the mid-19th century. This expansion lasted till the 1980s, with the last few waves of migrant Syrian Christians from in and around the area, migrating to the hilly villages of Northern Kerala.
Source - Wikipedia [Feb 2021]
Schools
Alphonsa Residential School (ARSB) is the first ICSE syllabus school in Kerala and is named after Saint Alphonsa.
Sacred Heart Girls High School
St. Mary's Boys High School
Colleges
St.Joseph's College of Engineering and Technology
Saint Alphonsa's tomb
This small town is known as the Lisieux of India after the birthplace of St. Thérèse of Lisieux in France. The thousand year old St. Mary's Syro-Malabar Catholic Church here is one of the famous pilgrim centers of the Christians in Kerala. Saint Alphonsa is the first woman to be conferred sainthood from the Kerala Church, which traces its origins to the visit of St. Thomas around 2,000 years ago to preach the gospel in India, and the second Indian to get that status after St. Gonsalo Garcia. The death anniversary of Saint Alphonsa, which falls on 28 July is an important day for the devotees. Every year on this day, thousands of devotees visit this holy shrine, where the mortal remains of the saint is preserved, to pray and seek her blessings.
Sree Krishna Swami Temple
Bharananaganam is well known for Sree Krishna Temple in the banks of river Meenachil, it is one of the major temples of South Kerala. The east facing Sree Krishna Swami temple is located 1.3 km away from Bharananganam junction in Ettumanoor - Poonjar State Highway. The 8 day long annual festival in Makaram (January) is a very vibrant event in the whole region commencing with the hoisting of the temple flag on Makara Samkramam day, and concluding with ‘Arattu’ (Ritual Bath of the deity) on 8th day. Besides the regular daily rituals the festivities include processions of the deity on elephant's back to the suburban villages like Kizhaparayar, Keezhambara, Chittanappara and Bharananganam (on 5 days) the precious ‘Utsava Bali’ (for 6 days) and art and cultural programs every day. The ‘Arattu’, typical of the 'Arattu' in almost any temple, is a magnificent night-long ceremony including procession of several elephants and performances by major percussion teams. The slow-moving procession of the caparisoned elephants carrying decorative silken umbrellas and other paraphernalia, illumined by multi-tongued oil torches, is a gorgeous spectacle, a delightful experience for the participants.
Assisi Ashram
Assisi ashramam, run by Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (OFM Cap.) missionaries, is also situated here. This Renewal Centre has completed 34 years of praiseworthy service in providing spiritual assistance to numerous people. The first Malayalam Charismatic retreat was conducted here. This Renewal Centre publishes a Malayalam magazine named Assisi and they manage a publishing house named Jeevan Books.
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