Changanacherry-The City of Five Lamps

            To speak about Changanacherry, the facts must start from the provenance of the Five Lamps(Anchu vilakku). It was in 1805 AD, that the famed Diwan of Travancore Veluthampy Dalava made a market place at Changanacherry. The market was inaugurated by the exchange of an elephant. Now this market is one of the largest markets in Kerala and is the best attended in all of North Travancore. The chief trade is in rice, pepper, dry ginger, areca nuts and piece goods. Towards the memory of the centennial celebrations of the place in 1905, the people installed the " Anchu Vilakku" (Five Lamps) seen near the Boat Jetty at Market Road.      The lamp signifies the 'unity in diversity' of the local ethnic and religious sects - a truly fitting tribute to the ethos of Changanacherry                                         

Thus the city came to be known as "The City of Five Lamps".

The place named Changanacherry entered into the history books in A D-90. An interesting well known story about the name of Changanacherry is that during the reign of the Thekkumkore King belonging to Lakshmipuram Palace. The Raja wanted to hear the "Shankhu Vili (Temple-Counch Sound), Mani Nadam (Church-Bell Sound) and Bankh Vili (Masjid-Prayer Sound) daily in his palace. He built Kavil Bhagavathi Temple, Metropolitan Church and Pazhaya Pally Juma Masjid. All these sounds ("SHANKHU" = Sankhu vili + "NADAM" = Mani nadam + "SHERRY" = Bankh vili) put together apparently made up the name of the place to Changanacherry (Shankhu+Nada+Seri). Changanacherry was a major trading hub during old times and its name is debatably linked to trading activities. Since then the city keeps its pride and glory till the date.

Today Changanacherry is one of the fastest growing cities in Kerala. It has many prestigious educational institutions, hospitals, shopping centers with international ambiance and all the facilities needed for human inhabitance.