Nalanchira

Nalanchira
—  town  —
Nalanchira Location of Nalanchira in Kerala and India
Coordinates	8°33′12″N 76°56′12″E / 8.5533200°N 76.9367300°E / 8.5533200; 76.9367300Coordinates: 8°33′12″N 76°56′12″E / 8.5533200°N 76.9367300°E / 8.5533200; 76.9367300
Country	India
State	Kerala
District(s)	Thiruvananthapuram
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)
Codes • Telephone • +0471 • Vehicle • KL-01

Nalanchira is a suburb of Thiruvananthapuram, formerly known as Trivandrum, the capital of Kerala State in India. It is the educational hub of Kerala and is rightly called the Oxford of the South. It is situated between Mannanthala and Paruthippara. Nalanchira is approximately 8 km from the Thiruvananthapuram railway station and 11 km away from Thiruvananthapuram International Airport. The Main Central Road (MC Road) runs through this place. This middle class residential locality is famous for educational and social service institutions. The Nalanchira Bethany Hills were originally owned by a chettiar and was given to Mar Ivanios the founder of Syro-Malankara Catholic (MSC) Church to start an educational institution. The main residential areas are Benedict Nagar, Christian medical centre (CMC) lane, Parakodu lane, Mangalathu Lane, Convent Lane, Rajeev Gandhi Nagar, Puliyoor Gradens, Rose Nagar, Akshaya Gradens, Shawallace Lane, Post Office Line, Chathiode Lane, Udayannoor Lane, Kurishadi Jn., Anupama Nagar and Jayamatha Lane.

Christians, Hindus and Muslims live in harmony in Nalanchira.

The major churches are St. Thomas Syro-Malankara Catholic Church and St.Mary's Malankara Orthodox Church.

Udiyannur Shiva Temple is one of the main temples, another major temple is the Eravipuram Sri Krishna Swami Temple.T he Uriyadi festival at this temple on the occasion of Janmashtami attracts devotees from all over the country. Udayannur Shiva Temple is unique among the siva temples by having two siva temples in the same temple campus. It is one among the oldest Siva temple in the city. the another famous temple is Ezhukanyavoor Devi.

M. Vijayakumar of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) is the MLA representing Nalanchira in the state legislative assembly, while Shri Sashi Tharoor represents the area in the Lok Sabha.

Bethany Nature Cure, an ayurvedic treatment and yoga centre, is located here. The Synaxis of the Bethany Ashramam held in the year 1998 decided to divide the congregation into two provinces, namely Bethany Navajeevan Province and Bethany Navajyothi Province (the headquarters) is situated at Bethany Hill, Nalanchira, Trivandrum. The Jayamatha Orphanage, run by Franciscans Christian Missionaries, is also located in Nalanchira.

This suburb is home to several educational institutions such as Mar Ivanios College, Mar Baselios College of Engineering and Technology , Malankara Catholic Major Seminary, Sarvodaya Vidyalaya, Mar Theophilus teacher training college, Bethany College, St. John's School^{[disambiguation needed ]}, St. Goretti’s School, Jaimatha Institutions, Navajeevan School, Hotel Management College and the Institution for Fire and Safety Engineering. Hospitals include KJK Hospital at Shawallace Lane which specialised in infertility treatment.

References

The official website of St.Mary's orthodox church in Nalanchira is www.smosc.com