Payangadi

Payangadi (aka "Pazhayangadi") means old market. Payangadi is a small township several kilometers north of Kannur town, in Kerala, South India.

Much of the population of Payangadi is Muslim although followers of other religions also live here. Payangadi is a bustling township with a lot of old houses and mosques built in traditional architecture.

Most of the people living in Payangadi are merchants. Payangadi also has a railway bridge and a railway station which according to history was built by the British people during their rule in India. The "Payangadi river" is very beautiful; fishing and boating trips are enjoyable.

There is an access to the Madayi hill which is locally known as the "Madayi Paara" ("Paara" in Malayalam means 'hill'). On this hilltop, there are a number of educational institutions, like "Wadi Huda College", "Madayi Co-operative College", etc.

Payangadi is famous for the Madayi Kavu which was the worship place for the Kolathiris (Mooshika Kings). The name Payangadi is also believed to be derived from "Pazhi" a place mentioned in the "Mooshika Vamsham" a poetry text, which was written in the 1st century AD.

The text mentions that the Mooshika King Nannan fought heroic battles at Pazhi against the Chera Kings who invaded Kolathu Nadu. The Madayi village which includes Payangadi is mentioned as "Marahi" in this poetry-text, which was a famous port of the ancient times.

Madayi Hill offers a splendid scene of Ezhimala which means a chain of seven mountains, where the Indian Naval Academy is situated.

ee also

* Matool
* Kannur
* Madayi