Nileshwaram

Nileshwaram bus station

A Kettuvallam in Nileshwaram backwaters.

Neeleswaram, or Nileswaram, is the abbreviated form of Neelakanta Ishwaran. The  Kolathiri  Dominion  emerged  into  independent 10 principalities in the late medieval period, i.e., Kadathanadu (Vadakara), Randathara or Poyanad (Dharmadom), Kottayam (Thalassery), Nileshwaram, Iruvazhinadu (Panoor), Kurumbranad etc., under separate royal chieftains due to the outcome of internal dissensions.[6] Many portions of the present-day Hosdurg taluk (Kanhangad) and Vellarikundu were parts of the Nileshwaram dynasty, who were relatives to both Kolathunadu as well as Zamorin of Calicut, in the early medieval period.[5] Nileshwaram was historically the  seat of the Neeleswaram Rajahs, who belonged to the clans of the Kolathiri and Zamorins. The Nileshwar Rajahs and the Bednore Nayaks battled in this area.

The grand finale of the annual temple festival season takes place in this area, which is known for its "kavus", or sacred groves. The most famous of the sacred groves is the Mannampurathu Kavu. The town is also known for Theyyam, the ritualistic art forms. Also Nileshwar is the first town in Kerala famous for cultivating 'Chengthengu' (red dwarf coconut).

In 1918, the Rajah's High School was established, it was one of the first north Kerala schools of its kind. The school retains a letter written to the students by Mahatma Gandhi on his way in 1928 to Mangalore. It was part of a broad appeal for people to rally behind the national movement.

Local bodies in Kasaragod district

Nileshwar Municipality and surrounding Panchayats are administered by Nileshwar Block Panchayat. Nileshwaram is politically a part of Thrikaripur Assembly constituency under Kasaragod Loksabha constituency.[7]

Most of the people are Hindus, followed by Christians and Muslims. To a lesser extent, there are Jain and Buddhists.[9] The name Nileshwaram is derived from the name of a temple Thaliyil Siva Temple (Neelakanteshwaran), and the culture of the town is based in large part by its temples, like Thaliyil Siva Temple, Mannam Purath Kaavu, Shri Gopalakrishna Temple and Vaikunda Temple.[10]

Statue of Shri Gopalakrishna in Nileshwaram

Kottappuram walking bridge, Nileshwar

Nileshwar Town is between Kochi and Panvel on the National Highway 66 ( previously NH-17). Private and KSRTC buses provide routes to many cities like Ernakulam, Calicut, Mangalore, Mysore and Bangalore. There are rail services at Nileshwar railway station. There are airports at Mangalore to the north and Kannur to the south.

• Kanhangad

• Bhat, N. Shyam (1 January 1998). South Kanara, 1799-1860: A Study in Colonial Administration and Regional Response. Mittal Publications. ISBN 978-81-7099-586-9.
• Cotton, James Sutherland; Burn, Sir Richard; Meyer, Sir William Stevenson (1908). "Nileshwar". Imperial Gazetteer of India. Clarendon Press. p. 85.
• Lohuizen, Jan van (14 November 2014). The Dutch East India Company and Mysore, 1762–1790. Springer. p. 30. ISBN 978-94-017-6846-7.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Nileshwaram.

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