Mal: ആലുവ āluva
‘River Mouth’ [Alwaye] City/Dictrict, Kerala
From Mal: āl, ‘water’; ālam ‘water’, ‘sea’; and vāy/vā, ‘mouth’, ‘opening’, ‘juncture’ [Tam: aruvi, Kan/Tul: aluve/aruve, ‘river’s mouth’, ‘inlet to a backwater’].
The Periyar river becomes the Aluvapuzha when it reaches here, splitting into two and heading towards the sea at Kodungallur in one direction, and to Kochi harbour in the other.
The name suggests some combination of ‘water’ (sea, river) and ‘estuary’ or ‘inlet’.
Aluva,and the Alwaye Palace was the summer residency of the Travancore royal family.
