Mal: കോട്ടയം kōṭṭayam
‘Interior of the Fort’ City/District, Kerala
From Mal: koṭṭā, ‘fort’, ‘residence’; and akam, ‘interior’, ‘inside’; or Mal/Tam: ayam, ‘pool’, ‘tank’.
The royal palace of the Thekkumkur ruler was protected by a fort called Thaliyilkotta. The ruins `
Kottayam had a number of forts and palaces in the past, but they were all destroyed by the Travancore ruler, Marthanda Varma. One dilapidated fort remains till date, and it tells you magnificent stories of a bygone era.
Kottoyam has variously been called the ‘Land of Lakes, Letters and Latex’ and sometimes all three at once:it was an early pioneeer in Malayalam newspapers and print media and has been home to many writers and journalists including Arundhati Roy’ (see Aymanam). and it is is an important centre for rubber plantations ans rubber processing industries.
