Poojappura

8°29′00″N 76°58′52″E / 8.4834100°N 76.981010°E / 8.4834100; 76.981010Country IndiaStateKeralaDistrictThiruvananthapuramLanguages • OfficialMalayalam, EnglishTime zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)PINTelephone code0471Vehicle registrationKL-01Lok Sabha constituencyThiruvananthapuram

Poojappura is a suburb of Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) in India. It is located in the south-east part of the city, surrounded by Jagathi, Karamana, Mudavanmugal and Thirumala. This place was once used as the worship place during the Navaratri festival season. The name Poojappura comes from the fact that it was here that the King of Travancore used to arrive during Mahanavami celebrations for the pooja (worship). There is the biggest Kavadi Procession on Vijayadeshami day with over 700 Kavadis, Paravakavadi, Suryakavadi, Mayilkavadi, Agnikavadi etc.

Poojappura is known for housing the Central Prison (Central Jail) of Kerala. The central jail is one of the oldest in the state and was built by British Engineers during Travancore Reign. The State Education Department (Pareeksha Bhavan), Head Office of HLL Lifecare Limited (formerly Hindustan Latex Limited), Head Office of State Bank of Travancore, Bharatheeyam Charitable Trust is located here.

Notable persons

• Mohanlal - actor, film producer, playback singer, film distributor, and director
• M. Jayachandran - music composer
• Gopinath Muthukad - magician who established the Magic Academy at Poojappura
• Nelliyode Vasudevan Namboodiri - Kathakali artist
• Padmarajan - Malayalam film director
• Namitha Pramod - actress
• Priyadarshan - Indian film director
• Shobhana - Actress and Dancer
• Poojappura Ravi - Malayalam comedian actor
• G. Shankar - architect
• Prithviraj Sukumaran - Malayalam Film Actor

References