Parassala is a southern suburb of Trivandrum city Kerala, India, at the southern end of Kerala, bordering Tamil Nadu. The residents of this town speak Malayalam and Tamil is also significant. This is southern most town of Kerala. It is famous for its Mahadeva Temple. The Place has a pond called the "Thavala Illa Kolam" which means "A pond with no frog".
Demographics
A part of the population are involved in the collecting of palmyranectar and fermenting to produce alcoholic drinks. The typical nectar collected on pots from atop palmyra trees are also used for making 'karupatti' which is known for its medicinal properties and is what the town is mostly known for.
Health
The major hospitals in the town are Govt Taluk Hospital, Saraswathy Multispeciality Hospital and SP Multispeciality Hospital. Then a government Sidha hospital,a government Ayurvedha hospital,a government Veterinary hospital, a government homoeo dispensary and Telhara Homoeo care have given drastic change to the rustic image of this old town. The panchayat also holds a Medical College at Karakonam.
Mahadeva, Swathy, Santhosh, Jayamahesh, and Sheela are the major auditoriums in Parassala. Sree Kaleeswary, Sree Saraswathy, Thameens Maxx, IMP are the movie theatres comes under Parassala Grama Panchayat. Sree Kaleeswary and Sree Saraswathy are one of the 3D platinum movie theatres in kerala.
People
People are extremely industrious and innovative. Due to the confluence of two cultures Tamil and Malayalam, people have a broad sense of appreciation for arts and culture. Most of the people are bilingual – Tamil and Malayalam. Prof. Parassala B. Ponnammal,recipient of Padma shri , an elderly woman who was the first female singer in the famous Navarathri Mandapam of Thiruvananthapuram during 2006 comes from this town .
Politics
Parassala assembly constituency is part of Thiruvanathapuram. The former late deputy speaker of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, Sundaran Nadar, is from Parassalai. The current MLA is C.K.Harindren. Now, from November 2015, local self election conducted by state election commission and won Left Democratic front and Com. S.Suresh elected as panchayat president. Parassala comes under Thiruvanathapuram Constituent Assembly and Mr.Shashi Tharoor is the current MP.
Religion
Parassala Sree Mahadeva Temple is one of the foremost centres of worship in south Kerala and the temple is situated at the tiny village of Parassala adjoining the Kerala Tamil Nadu boundary. Here the deity, Lord Siva is facing the west, which is considered as a rare phenomenon, and devotees even from far off places attend the worship. It was built by Mallen Chembakaraman Delava of Venad royal family. The temple is centuries old and the structure is rare stone architecture and Parvathy devi and Vighneswara are the upadevathas. The temple is famous for its rare rites and ceremonies and from time immemorial entry was allowed to all sects in the community irrespective of caste or creed and significantly arayas – a backward community have the privilege of participation for the commencement of important rituals in the temple from ancient times onwards and the Lord render blessings to all irrespective of caste, colour or creed. Parassala, the holy place is well known for communal harmony. Elankam Bhuvaneswary temple is another religious attraction in Parassala. Many Christian worship places are there in Parassala. That includes a good number of RC, ECI, CSI, Lutheran, Pentecost Church of God Zionkunnu and Assemblies of God churches. Church of El-Shaddai at Anchali Jn. is a Pentecostal worship centre. There are also a good number of Muslim brothers in this constituency, which depicts the communal harmony of the place. One of the most famous Christian Church in Parassala is St. Peter's Church located in Hospital Junction built in 1604 by the Portuguese, very recently renovated and the Abbs Memorial Church, built in the 1850s by the English missionary Rev. John Abbs. The church choir is called "Abbs Echoes" with their main vision stated as "To produce the echoes of The Great Missionary Abbs." Jehovah's Witnesses is also active in this area since 1975. Southern Kurisumala is the location of a famous Christian pilgrim location, which is not only visited by Christians, but by other religious people also. Parassala is famous for the HARE KRISHNA temple located in Neduvanvila, which is part of International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Local women from all walks of life and religion gather here as part of women empowerment. This centre houses a go-shala and anganvadi.
Climate
classifies it climate as Tropical monsoon climate. Parassala has heavy rains during June–August due to the southwest monsoon. There is no proper winter season as temperature do not fall below. In summer, the temperature rises to a maximum of and in the winters. Record high temperature in neighbouring Thiruvananthapuram is. Annual average rainfall is.
