Thiruvananthapuram,( TIRR-oo-və-NUN-təp-OOR-əm; Malayalam:[t̪iɾuʋɐnɐn̪d̪ɐpuɾɐm] ) formerly known as Trivandrum,( trih-VAN-drəmEnglish:/t̪iɾʋænɖɾʊm/ ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the largest and most populous city in Kerala and it is also a major port city. Thiruvananthapuram is where Asia's first space university, the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology located, and India's first IT park, Technopark Trivandrum is in Thiruvananthapuram. The city also includes India’s first deep-water trans-shipment port, the Vizhinjam International Seaport Thiruvananthapuram, as well as the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple, known as the richest temple in the world .The encompassing urban agglomeration population is around 1.68 million. Located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland, Thiruvananthapuram is a major information technology hub in Kerala and contributes 55% of the state's software exports as of 2016. Referred to by Mahatma Gandhi as the "Evergreen city of India", the city is characterised by its undulating terrain of low coastal hills.
Sreekumar Achary, better known by his stage name Jagathy Sreekumar or simply Jagathy, is an Indian actor, director and playback singer, who has appeared in over 1500 Malayalam films in a career spanning almost four decades. Widely regarded as the greatest comedian in the history of Malayalam cinema, he is also known for his highly nuanced character roles. He is the son of acclaimed dramaturge and writer, the late Jagathy N. K. Achary.
Malayalam journalism encompasses journalism published and broadcast in the Malayalam language. Modern Malayalam journalism can be traced to the publication of the Raajyasamaachaaram and the Pashchimodhayam under the direction of Hermann Gundert in June 1847. Kerala has the highest media exposure in India with newspapers publishing in nine languages, mainly English and Malayalam.
Malayala Manorama is a morning newspaper in Malayalam published from Kottayam, Kerala, India by the Malayala Manorama Company Limited. Currently headed by Mammen Mathew, it was first published as a weekly on 14 March 1888, and currently has a readership of over 8 million. It is also the second oldest Malayalam newspaper in Kerala in circulation, after Deepika, which is also published from Kottayam. Manorama also publishes an online edition.
Mangalam Publications (India) Private Limited, is an Indian publishing company in Kottayam, Kerala, India. It publishes online daily newspaper and weekly magazines such as Mangalam Weekly, Kanyaka and Cinema Mangalam in Malayalam. They also publish some magazines in Kannada language. Printed from Kottayam, Kochi, Kozhikode, Thiruvananthapuram, Idukki, Kannur and Thrissur, Mangalam is the sixth most circulated Malayalam daily.
The United Democratic Front (UDF) is the Indian National Congress-led alliance of centre to centre-right political parties in the Indian state of Kerala. It is one of the two major political alliances in Kerala, the other being Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front, each of which has been in power alternately since 1980 E. K. Nayanar ministry. Most of the United Democratic Front constituents are members of the Indian National Congress-led Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance at pan-India level.
Thiruvananthapuram has long been a center of media. Kerala Chandrika, the first newspaper of the state, was published from Thiruvananthapuram in 1789. The media also enjoyed the patronage of the Travancore kings. In 1836, Swathi Thirunal, the Travancore king, organized a government press in the city. The first Superintendent of the Press was the Rev. Sperschneider. The press was under Samathanam Maistry, one of the first batch of workmen trained in the Nagercoil Press.
Media in Kerala, India are widely accessible and cater to a wide variety of audiences. Kerala has the highest media exposure in India with newspapers publishing in nine languages, mainly English and Malayalam.
Muraleedharan Pillai, popularly known as Murali was an Indian film, stage and television actor and author. He mainly appeared in Malayalam films and a few Tamil films. He won the National Film Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Appa Mestry, a communist freedom fighter and professional weaver in the 2002 film Neythukaran. He was known for his powerful portrayal of character roles, lead roles and negative roles, widely regarded as one of the greatest actors in Malayalam cinema.
University College, Thiruvananthapuram, often abbreviated as UCT, is a public college situated in Palayam, Thiruvananthapuram, India. Established in 1866, it is one of the oldest colleges in Kerala. The college has been accorded "College with Potential for Excellence" (CPE) status by the University Grants Commission. University College is identified as a heritage institution by the Government of Kerala.
Devan Sreenivasan is an Indian film and television actor and politician. He is known for his character roles, mostly as villain, in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and a few Kannada and Hindi films. He has starred in over 380 films.
Sona Nair is an Indian actress working mainly in Malayalam cinema who is also best known for her roles in television soaps.
Bhagyalakshmi is an Indian actress, activist, and dubbing artist. She works predominantly in the Malayalam film industry, working with over 800 actresses and in 4,700 films. She has collaborated with several actresses from Malayalam industries as well as other south Indian languages including Shobana, Revathi, Urvashi, Soundarya, Tabu and Jyothika. Bhagyalakshmi's autobiography, Swarabhedangal, was awarded the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Biography and Autobiography.
Sithara Krishnakumar is an Indian playback singer, composer, lyricist, classical dancer and an occasional actor. She predominantly works in Malayalam cinema in addition to Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films. Sithara is a well known singer who is trained in Hindustani and Carnatic classical music traditions and is also a recognised ghazal singer. She is the recipient of several awards which includes three Kerala State Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer.
Anil Murali was an Indian actor in Malayalam cinema. He acted in more than 200 films. He started out in the film industry as a villain before later taking on character roles. He died on 30 July 2020, as a result of liver-related ailments.
Seema G. Nair is an Indian actress who appears in Malayalam films and Malayalam and Tamil TV series.
Surya TV is an Indian Malayalam language Indian general entertainment pay television channel owned by Sun TV Network. which is headquartered at Kochi. Surya TV HD became the third Malayalam language high-definition channel.
A. K. Saseendran is an Indian politician who has served as the Minister for Forests and Wildlife Protection of Kerala since 2021. He previously served as the Minister for Transport of Kerala from 2018 to 2021 and from 2016 to 2017. He is a Member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly representing Elathur since 2011. He previously represented Peringalam from 1980 to 1982, Edakkad from 1982 to 1987 and Balussery from 2006 to 2011 in the Kerala Legislative Assembly. He is a member of the Nationalist Congress Party.
First Pinarayi Vijayan ministry is the Council of Ministers headed by Pinarayi Vijayan that was formed after the Left Democratic Front (LDF) won the 2016 Kerala Legislative Assembly elections. The Council assumed office on 25 May 2016. The ministry had a total of 19 ministers in the Cabinet at the time of swearing-in compared to 21 ministers in the previous government. Pinarayi Vijayan sworn in as 22nd Chief Minister of Kerala, 12th person to hold this position. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on 3 May 2021 submitted the resignation of the Council of Ministers headed by him to Governor Arif Mohammed Khan after winning a historic victory in the 15th legislative assembly elections by winning 99 of the 140 seats in the Assembly.
On 5 July 2020, 30 kilograms (66 lb) of 24 carat gold worth ₹14.82 crores was seized by Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs at Thiruvananthapuram Airport from a diplomatic bag that was meant to be delivered to the UAE Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram.
