Marthandam

Marthandam is a major trade centre in Kuzhithura municipality across National Highway (NH 47) in the Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu, India. Also known to some by the name Thoduvetty (another name for the Marthandam market region), it was a portion of Kanyakumari district which was added to the state of Tamil Nadu on November 1, 1956.It is the second largest town next to nagercoil in that district. Martandam may have gotten its name from the ruler of Travancore, MarthandamaVarma. Martandam is famous for honey, cashew nut processing, rubber and hand-embroidered motifs. The area is full of greenery, and there is a river adjoining. It is also a major trade center due to its location bordering Kerala. It is one of the most fertile lands of Tamil Nadu and has the climatic conditions of Kerala.HistorySouthern Division, or Padmanabhapuram Division till 1921 and Trivandrum Division from 1921 to 1949, was one of the administrative divisions of the princely state of Travancore. It covered the five taluks of Agastiswaram, Eraniel, Kalkulam, Thovalay and Vilavancode and was administered by a civil servant of rank Diwan Peishkar equivalent to a District Collector in British India. The Southern division was predominantly Tamil-speaking in contrast to the other three divisions where Malayalam was spoken. In 1920, the neighbouring Trivandrum was also merged with the Southern division. In 1949, the princely state of Travancore was dissolved and the Southern Division was included in the Travancore-Cochin state of India. In 1956, the Tamil-speaking taluks of Southern Division were transferred to the neighbouring Madras State as per the States Reorganisation Act of 1956 and forms the present-day Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu. The Malayalam-speaking taluks of the erstwhile Trivandrum division form the Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala. The headquarters of the Southern Division were at Padmanabhapuram.