Kudassanad is part of the Palamel Panchayat (village council), which comes under Alappuzha District. The natural world in its true spirits is seen in Kudassanad with evergreen nature and high hills with rubber plantations. Situated on the border between Alappuzha and Pathanamthitta districts, just 4-km to the north passes the Main Central (MC) Road and 4-km to the south the Kayamkulam-Punalur (KP) Road.
Kudassanad is situated on the threshold of Pandalam, where Lord Ayyappa, the presiding deity of Sabarimala grew up in the palace of the King of Pandalam. Pilgrims to Sabarimala come to Pandalam for worship at the Valiya Koickal Temple before proceeding to Sabarimala. The annual ceremony of carrying the “Sacred Ornament” (Thiruvabharanam) to adore the deity in Sabarimala is a great religious event, in which hundreds of thousands of believers participate.
Kudassanad forms part of the Mavelikara Parliamentary and Pandalam Assembly Constituencies. The legendary M.N. Govindan Nair, Thoppil Bhasi and K.C. George - all veterans of the Communist movement - who stood in the forefront of the Vayalar-Punnapra struggle - have represented the constituencies in the 1950s and 1960s.
Though a small village, Kudassanad is self reliant in almost all fields. It has modern infrastructure and state-of-the-art services: Anganvadi, Government LP School, one English medium School run by the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, one LP School run by the Syro-Malankara Rite of the Catholic Church and one Higher Secondary School belong
ing to the Nair Service Society (NSS). The Panchayat Samskarika Nilayam (Cultural Centre) takes care of the intellectual needs of the people. The general health of the population is taken care of by Mar Baselios Mission Hospital and other private and homeopathy clinics as well as by other highly qualified medical practitioners. In addition to the Post Office, the locality has several STD/ISD Booths. There are a number of regular government and private buses plying at an interval of 10-15 minutes to different directions. Also numerous taxis, jeeps and three-wheelers facilitate the travel needs of the general public. Daily evening markets, in addition to the two weekly markets on Tu
esday and Friday, attract people even from distant villages. Long before globalisation came to big towns, Kudassanad had the Cable TV facilities, which can receive hundreds of national and international TV Progr
ammes!The natives, irrespective of caste and creed, are proud of their famous centuries old (Thirumani Mangalam Mahadevan) temple. Kudassanad is also sanctified by the prese
nce of the ancient St. Stephen’s Orthodox Syrian Cathedral. Consecrated in 1873, this cathedral is fondly called the Valia Palli. St. Thomas Catholic Church, consecrated in 1944, is another Church, besides one Guru Mandiram.The literacy rate of Kudassanad, having a population of over 5,000 is admirable. The population density is 1144 per sq. Km. 70 per cent of the population owns land. Kudassanad also jealously guards the distinction of being the granary of Palamel Panchayat. Under the Kallada Irrigation Project (KIP), tributaries were constructed to release water to the Karingaly Paddy Fields spreading over 1,500 acres in the upper Kuttanad region in times of drought; but as in every case, this noble attempt is scuttled by the lethargic, negligent and arrogant bureaucracy. Thus costly lives saving crops are damaged every year resulting in avoidable hardships to the farmers. Even on occasion the water is released, the heavy silting of the KIP canals due to lack of maintenance and clogging at different points have been affecting the free flow of water along various stretches of the canal leading to the Karingaly paddy fields extending to the geographical jurisdiction of Alappuzha and Pathanamthitta revenue divisions, comprising Kudassanad, Karimuckam Cherickal, Poozhickad, and Ulavuckad. It may be mentioned here that Basmati cultivation had successfully been initiated at the Karingaly paddy fields at the turn of the century.
In addition to rice, vegetables, tapioca, black pepper, cashew nuts, mangoes, ginger, pine apple, coconut trees, etc. are also cultivated. Milk collection and distribution centres are a great boon to the villagers. A few families practice ducks and poultry farming. Brick manufacture is done on a small scale. Rice and flourmills take care of the work formerly carried out by housewives. There is also a daily market; teashops, bakeries, grocery shops, and the like help the village to be self-sufficient.
The mostly educated people, working abroad (Gulf Region, European Union, the U.S.A. and Canada) have brought fame and prosperity to the village, which has completely changed its facet, thus fondly earning the nickname “mini-Gulf”.
Kudassanad has a fairly good system of commercial and cooperative banking network. In an area of vast potentiality, a team of industrious individuals working together brought in a new branch of The Catholic Syrian Bank Ltd. (CSB) to harness the vast financial resources of Kudassanad.
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