Chekadi

Chekadi is a tribal majority village in Pulpally panchayath of Wayanad district, Kerala. It is on the valley of Kabani River on Kerala-Karnataka border. Kabani river here divide Pulpally and Thirunelly panchayaths. The village is accessible from both Pulpally and Kattikulam town. Chekadi is 13 kilometers away from Pulpally town. Chekady is a tribal village with more than 80 percentage of population belongs to tribal communities. Kannada, tribal languages and Malayalam are the predominant languages spoken here.

Geography

Chekadi is believed to be one of the old migratory settlement in Wayanad district. Migration from Karnataka villages took place in the medieval period. In the middle of twentieth century migration from Central Travancore in this region. Chekadi has diverse geographical landscape of paddy fields, river and forest. The village is surrounded by forest on three sides and Kabani river on one side. Kabani is one of the three eastward flowing river in Kerala. Kabani river is a major tributary of Kavery river and it originates from the hills near Kuttiadi-Mananthavadi road on Kozhikode-Wayanad border. Kabani is the lifeline of Chekady village as the rice is the only crop they grow which requires plenty of water. 180 acres out of 250 acres of the total land are paddy fields where rare varieties of rice are cultivated. Gandhakasala rice and Jeerakasala rice both of which are scented rice varieties with sandalwood aroma, are cultivated in Chekady village.Both varieties have high nutritious value and tolerant against rough weather conditions and pests. Both Gandhakasala and Jeerakasala varieties have been awarded Geographical Indication Tag in 2010 and have potential to compete with well known long aromatic rice of Basmati.

Tourism

Chekadi bears four different cultures in its life. It is the meeting place of river valley culture, Forest culture, tribal culture and paddy culture. It is one of the rarest places in Kerala where leveling of paddy fields have not been found. Visitors have plenty of opportunities to explore village culture, Kerala-Karnataka border life, forest environment and provide better opportunity to interact with tribal communities. Proximity to Kuruva Island attracts many tourists here. Kuruva Island is just 6 kilometers away from Chekadi. Kuruva Island is a 950 acre uninhabited island in Kabani river with rich flora and fauna. Kerala Tourism Department offers different rafts and boats services to Kuruva Island.

Tribal Village

Chekadi is a tribal majority village in Wayanad district. Eventhogh migrants from Central Travancore and Chetti migrants from Karnataka still exists in Chekadi, tribal communities form majority in this village. Adiyars, Paniya, Kattunayakar and Urali are major tribes here. Most of them speaks Kannada language or dialects which is similar to Kannada language. Gandhakasala rice is most revered among tribal communities and this rice is cooked in major ceremonies like marriage and death.

How to Reach Chekadi

Visitors can reach Chekadi from Pulpally near Sulthan Batheri and Kattikulam near Mananthavadi. There is a direct bus service from Pulpally to Chekadi.

As Chekadi is surrounded by forest on three sides, village is vulnerable to wildlife attack. Elephant attack against agricultural crops is common here. Recently tigers have also been spotted in Chekadi. Night travel to Chekadi is better to avoid.