THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Temple With a Fortune Inside It | District Explained

From a temple with an unopened vault worth a fortune to the launch pad where India's space programme began — this is everything you should know about Thiruvananthapuram district, the capital of Kerala. We cover how the district was formed, its roots in the ancient kingdom of Venad and Marthanda Varma's shift of the Travancore capital here in 1745, its IT and space economy (Technopark and ISRO's Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre), the Attukal Pongala festival — a Guinness World Record for the largest annual gathering of women — and its landmarks: the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple, Kuthiramalika Palace, the Napier Museum, Kovalam, Varkala and Ponmudi. Sources on screen: Census of India 2011, trivandrum.nic.in, Kerala Tourism, ISRO/VSSC. CHAPTERS 00:00 The hook — a temple with a fortune inside it 00:52 Where Thiruvananthapuram is 1:43 Formation & taluks 2:35 History — Venad to Travancore's capital 3:34 Economy — Technopark, ISRO & Vizhinjam 4:42 Culture, festivals & food 5:35 Famous people from Thiruvananthapuram 6:21 Tourism & landmarks 7:31 Recap If you're from Thiruvananthapuram, tell us in the comments what we missed — a dish, a place, a story. Subscribe for more Indian districts, and drop the name of your district below. We just might cover it next.