Prominent personalities

* **St. Alphonsa (1910–1946):** First female of Indian origin canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church; her tomb is in Bharananganam. * **K. M. Mani (1933–2019):** Veteran Indian politician who represented the Pala constituency in the Kerala Legislative Assembly for over 50 years, holding the record for the longest-serving MLA in the state. * **Arundhati Roy (b. 1959):** Booker Prize-winning author whose novel *The God of Small Things* immortalized the Meenachil River. * **Justice K. T. Thomas (b. 1937):** Former Judge of the Supreme Court of India, known for prominent rulings in Indian criminal law. * **Miakkel (P.T. Chacko) (1915-1964):** Prominent politician and former Home Minister of Kerala.