Agraharam refers to streets or villages in which only brahmins reside. In the past such villages were gifted to brahmins by the king. Such agraharams were common during preindependance India. But in later times, when such community based villages were disallowed by the government and when the brahmins started mirating to cities and towns leaving their native places and also leaving their traditional occupation , such villages have become a rarity. Many agraharams today wear a deserted look, with nobody living in them.