Mylapore, Tamil Nadu

Mylapore, Tamil Nadu
Mylapore is a coastal city in the state of Tamil Nadu and is situated very close to Bay of Bengal. Mylapore is an important religious and cultural hub of Tamil Nadu. It is also one of the important commercial regions of the state and is also considered one of the oldest residential regions. The early name of Mylapore was Vedapuri. The present name "Mylapore" has been derived from the word "Mayil" meaning peacock. Peacock was the traditional vehicle of Lord Muruga. Legend says that Goddess Parvati had performed penance in the form of peacock remaining close to Lord Shiva.

Location of Mylapore
Mylapore is located to the south of Chennai. It extends from Triplicane and Teynampet in the west up to the sea coast. The city of Mylapore is bounded by River Royapettah and River Coovum in the south. To the south of the city there is River Adyar. The city extends around 4 kilometres from north to south and around 2 kilometres from east to west.

History of Mylapore
Various historical and archaeological evidences suggest that Mylapore is one of the oldest cities of the state of Chennai and it existed in the Indian sub-continent long before British rule. The early settlements of Mylapore go back to 1st century BC. The city of Mylapore had come under the control of several foreign rulers namely the Egyptians, the Portuguese; the famous Marco Polo had also travelled to the city of Mylapore. Marco Polo had given a detailed description of the city of Mylapore. In the year 1749 Mylapore had come under the control of British East India Company from the hands of the Portuguese. In the very same year Mylapore was incorporated under Madras Presidency. The city of Mylapore came to lime light in the 19th and 20th century when Mylapore was home to a large number of intellectual lawyers and statesmen. But in the present age Mylapore has become an important hub of commercialization and recent developments.

Demography of Mylapore
The present day population of Mylapore has been estimated around 150,000 to 300,000. There is a plenty of Brahmin population in the city of Mylapore because in the early days Mylapore had been a temple centre. Smartha Brahmins were one of the first settlers of the city. Accurate population statistics of Mylapore is not found because it is not yet a differentiated town by itself but only a part of the Chennai city.

Education of Mylapore
The education facilities of Mylapore are quite developed in all respects. Primary, Secondary as well as Higher Education is much improved in the city of Mylapore. There are several schools and colleges in the city. Some of the well known colleges and schools of the region are Vivekananda College, St.Raphael`s Girls Higher Secondary School, Rosary matriculation higher secondary school and many others. At this juncture it should also be mentioned that the India`s First Digital Media College, Image College of Arts and Animation Technology is located in Mylapore.

Culture of Mylapore
Mylapore is considered the cultural hub of city. Music is also of much importance in the city of Mylapore. Distinguished musicians perform in the city of Mylapore. Several musical performances are held in the city of Mylapore. The last month of every year in Mylapore is set aside for a musical sabha. In fact that part of the year is considered as the musical season of the year. As a result various musical performances are held by distinguished musicians. Carnatic Music is performed by leading vocalists and musicians in the music sabhas which are held in Mylapore in the last month of every year. The Madras Music Academy and the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan are known for organising cultural events in the city of Mylapore.

The well known news paper of Mylapore is "Mylapore Times". It is a weekly news paper of Mylapore neighbourhood and covers important issues and events that take place in Mylapore.

Tourism in Mylapore
The city of Mylapore has no dearth of tourist attractions. It has several temples, mosques and churches.

The well known temples of Mylapore are Kapaleeswarar temple, Kesava Perumal Temple, Srinivasar temple. All the temples in Mylapore had been built long back. The temples in Mylapore have been dedicated to various deities. For instance the Kapaleeswarar temple has been dedicated to Parvati and Lord Shiva. Thousands of visitors are attracted towards the Kapaleeswarar Temple throughout the year and hence can be said that the temple is an attraction of Mylapore.

Santhome Basilica Cathedral is also a major attraction of Mylapore. The church closely reflects the Portuguese style of architecture and it also bears a Portuguese legend along with it. It can be said about Mylapore that the region is famous among people for its vast array of religious places.

Mylapore has a huge option of shopping. In the present age several malls, departmental stores and retail shops have increased manifold. Handicrafts, dance costumes and jewellery are easily found in the city of Mylapore.

How to Reach Mylapore
Mylapore is easily accessible through road, trains and aeroplanes. The nearest airport of Mylapore is the Chennai International Airport which is 11 kilometres away from the city. The Thirumylai Railway Station serves the city. Thus it can be said that visitors can easily reach Mylapore as the city has a number of transport options.

Nanguneri, Tamil Nadu

Nanguneri, Tamil Nadu

Numerous towns and cities have flourished in the heartland of Indian subcontinent. In the state of Tamil Nadu also one finds no dearth of cities and towns as well. Nanguneri remains stand apart. It is the name of a residential locality and has its location in the district of Tirunelveli of the same state of India.

To identify Nanguneri it is essential to know its exact strategic location. Thus it is situated approximately at 8.48° N 77.67° E. It also rises to a height of 141 meters or 462 feet above the mean sea level.

Knowledge of a place becomes impartial without having enough information about its demographical scenario. Keeping pace with this trend a multitude of demographers also have conducted several surveys and research works and thus prepared reports accordingly. In this matter it would be unwise if one does not refer to a census report of a particular year. Being published in the year 2001 this acts as vital document that throws light on certain demographical aspects of Nanguneri. As per this report the total population of Nanguneri has been enumerated to be 6764. One can also decipher the individual status of males, females and also that of children if one thoroughly read this report. Interestingly, in Nanguneri females are more in number than their male counterparts. To be specific, male populace constitutes 49 % of the population, while the population of females is as high as 51 %. In Nanguneri, 10 % of the total population is below six years of age
Literacy rate of Nanguneri too acts a vita data. What is also to be rightly mentioned that Nangauri town`s average literacy constitutes 76 %, which is higher than that of the whole nation. Thus the Indian average literacy rate has been counted to be 59.5 percent. On individual basis also both male and female literacy rates are quite high. To be specific male literacy rate constitutes 83 %. Female literacy rate is also no less insignificant constituting 70 %.

Tourists get enhanced by several temples developed in Nanguneri and it`s near by region. Mutharamman, Suadali Madan , Ayyanar temples are significant.

Mahabalipuram, Port City of the Pallavas, Tamil Nadu

Mahabalipuram, Port City of the Pallavas, Tamil Nadu

Mahabalipuram was an ancient port city of the Pallava rulers of South India and also the secondary capital of them. The city was also known as Mamallapuram and Mallai. The Greek and Roman merchants also visited the place even in the pre-Christian era.

Earlier, Mahabalipuram was ruled by the Sangam Chola dynasty or one of the chiefdoms under this dynasty. The Pallavas ruled here from the 4th century AD to the 9th centuries A.D.

Narasimhavarman I, one of the well-known Pallava kings was ruling Mahabalipuram in the 7th century. He was also known as `Mahamalla`, which means `great wrestler`. He decorated Mahabalipuram with numerous sculptures and monuments. He built several cave temples and monolithic shrines cut out of natural rock. He also constructed the sculptures in the famous bas-relief panel called `Arjuna`s Penance` or `Bhagiratha`s Penance`, which shows a person who may be either Arjuna or Bhagiratha.

The monumental remnants of Mahabalipuram can be categorized into four main types. There are `monoliths` that are freestanding temples cut out of solid rock from top downwards. These are locally known as the `rathas` or `chariots`. There are five such rathas seen close to each other and these are together known as `Pancha rathas` or `Panchapandava rathas`. Four of these five rathas were named after the five Pandava brothers and the fifth one was named after Draupadi, the single wife of the five brothers, according to the Hindu epic Mahabharata.

There are many other temples excavated in hill scarps of Mahabalipuram, which are locally called `mandapas`. One of such famous five-cave temple is the one at Trimurti. There are also few other stonework temples or structural temples built of blocks of stone can be seen here. The Shore Temple of Mahabalipuram is one of the most important structural temples here. It was mostly built by Narasimhavarman II or Rajasimha, one of the successors of Mahamalla.

There are various sculptured scenes carved on the rock hills of Mahabalipuram. One of the sculptures represents a sage performing penance in a village on the banks of a river. According to some scholars, this sage is Arjuna, the hero of the epic Mahabharata. Again others depict this sage as Bhagiratha, who brought the river Ganga from the heavens to the earth.

The stone sculpture tradition of the Pallavas is still surviving in Mahabalipuram. The tradition is continued by a prestigious Government college of sculpture. There are many stone sculpture making centres and many shops selling stone sculptures and other objects made of stone available in Mahabalipuram city.

Thiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, South India

The name of the place Thiruchirappalli is derived from its Jain association. It is known as the rockfort city of Tamil Nadu. In Tamil Nadu, Buddhism and Jainism flourished before the renaissance of Hinduism in the form of the Bhakti cult. The Bhakti cult popularized Saivism and Vaishnavism and exterminated these anti-Hindu religions in Thiruchirappalli. Therefore, several Jain and Buddhist traces can be found scattered in remote and unapproachable spots throughout Thiruchirappalli.

`Chira` was actually the name of a Jain monk and his `palli` or abode was once in this rock. Hence, it came to be known as Chirappalli. Later, Thiru was added to it as it is an adjective of reverence in the Tamil language. The beautiful name is now reduced to `Trichy` as nobody feels comfortable to pronounce its full name.

In Tamil grammar, there is a special rule for shortening names like this. This rule is called `Maruvu`. It was a famous place in the Sangam Age and the capital city of Cholas, called `Uraiyur` even before its association with Jains. This place has a historical importance in Tamil Nadu. The Cheras, the Cholas and the Pandyas have ruled in Thiruchirappalli. Thereafter, the Pallavas, the later Pandyas, the later Cholas, the Vijayanagar rulers, the Marathas, the Nawabs, the French and Finally the British came to rule this strategic place which is more or less centrally located place in Tamil Nadu.

At present, Thiruchirappalli is the fourth major city of Tamil Nadu and the headquarters of Trichy district.