Fans of nagercoil
Nagercoil is the 11 th largest town in the southernmost Indian state of Tamil Nadu and a municipality and administrative headquarters of Kanyakumari District. The town is situated close to the tip of the Indian peninsula and is the southernmost town on the Indian mainland.
The town was a part of the erstwhile Travancore state, or later Travancore-Cochin state, till almost a decade after the Indian independence in 1947. In 1956, the city and the District were merged with Tamil Nadu. In its earlier days, the town and its surroundings were known as Nanjilnadu.
History
Nagercoil derives its name from the famous old Nagaraja Temple (temple of the serpent king) which is in the central part of town. It has been an important temple for Hindus for centuries as well as a tourist attraction. According to certain accounts, it may once have been a Jain temple, as icons of the Jain Tirthankaras — Mahavira and Parsvanatha — are found on the pillars of the temple.
Nagercoil came under the rule of various kingdoms, notably the Chera, Chola and Pandya kingdoms, Historical records reveal that these kingdoms fought over the control of the fertile area of Nanjilnadu and Kottar, a town mentioned in old Tamil writings and maps of ancient India. Archaeological records also show Jain influences in ancient times.
The modern history of the town is interwoven with the history of Travancore state. The modern town of Nagercoil grew around Kottar, now a locality in the municipal limits. The town came to prominence during and after the reign of Maharaja Marthanda Varma, the king of Travancore, the capital of which was Padmanabhapuram, about 20 km to the north of Nagercoil. The capital was later shifted to Trivandrum, now Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala state, about 65 km to the north of Nagercoil. In the erstwhile princely state of Travancore, Nagercoil was the second most important town after the capital Trivandrum.
Maharaja Marthanda Varma's successors continued the land, revenue and social reforms he instituted. Although Travancore was considered by many to be a "Hindu" administration, the rulers generally showed religious tolerance and were not hostile to European educators, missionaries and traders. Until the 19th century, the coffers of Travancore were greatly helped by revenues from the trade of pepper and other spices, with the European powers.
Irrigation systems (an excellent system is still found around Nagercoil), dams, roads, schools etc. developed under the administration of the Travancore royals and their Dewans. The British in India considered Travancore a "model native state". At the time, Travancore was the most socially developed, and one of the most economically developed states under the British Raj. During the British Raj, Travancore was essentially a vassal-state to the British, but the British never interfered in the general administration of the state.
The Clock Tower in the heart of the town, which is more than one hundred years old. The clock in the tower, was presented by the European missionary, Rev. Duthie to the Maharajah of Travancore, when the Maharajah visited Nagercoil in the late 19th century.
At the time of India's independence from Britain, the Dewan of Travancore, Sir C.P. Ramaswamy Aiyer, preferred Travancore to be a sovereign country, but he eventually gave up after a tough stand by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, India's federal minister in charge of home affairs, who wanted the princely state annexed to India.
After a political fight in the 1950s led by Marshal A. Nesamony Nadar, the Government of Travancore-Cochin gave part of South Travancore (present day Kanyakumari District) to Tamil Nadu, because a majority of the population spoke Tamil in the district. This was enacted in the Indian States Reorganisation Act of 1956.
The town and its surroundings
Nagercoil is located at 8°11′N 77°26′E / 8.18°N 77.43°E / 8.18; 77.43 at the southern tip of peninsular India. Because of its proximity to the Western Ghats, the topography of the town and its surroundings is generally hilly. The Western Ghats are the lifeline of the town, providing water sources for drinking, temperate climate, irrigation around the city, and an eco-system influenced by this mountain range.
Sandwiched between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats, the town has some breathtaking scenery, with the surrounding hills (the Western Ghats), lush green paddy fields, and sandy palm-fringed beaches on the western side. Farther north of Nagercoil, on the Western Ghats are plantations of rubber, cloves and cardamom. Many of these plantations were developed by British planters — planters' names like Simpson and Balamore are still household names in the town. The rubber plant was introduced by the English missionaries in the 18th century. Some of these plantations are still owned by the descendants of these British planters; however, a majority of the estates are now owned by the rich and influential moplah (Syrian Christians) community of Kerala.
Being the southernmost municipal area of the country, and situated close to Kanyakumari, or Cape Comorin, the southernmost point of peninsular India, the town is an intersecting point of culture, tradition and trade of the western and eastern coasts. The town connects two major eastern and western lines of the Indian Railways, with one line leading through Kerala, called the Konkan route, and the other through the eastern part of India, through Tirunelveli of Tamil Nadu. Nagercoil is 72 km from Thiruvananthapuram(Trivandrum), the capital of Kerala state, connected by National Highway 47, and 85 km from Tirunelveli. In that the famous village is Thollavilai.
Climate
Nagercoil has a pleasant, though humid, climate for a major part of the year. The maximum temperature during the summer hovers around 86°F or 30°C with extremely high humidity at times. Nagercoil receives both the north-east monsoon and the south-west monsoon. It rains more often in Kanyakumari district than in any other part of Tamil Nadu, with the exception of the Nilgiris. Due to geographical conditions, the southern tip of Kanyakumari is generally 2°C to 3°C warmer than Nagercoil during the daytime, though Kanyakumari is only 20 km away.
Parvathipuram, on the outskirts of Nagercoil, with a scenic view of the Western Ghats.
Demographics
As of 2001 India census, Nagercoil had a population of 208,149. Males constitute 50% of the population and females 50%. Nagercoil has an average literacy rate of 100% and is the only Indian city to produce this figure. In Nagercoil, 9% of the population is between the age group of 0 – 6 years.
Though the official population count (for the municipal area) is close to 2.25 lakhs, a significant population lives outside the municipal limits, in the suburbs.Tamil is the most spoken language. Malayalam and English are also widely understood in the city.
The greatest concentration of the population of the town and the District is along the coastal belt, on the eastern side, while the largely forested areas on the western side of the district (along the Western Ghats) are sparsely populated.
Culture and religion
Tamil is official language in Kanyakumari. Tamil and Malayalam are spoken by the people. Tamil language along with English is used as a medium of teaching in all major schools. The Tamil spoken here is a mix of Malayalam and Tamil, sometimes unintelligible to the people of North Tamil Nadu.
The culture is a mixture of Tamil and Malayalam culture and traditions. Hinduism, Christianity and Islam are the major religions in the town and district. Food prepared here is also a mix of Kerala/Tamil Nadu traditions. Puttu, Appam, Idiappam are popular food items and so are rice murukku, and achu-murukku. Curries here are made with coconut and coconut oil which is now considered Kerala style cooking.
Some of the festivals celebrated here are Pongal, Onam, Suchindrum "Ther Festival", Ayya Vaikunda Avataram, Deepavali, Easter, Christmas, New Year, St. Francis Xavier's feast, Bhagavathy Amman Temple festival, Ramzan (Eid ul fitr) and Bakrid (Eid ul alha).
Influence of European missionaries
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