Thoothukudi
Thoothukudi (formerly Tuticorin) is a port city, a municipal corporation, and an industrial city in Thoothukudi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The city lies on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. Thoothukudi is the capital and headquarters of Thoothukudi district. It is located about 590 km southwest of Chennai, 190 km northeast of Thiruvananthapuram, and 580 km southeast of Bengaluru. According to the Confederation of Indian Industry, Thoothukudi has the second highest Human Development Index in Tamil Nadu, next to Chennai. Thoothukudi City serves as the headquarters of Tamilnad Mercantile Bank Limited, one of the leading private sector banks in India. Major educational establishments in the city include the Government Thoothukudi Medical College, Fisheries College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Maritime Academy, V.O. Chidambaram College, Kamaraj College, Anna University (Thoothukudi Campus), and Government Polytechnic College. The V.O. Chidambaranar Port Authority is one of the major ports in India. Thoothukudi is an emerging energy and industrial hub of South India.
Thoothukudi is known as "Pearl City" due to the pearl fishing carried out in the town. It is a commercial seaport which serves the inland cities of Southern India and is one of the sea gateways of Tamil Nadu. It is also one of the major seaports in India with a history dating back to the 6th century CE. The city is believed to be of significant antiquity and has been ruled, at different times, by the Early Pandyas, Medieval Cholas, Later Cholas, Later Pandyas, Ma'bar Sultanate, Tirunelveli Sultanate, Vijayanagar Empire, Madurai Nayaks, Chanda Sahib, Carnatic kingdom, Portuguese, Dutch and the British. Thoothukudi was settled by the Portuguese, Dutch and later by the British East India Company. The city is administered by a Thoothukudi Municipal Corporation covering an area of 353.07 sqkm and had a population of 237,830 in 2011. The urban agglomeration had a population of 410,760.
The majority of the people of the city are employed in salt pans, sea-borne trading, fishing, and tourism. The 21 islands between Thoothukudi and Rameswaram shores in the Gulf of Mannar are noted as the first Marine Biosphere Reserve of India, and have around 36,000 species of flora and fauna. This protected area is called Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park. Our Lady of Snows Basilica festival is celebrated annually during August. This and the Shiva temple festivals, including Adi Amavasai, Sasti, and Chittirai chariot festivals, are the major festivals of the area. Roadways are the major mode of transport to Thoothukudi, while the city also has rail, air, and sea transport.
Thoothukudi is also known by the name 'Pearl city'. It is also called as "Sea Gateway of Tamil Nadu". Thoothukudi is part of the Pearl Fishery Coast, and is known for its pearl fishing and shipbuilding industries.
The ancient town of Korkai near present-day Thoothukudi has been a centre for maritime trade and pearl fishery for more than 2000 years. Ptolemy's geography refers to Korkai as a centre of pearl fishery while describing commercial relations between western India and Alexandria, the chief eastern emporium of the Roman Empire. The Periplus says that the Pandyan Empire extended from Comari towards the north, including Korkai, where the pearl fisheries were. Eventually, the Vijayanagara Empire took over Thoothukudi. Conducted trade with the Portuguese. The Empire split into Nayak kingdoms, who got overthrown by the Nawab of Arcot. The Nawab eventuality ceded the land to the British in 1801.
The Portuguese established ports in Thoothukudi during the 16th century, and the Dutch occupied these ports in the 17th century as evidenced by Pagoda coins. During the 18th century the British overpowered and occupied the town. Being a port town, the town received attention from the rulers for improving their trade, and so it was brought to Municipal status in 1866. Rao Bahadur Cruz Fernandez and J. L. P. Roche Victoria as the chairmen of municipal corporation made significant contributions, laying the foundations for a modern Thoothukudi.
On 20 October 1986, a new district, carved out of the erstwhile Tirunelveli district was born in Tamil Nadu and named after V. O. Chidambaranar, a prominent national leader hailing from Ottapidaram who led the Swadeshi Movement in the south. Since 1997, as is the case in other districts of Tamil Nadu, this district has been named after its headquarters town, Thoothukudi.
Thoothukudi became the citadel of freedom struggles in the early of the 20th century.
Thoothukudi is known as "Pearl City" due to the pearl fishing carried out in the town. It is a commercial seaport which serves the inland cities of Southern India and is one of the sea gateways of Tamil Nadu. It is also one of the major seaports in India with a history dating back to the 6th century CE. The city is believed to be of significant antiquity and has been ruled, at different times, by the Early Pandyas, Medieval Cholas, Later Cholas, Later Pandyas, Ma'bar Sultanate, Tirunelveli Sultanate, Vijayanagar Empire, Madurai Nayaks, Chanda Sahib, Carnatic kingdom, Portuguese, Dutch and the British. Thoothukudi was settled by the Portuguese, Dutch and later by the British East India Company. The city is administered by a Thoothukudi Municipal Corporation covering an area of 353.07 sqkm and had a population of 237,830 in 2011. The urban agglomeration had a population of 410,760.
The majority of the people of the city are employed in salt pans, sea-borne trading, fishing, and tourism. The 21 islands between Thoothukudi and Rameswaram shores in the Gulf of Mannar are noted as the first Marine Biosphere Reserve of India, and have around 36,000 species of flora and fauna. This protected area is called Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park. Our Lady of Snows Basilica festival is celebrated annually during August. This and the Shiva temple festivals, including Adi Amavasai, Sasti, and Chittirai chariot festivals, are the major festivals of the area. Roadways are the major mode of transport to Thoothukudi, while the city also has rail, air, and sea transport.
Thoothukudi is also known by the name 'Pearl city'. It is also called as "Sea Gateway of Tamil Nadu". Thoothukudi is part of the Pearl Fishery Coast, and is known for its pearl fishing and shipbuilding industries.
The ancient town of Korkai near present-day Thoothukudi has been a centre for maritime trade and pearl fishery for more than 2000 years. Ptolemy's geography refers to Korkai as a centre of pearl fishery while describing commercial relations between western India and Alexandria, the chief eastern emporium of the Roman Empire. The Periplus says that the Pandyan Empire extended from Comari towards the north, including Korkai, where the pearl fisheries were. Eventually, the Vijayanagara Empire took over Thoothukudi. Conducted trade with the Portuguese. The Empire split into Nayak kingdoms, who got overthrown by the Nawab of Arcot. The Nawab eventuality ceded the land to the British in 1801.
The Portuguese established ports in Thoothukudi during the 16th century, and the Dutch occupied these ports in the 17th century as evidenced by Pagoda coins. During the 18th century the British overpowered and occupied the town. Being a port town, the town received attention from the rulers for improving their trade, and so it was brought to Municipal status in 1866. Rao Bahadur Cruz Fernandez and J. L. P. Roche Victoria as the chairmen of municipal corporation made significant contributions, laying the foundations for a modern Thoothukudi.
On 20 October 1986, a new district, carved out of the erstwhile Tirunelveli district was born in Tamil Nadu and named after V. O. Chidambaranar, a prominent national leader hailing from Ottapidaram who led the Swadeshi Movement in the south. Since 1997, as is the case in other districts of Tamil Nadu, this district has been named after its headquarters town, Thoothukudi.
Thoothukudi became the citadel of freedom struggles in the early of the 20th century.
Map - Thoothukudi
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Modern humans arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa no later than 55,000 years ago. Their long occupation, initially in varying forms of isolation as hunter-gatherers, has made the region highly diverse, second only to Africa in human genetic diversity. Settled life emerged on the subcontinent in the western margins of the Indus river basin 9,000 years ago, evolving gradually into the Indus Valley Civilisation of the third millennium BCE. By, an archaic form of Sanskrit, an Indo-European language, had diffused into India from the northwest. (a) (b) (c), "In Punjab, a dry region with grasslands watered by five rivers (hence ‘panch’ and ‘ab’) draining the western Himalayas, one prehistoric culture left no material remains, but some of its ritual texts were preserved orally over the millennia. The culture is called Aryan, and evidence in its texts indicates that it spread slowly south-east, following the course of the Yamuna and Ganga Rivers. Its elite called itself Arya (pure) and distinguished themselves sharply from others. Aryans led kin groups organized as nomadic horse-herding tribes. Their ritual texts are called Vedas, composed in Sanskrit. Vedic Sanskrit is recorded only in hymns that were part of Vedic rituals to Aryan gods. To be Aryan apparently meant to belong to the elite among pastoral tribes. Texts that record Aryan culture are not precisely datable, but they seem to begin around 1200 BCE with four collections of Vedic hymns (Rg, Sama, Yajur, and Artharva)."
Currency / Language
| ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
|---|---|---|---|
| INR | Indian rupee | ₹ | 2 |
| ISO | Language |
|---|---|
| AS | Assamese language |
| BN | Bengali language |
| BH | Bihari languages |
| EN | English language |
| GU | Gujarati language |
| HI | Hindi |
| KN | Kannada language |
| ML | Malayalam language |
| MR | Marathi language |
| OR | Oriya language |
| PA | Panjabi language |
| TA | Tamil language |
| TE | Telugu language |
| UR | Urdu |