Tiruvannamalai (Tamil language: Tiruvaṇṇāmalai IPA: , otherwise spelt Thiruvannamalai; Trinomali or Trinomalee
Tiruvannamalai has a thriving service sector industry, including retail, resorts and recreation activities. Apart from the service sector, the city is also the hub for many industrial setups including SIDCO,
Etymology and legend
In Hinduism,
Parvati, wife of
Shiva, once closed the eyes of her husband playfully in a flower garden at their abode atop
Mount Kailash. Although only a moment for the gods, all light was taken from the universe, and the earth, in turn, was submerged in darkness for years. Parvati performed penance with other devotees of Shiva, and her husband appeared as a big column of fire at the top of
Arunachala, returning light to the world.
He then merged with Parvati to form
Ardhanarishvara, the half-female, half-male form of Shiva.
The Annamalai, or red mountain, lies behind the Annamalaiyar temple, and is associated with the temple of its namesake.
The hill is sacred and considered a
lingam, or iconic representation of Shiva, in itself.
Another legend is that once, while
Vishnu and
Brahma contested for superiority, Shiva appeared as a flame, and challenged them to find his source.
Brahma took the form of a swan, and flew to the sky to see the top of the flame, while Vishnu became the boar
Varaha, and sought its base. The scene is called
lingothbava, and is represented in the western wall at the sanctum of most Shiva temples. Neither Brahma nor Vishnu could find the source, and while Vishnu conceded his defeat, Brahma lied and said he had found the pinnacle. In punishment, Shiva ordained that Brahma would never have temples on earth in his worship.
In Tamil, the word
Arunam means red or fire and
Asalam means hill. Since Shiva manifested himself in the form of fire in this place, this name Arunachalam came to be associated with Annamalai hill and the city.
The first mention of
Annamalai is found in
Tevaram, the seventh century Tamil Saiva canonical work by
Appar and
Sambandar.
History
The history of Tiruvannamalai revolves around the Annamalaiyar Temple. The recorded history of the city dates back to the ninth century, as seen from a Chola inscriptions in the temple.
Further inscriptions made before ninth century indicate the rule of
Pallava kings, whose capital was
Kanchipuram.
[Mack 2008, pp. 88–90] The seventh century
Nayanars saints
Sambandar and
Appar wrote of the temple in their poetic work,
Tevaram.
Sekkizhar, the author of the
Periyapuranam records both Appar and Sambandar worshiped Annamalaiyar in the temple.
The Chola Kings ruled over the region for more than four centuries, from 850 to 1280, and were temple patrons. The inscriptions from the Chola king record various gifts like land, sheep, cow and oil to the temple commemorating various victories of the dynasty.
Madhva saint
Vadiraja Teertharu of sixteenth century has mentioned about this place in his travelogue work
Tirtha Prabandha.
The Hoysala kings used Tiruvannamalai as their capital beginning in 1328 as their empire in Karnataka was annexed by the Delhi Sultanate and fought off the invasions from Madurai Sultans and Sultanate governors in the Deccan until 1346.[Mack 2008, p. 82] There are also inscriptions from the rule of Krishnadeva Raya (1509–1529), the most powerful Vijayanagara emperor, indicating further patronage.[Mack 2008, p. 81] The inscriptions in the temple from the Vijayanagara kings indicate emphasis on administrative matters and local concerns, which contrasts the inscriptions of the same rulers in other temples like Tirupathi. The majority of the gift related inscriptions are for land endowments, followed by goods, cash endowments, cows and oil for lighting lamps.[Mack 2008, pp. 71–72] There are inscriptions that show the area as an urban center before the precolonial period, with the city developing around the temple, similar to the Nayak ruled cities like Madurai.
During the 18th century, Tiruvannamalai came under the dominion of the Nawab of the Carnatic. As the Mughal empire came to an end, the Nawab lost control of the city, with confusion and chaos ensuing after 1753.
Geography
Tiruvannamalai is situated from the state capital
Chennai and from
Bangalore. The height of the Annamalai hill is approximately .
Tiruvannamalai is located at . It has an average elevation of . The city is located to the east of
Eastern Ghats. The topography of Tiruvannamalai is almost plain sloping from west to east. The temperature ranges from a maximum of to a minimum of . Like the rest of the state, April to June are the hottest months and December to January are the coldest. Tiruvannamalai receives scanty rainfall with an average of annually, which is lesser than the state average of . The southwest monsoon with an onset in June and lasting up to August brings scanty rainfall. Bulk of the rainfall is received during the northeast monsoon in the months of October, November and December. The average humidity of the city is 77% and varies between 67% and 86%. During the summer months of April to June, the humidity ranges from 47% to 63%. The municipality covers an area of .
[Urban Infrastructure Report 2008, pp. 74–76]
Demographics
According to the provisional population totals of the 2011 census, Tiruvannamalai UA had a population of 145278, with 72406 males and 72872 females. The sex ratio of the city was 1,000 and the child sex ratio stood at 960. Tiruvannamalai had an average literacy rate of 81.64% with male literacy being 85.6%, and female literacy being 77.7%. A total of 14,530 of the population of the city was under 6 years of age.
Is The Official Language.
According to 2011 census, Tiruvannamalai had a population of 145,278 with a sex-ratio of 1,006 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national average of 929.
The maximum decadal growth of population in Tiruvannamalai was observed during 1971–81 and had reduced growth rate from 1981 due to the increased amount of industrial activity that took place outside the city. The density of the city was 45 per hectare during 1971 and increased to 90 during 1999.[Urban Infrastructure Report 2008, pp. 76–79] A total (32.75%) of the land is used for residential, (3.58%) for commercial, (1.63%) for industrial, (2.88%) for public & semi public, (2.22%) for educational and (56.94%) for non-urban purposes.[Urban Infrastructure Report 2008, p. 80][ lok shaba website]
Economy
Tiruvannamalai is a temple city and a major pilgrimage centre in Tamil Nadu. The city is the marketing and service city for the surrounding places. Being the administrative headquarters of the Tiruvannamalai district, Tiruvannamalai has a lot of tertiary sector activities. Trade and commerce and service activities are the major contributors to the economy of the city. In 1991, 7.93% of the population was involved in primary sector, 21.34% in secondary sector and 70.73% in tertiary sector activities. The city had a female work participation of 11%. Due to the urbanisation from 1971, there has been dip in primary sector activities and a proportional increase in the tertiary sector activities. There is limited agricultural activity within the city limits. The secondary sector involves manufacturing and construction, whose growth has remained stable over the decades. There are a number of oil mills, rice mills and agro based industries within the Tiruvannamalai city limits. The tertiary sector activities of trade, commerce, transport, storage, communication and other services has been increasing due to the increasing number of tourists to the city. The patronage to Girivalam has increased informal economic activities around the city.
[Urban Infrastructure Report 2008, pp. 85–88] The major commercial activities are concentrated around Car Street, Thiruvoodal Street, Kadambarayan Street, Asaliamman Koil Street, Sivanpada Street and Polur Road.
All major nationalised banks such as State Bank of India, Vijaya Bank, Union Bank, Bank of India, Indian Bank, Central Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra and private banks like ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank, DBS Bank, Tamilnad Mercantile Bank, IDBI Bank, Bank of Baroda, Karur Vysya Bank and City Union Bank have their branches in Tiruvannamalai. All these banks have their automated teller machines located in various parts of the city. Apart from major banks, the city also has many small finance banks and their automated teller machines.
Culture
The Annamalaiyar Temple is the most prominent landmark of Tiruvannamalai. The temple complex covers an area of , and is one of the largest temples in India.
It houses four gateway towers known as
gopurams. The tallest is the eastern tower, with 11 stories and a height of , making it one of the tallest temple towers in India.
The temple has numerous shrines, with those of Annamalaiyar and Unnamulai Amman being the most prominent. The temple complex houses many halls; the most notable is the thousand-pillared hall built during the Vijayanagar period.
The Annamalaiyar temple is one of the
Pancha Bhoota Stalas, or five Shiva temples, with each a manifestation of a natural
Mahabhuta: land, water, air, sky or fire.
In Annamalaiyar temple, Shiva is said to have manifested himself as a massive column of fire, whose crown and feet could not be found by the Hindu gods,
Brahma and Vishnu.
are Shiva temples which are considered to be personifications of the Tantric
of human anatomy. The Annamalaiyar temple is called the
Manipooraga stalam,
and is associated with the
Manipura chakra.
The temple is revered in
Tevaram, the Tamil Saiva canon and classified as
Paadal Petra Sthalam, one of the 276 temples that find mention in the Saiva canon.
The most important festival of the Annamalaiyar temple is celebrated during the
Tamil calendar of
Karthikai, between November and December, concluding with the celebration of Karthikai Deepam. A huge lamp is lit in a
cauldron, containing three tons of
ghee, at the top of the Annamalai hills during the Deepam.
To mark the occasion, the festival deity of Annamalaiyar
Circumambulation the mountain. Inscriptions indicate that the festival was celebrated as early as the Chola period (850–1280) and was expanded to ten days in the twentieth century.
[Mack 2008, pp. 72–74]
Every full moon, tens of thousands of pilgrims worship Annamalaiyar by circumambulating the Annamalai hill barefoot.
Tirumalai is an ancient Jain temple complex in the outskirts of Tiruvannamalai that houses three Jain caves, four Jain temples and a high sculpture of Neminatha dated from the 12th century and the tallest Jain image in Tamil Nadu.
The Ramana Ashram and ashram of Yogi Ramsuratkumar, located around the Annamalai hill are popular visitor attractions of Tiruvannamalai. The Sathanur Dam over the Thenpennai river located southwest of the city is a prominent picnic spot. This 786.37 m Dam is 44.81m high and can store 7,321,000,000 cu ft or 207,300,000 cubic meters of water. A scenic park is also present adjacent to this dam.
Transport
The Puducherry – Krishnagiri national highway, NH 77 and the
Vellore –
Tuticorin Port National highway NH 38 pass through Tiruvannamalai. The city has eight arterial roads that connects it to other towns.
The Tiruvannamalai municipality maintains a total length of . The city has concrete roads, BT roads, of WBM roads and earthen roads. A total of 452 roads is maintained by the State Highways Department.
Tiruvannamalai is served by the city bus service operated by the TNSTC, which provides connectivity within the town and the suburbs. There are private operated mini-bus services that cater to the local transport needs of the town. The main bus stand covers an area of and is located in the heart of the town.
There are regular inter-city bus services to Tiruvannamalai. The TNSTC operates daily services connecting various cities to Tiruvannamalai. The corporation operates a computerised reservation centre in the bus stand of the town.
The SETC operates long-distance buses connecting the town to important cities like
Chennai, Puducherry and
Bengaluru. The major inter city bus routes from the town are to cities and towns like
Chennai,
Bangalore,
Vettavalam,
Viluppuram, Puducherry, Arani,
Tindivanam,
Gingee,
Tirukoilur,
Avalurpet,
Kanchipuram,
Chengam, Sathanur,
Sankarapuram and
Manalurpet.
Tiruvannamalai railway station is located in the rail head from Katpadi to Villupuram and falls under the Tiruchchirapalli division of the Southern Railway. The Rameswaram-Tirupati bi-weekly expresses connects Tiruvannamalai to the cities of Madurai and Tirupati in either directions. There are also passenger trains running either side from Katpadi to Villupuram.
The nearest airport is at Chennai, which is located from the town.
City Municipal Areas
Municipal administration and politics
|
|
Special Officer |
Parthasarathi |
P. Hema |
|
E.V.Velu |
C. N. Annadurai |
The Tiruvannamalai municipality was established in 1886 during British times. It was promoted to a second-grade municipal municipality in 1959, first grade in 1974, selection grade in 1998 and special grade in 2008.
The municipality has 39 wards and there is an elected councillor for each of those wards.
The functions of the municipality are devolved into six departments: general administration/personnel, Engineering, Revenue, Public Health, city planning and Information Technology (IT). All these departments are under the control of a Municipal Commissioner who is the executive head.
The legislative powers are vested in a body of 39 members, one each from the 39 wards.
The legislative body is headed by an elected chairperson
assisted by a deputy chairperson.
Tiruvannamalai comes under the Tiruvannamalai assembly constituency and it elects a member to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly once every five years.
During the 1957 elections, Tiruvannamalai was a part of Tiruvannamalai parliamentary constituency and was held by an independent.
Law and order in the town is maintained by the Tiruvannamalai sub division of the Tamil Nadu Police headed by a Deputy Superintendent (DSP).
Chronological List of Chairmen
-
T.S. Muthukumarasamy Sengundha Mudaliar: three times elected chairman of Tiruvannamalai.
-
A. Ramu Sengundha Mudaliar
-
T.V. Devaraja Senguntha Mudaliar
-
T.S. Saminatha Sengundha Mudaliar
-
D. Pattuswamy Sengundha Mudaliar: ex MP and chairman.
-
Palani Pillai
-
S. Murugaiyan Senguntha Mudaliar: ex MP, ex MLA and three times elected chairman of Tiruvannamalai.
[ Senguntha Muthiran August 2020]
-
R. Dharmalingam
Education and utility services
There are 45 elementary schools, 12 high schools and 28 higher secondary schools in Tiruvannamalai. There are seven arts & science colleges, six engineering colleges, 1 law college and 2 medical college in the town.
Electricity supply to Tiruvannamalai is regulated and distributed by the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB). The town along with its suburbs forms the Tiruvannamalai Electricity Distribution Circle.
Water supply is provided by the municipality of Tiruvannamalai from the Thenpennai river and Samuthiram through feeders located in various parts of the town. In the period 2000–2001, a total of 12.5 million litres of water was supplied every day for households in the town.
About 52 metric tonnes of solid waste are collected from Tiruvannamalai every day by door-to-door collection and subsequently the source segregation and dumping is carried out by the sanitary department of the municipality. The coverage of solid waste management had an efficiency of 75% in 2001.
The town has underground drainage system which came to existence fully in the year 2013–2014
and the sewerage system for disposal of sullage is through septic tanks, open drains and public conveniences.
The municipality maintains a total of of storm water drains in Tiruvannamalai.
There are three government hospitals, one southern railway hospital, two municipal maternity hospitals, two
Siddha medicine hospitals, five health centres and 126 private hospitals and clinics that take care of the health care needs of the citizens.
There are a total of 13,570 street lamps in Tiruvannamalai: 2,496 sodium lamps, 1061 mercury vapour lamps, 10,010 tube lights and 112 high mast beam lamp.
The municipality operates seven markets, namely the Jothi flower market, vegetable market and uzhavar santhai, poomalai market, Angalamman koil market, Perumbakkam road market that cater to the needs of the town and the rural areas around it.
Notes
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The municipalities in Tamil Nadu are graded special, selection, grade I and grade II based on income and population.
Citations
External links
