NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Kanyakumari district

Kanyakumari District (also spelt 'Kanniyakumari' or 'Kanniakumari District) is a district of Tamil Nadu state, India and also the southernmost land area and district of mainland India. Tamil Nadu (தமிழ் நாடு, Land of the Tamils) is a state at the southern tip of India. ...

Kanyakumari District is one of the 30 districts of Tamil Nadu state, and also the smallest. The district takes its name from the tourist town of Kanyakumari, which is at the tip of the Indian Peninsula and faces the Indian Ocean. The headquarters (capital) of the District is Nagercoil, which is 22 km from Kanyakumari town. The district is a land of tourist attractions with many historic and religious sites that are centuries-old and also endowed with great natural beauty, both on the coasts and the mountainous interior, with a rich variety of flora and fauna. The state of Tamil Nadu, in southeastern India is divided into 30 districts. ... Tamil Nadu (தமிழ் நாடு, Land of the Tamils) is a state at the southern tip of India. ... A peninsula in Croatia A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered on three or more sides by water. ... , Nagercoil (Tamil: à®¨à®¾à®•à®°à¯à®•à¯‹à®µà®¿à®²à¯) is a city and a municipality in Kanyakumari district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. ...

A ferry (Vallam) crossing the Thengapattnam Estuary

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Location

Commonly referred to as the Land's End, Kanyakumari District is located at the southern tip of peninsular India and bordered by Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala state to the west and Tirunelveli District of Tamil Nadu to the north and east. , Thiruvananthapuram (Malayalam: à´¤à´¿à´°àµà´µà´¨à´¨àµà´¤à´ªàµà´°à´‚ TiruvanÅntapuraá¹), also known as Trivandrum, is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala and the headquarters of the Thiruvananthapuram District. ... , Kerala ( ; Malayalam: à´•àµ‡à´°à´³à´‚; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of southwestern India. ... Tirunelveli District is a district of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. ...

The district lies between 77° 15' and 77° 36' of the eastern longitudes and 8° 03' and 8° 35' of the northern Latitudes. The south-eastern boundary (coastal) is the Gulf of Mannar (Bay of Bengal), while on the South and the South West, the boundaries are the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea. The Gulf of Mannar is an arm of the Indian Ocean, lying between the southern tip of India and the west coast of Sri Lanka at a width of between 160 and 200 km (100 to 125 mi). ... Look up Bay of Bengal in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Arabian Sea (Arabic: Ø¨ØØ± Ø§Ù„Ø¹Ø±Ø¨; transliterated: Bahr al-Arab) is a region of the Indian Ocean bounded on the east by India, on the north by Pakistan and Iran, on the west by Arabian Peninsula, on the south, approximately, by a line between Cape Guardafui, the north-east point of Somalia...

Administrative Divisions

No of Taluks - 4, Blocks - 9 Municipalities - 4 (Nagercoil, Padmanabhapuram, Colachel, Kuzhithurai) Village Panchayats - 99 Special category village panchayats - 56. , Nagercoil (Tamil: à®¨à®¾à®•à®°à¯à®•à¯‹à®µà®¿à®²à¯) is a city and a municipality in Kanyakumari district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. ... Padmanabhapuram was the old capital of the princely state Travancore in India. ... Colachel is a coastal town situated in the Arabian Sea in the district of Kanyakumari District of India. ... Kuzhithurai is a city and a municipality in Kanniyakumari District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. ... // The Panchayat (à¤ªà¤‚à¤šà¤¾à¤¯à¤¤ in Devanagiri) is an Indian political system that groups five villages in a quincunx (four peripheral villages around a central one were laid out as the 5 side of a die). ...

Nagercoil city is the administrative headquarters (capital) of Kanyakumari district.

History

Kanyakumari District takes its name from the town of Kanyakumari, at the southern tip of India. (In many Indian languages Kumari means virgin girl). Thus, Kanyakumari District is also sometimes called 'Kumari' District. Kanyakumari town is named after the Goddess Kanyakumari Amman, a popular deity of the area. Legend has it that the Goddess Parvati in one of her incarnations as Devi Kanniya did penance on one of the rocks of this 'land's end' to obtain the hand of Lord Shiva. For other uses, see Kanyakumari (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Siva (disambiguation). ...

The town of Kanyakumari is geographically a Cape, and it was known earlier as Cape Comorin. Since ancient times, Kanyakumari District has consisted of two geographical areas, known locally as Nanjilnadu and Idainadu. The etymologists interpret the word Nanjilnadu as the country ('nadu') where there were (and still has) several agriculture plantations and fields. Nanjilnadu is mentioned in old Tamil literature as a rich agrarian area, where the town of Kottar, (today, a locality in Nagercoil) as a major commercial centre. Ancient temples and inscriptions reveal a major Jain influence in ancient times. The district is home to many practitioners of various branches of ancient India's health tradition, including siddha, ayurvedha, varma kalai. For other uses, see Cape (disambiguation). ... Tamil literature is literature in the Tamil language which most prominently includes the contributions of the Tamil country (or Tamizhagam) history, a large part of which constitutes the modern state of Tamil Nadu and Kerala as well as some parts of Karnataka and Andra pradesh. ... Kottar is a small town part of Nagercoil in Kanyakumari District, Tamilnadu, India. ... JAIN is an activity within the Java Community Process, developing APIs for the creation of telephony (voice and data) services. ... A Siddha in Sanskrit means One who is accomplished and refers to perfected masters who have transcended the Ahamkara (Ego or I-maker), have subdued their minds to be subservient to their Awareness, and have transformed their bodies composed of dense Rajo-tama Gunas into pure Satvic light. ... Shirodhara, one of the techniques of Ayurveda Ayurveda (Devanagari: ) or Ayurvedic medicine is an ancient system of health care that is native to the Indian subcontinent. ... Varma Kalai Varma Kalai (also spelled Varmakalai or Varmakkalai) is an ancient martial art which has its origins in the southern part of India, more specifically, around Tamil Nadu state. ...

Palace at Padmanabhapuram, the capital of the ertswhile state of Travancore ; The capital was later shifted to Trivandrum

Nanjilnadu, which is the present Agasteeswaram and Thovalai taluks (administrative sub-divisions) of the district, was under the rule of Pandyas till the early 10th century and then under Cheras. Idainadu including Kalkulam and Vilavancode taluks were under the rule of Cheras. When the power of Cheras declined due to the rise of Hoysalas and western Chalukyas, the Venad (Travancore) Chieftains (descendants of the Cheras) took advantage of the situation and gradually established their hold, on many areas of Nanjilnadu. The annexation commenced by Veera Kerala Varma was to a large extent continued by his successors and completed by 1115 A.D. File links The following pages link to this file: Kanyakumari ... File links The following pages link to this file: Kanyakumari ... Flag for former princely state of Travancore Travancore or Thiruvithaamkoor (Malayalam: à´¤à´¿à´°àµà´µà´¿à´¤à´¾à´™àµà´•àµ‚à´°àµâ€ [], à´¤à´¿à´°àµà´µà´¿à´¤à´¾à´‚à´•àµ‚à´°àµâ€ [], à´¤à´¿à´°àµà´µà´¿à´¤à´¾à´™àµà´•àµ‹à´Ÿàµ []) was a princely state in India with its capital at Trivandrum (Thiruvananthapuram). ... Indian Coffee House Thiruvananthapuram or Thiruvanathapuram (formerly known as Trivandrum) is the capital (population - 889,191 (2001)) of the state of Kerala, India. ... The Pandyan kingdom was an ancient state at the tip of South India, founded around the 6th century BCE. It was part of the Dravidian cultural area, which also comprised other kingdoms such as that of the Pallava, the Chera, the Chola, the Chalukya and the Vijayanagara. ... The Cheras were one of the three ancient Tamil dynasties who ruled the southern tip of the peninsula of India for most of its early history. ... The Hoysala Empire ruled part of southern India from 1000 to 1346. ... The Chalukya Dynasty was an Indian royal dynasty that ruled parts of southern India between 550 and 750, and again between 973 and 1190. ... Venad was one of the thirteen kingdoms of the ancient Cheran empire. ... Flag for former princely state of Travancore Travancore or Thiruvithaamkoor (Malayalam: à´¤à´¿à´°àµà´µà´¿à´¤à´¾à´™àµà´•àµ‚à´°àµâ€ [], à´¤à´¿à´°àµà´µà´¿à´¤à´¾à´‚à´•àµ‚à´°àµâ€ [], à´¤à´¿à´°àµà´µà´¿à´¤à´¾à´™àµà´•àµ‹à´Ÿàµ []) was a princely state in India with its capital at Trivandrum (Thiruvananthapuram). ...

For about four centuries, Venad was ruled by powerful kings who were consistently making incursions into the pandyan territories. As a result the Vijayanagar kings proceeded against venad. In 1609 Kanyakumari fell in to the mighty hands of Viswanatha Nayak of Madurai. Consequent to this, there was no serious threat to Nanjilnadu, until 1634. Vijayanagara (often written Vijayanagar), in northern Karnataka, is the name of the now ruined capital city of the historic Vijayanagar empire in the Southern part of India. ...

In 1729, Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma took control of Venad after putting down the insurgency of the Ettuveettil Pillamars. He defeated the forces of the Dutch East India Company under Eustachius De Lannoy in 1741 at the Battle of Colachel. In the later part of the 18th century, Chanda Sahib, a rebel commandant related to the Nawab of Arcot attacked Nagercoil and other areas. Travancore had to contend with such attacks and monetary demands from the Carnatic Nawabs or from their rebellious governors until the English fully supported the state of Travancore. In spite of the troubles encountered in the southern border of Venad, Marthanda Varma expanded the kingdom towards north up to Aluva and established the state of Travancore. By this, the present day Kanyakumari District came to be known as Southern Travancore. Later, the capital was shifted from Padmanabhapuram (in present day Kanyakumari District) to Thiruvananthapuram. Marthanda Varma (1706 - 1758) was the son of the Rani of Attingal. ... The Ettuveetil Pillamar (translated as Pillai Lords of the Eight Houses) was a group of nobles from Eight Nair Houses, all related in some manner to the Royal Family of Venad, in southern India. ... Captain Eustachius Benedictus De Lannoy (also spelt De Lennoy), was a Dutch naval commander of the Dutch East India Company, who was sent by the company to help establish a trading post at Colachel, Southern India, but was defeated at the Battle of Colachel by the Travancore army under Maharaja... The naval Battle of Kulachal took place on 10 August 1741 (31 July OS) [1], when forces of Marthanda Varma, the Raja of the erstwhile Indian State of Travancore (also known as Tiruvitamkur) defeated forces of the Dutch East India Company (also known as VOC), and the allied Rani of... Nawabs of the Carnatic (also referred to as the Nawabs of Arcot), ruled the Carnatic region of South India between c. ...

After Marthanda varma, Venad had to face incursions of Mysore's Tipu Sultan. This led to treaties with the English East India Company. Subsequently, the kings of Travancore ruled the country accepting the hegemony of the English. In 1762, a treaty with the Carnatic Nawab brokered by the English gave control of Shengottai and Kanyakumari to Travancore.

The rule of the Travancore royals finally ceased in 1947 when Travancore had to join the independent Indian Union. In 1949, Kanyakumari district became part of the newly constituted Travancore-Cochin State. The majority of the people of South Travancore Taluks (Kanyakumari District) were Tamil-speaking and a popular agitation for merging the Tamil majority areas of South Travancore to Madras State (now Tamil Nadu) was started during this period and was intensified under the leadership of M.A. Nesamony.The State's Reorganisation Commission also recommended this. Accordingly, the Indian States Reorganisation Act, 1956 was passed and Kanyakumari District was formed on 1 November 1956 , with the four Taluks, Viz., Agasteeswarem, Thovalai, Kalkulam and Vilavancode, merged with Tamil Nadu. Thiru. R .Thirumalai, I.A.S., assumed charge as the first Collector of Kanyakumari District on 1 November, 1956.

Though generally a peaceful place, violence flared up between Christians and Hindus in 1982 at the coastal village of Mandaicadu. In the subsequent violence and police shoot-outs in several parts of the coastal areas of the district and in Nagercoil, several people were killed.

On 26 December, 2004, the Indian Ocean Tsunami that struck several countries of South Asia, South-East and Africa caused havoc in the coastal areas of the district, with the western coast of the district severely affected. Casualties were close to 900 deaths and several hundreds missing and injured. Social organizations from several countries and the Government have since been working on rehabilitating the affected people and property. Animation of the tsunami caused by the earthquake (see also the full-length version) From NOAA/PMEL. The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake, was an undersea earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC (07:58:53 local time) on December...

The Land & Geographical Features

Kanyakumari is the smallest District in Tamil Nadu, with a land spread of 1,684 km² and has almost all ecosystems - forests, wetlands, freshwater resources, marine, etc.

Pechiparai Reservoir

The district, once called 'The Granary of Travancore' is fertile, with hundreds of water bodies and an excellent canal irrigation system. Rubber and spice plantations are found on the hilly terrain, while paddy fields, plantain (banana) and coconut plantations are found on the plains, near the coast. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 600 pixelsFull resolution (2816 Ã— 2112 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 600 pixelsFull resolution (2816 Ã— 2112 pixel, file size: 1. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Granary at Thiruparaithurai, Kumbakonam (old temple town), built around 1600-1634 A granary is a storehouse for threshed grain or animal feed. ... Irrigation is the artificial application of water to the soil usually for assisting in growing crops. ...

The district is generally hilly, with plains found near the coast. The land from the sea-coast gradually rises from sea-level to the Western-Ghats hills in the deep interior of the district. The District has 62 km of coast on the western side (Arabian Sea coast) and 6 km of coast on the eastern side (Gulf of Mannar/Bay of Bengal coast).

There are three important riverine ecosystems, which confluence with Arabian Sea. They are :

1. Thengapattinam estuary, formed by the confluence of river Tampirabarani in between Thengapattinam and Eraiummanthurai. 2. Valliyar estuary formed by the river Valloiyar near Kadiapattinam. 3. Manakudy estuary formed by the confluence of river Pazhayar in between East and West Manakudy villages.

Apart from these, are two minor estuaries also: they are Pambar estuary near Colachel and Pantri estuary near Rajakkamangalam. These are formed by excess water in the drainage canal during monsoon and the water drained from the irrigational fields.

Soil types -

(1) Laterite soil is found at Thiruvattar, Killiyoor, Munchirai, Rajakamanagalam, Thuckalay blocks.

(2) Red and Alluvial soil are found at Agastheeswaram and Thovalai blocks.

The soil pH is between 4.5 to 8.0. The minerals in soil - nitrogen: low to medium, phosphorus: medium, potassium: high Alluvium is soil land deposited by a river or other running water. ... Agastheeswaram is a panchayat town in Kanniyakumari district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. ... Thovalai is a small village located in Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu, is famous for flowers. ... General Name, symbol, number nitrogen, N, 7 Chemical series nonmetals Group, period, block 15, 2, p Appearance colorless gas Standard atomic weight 14. ... General Name, symbol, number phosphorus, P, 15 Chemical series nonmetals Group, period, block 15, 3, p Appearance waxy white/ red/ black/ colorless Standard atomic weight 30. ... General Name, symbol, number potassium, K, 19 Chemical series alkali metals Group, period, block 1, 4, s Appearance silvery white Standard atomic weight 39. ...

Land Use - 48.9% under cultivation and 32.5% under forests.

Demography

Kanyakumari District is the third-most advanced district in Tamil Nadu. It had a population of 1,676,034, as of 2001. It is 71.27% urbanised as per Census 2001. [1]

The district has a literacy of 91.11%, the highest in the state.

Climate

Based on a 50 year study, it is found that during the North-East monsoon, between October and December, a precipitation of 549 mm is received in 24 rainy days and during the South-West monsoon 537 mm is received from June to September in 27 rainy days. In summer, 332mm of rainfall is received in 11 rainy days between March and May. The annual average rainfall in the district is 1465 mm with a maximum of around 247 mm in October and a minimum of 21 mm in February. Relative humidity ranges between 60 to 100%. This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

People, Culture & Religion

Language

The main languages spoken by people of the district are Tamil and Malayalam. English is widely understood in the urban areas. While the majority in the district speak Tamil, Malayalam is an important language, and spoken by many, in the northern and western areas of the district. Tamil ( ; IPA ) is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamils in India and Sri Lanka, with smaller communities of speakers in many other countries. ... Malayalam (à´®à´²à´¯à´¾à´³à´‚ ) is the language spoken predominantly in the state of Kerala, in southern India. ...

People of the district celebrate both Tamil and Keralite (Malayalam) festivals, apart from religious festivals. Tamil Pongal festival and keralite Onam festival are both popular in the district. This article is about the Pongal festival. ... Onam (IPA: [oËÉ³am], Malayalam: à´“à´£à´‚) is an annual harvest festival, celebrated mainly in the south Indian state of Kerala. ...

Religion

The religions of Christianity, Hinduism and Islam are represented in the district, with Christians forming close to 45% of the population. The district has the third largest Christian population among all districts in India.^[1] Also, about one-fifth of the Christian population of Tamil Nadu live in this district. This article is about the religous people known as Christians. ...

Hindus form the other sizeable percentage of the population and there are a number of Muslims dominated belts in the district. Roman Catholic Christianity was introduced in Kanyakumari area by the great European saint-missionary, St. Francis Xavier, who resided at Kottar, while doing missionary work in the neighbouring areas. Later, with the coming of the British in India, Protestant missionaries introduced Protestant Christianity. The Christian Missionaries, as elsewhere in India, were the pioneers of English Education in the erstwhile Travancore State and more particularly in the then South Travancore areas (including Kanyakumari District). This article is about the Hindu religion; for other meanings of the word, see Hindu (disambiguation). ... Not to be confused with St. ...

This district is the birth place of Ayyavazhi (Hindu-sect) religion. Apart from the role in the religious universe, Ayyavazhi also plays a major role in the social history of Kanyakumari in the mid-nineteenth century.^[2] Ayyavazhi (IPA: )(Tamil:à®…à®¯à¯à®¯à®¾à®µà®´à®¿ [1] -Path of the father) is a dharmic belief system[2] which originated in South India in the 19th century. ...

Food

Rice is the staple food of the people, though for some people in the hilly areas, Tapioca is the main food. Though there are some vegetarians among the populace, a majority of the people use agro, meat and fish products. Fish caught in the seas around the district during the night or early morning hours reach the markets in the interior towns and villages in the early morning. Though the food is spicy, it is less spicy than the food prepared in the other districts of Tamil Nadu, and the people in the district tend to use more grated coconut in their curries and food-preparations, like neighbouring Kerala. For other uses, see Tapioca (disambiguation). ...

Decorative lights at a church in Marthandam during the Christmas season. With 45% of the population being Christian, Christmas is celebrated across the district with lights, decorations and various programmes

Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 450 pixelsFull resolution (2816 Ã— 1584 pixel, file size: 942 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) self-made image ; Authors Name : Infocaster I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 450 pixelsFull resolution (2816 Ã— 1584 pixel, file size: 942 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) self-made image ; Authors Name : Infocaster I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under... CSI Church in Martandam Vedisasthan Kovil Vedisasthan Kovil another View Martandam is the second biggest town next to Nagercoil & also a major trade centre across National Highway (NH 47) in the Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu, India, at the border with Kerala. ...

Festivals

Kanyakumari District has important religious sites for all three major religions in the district, viz., Christianity, Hinduism and Islam. The Ayyavazhi festival, Ayya vaikunda Avataram celebrated in the religious head quarters, Swamithope pathi attracts a huge crowd across from and beyond the state.^[3] The car festival at Suchindram attracts large crowds in the month of January. The Kodai festival in the month of March at the Mandaicadu temple also attracts large crowds, both from Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The Thirukalya Utsavam in Kumaracoil temple, near Thuckalay, is celebrated in the month of March - April, and attracts large numbers from Kerala. In the St. Xavier's Church at Kottar, the annual festival on the 3rd of December, is celebrated with grandeur, and attracts Catholic people (and some Hindus too) from all over South India.^{[citation needed]} All important religious festivals like Christmas, Deepavali, Ramzan are celebrated with fervour. For people named Islam, see Islam (name). ... Ayyavazhi (IPA: )(Tamil:à®…à®¯à¯à®¯à®¾à®µà®´à®¿ [1] -Path of the father) is a dharmic belief system[2] which originated in South India in the 19th century. ... The Vaikunda Avataram is celebrated on the 20th day of the Tamil Month of Masi, the date at which Lord Vaikundar arose from the sea of Thiruchendur as the son of Mummorthies to destroy the evil spirit of KÃ¡li, not the Hindu deity, present in this Kali Yuga and... Swamithoppe Pathi (Tamil: ), Swamithoppu-pathi, Manavaippathi, or Thalaimaippathi (Thalaimai (chief) + pathi) is the primary pathi of the Ayyavazhi, the head of all Worship centers of Ayyavazhi, and the place where Ayya Vaikundar is said to have performed the Tavam. ... Suchindram is a panchayat town in Kanniyakumari district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. ... Diwali taking place in a rural area Dīpãvali (also transliterated Deepavali; Sanskrit: row of lights) or Diwãli (contracted spelling) is the Hindu festival of lights, held on the final day of the Vikram calendar, one type of a Hindu calendar that is followed by North Indians. ... Ramadan or Ramadhan (Arabic: رمضان ) is the ninth month of the Islamic year. ...

Folk Arts

There are several Folk Arts practiced in temples for Sastha (ayyanar), Sudalaimadan and Isakkiamman. Villupattu is especially for Sastha temples and Kaniankoothu is practiced for Sudalaimadan. Grand Tamil poetess Avvaiyar temples are found along with Isakki amman temples and worship of teachings of Avvaiyar can be observed

Many Folk arts and dances are popular in this district. They are played during the time of festivals in temples, celebrations in schools etc.

Bow Song (Villu Paatu) is an ancient form of musical - story - telling art of southern Tamil Nadu. Villu Paatu has been especially popular in Thovalai and neighbouring areas of the district. This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

Bow, the age-old weapon of warriors - paradoxically lends itself to be used as a primary musical instrument for the Villu Pattu artists. There are Udukku , Kudam, Thala, Kattai, etc. as supplementary instruments in their performances. Udukku, mentioned in the ancient Tamil literature as Thudi, is a small drum with a slender middle portion which is held in the left hand and played by the fingers of the right hand . Occasionally, the Villu Pattu team divides itself into two groups, each trying to prove opposite points-of-view of a subject. This is called Lavani Pattu. The songs used by the Villu Pattu artists are mostly traditional folk-songs.

Thiruvathirai Kali occupies the pride of place among the folk dances. It resembles Kummi and is played especially during Onam festival. The players are young girls. The necessary number of girls is 8,10,12 or 16 for each dance. They move round and sing in chorus. Each girl strikes the stick (Kole) which she holds in each hand, and the striking of the sticks and the steps , which she makes are rhythmical to the tune. Kummi is an Indian folk dance, danced mostly by women in circle. ...

Kalial is a folk dance played by group of men or boys in the country side. A group leader sings songs and keeps time with cymbals. The players stand in a circle with sticks in their hand and dance round a lighted lamp repeating the songs sung by the leader. They turn, twist, lean forward and backward, squat and move round singing to the tune. At the beginning the steps are elaborate and at times, they are also very quick . When invited to perform in a function, the players generally begin the dance with an invocation for heavenly aid and conclude the dance with a torch - dance using lighted torches. This folk dance exhibits the artistic and recreative life of the country side.

Kathakali is a unique form of drama, which has its origin in Travancore. Kathakali (story-dance) is a relatively recent (fifteenth or sixteenth century) development of earlier dances, which, like dances every where, arose out of religious expression through symbolical action. In this art-form, the characters express their ideas not by words, but by significant gestures. In Kanyakumari District, it is now played in the temples at Thiruvattar, Thirparappu, Ponmana, Kuzhithurai, Neyyoor and Munchira during the time of festivals. Kathakali (IPA: [katÌªÊ°akaÉi], Malayalam:ï¿½Â·à´¥ï¿½Â·à´³à´¿ , Sanskrit:ï¿½Â·à¤¥ï¿½Â·à¤³à¤¿) is a form of Indian dance-drama. ... Thiruvattaru is a panchayat town in Kanniyakumari district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. ...

Ottam Thullal is a form of story telling. It is a popular for of amusement, staged in the temple premises and Malayalam is the language commonly used. Ottam Thullal is now played in the temples of Thiruvaattar, Thirparappu, Ponmana and Thirunanthikara in the district during the time of festivals.

Kalari, also known as Adimurai in Kanyakumari district, is an ancient martial art, still preserved in the villages of the district, and also in Kerala. A tradition believed to have been founded by Parasurama is known as Vadakkan Kalari ; another is credited to Agasthiar in which the emphasis is on striking at vital points of the body and not on weapons, even through sword, knife, Urumi (rolling sword), Mankombu (horns of a deer), Kandakkodali, (a kind of axe), mazhu (a kind of axe) etc., are also used. Kalari Puttara The word Kalari means battle ground in Tamil. ...

Infrastructure

Scenery along the N.H. 47, near Chunkankadai

Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 450 pixels Full resolution (2816 Ã— 1584 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 450 pixels Full resolution (2816 Ã— 1584 pixel, file size: 1. ...

Transport & Highways

There are two major National Highway (NH) roads emanating from Kanyakumari town. One is the NH-7 that starts from the town and runs through Madurai and the other, the NH-47, that runs to Salem through Kerala, touching some important cities in Kerala like Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi and also in Tamil Nadu. The road stretch from Kanyakumari to Thiruvananthapuram is one of the busiest Highway stretches in India. , Madurai (Tamil: , IPA: ) is a city and a municipal corporation with a city population of 922. ... , Salem (Tamil: à®šà¯‡à®²à®®à¯) is a city and a municipal corporation in Salem district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. ... Kochi may refer to: Kochi, India, a city in the state of Kerala, India, formerly known as Cochin. ...

The state-owned Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation is the major operator of bus services in the district, though licences are issued for specific routes to private operators.

Today, there are 3495.80 km of surfaced roads in the district.

The nearest airport is Thiruvananthapuram International Airport which is 70 km away from Nagercoil, the capital of Kanyakumari District.

Railways

Nagercoil is a major railway junction, connecting the eastern and western rail-lines. The western line runs through the west coast (though Kerala) and the eastern line runs through the east into Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu, towards Chennai. The rail-link to Kanyakumari was established only in 1978, mainly because establishing a rail line through the district posed some challenges for the rail department and took a lot of efforts, especially the western line. The western line that runs to Thiruvananthapuram today runs through some huge artificial ground-elevations and number of hill-tunnels. For nature-lovers, the rail-route from Nagercoil to Thiruvananthapuram should be a real delight. , Tirunelveli district [8] is the penultimate southern most district of Tamilnadu in India. ...

Kanyakumari District is connected through direct train services with all leading metropolitan cities in India, like New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore & Kolkata. These Express trains originate either from Kanyakumari or Nagercoil.

Passenger (local) train services and other express-trains run between Thiruvananthapuram and either Nagercoil or Kanyakumari. The journey by train from Thiruvananthapuram to Nagercoil usually takes an hour-and-half.

India's longest-running train, both in time and distance, The Himsagar Express runs between Kanyakumari town and Jammu Tawi. The train covers 3,751 km between Kanyakumari and Jammu Tawi, in 74 hours and 55 minutes.

Electricity Generation

There are two hydro-electric power stations at Kodayar, generating a combined 100 MW of power. Aramboly in Kanyakumari District is a major centre for generation of wind-mill power and one of the largest in South Asia, led by major corporations like suzlon and Micon. Suzlon Energy (SUZLON) on the National Stock Exchange of India Mumbai, India and 532667 on the Mumbai Stock Exchange) is Asias largest fully integrated wind power company. ... Micon was a Greek painter and sculptor in the middle of the fifth century B.C. He was closely associated with Polygnotus of Thasos, in conjunction with whom he adorned the Stoa Poikile (â€œPainted Porticoâ€), at Athens, with paintings of the battle of Marathon and other battles. ...

Colachel Port

Colachel Port is a small, but natural harbour, in the western side of the district, near the town of Colachel. The Government has plans to turn it into a major port / container trans-shipment terminal and is now in the process of making a feasibility study. Colachel Port would have certain advantages over other neighbouring ports in India when developed, in that, it would be closer to international shipping lanes - shipping traffic between Europe, West Asia and the Far East passes not far from the port. Also, the port is naturally deep. Being situated close to the tip of the Indian Peninsula and with major ports like Colombo and Singapore in the vicinity, the port is expected to become a busy port. Map of Colombo with its administrative districts Coordinates: , District Colombo District Government - Mayor Uvaiz Mohammad Imitiyaz (Sri Lanka Freedom Party) Area - City 37. ...

Education

The Protestant Missionaries who arrived in the 19th century were the first to introduce English Education in the District. The founder of the English School in the erstwhile Travancore State was Rev. William Tobias RingleTaube, a native of Prussia and a man of great force and character. He came to the State in 1806 and then onwards, he devoted his whole energy to evangelistic work and wherever he went, he carried with him the mission of English education. He was incessantly preaching and teaching and he established many schools for poor children, Christians as well as non-Christians. During the short period of ten years (1806 to 1816), he laid the foundation not only for the growth of the Christianity, but also for regular education in the area.

Several European missionaries who came to the district (then South Travancore) after Ringeltaube, also contributed immensely to the cause of regular education. Today, a number of old educational institutions in the district carry the names of these missionaries.

Kanyakumari District, today, tops the state in literacy levels and education. Colleges of higher education are found throughout the district - especially Arts and Sciences colleges and Engineering colleges. The Scott Christian College in Nagercoil is more than 100 years old.

Noted engineering colleges in the district include the St. Xavier's Catholic College of Engineering and the Noorul Islam College of Engineering, near Nagercoil.s.t.francis higer secoundary school vavarai one of the top school which achived lot in sports many state and national level players are created from this school --~~~~Insert non-formatted text here ---- <s><br />Strike-through text<sup> <gallery> Superscript text </gallery> <gallery> {| class="wikitable" |- <gallery> ! header 1 ! header 2 ! header 3 |- | row 1, cell 1 | row 1, cell 2 | row 1, cell 3 |- | row 2, cell 1 | row 2, cell 2 | row 2, cell 3 </gallery> <gallery> </gallery> |} </gallery></sup></s> The state runs the Kanyakumari Medical College at Asaripallam, near Nagercoil.

Number of Schools in Kanyakumari district -

Pre Primary Schools - 83
Primary Schools - 413
Middle Schools - 147
High Schools - 121
Higher Secondary Schools - 120

Total - 884

List of Colleges in Kanyakumari District The Kanyakumari ranks first among the districts of Tamil Nadu in literacy rate. ...

Aided colleges - 12
Self financing colleges -4
Colleges for special education -8
Colleges for professional education - 20

Agriculture

Rubber Plantation near Pechiparai

Kanyakumari District accounts for more than 95% of the production of natural rubber in the state of Tamil Nadu. Rubber is cultivated mainly in the hilly areas (on the western ghats) in the interior, while paddy fields and other crops are mainly found on the plains, near the coast. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (2816 Ã— 2112 pixel, file size: 2. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (2816 Ã— 2112 pixel, file size: 2. ... The Agasthiyamalai range of the Western Ghats The Western Ghats are a mountain range in India. ...

Major crops under cultivation -

Rice - 400 km²
Coconut - 210 km²
Rubber - 194.78 km²
Tapioca - 123.50 km²
Banana - 50 km²
Pulses - 30 km²
Cashew - 20 km²
Mango - 17.70 km²
Palmyrah - 16.31 km²
Tamarind - 13.33 km²
Arecanut - 9.80 km²
Jack Fruit - 7.65 km²
Clove - 5.18 km²

Genera Many; see list of Arecaceae genera Arecaceae or Palmae (also known by the name Palmaceae, which is taxonomically invalid. ... Binomial name Tamarindus indica L. This article refers to the tree â€“ for other uses see Tamarindo (disambiguation). ... Binomial name Areca catechu Linnaeus Areca nut, or pinang, more commonly known as betel nut, is the seed of the betel palm or Areca catechu, a species of palm tree which grows throughout the Pacific, Asia, and parts of east Africa. ... Binomial name (L.) Merrill & Perry A single dried clove flower bud Cloves (Syzygium aromaticum, syn. ...

Rivers

View from the Mathur Hanging Trough bridge with the Pahrali river flowing below.

The major river in the district is Tambaraparani River locally known as Kuzhithuraiar. This river has got two major tributaries namely Kodayar and Paralayar with the Pechiparai and Perunchani dams respectively built across them. There are many tributaries for Kodayar river of which Chittar River I and Chittar II, with their dams, are the major ones. The origin of Tambaraparani river is in the Western Ghats and the river confluences with Arabian sea near Thengapattanam, about 56 km. west of Kanyakumari town. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 450 pixelsFull resolution (2816 Ã— 1584 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 450 pixelsFull resolution (2816 Ã— 1584 pixel, file size: 1. ... Pahrali River flows through the Kanyakumari District in southern India. ... Tambaraparani River, in the past called Tambaraparani, originates on the eastern slopes of Western Ghats in Tirunelveli District of the state of Tamil Nadu in southern India. ... DAMS is a racing team from France, involved in many areas of motorsports. ... Chittar River and its five tributaries and numerous other contributing streams originate in the Courtallam hills of Tirunelveli District in the state of Tamil Nadu in southern India. ... The Agasthiyamalai range of the Western Ghats The Western Ghats are a mountain range in India. ... The Arabian Sea (Arabic: Ø¨ØØ± Ø§Ù„Ø¹Ø±Ø¨; transliterated: Bahr al-Arab) is a region of the Indian Ocean bounded on the east by India, on the north by Pakistan and Iran, on the west by Arabian Peninsula, on the south, approximately, by a line between Cape Guardafui, the north-east point of Somalia...

Valliar, another small river and its tributary Thoovalar, originate from Velimalai Hills, collect the drainage from P.P. Channel and its branches, ayacuts (irrigated area under a tank) and confluence with Arabian sea near Manavalakurichi. Drainage is the natural or artificial removal of surface and sub-surface water from a given area. ...

Pazhayar River another small river starts at Shorlacode, a place about 18 km north-west of Nagercoil. This is mainly a drainage river mostly collecting the drainages of Thovalai, Ananthanar and N.P. Channels.

Pahrali River flows through the district. The Mathur Hanging Trough, the highest and longest aqueduct in Asia, was built over it near Mathur. Pahrali River flows through the Kanyakumari District in southern India. ... Mathur Hanging Trough is is the highest as well as the longest aqueduct in Asia. ... For other uses, see Asia (disambiguation). ... Mathur is a village in Palakkad district of Kerala, south India. ...

Forests

The Forests in Kanyakumari District is verdant and virgin Forests and said to be of 75 million years old. Of the total district area of 1,67,130 hectares, Government forests occupy an area of 50,486 Hectares which comes to about 30.2% the total geographical area of the district. The forests of the district are administered through the Kanyakumari Forest Division, with headquarters at Nagercoil, the capital of Kanyakumari District.

Types of Forest in Kanyakumari Division : 14 types of forests from luxuriant tropical wet evergreen to tropical thorn forests occur in this District because of diverse locality factors, (according to Champion and Seths classification) Rainfall varies from 103 cm to 310 cm elevation from sea level to 1829 m. The forest area is 30.2% of total district geographical area which is next to Nilgiris district with 59% and Dharmapuri District with 38% in Tamil Nadu State. The District has 52% of its forests as dense forests coming only second to Dharmapuri District with 58%.

The forests consist of soaring and lofty trees of Mesua ferrea, Bischofia Javanica, Vitex altissima to smaller trees of Dillini a species festooning climber, shrubs, valuable herbs, variety of orchids, two types of canes, many indigenous palms and cycas. The important timbers are Teak, Rosewood, Vengai and Aini and this District is worth mentioning here for the easy availability and quality of the above timbers. Various types of forest produces like bamboos, reeds, canes soft wood, tamarind, lemon grass, rubber, coconut, Arecanut, Kadukai, Cinna momum bark, Nelli, Cardamom, Mango and many medicinal plants of high value are harvested in this District. The Maruthuvalmalai located among green paddy fields and fluttering coconut palms is famous for valuable medicinal plants. This is the only District in Tamil Nadu, where rubber and clove plantations have been raised in Reserve Forests in an area of 4,785.70 hectares and 110 hectares respectively. The District is rich in wildlife with at least 25 types of mammals, about 60 species of birds including 14 species of migratory birds and many species of fishes, reptiles and amphibians listed. In short, these forests are a veritable trove of biological diversion.

From Tourism angle, the forests are highly enhancing with pleasant sholas hill top forests, beautiful grass lands, panoramic valleys, top hillocks, singing streams, vast stretches of rubber plantations, valuable teak plantations and excellent climate. Mahendragiri, Maramalai, Sea field and Balamore estate, Ecology farm, Kalikesam, Pechiparai Dam, Perunchani Dam, Upper Kodayar, Maruthamparai and Mukkudal are some of the many places in the district of great scenic beauty.

The following are the Reserve Forests in Kanyakumari Forest Division :

1. Therkumalai East and West - 1741 ha 2. Thadagaimalai - 797 ha 3. Poigaimalai - 1,243 ha 4. Mahendragiri - 4,360 ha 5. Veerapuli - 28,109 ha 6. Velimalai - 1,126 ha 7. Old Kulasekaram - 694 ha 8. Kilamalai - 8,106 ha 9. Asambu - 4,310 ha

Flora and Fauna

Fauna

The flora and fauna of Kanyakumari District are vast and diverse.

Animals on the hills of the district include porcupines, hedgehogs, wild boars, etc., while storks , water hens, cranes are commonly found in the water bodies and wetlands. Reptiles include monitor lizards, pythons and other snakes. This article is about the rodent mammal. ... Genera Atelerix Erinaceus Hemiechinus Mesechinus Paraechinus A hedgehog is any of the small spiny mammals of the subfamily Erinaceinae and the order Erinaceomorpha. ... Binomial name Linnaeus, 1758 The wild boar (Sus scrofa) is the wild ancestor of the domestic pig. ... For other uses, see Stork (disambiguation). ... Genera Grus Anthropoides Balearica Bugeranus Cranes are large, long-legged and long-necked birds of the order Gruiformes, and family Gruidae. ... Synonyms Pythonoidea - Fitzinger, 1826 Pythonoidei - Eichwald, 1831 Holodonta - MÃ¼ller, 1832 Pythonina - Bonaparte, 1840 Pythophes - Fitzinger, 1843 Pythoniens - A.M.C. DumÃ©ril & Bibron, 1844 Holodontes - A.M.C. DumÃ©ril & Bibron, 1844 Pythonides - A.M.C. DumÃ©ril & Bibron, 1844 Pythones - Cope, 1861 Pythonidae - Cope, 1864 Peropodes - Meyer, 1874...

In Mahendragiri hills (about 4000 ft above sea level), one can find bucks, leopards and deer. (Leopard-cubs often stray onto the highway near the hills and are sometimes run over by motorists). Buck may refer to any of the following: Look up Buck in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For other uses, see Leopard (disambiguation). ... This article is about the ruminant animal. ...

Keeriparai and Maramalai, are habitats for wild elephants, while bisons are found in the Kodayar hills. Genera and Species Loxodonta Loxodonta cyclotis Loxodonta africana Elephas Elephas maximus Elephas antiquus â€ Elephas beyeri â€ Elephas celebensis â€ Elephas cypriotes â€ Elephas ekorensis â€ Elephas falconeri â€ Elephas iolensis â€ Elephas planifrons â€ Elephas platycephalus â€ Elephas recki â€ Stegodon â€ Mammuthus â€ Elephantidae (the elephants) is a family of pachyderm, and the only remaining family in the order Proboscidea... Species â€ B. antiquus B. bison B. bonasus â€ B. latifrons â€ B. occidentalis â€ B. priscus Bison is a taxonomic group containing six species of large even-toed ungulates within the subfamily Bovinae. ...

In the Theroor wetlands, one can see several varieties of storks and migratory birds during specific seasons. Trout fish is among other varieties of freshwater-fish found in the Pechiparai reservoir (lake). Rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss Biwa trout (or Biwa salmon), Oncorhynchus masou rhodurus Trout is the common name given to a number of species of freshwater fish belonging to the salmon family, Salmonidae. ...

Flora

Kanyakumari district is noted for its medicinal plants and herbs. The district also has a huge forest cover, accommodating a wide variety of plants, trees, shrubs, etc.

Commercial varieties include various kinds of Plantain (like Nenthiram, Palayamkotan, Thuluvam, Matti), Jack fruit (like Varikila and Koolan), Mango (varieties like Alphonsa, Bangalora, Neelam and Ottu) and coconut, which add to the richness of the cultivated crops and plants of the district. In addition to fruits, a variety of flowers like roses and jasmine are also produced. Species Musa Ã— paradisiaca A big load of plantains in Masaya, Nicaragua The plantain (pronounced [ËˆplÃ¦nteÉªn] or [ËˆplÃ¦ntÉªn][1]) is a species of the genus Musa and is generally used for cooking, in contrast to the soft, sweet banana (which is sometimes called the dessert banana). ... Binomial name Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam. ... Species About 35 species, including: Mangifera altissima Mangifera applanata Mangifera caesia Mangifera camptosperma Mangifera casturi Mangifera decandra Mangifera foetida Mangifera gedebe Mangifera griffithii Mangifera indica Mangifera kemanga Mangifera laurina Mangifera longipes Mangifera macrocarpa Mangifera mekongensis Mangifera odorata Mangifera pajang Mangifera pentandra Mangifera persiciformis Mangifera quadrifida Mangifera siamensis Mangifera similis Mangifera... For other uses, see Coconut (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Rose (disambiguation). ... Jasminum. ...

Gardening is a big passion among the locals (throughout the district) and some of the best varieties of plants are seen on display outside houses. Common garden varieties include Crotons, Lillies, Dahlia, etc. Diversity About 1,200 species Species Some species: Croton acronychioides Croton alabamensis Croton argyratus Croton aridus Croton arnhemicus Croton californicus Croton ciliato-glandsulosus Croton cortesianus Croton coryi - Corys croton Croton corymbulosus - encilla, manzanilla Croton craco Croton crassifolius Croton dioicus - grassland croton Croton dissectistipulatus Croton draco Croton echinocarpus Croton eleuteria... Species 30 species, 20,000 cultivars Dahlia is a genus of bushy, summer- and autumn-flowering, tuberous perennial plants native to Mexico, where they are the national flower. ...

In areas like Keeriparai, one can see varieties of ferns, bamboo and other tropical plants. At Pechipaarai, one comes across trees like 'Flame of the Forest', with its reddish and orange leaves and flowers, sparkling in an area of green cover. Classes Psilotopsida Equisetopsida Marattiopsida Pteridopsida (Polypodiopsida) this dnt make sense A fern is any one of a group of about 20,000 species of plants classified in the phylum or division Pteridophyta, also known as Filicophyta. ...

Rubber estates are found in the hilly areas surrounding Arumanai, Kaliyal etc.

Maruthuvazhmalai (or medicinal) Hill, near Kanyakumari.

Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (2816 Ã— 2112 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (2816 Ã— 2112 pixel, file size: 1. ...

Medicinal Plants

The district is endowed by nature with several hills and mountains with rich herbs of medicinal value and minerals. Marunthuvazhmalai or Maruthuvamalai, a hill in the district located near Kanyakumari, literally means medicinal hill, and is referred to by Therapeutics (Buddhist monks) who belonged to the period of Emperor Asoka, as having medical and spiritual heritage. According to traditional beliefs, the hill was a piece of the mountain Gandha Madhana which dropped, while the mountain was being carried by Hanuman to Lanka during the epic war between Rama and Ravana. Today, rare medicinal herbs are available here in abundance. A replica of an ancient statue found among the ruins of a temple at Sarnath Buddhism is a philosophy based on the teachings of the Buddha, SiddhÄrtha Gautama, a prince of the Shakyas, whose lifetime is traditionally given as 566 to 486 BCE. It had subsequently been accepted by... This article is about Ashoka, the emperor. ... This article is about a divine entity in Hinduism. ... Rama ( in IAST, in DevanÄgarÄ«) or Ramachandra is a legendary or historical king of ancient India. ... A depiction of Ravana, Hindu rakshasa King of Lanka In Hinduism, Ravana; sometimes transliterated as Raavana or Ravan or Revana) is the principal antagonist of Rama in the Hindu epic, the Ramayana. ...

Sage Agasthiya, the first grammarian of good old Tamil was also the foremost of the Siddhars (the practitioners of herbal medicines). This sage is believed to have lived in 'the land’s end' and there is also a village by the name Agasteeswaram near Maruthuvamalai which owes its name to the dwarf sage. In this village, there is a temple dedicated to Agasteeswaramudaiyar which is believed to have been consecrated by Agasthiya himself. Besides medicine and grammar, Agasthiya was also adept in Varma Sastra. General palm leaf records like ‘Varmani’ and Varma Sastra were written by Agasthiya. Even today, this healing art of varmam treatment is taught in Kanyakumari in the Guru-Sishya tradition, and treatment is also done by elders who are quite conversant with this method of treatment by applying Tamil medicines in required proportion.

Marine Life and Resources

More than 200 species of marine fishes have been recorded in the coastal region of Kanyakumari district, which includes skates, rays, sharks, sardine, mackerel, etc. Apart from fishes different species of prawns, lobsters, crabs, bivalves, gastropods, cephalopods and turtles are seen in the catch. Broad skate, Amblyraja badia A skate egg case, known as a mermaids purse. ... Orders Rajiformes - common rays and skates Pristiformes - sawfishes Torpediniformes - electric rays See text for families. ... For other uses, see Shark (disambiguation). ... Sardines in the Pacific An open Sardines can Sardines on a plate grilled Sardines For the hide and seek-like game, see Hide and seek. ... Mackerel is a common name applied to a number of different species of fish, mostly, but not exclusively, from the family Scombridae. ... Superfamilies Penaeoidea Aristeidae Benthesicymidae Penaeidae Sicyoniidae Solenoceridae Sergestoidea Luciferidae Sergestidae Prawns are shrimp-like crustaceans, belonging to the sub-order Dendrobranchiata [1]. Prawns are distinguished from the superficially similar shrimp by the gill structure which is branching in prawns (hence the name, dendro=tree; branchia=gill), but is lamellar in... Subfamilies and Genera Neophoberinae Acanthacaris Thymopinae Nephropsis Nephropides Thymops Thymopsis Nephropinae Homarus Nephrops Homarinus Metanephrops Eunephrops Thymopides Clawed lobsters comprise a family (Nephropidae, sometimes also Homaridae) of large marine crustaceans. ... Superfamilies Dromiacea Homolodromioidea Dromioidea Homoloidea Eubrachyura Raninoidea Cyclodorippoidea Dorippoidea Calappoidea Leucosioidea Majoidea Hymenosomatoidea Parthenopoidea Retroplumoidea Cancroidea Portunoidea Bythograeoidea Xanthoidea Bellioidea Potamoidea Pseudothelphusoidea Gecarcinucoidea Cryptochiroidea Pinnotheroidea * Ocypodoidea * Grapsoidea * An asterisk (*) marks the crabs included in the clade Thoracotremata. ... Orders Subclass Protobranchia Solemyoida Nuculoida Subclass Pteriomorphia - oysters Arcoida Mytiloida Pterioida Subclass Paleoheterodonta - mussels Trigoinoida Unionoida Subclass Heterodonta - clams, zebra mussels Veneroida Myoida Subclass Anomalosdesmata Pholadomyoida Animals of the Class Bivalvia are known as bivalves because they typically have two-part shells, with both parts being more or less symmetrical. ... Subclass Subclass Eogastropoda Patellogastropoda Subclass Orthogastropoda Superorder Cocculiniformia Superorder Hot Vent Taxa Neomphaolida Superorder Vetigastropoda Superorder Neritaemorphi Neritopsina Superorder Caenogastropoda Architaenioglossa Sorbeoconcha Superorder Heterobranchia Heterostropha Opisthobranchia Pulmonata The gastropods, or univalves, are the largest and most successful class of mollusks, with 60,000-75,000 species, and second largest class... Orders Subclass Nautiloidea â€ Plectronocerida â€ Ellesmerocerida â€ Actinocerida â€ Pseudorthocerida â€ Endocerida â€ Tarphycerida â€ Oncocerida â€ Discosorida Nautilida â€ Orthocerida â€ Ascocerida â€ Bactritida Subclass â€ Ammonoidea â€ Goniatitida â€ Ceratitida â€ Ammonitida Subclass Coleoidea â€ Belemnoidea â€ Aulacocerida â€ Belemnitida â€ Hematitida â€ Phragmoteuthida Neocoleoidea (most living cephalopods) ?â€ Boletzkyida Sepiida Sepiolida Spirulida Teuthida Octopoda Vampyromorphida The cephalopods (Greek plural (kephalÃ³poda); head-foot) are the mollusk class... For other uses, see Turtle (disambiguation). ...

The coastline is rocky in several places, while sandy in other areas.

Wadge Bank

Wadge bank is a fertile fishing found where rich marine biological diversity occurs. Wadge bank may also be defined as a place of marine environment, where there is a rich availability of fish food organisms. The water depth of this region is low. The physical features of the water like under-water current, tides and waves will have less impact on the fishes and animals of this region. Fishes select this region for feeding and breeding purposes. Throughout the maritime countries of the world there are about twenty such wadge banks. Of these one is situated near Kanyakumari on the coastline of Kanyakumari District on the eastward as well as on the westward region for about 30 km. Here representatives of fish species of the three seas occur.

Mineral Sands on the coast

Beaches in specific areas of the district are rich in mineral content (and the sands look partly black). The state-owned Indian Rare Earths Ltd mines the sands for Zircon, ilmenite, monazite, Thorium and other minerals. Thorium is used in India's nuclear programme and nuclear power reactors. Zircon is a mineral belonging to the group of nesosilicates. ... Ilmenite is a weakly magnetic iron-black or steel-gray mineral found in metamorphic and igneous rocks. ... Monazite powder In geology, the mineral monazite is a reddish-brown phosphate containing rare earth metals and an important source of thorium, lanthanum, and cerium. ... General Name, Symbol, Number thorium, Th, 90 Chemical series Actinides Group, Period, Block n/a, 7, f Appearance silvery white Standard atomic weight 232. ... General Name, Symbol, Number thorium, Th, 90 Chemical series Actinides Group, Period, Block n/a, 7, f Appearance silvery white Standard atomic weight 232. ... This article is about applications of nuclear fission reactors as power sources. ...

Handicrafts and Cottage Industries

This district is known for its traditional skills in handicrafts items. Making 'Monkey-doll' from the un-husked coconut and other handicrafts items from coconut shell or wood are two major activities in the cluster. Coconut shell handicrafts include making of spoons, ladles, forks, ice-cream cups, soup bowls, table-lamps, pen-stand, jewellery etc. Handicrafts made of seashells are available at Kanyakumari.

The district contributes nearly 28.4 per cent of the total coir rope production in the State and is the first in the production of mats (98 per cent). The district accounts for 61.5 per cent of matting produced in the State and qualitatively, the fibre produced in the district is rated as among the best. Nagercoil, Agasteeswaram, Kalkulam and Vilavancode are the potential areas of the industry.

List of Products

Kanyakumari District is noted for two important agro-products : Honey and Cashewnuts. The honey produced near Marthandam town in the district is marketed around India as 'Marthandam Honey', while cashewnut production is an important activity around Marthandam town. CSI Church in Martandam Vedisasthan Kovil Vedisasthan Kovil another View Martandam is the second biggest town next to Nagercoil & also a major trade centre across National Highway (NH 47) in the Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu, India, at the border with Kerala. ...

Items/Products produced in the district : Honey and honey based products, Pickles, Sea foods, Wafers (appalam), Flour items, Bakery items, Masala Powders, Fried Chips like banana, tapioca etc., Murukku, Awal, Jams, squash etc., Palm candies, Oils like coconut etc., Coconut shell charcoal, Plant fibre brushes, Rose water, Temple articles, jewellery, Greeting cards from plant materials, Vermicompost, coir pith compost, Thatched palm leaf, Detergents, soaps, Phenyl, Ready mades, Embroidery products, Pin lace products, Cloth items, Granite and marble based products, Sculptures, Boat building, Handlooms, Metal crafts like jewellery, Wood based items, furniture, carvings, leather products, Pottery items, Flower and flower products like bouquets, Roof and flooring tiles, Herbal medicines, Clay and hollow bricks.

Tourism & Places of Interest

Kanyakumari - Vivekananda Rock Memorial and Thiruvalluvar Statue at sunrise

Thiruparappu waterfalls

View of the Western Ghats at Keeriparai

Chothavilai Beach, near Nagercoil

Thirparappu Temple, near Thirparappu Waterfalls

Mathur Aqueduct (Mathur Hanging Trough Bridge)

The district is a major tourist attraction in India, with a year-round tourist traffic at Kanyakumari town and several important tourist spots like Padmnabhapuram while seasonal in other tourist spots. The following are some of the major tourist attractions in Kanyakumari District, distances being given from Nagercoil: Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 600 pixelsFull resolution (2816 Ã— 2112 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 600 pixelsFull resolution (2816 Ã— 2112 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 450 pixel Image in higher resolution (2816 Ã— 1584 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 450 pixel Image in higher resolution (2816 Ã— 1584 pixel, file size: 1. ... Thiruparappu is a panchayat town in Kanniyakumari district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 450 pixelsFull resolution (2816 Ã— 1584 pixel, file size: 855 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) self-made image ; Author : Infocaster I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 450 pixelsFull resolution (2816 Ã— 1584 pixel, file size: 855 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) self-made image ; Author : Infocaster I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 600 pixelsFull resolution (2816 Ã— 2112 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 600 pixelsFull resolution (2816 Ã— 2112 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 450 pixelsFull resolution (2816 Ã— 1584 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 450 pixelsFull resolution (2816 Ã— 1584 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 450 pixelsFull resolution (2816 Ã— 1584 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 450 pixelsFull resolution (2816 Ã— 1584 pixel, file size: 1. ...

Kanyakumari, the Land's end, and the confluence of the three water bodies, is 20 km to the south of Nagercoil, with tourist attractions of its own which include the Vivekanda Rock Memorial, 133 ft high statue of Tamil poet-saint Tiruvalluvar - both on the mid-sea on rocky islands; the place is also famous for its distinctly beautiful (reddish) sunrise and sunset.
Vattakottai Fort, or Circular Fort, is a fort near Kanyakumari, right on the sea-shore, built under the orders of De Lannoy during the reign of Marthanda varma (1729-58 AD). The view from the top of the fort, of the sea and the palm-fringed beach below is fantastic.
Suchindrum (Thanumalayan) Temple, about 6 km from the heart of town and Nagaraja Temple (in the town), are some tourist attractions within the town.
St. Xavier’s Church, (Kottar in the town), built in the year 1600 AD, has historic importance due to the visit of St.Francis Xavier. The church was built in the land allotted to St. Xavier by the Venad king.
Swamithoppe Ayya Vaikundar Pathi, about 11 km from Kanyakumari, which is the religious headquarters of Ayyavazhi, is well known for its non-idolatry system of worship.
Padmanabhapuram Palace, (22 km from Nagercoil), once the seat of the Travancore kings, is India's only palace made completely of wood (16th century).
Chitharal Jain Monuments (about 35 km near Marthandam), impressive rock shelters and idols dated 9-11th Century.
Thirunandikkara temple (about 20 km), rock-cut cave temple of Pallava art can be traced back to seventh and eighth century AD.
Thengapattinam Beach. This beach is located on the west coast near Painkulam village in Vilancode Taluk. It is a fine beach adorned with coconut groves. It is also a magnificent estuary where the river meets the sea. Riding in a catamaran (small boat) in the river can be a pleasant experience which can be arranged through local fishermen. It is 35 km from Nagercoil, 12 km from Kuzhithurai and 54 km from Kanyakumari.
Udayagiri Fort, built by the Travancore kings, is a fort previously used for training the Travancore forces and also served as Barracks. Capt. Eustachius De Lannoy's tomb is within the fort. The fort (about 90 acres and almost full of vegetation now, with several plants, reptiles, etc.) is presently declared as a bio-diversity park and maintained by the Kanyakumari forest department.
Mathur Hanging Trough, near Thiruvattar in the District, is an aqueduct that carries irrigation water through a canal between two hills. The canal itself goes above a small river. Built on very high pillars, it is said to be one of the biggest aqueducts, both in height and length, in Asia. The view from the middle of the aqueduct of the surrounding hills and vegetation and the small river flowing down below is superb.
Olakaruvi waterfalls, about 20 km from Nagercoil is on the middle of a hill and requires an hour's trek by foot from the base of the hill (better to go in a group, as it is a forested area)
Keeriparai - for nature-lovers and adventurers - pristine and beautiful, places like Keeriparai haven’t been publicized much by the Forest Department for various reasons - Keeriparai hills (30 km from Nagercoil) and the nearby Kalikesam are good picnic spots - one can enjoy water rushing through small mountain streams - with pebbles and ferns all around. There are also a few small waterfalls in this area - the popular one being Vattaparai Falls. Maramalai, which is further up in the hills of Keeriparai is famous for Wild elephants.
Kodhayar (called Kodhayar Lower Camp) – is about 60 km and takes travellers through some exciting hill roads (motorable roads) with some thrilling 'hair-pin bends' and U-turns - Kodhayar forests are famous for bisons, though there are other wild animals too. Access to some areas need prior permission from the Forest Department.
Pechiparai Reservoir, about 30 km from the town, in the hills, and also Perunchaani and Chittar dams are a must-see for the nature-lover (with clouds touching the top of the hills around the dams on a misty day !).
Thiruparrapu Falls, is a waterfall near Thiruparrapu.
Muttom, a coastal village, is another popular place with tourists. The terrain in this village and its surroundings is hilly and from a height one can have an idyllic view of the place, with a Portuguese style church standing in the middle of the village. The beach-area is somewhat rocky. There is also a 100-year old lighthouse. The lighthouse, though near the sea, is situated on a land mass some 105 feet above sea level. Another attractive feature of this area, is a reddish ravine-like area with casurina trees near the seaside. This place with very popular with Tamil and Keralite film-makers, especially Tamil film director Bharathiraja.
Sanguthurai Beach, about 8 km from Nagercoil is a palm-fringed and sandy beach. Sothavilai Beach is another good beach, about 7 km from the heart of town. Both beaches were hit by the Indian Ocean Tsunami, but authorities have taken steps to improve facilities again. There is a very good lagoon (estuary - place where the river meets the sea) at Manakudy - 10 km from the town.
Panchappathis, the five holyplaces of Ayyavazhi, all situated within 10 km radius from Kanyakumari
Mukkudal reservoir : Fresh water supply to Nagercoil is from the Mukkadal Reservoir, about 8 km from the town, in the interior - itself a very scenic place, with a small bushy island in the middle of the dam. The dam is surrounded by hills of the Western Ghats.

For other uses, see Kanyakumari (disambiguation). ... Thiruvalluvar (Tamil: ) is a celebrated Tamil poet who wrote the Thirukkural, a well known ethical work in Tamil literature. ... Vattakottai Fort (or Circular Fort) is a seaside fort near Kanyakumari, the southern tip of India. ... Charles de Lannoy (c. ... Marthanda Varma (1706 - 1758) was the son of the Rani of Attingal. ... Suchindrum, is a famous Temple town, in Kanyakumari District, Tamilnadu, in India. ... Saint Francis Xavier (Basque: San Frantzisko Xabierkoa; Spanish: San Francisco Javier; Portuguese: SÃ£o Francisco Xavier; Chinese: è–æ–¹æ¿Ÿå„æ²™å‹¿ç•¥) (7 April 1506 - 2 December 1552) was a Spanish pioneering Roman Catholic Christian missionary and co-founder of the Society of Jesus (Jesuit Order). ... Swamithoppe Pathi (also called à®šà¯à®µà®¾à®®à®¿à®¤à¯‹à®ªà¯à®ªà¯ à®ªà®¤à®¿, Swamithoppu-pathi, Manavaippathi, or Thalaimaippathi (Thalaimai (chief) + pathi)) is the primary pathi of the Ayyavazhi path of Hinduism, the head of all worship centers of Ayyavazhi, and the place where Ayya Vaikundar is said to have performed the Tavam. ... Ayya Vaikundar (Tamil: à®…à®¯à¯à®¯à®¾ à®µà¯ˆà®•à¯à®£à¯à®Ÿà®°à¯), according to Akilattirattu Ammanai, a scripture of the Ayyavazhi, was a Manu (father, sovereign) avatar (the incarnation of a deity) of Narayana. ... A Pathi (from a Tamil word meaning The place where God is) is an important centre of congregational worship for the South Indian religion of Ayyavazhi, having a relatively large structure like that of a temple. ... Padamanabhapuram Palace complex is located in a small village Padmanabhapuram, around 65 km from Trivandrum, Kerala, India, en route to Kanyakumari, Tamilnadu. ... Chitharal Jain Monuments are located in a small village situated at a distance of 7 kms from Marthandam and 55 kms from Kanyakumari. ... Udaigiri (also Udayagiri) is a the site of a now-ruined complex of Buddhist buildings 60km north-east of Cuttack in Orissa state in India. ... Captain Eustachius Benedictus De Lannoy (also spelt De Lennoy), was a Dutch naval commander of the Dutch East India Company, who was sent by the company to help establish a trading post at Colachel, Southern India, but was defeated at the Battle of Colachel by the Travancore army under Maharaja... Mathur Hanging Trough is is the highest as well as the longest aqueduct in Asia. ... Friends and family gather for a picnic in a public park in Columbus, Ohio, c. ... Stream in Keeriparai Reserve Forest Vattaparai Falls in dry season Vattaparai Falls are located at: , elevation 40 M, in the Keeriparai reserve forest near Bhoothapandi village (Pin:629852) (Met Sta #10145) on the Pazhayar river in Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu state, South India. ... For other uses, see Elephant (disambiguation). ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Thiruparappu is a panchayat town in Kanniyakumari district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. ... Eddystone Lighthouse, one of the first wavewashed lighthouses For other uses, see Lighthouse (disambiguation). ... Bharathiraja (born 17 July 1941 in Alli Nagaram, Tamil Nadu), is a South Indian filmmaker. ... Animation of the tsunami caused by the earthquake (see also the full-length version) From NOAA/PMEL. The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake, was an undersea earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC (07:58:53 local time) on December... This mid bay barrier in Narrabeen, a suburb of Sydney (Australia), has blocked what used to be a bay to form a lagoon. ... Panchappathis in Tamil means Five places where God is. ... Mukkadal dam is built across the Vambaru River in the state of Tamil Nadu in southern India, 10 kms from town of Nagercoil. ...

Photo Gallery

St. Francis Xavier's Church, Kottar, Nagercoil, where the great missionary-saint stayed and said mass for a period in the 16th century Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 711 Ã— 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (2501 Ã— 2109 pixel, file size: 1. ...	Vivekananda Rock Memorial, Kanyakumari, at sunrise Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2816x2112, 1085 KB) self-made photograph ; Authors Name : Infocaster I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ...	View of the Western Ghats from Vattakottai Fort Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (2816 Ã— 2112 pixel, file size: 1. ... Vattakottai Fort (or Circular Fort) is a seaside fort near Kanyakumari, the southern tip of India. ...	View of the Hills from Udayagiri Fort Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (2816 Ã— 2112 pixel, file size: 2. ... There are two forts by this name in South India. ...
Thiruvalluvar Statue, Kanyakumari at night Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (2816 Ã— 2112 pixel, file size: 1. ...	Padmanabhapuram Palace, near Thuckalay File links The following pages link to this file: Kanyakumari ...	Ancient Jain temple on hill at Chitharal, near Marthandam Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (2816 Ã— 2112 pixel, file size: 1. ...	Muttom fishing village Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (2816 Ã— 2112 pixel, file size: 1. ...
Thirparappu waterfalls Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (2816 Ã— 2112 pixel, file size: 1. ...	Jungle stream at Keeriparai Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (2816 Ã— 2112 pixel, file size: 2. ...	Nagaraja Temple, Nagercoil Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 588 pixel Image in higher resolution (2644 Ã— 1944 pixel, file size: 1. ...	Mathur Trough Bridge, near Thiruvattar Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 450 pixel Image in higher resolution (2816 Ã— 1584 pixel, file size: 1. ...
Scenic view at Thottiyodu, on the Nagercoil-Thiruvananthapuram Highway Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 450 pixel Image in higher resolution (2816 Ã— 1584 pixel, file size: 1. ...	Suchindrum Temple near Nagercoil Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 720 Ã— 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (2530 Ã— 2107 pixel, file size: 1. ...	Pechiparai Dam, with the Western Ghats in the background Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 450 pixel Image in higher resolution (2816 Ã— 1584 pixel, file size: 930 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) self-made photograph ; Authors Name : Infocaster I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify...	Adhi Kesava Temple at Thiruvattar. The inner temple is believed to be more than 2000 years old. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (2816 Ã— 2112 pixel, file size: 1. ...
Hilly terrain near Muttom coast Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (2816 Ã— 2112 pixel, file size: 1. ...	Jain Art & Carvings at the hilltop-temple at Chitharal. The District is believed to have been under Jain (Jainism) influence, centuries ago. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 450 pixel Image in higher resolution (2816 Ã— 1584 pixel, file size: 1. ... Jain and Jaina redirect here. ...	Rubber Plantation near Pechiparai Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (2816 Ã— 2112 pixel, file size: 2. ...	Maruthuvazhmalai (or medicinal) Hill, near Kanyakumari. Legend has it that the Hindu God Hanuman dropped the hill/rock while flying to Sri Lanka to save sita. There is an Hindu Ashram on the hill. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (2816 Ã— 2112 pixel, file size: 1. ...
Village scene, near Kanyakumari Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (2816 Ã— 2112 pixel, file size: 1. ...	Kovalam fishing village, near Kanyakumari Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (2816 Ã— 2112 pixel, file size: 1. ...	View of the sea from Vattakottai Fort. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 450 pixel Image in higher resolution (2816 Ã— 1584 pixel, file size: 957 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) self-made photograph ; Author : Infocaster I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document...	Pilgrims taking holy dip at Kanyakumari, where the three water bodies, viz., Bay of Bengal, Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean, meet Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (2816 Ã— 2112 pixel, file size: 1. ...
Navarathi Mandapam inside Padmanabhapuram Palace Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 450 pixel Image in higher resolution (2816 Ã— 1584 pixel, file size: 1. ...	Lotus Pond on the Nagercoil-Trivandrum highway, near Chunkankadai Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 571 pixel Image in higher resolution (2219 Ã— 1583 pixel, file size: 1. ...	Sunset seen from Chothavilai Beach Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 600 pixelsFull resolution (2816 Ã— 2112 pixel, file size: 966 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Self-made image ; Authors Name : Infocaster I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under...	Black sands at a beach near Vattakottai Fort Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 450 pixel Image in higher resolution (2816 Ã— 1584 pixel, file size: 1. ...
Vattaparai, near Keeriparai Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 693 Ã— 599 pixel Image in higher resolution (2428 Ã— 2100 pixel, file size: 1. ...	Lighthouse at Muttom, which is more than 100 years old Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (2816 Ã— 2112 pixel, file size: 1. ...	Gandhi Mandapam, Kanyakumari, at night Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (2816 Ã— 2112 pixel, file size: 1. ...	Thirparappu waterfalls Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 450 pixel Image in higher resolution (2816 Ã— 1584 pixel, file size: 1. ...
Muttom Coast Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 600 pixelsFull resolution (2816 Ã— 2112 pixel, file size: 1. ...	Captain De lannoy's Tomb at Udayagiri Fort Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 600 pixelsFull resolution (2816 Ã— 2112 pixel, file size: 1. ... Captain Eustachius Benedictus De Lannoy (also spelt De Lennoy), was a Dutch naval commander of the Dutch East India Company, who was sent by the company to help establish a trading post at Colachel, Southern India, but was defeated at the Battle of Colachel by the Travancore army under Maharaja...	Baywatch Amusement Park, Kanyakumari Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2816x2112, 1436 KB) self-made image ; Authors Name : Infocaster I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ...	View from Chithral Jain Temple Hill Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 600 pixelsFull resolution (2816 Ã— 2112 pixel, file size: 1. ...

Tourist Information

Kanyakumari town and Nagercoil are directly connected by rail with almost all metropolitan cities in India. For other uses, see Kanyakumari (disambiguation). ... , Nagercoil (Tamil: à®¨à®¾à®•à®°à¯à®•à¯‹à®µà®¿à®²à¯) is a city and a municipality in Kanyakumari district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. ...

Nearest Airport : Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) International Airport, 85 km away from Kanyakumari Town and 65 km from Nagercoil. , Thiruvananthapuram (Malayalam: à´¤à´¿à´°àµà´µà´¨à´¨àµà´¤à´ªàµà´°à´‚ TiruvanÅntapuraá¹), also known as Trivandrum, is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala and the headquarters of the Thiruvananthapuram District. ... , Nagercoil (Tamil: à®¨à®¾à®•à®°à¯à®•à¯‹à®µà®¿à®²à¯) is a city and a municipality in Kanyakumari district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. ...

Indian Ocean Tsunami

Kanyakumari district was one of the worst affected districts in India in the Tsunami that ravaged the coasts of various countries in South and South East Asia, on 26th Dec 2004. Casualties were close to 900 deaths and several hundreds missing and injured. Social organizations from several countries and the Government have since been working on rehabilitating the affected people and property. For other uses, see Tsunami (disambiguation). ...

Manakudy, Kottilpadu and Colachel were the worst affected areas in the district. Being a holiday (Sunday) and the peak of the tourist season, several people were washed away from the shores of Kanyakumari town also. A concrete road bridge across the Manakudy estuary was carried away by the waves for several metres into the estuary. Several people on the beaches near Nagercoil were also taken unawares.

Famous Personalities

Famous personalities from this district include:

Kavimani Desika Vinayagam Pillai (renowned Tamil poet, writer and scholar)

Kalaivanar N. S. Krishnan - Tamil Film comedian and Drama Artist of yester-years

Jeevanandam (Prominent socialist)
JPR'- founder of SATHYABAMA UNIVERSITY
Rama Subbaiyar (Founder of "Dina Malar" - Tamil Newspaper in circulation)
Sundara Ramaswamy - Renowned Writer, Poet (with a pen name:Pasuvayya), Critique, and Socialist ; Founder of "Kalachuvadu"-the Tamil magazine(http;www.kalachuvadu.com) and the person who kept his promises of working for Tamil people and their culture till his last breath - He died on Oct-15,2005 at California, USA -His works are available at kalachuvadu Padhipakam, KP Road-Kottar, and Sudarshan Padihippakam, Tower Junction, Nagercoil.
sathavathani shaikuthampi pavalar (renowned Tamil poet, writer and scholar)
Bala Prajapathi Adikalar, present Pattathu Ayya of Swamithope pathi and one among the leaders of Ayyavazhi religion.
Prof. Ranjan Roy Daniel - Leading ISRO Physicist (Padma Bhushan Awardee)
P.T. Samy, Nanjil P. Thangasamy, writer of ghost stories
Shenbagaraman Pillai, freedom fighter who travelled in Emden submarine and threw bombs in Chennai
Jeyamohan, renowned literary writer
Lakshmi Manivannan, literary writer, the publisher of literary magazine, Slate
Satyan a.k.a Satyanesan, famous actor of Malayalam films
Kumari Muthu, comedian in Tamil Cinema
Hepsibha Jesudasan, an early Tamil novel writer
Krithika, a Tamil novel writer with strong Nietszhean ideas.
Raja Kesava Das (died 1799) - Able Chief Minister of Travancore under Karthika Thirunal Ramavarma during the invasion of Tipu Sultan. He was from Kunnathur, Vilavancode.
Velu Thampi Dalawa(died 1805) - The Diwan of Travancore under the Maharaja Balaramavarma. Led the rebellion against the hegemony of the English East India Company. He was a native of Thalakulam in the district. He has Started Nayar Pattalam.
Kumari Anandan - Leading orator and politician
Vasanth -of Vasanth & Co. (Brother of Kumari Anandan) - (owner of leading chain-retail shops in Tamil Nadu)
Admiral Krishnan - Former Chief of Indian navy
Admiral Sushil Kumar - 18th Chief of Naval Staff
Marshal A. Nesamony - Also known as Nesamony Vakkeel
Kamukara Purushothaman - Late Playback Singer in Malayalam movies
Thirunainarkurichi Madhavan Nair - Poet and Lyricist. Famous Song: "Atmavidyalayame"
David Davidar -English writer and Ex-CEO of Penguin India(Publishers). Now with Penguin Canada, Author of "The House of Blue Mangoes"
Walter Davaram - Top cop of the MGR era in Tamil Nadu
Admiral O S Dawson - Ex-Naval Chief of Staff of India
Venkataramanan - Ex-Governor of Reserve Bank of India
V.G Paneerdas (VGP) - businessman (late) - pioneered Theme park near Chennai, Tamil Nadu
T.N. Gopakumar - TV and Media personality in Malayalam
Thikkurissi Sukumaran Nair - Famous Malayalam Actor of Yesteryears
Lyricist Mr .S . Rameshhan Nair - Famous Malayalam Poet

Kavimani Desigavinayagam Pillai (July 27, 1876 - September 26, 1954) was an eminent Tamil poet. ... N. S. Krishnan (NSK), popularly known as Kalaivanar among the people of the Tamil Nadu, was one of the finest comedians in the Indian cinema. ... He is considered as the present religious leader of Ayyavazhi. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Swamithoppe Pathi (Tamil: ), Swamithoppu-pathi, Manavaippathi, or Thalaimaippathi (Thalaimai (chief) + pathi) is the primary pathi of the Ayyavazhi, the head of all Worship centers of Ayyavazhi, and the place where Ayya Vaikundar is said to have performed the Tavam. ... This article is in need of attention. ... For other uses, see Slate (disambiguation). ... Velayudhan Chempakaraman Thampi was the Dalawa or Prime Minister of the Indian kingdom of Travancore between 1801 AD and 1809 AD during the reign of His Highness Maharajah Bala Rama Varma Kulasekhara Perumal. ... Vasanth is a well known Tamil cine director. ... David Davidar made the company, Penguin, a force to reckon with in the publishing industry in India. ...

Citations

^ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/842261.cms
^ Dr. R. Ponnu's, Sri Vaikunda Swamigal and Struggle for Social Equality in South India, Ram Publishers, 2000, Page 86.
^ Daily Thanthi, Nagercoil Edition, 5/4/2006.

External links

(Click link to see Images of Kanyakumari District on Wikipedia : Kanyakumari District in Images) Kanyakumari - Vivekananda Rock Memorial and Thiruvalluvar Statue at sunrise Kanyakumari District Kanyakumari District (also spelt Kanniyakumari or Kanniakumari District) is a district of Tamilnadu state, India and also the southernmost land area and district of mainland India. ...

Kanyakumari District
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Eraviputhenthurai
AllLocale.com Website for every neighbourhood in Tamil Nadu and Kanyakumari

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Topics:	Cinema · Cuisine · Economy · Government · History · Language · Literature · Music · People · Politics · Temples · Wildlife · India is subdivided into 28 states, 6 union territories and a national capital territory. ... Tamil Nadu (தமிழ் நாடு, Land of the Tamils) is a state at the southern tip of India. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 572 Ã— 600 pixelsFull resolution (595 Ã— 624 pixel, file size: 57 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Emblem of Government of Tamil Nadu I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under... Tamil cuisine is one of the oldest vegetarian culinary heritages in the world. ... Tamil Nadu (தமிழ் நாடு, Land of the Tamils) is a state at the southern tip of India. ... Tamil literature is literature in the Tamil language which most prominently includes the contributions of the Tamil country (or Tamizhagam) history, a large part of which constitutes the modern state of Tamil Nadu and Kerala as well as some parts of Karnataka and Andra pradesh. ... The ancient Tamil music was the music of the ancient Tamil people. ... Regional parties have dominated state politics since 1967. ... Since Tamil Nadu is home to one of the most ancient Indian cultures, it has thousands of ancient and modern temples. ... Endangered Nilgiri Tahr There are about 2000 species of wildlife that are native to Tamil Nadu, South India. ...
Capital:	Chennai · State bird: Emerald Dove · State Animal: Nilgiri Tahr · State Tree: Palm Tree · State flower: Gloriosa Lily · Andhra Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh Assam Bihar Chhattisgarh National Capital Territory of Delhi Goa Gujarat Haryana Himachal Pradesh Jammu and Kashmir Jharkhand Karnataka Kerala Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Manipur Meghalaya Mizoram Nagaland Orissa Punjab Rajasthan Sikkim Tamil Nadu Tripura Uttarakhand Uttar Pradesh West Bengal Andaman and Nicobar Islands Chandigarh Dadra and Nagar... , â€œMadrasâ€ redirects here. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1547x1594, 754 KB) Summary Emerald Dove, Chalcophaps indica. ... Binomial name Chalcophaps indica (Linnaeus, 1758) The Emerald Dove (Chalcophaps indica) is a pigeon which is a widespread resident breeding bird in tropical southern Asia from India and Sri Lanka east to Indonesia and northern and eastern Australia. ... Image File history File links Niltahr. ... Binomial name Nilgiritragus hylocrius (Ogilby, 1838) The Nilgiri Tahr (Nilgiritragus hylocrius) ungulate native to the Nilgiri Hills and the southern portion of the Western Ghats range in Tamil Nadu and Kerala states of southernmost India. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 400 Ã— 600 pixelsFull resolution (700 Ã— 1050 pixel, file size: 175 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Genera Many; see list of Arecaceae genera Arecaceae (also known as Palmae or Palmaceae), the palm family, is a family of flowering plants, belonging to the monocot order Arecales. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 775 Ã— 599 pixelsFull resolution (794 Ã— 614 pixel, file size: 73 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Gloriosa superba - Photographed near Bangalore by L. Shyamal File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Species See text. ...
Districts:	Chennai · Coimbatore · Cuddalore · Dharmapuri · Dindigul · Erode · Kanchipuram · Kanyakumari · Karur · Krishnagiri · Madurai · Nagapattinam · Namakkal · Perambalur · Pudukkottai · Ramanathapuram · Salem · Sivaganga · Thanjavur · The Nilgiris · Theni · Thoothukudi · Tiruchirapalli Tirunelveli · Tiruvallur · Tiruvannamalai · Tiruvarur · Vellore · Viluppuram · Virudhunagar The state of Tamil Nadu, in southeastern India is divided into 30 districts. ... The Chennai district is a district of Tamil Nadu, India. ... Coimbatore District A typical farm in Coimbatore District in Tamil Nadu Coimbatore District is one of the most affluent and industrially advanced districts of Tamil Nadu. ... Cuddalore District is a district of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. ... Dharmapuri district is an administrative region in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. ... Dindigul district is an administrative region in the south of Tamil Nadu, India. ... Erode District (Tamil: à®ˆà®°à¯‹à®Ÿà¯ à®®à®¾à®µà®Ÿà¯à®Ÿà®®à¯) is one of the districts of northern part of Tamil Nadu State, South India, and Erode is the district headquarters. ... Kanchipuram, Kanchi, or Kancheepuram (also sometimes Conjeevaram) is a district is in the northeast of Tamil Nadu, adjacent to the Bay of Bengal. ... Kanyakumari District (also spelt Kanniyakumari or Kanniakumari District) is a district of Tamil Nadu state, India and also the southernmost land area and district of mainland India. ... Karur District is located along the Kaveri river in Tamil Nadu India. ... Krishnagiri district in Tamil Nadu, India Krishnagiri District (à®•à®¿à®°à¯à®·à¯à®£à®•à®¿à®°à®¿ à®®à®¾à®µà®Ÿà¯à®Ÿà®®à¯ in Tamil) is a district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. ... Sri Meenakshi temple Madurai district is one of the 30 districts of the state of Tamil Nadu, in southeastern India. ... Nagapattinam District is a coastal district of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. ... Namakkal district, headquartered at Namakkal is one of the 30 administrative districts of Tamil Nadu state in South India. ... Perambalur is an administrative district in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. ... Pudukkottai District Pudukkottai District is a district of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. ... Ramanathapuram District Ramanathapuram District is an administrative district of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. ... Salem District Salem District is a district of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. ... Sivaganga is a town in Tamil Nadu state of southern India. ... Thanjavur district is one of the 30 districts of the state of Tamil Nadu, in southeastern India. ... The Nilgiris District The Nilgiris The Nilgiris District is in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu. ... Manjalaru Dam. ... Thoothukudi District Thoothukudi District, also known as Tuticorin District, is a district of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. ... Tiruchirapalli District Map Tiruchirapalli District (also known as Tiruchchirapalli District) is located along the Kaveri river in Tamil Nadu India. ... Tirunelveli District is a district of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. ... Thiruvallur district in Tamil Nadu occupies an area of 3424 kmÂ² and has a population of 2,738,866 (as of 2001). ... Tiruvannamalai district is one of the 30 districts of the state of Tamil Nadu, in South India, and Tiruvannamalai town is the district headquarters. ... Tiruvarur district is one of the 30 districts in the Tamil Nadu state of India. ... Vellore district is one of the 30 districts in the Tamilnadu state of India. ... Viluppuram (also Villupuram and Vizhupuram) is one of the thirty districts which make up Tamil Nadu State situated on the southern tip of India. ... Virudhunagar District is an administrative district of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. ...
Major cities:	Chennai · Coimbatore · Erode · Madurai · Salem · Tiruchirapalli · Tirunelveli · Tirupur , â€œMadrasâ€ redirects here. ... , Coimbatore (Tamil: ), also known as Kovai (Tamil: ), is a major industrial city in India. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... , Madurai (Tamil: , IPA: ) is a city and a municipal corporation with a city population of 922. ... , Salem (Tamil: à®šà¯‡à®²à®®à¯) is a city and a municipal corporation in Salem district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. ... , Tiruchirappalli (Tamil : à®¤à®¿à®°à¯à®šà¯à®šà®¿à®°à®¾à®ªà¯à®ªà®³à¯à®³à®¿) also spelt Tiruchchirapalli, commonly known as Tiruchi or Trichy (Tamil : à®¤à®¿à®°à¯à®šà¯à®šà®¿) formerly also pronounced as Trichinopoly (under British rule) is the fourth largest city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu (after Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai). ... , Tirunelveli district [8] is the penultimate southern most district of Tamilnadu in India. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...
Protected areas:	Biosphere Reserves: · Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve · Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve · Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve · National Parks: Guindy National Park · Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park · Indira Gandhi National Park · Mudumalai National Park · Mukurthi National Park · Palani Hills National Park Wildlife Sanctuaries: Grizzled Squirrel Wildlife Sanctuary · Vallanadu Wildlife Sanctuary · Bird Sanctuaries: Koothankulam Bird Sanctuary · Pulicat Lake Bird Sanctuary · Conservation reserves: Tiruvidaimarudur Conservation Reserve // Tamil Nadu, India Tamil Nadu State in South India covers an area of 130,058 km 2 (50,215 mi2). ... 1868 m high Agastya Malai mountain Thenmala Adventure Zone // The Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve (ABR) was Established in 2001 and includes 1701 km2 ABR straddles the border of Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram Districts in Kerala and Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari Districts in Tamil Nadu, South India at the southern end of the Western... The Gulf of Mannar is an arm of the Indian Ocean, lying between the southern tip of India and the west coast of Sri Lanka at a width of between 160 and 200 km (100 to 125 mi). ... The Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve is an International Biosphere Reserve located in the Western Ghats and Nilgiri Hills ranges of southern India. ... // Tamil Nadu, India Tamil Nadu State in South India covers an area of 130,058 km 2 (50,215 mi2). ... The Guindy National Park, the smallest national park of India and one of the very few national parks situate inside a metro, is located in Chennai, South India. ... The Gulf of Mannar is an arm of the Indian Ocean, lying between the southern tip of India and the west coast of Sri Lanka at a width of between 160 and 200 km (100 to 125 mi). ... Indira Gandhi National Park is a wildlife sanctuary located in the Anaimalai Hills of Tamilnadu state, India. ... The Mudumalai sanctuary lies on the northern and north-western side of the Nilgiri (Blue Mountains), about 80 km north-west of Coimbatore in the extreme north-western corner of Tamil Nadu, on the interstate boundaries with Karnataka and Kerala states in southern India. ... A national park found in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. ... Palani Hills, Topographic overview, 1;250,000 The Palani Hills The Palani Hills National Park is a proposed National Park in Dindigul District, Tamil Nadu State South India. ... // Tamil Nadu, India Tamil Nadu State in South India covers an area of 130,058 km 2 (50,215 mi2). ... The Grizzled Squirrel Wildlife Sanctuary was declared to protect the Vulnerable Grizzled Giant Squirrel (Ratufa macroura). ... Black Buck Antelope Vallanadu Wildlife Sanctuary, a 16. ... // Tamil Nadu, India Tamil Nadu State in South India covers an area of 130,058 km 2 (50,215 mi2). ... This article is considered orphaned, since there are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... Pulicat Lake Bird Sanctuary, a 481 kmÂ² Protected area near Pulicat, Thiruvallur District, Tamil Nadu, South India is the second largest brackish-water eco-system in India after Chilka lake in Orissa. ... // Tamil Nadu, India Tamil Nadu State in South India covers an area of 130,058 km 2 (50,215 mi2). ... Tiruvidaimarudur Conservation Reserve is a protected nesting area in the 2. ...

Categories: All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements since March 2007 | Districts of Tamil Nadu | Kanyakumari

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General Information of Kanyakumari District (489 words)
	Kanyakumari District is one of the smallest districts in the state having an area of 1584 sq.kms.
	The district is bounded by Tirunelveli district in the north and north-east, by Kerala state in the north-west and cofluence of Arabien sea and Indian ocean in the west and south.
	The major factors that influence the climate of the district are two monsoon winds, the proximity of the sea and the dwindling height of the western ghats.

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