Tamil Nadu  *

 

 

    It is the eleventh largest state in India and stretches from the Bay of Bengal in the east to the Arabian Sea on the west. It shares borders to its north and west with Karnataka, to the north with Andhra Pradesh and with Kerala to the west. It occupies 4 per cent of the total area of the land.

 

    The coastal plains are subdivided into Coromandel and the alluvial plains of the Kaveri (Cauvery) delta including Thanjavur, and Tiruchirapalli. Then come the dry plains of Madurai, Dindigul and Thirunelvelli. On the east are the Palani Hills with Kodaikanal as the crowning jewel. The slopes of the Western Ghats are covered with lush rain forest and the great rivers of the south, Cauvery and Vaigai rise here. Along the west run the Western Ghats – a rugged and steep mass averaging over 1200 meters above the sea level.

 

    Modern Tamil Nadu is formed of what in the past comprised the domain of four ancient dynasties – the Chola, the Pandya, the Chera and the Pallava.

 

    When the British set up a factory to conduct the business of the East India Company in Madras in 1639 the long spell of isolation was broken. Slowly the whole of Tamil Nadu came under European influence. At the time of independence the Madras Presidency comprised, in addition to Tamil Nadu, parts of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala.

 

    Tamil Nadu holds the world record in production of sugarcane with a yield of 100 tonnes per hectare. Principal crops are rice, cotton, tea and coffee. Tamil Nadu contributes almost one fourth of the total spinning capacity in the country. Its share in cement, caustic soda and Nitrogenous fertilizers production is one fifth. It produces one tenth of the nation’s output of cycles, sugar and calcium carbide.

 

    Tamil Nadu produces 60 per cent of the safety matches and 77 per cent of finished leather goods.

 

    Major industrial establishments in the state are – the Integral Coach Factory, Paper Pulp Factory, Fertilizer Plant, Heavy Vehicles Factory, the Neyveli Lignite Complex, Hindustan Photo Films and Madras Refineries.

 

    Bharatnatyam is the quintessential classical Indian dance form that originated in Tamil Nadu.

 

    The famous shore temples of Mahabalipuram near Chennai are a popular tourist resort. The Brihadeeshwar temple of Tanjore built by Raja Raja Chola has been declared a world heritage site.

 

    There are many places of tourist interest in Tamil Nadu, Rameshwaram is an important place of Hindu Pilgrimage. The temples at Kanchi, Madurai and Thanjavur present brilliant examples of southern architecture with ornate torana – gateways and towering shikhar or spires.

Pongal, celebrated at Harvest time is the main festival.

 

    For the wild life enthusiast there is the Madumalai biosphere, Vedathangal bird sanctuary, Guindy snake and crocodile farm.