Nagapattinam
Nagapattinam is a city on the coast of
Tamil Nadu state in southern
India. Nagapattinam is the administrative headquarters of
Nagapattinam District.
The city of Nagapattinam (formerly known as
Negapatam and also as Shiva Rajadhani) has a population of about 100,000. It is located close to many
temples, hosting the Soundararajan Perumal Koil, Neelayadhakshi Amman Koil and close to the
church at
Velankanni and the Nagore Durga at
Nagore (about 7 km north of Nagapattinam). Of historical importance, Lord Murugan temple is situated in
Sikkal, which is 5 km away from Nagapattinam. The distance from
Chennai is about 350 km by road. The city is the administrative centre of both the Nagapattinam taluk and the Nagapattinam district.
Nagapattinam was an ancient Buddhist center. The
Chudamani Vihara built by the support of Raja Raja Chola and a
ShriVijaya king of Java. Buddhism flourished until 15th cent CE and the buildings of the vihara survived util 18th century.
Nagapattinam was referred by early writers and the
Portuguese as "the city of
Coromandel" (Imperial Gazetteer of India, XIX, 3). In 1657 the Dutch occupied the town, taking it from the Portuguese to become their chief possession in India. In 1676, when the
Maratha prince
Venkaji had established himself at
Tanjore, the grant of Negapatam to the Dutch was confirmed. It was taken by the English in 1781, and from 1799 to 1845 it was the headquarters of Tanjore district.
Nagapattinam was one of the regions severely affected by the
tsunami which followed the
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.
The major languages spoken in the Nagapattinam District are
Tamil and
Telugu. The vast majority of the population are
Hindu by religion, with a
Muslim minority of about 8% and much smaller groups of
Christians,
Buddhists,
Sikhs and
Jains.
Other names of the town are Naganadu and Cholakula Vallippatinam.
The main occupation in the town of Nagapattinam is fishing. Fishermen from nagapattinam fish in the waters of
Bay of Bengal and sell them in the town's fish market. There are a large number of ice factories for preserving the fish caught. Its fishing Industry was severely damaged by the tsunamis that struck its coast on 26th December 2004.
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The fishing boats at Nagapattinam. |
Agricultue is the most important occupation in the inner parts of the dstrict. It is practiced in the villages surrounding the town. It has vast farmlands where rice is cultivated. These farmlands are irrigateg through an extensive network of canals from the distributaries of the river
Cauvery. The produce is transported through rail to other parts of the country
Nagapattinam is well connected to the nearby cities by road and rail. It is also well connected to
Chennai (Capital of
Tamil Nadu). The neighbouring cities are
Tiruchirappalli,
Tanjavur,
Thiruvarur and
Nagore. The nearest airport is at
Tiruchirappalli(147kms).Extensive network of roads and rails connect it to
Chennai,
Madurai,
Tiruchirappalli,
Pondicherry and
Thanjavur.
Chudamani Vihara Battle of Negapatam (1758)Battle of Negapatam (1782)*
Nagapattinam District website*
Nagapattinam tourism*
Detailed info on NEGAPATAM.
