Nagapattinam
Nagapattinam is a town in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Nagapattinam district. The town came to prominence during the period of Medieval Cholas and served as their important port for commerce and east-bound naval expeditions. The Chudamani Vihara in Nagapattinam constructed by the Srivijayan king Sri Mara Vijayattungavarman of the Sailendra dynasty with the help of Rajaraja Chola I was an important Buddhist structure in those times. Nagapattinam was settled by the Portuguese and, later, the Dutch under whom it served as the capital of Dutch Coromandel from 1660 to 1781. In November 1781, the town was conquered by the British East India Company. It served as the capital of Tanjore district from 1799 to 1845 under Madras Presidency of the British. It continued to be a part of Thanjavur district in Independent India. In 1991, it was made the headquarters of the newly created Nagapattinam District. Nagapattinam is administered by a Special grade municipality covering an area of and had a population of 102,905 as of 2011.
A majority of the people of Nagapattinam are employed in sea-borne trading, fishing, agriculture and tourism. Kayarohanaswami Temple and Soundararajaperumal Temple, Nagapattinam are the major Hindu pilgrimage sites. Nagapattinam is the base for tourism for Sikkal, Velankanni, Poompuhar, Kodiakkarai, Vedaranyam, and Tharangambadi. Roadways is the major mode of transport to Nagapattinam, while the city also has rail and sea transport.
Etymology
Nagapattinam is derived from Nagar referring to people from Sri Lanka who settled here and pattinam referring to town. It was also called CholakulaVallipattinam during the period of Kulottunga I, named after one of his queens, when it was one of the important ports. Ptolemy refers to Nagapattinam as Nikam and mentions it as one of the most important trade centres of the ancient Tamil country. This view is doubtful as there are no contemporary evidences to prove the existence of a metropolis in the name of "Nikama" or "Nikam". Nagapattinam was referred by early writers and the Portuguese as "the city of Coromandel". Appar and Tirugnanasambandar, the 7th-century saint poets refer to the city as Nagai in their verses in Tevaram. The town was originally called "Nagai" and the word Pattinam was attached during the Chola era when it emerged as an important port.History
There are urn burials in and around the city from the Sangam period indicating some level of human habitation. Except the mention in Ptolemy as 'Νίγαμα Μετρόπολις,' there are no direct references to Nagapattinam during the 3rd century BCE to 3rd century CE. The neighbouring port, Kaveripoompattinam, was the capital of the Chola kingdom of the Sangam Age, referred to widely in Tamil scriptures such as Paṭṭiṉappālai.The Soundarajaperumal temple finds a mention in the Brahmanda Purana in the Utharkanda Gyana Yoga section. The temple is revered in Nalayira Divya Prabandham, the 5th to 9th century CE Vaishnava canon, by Alvars. It is considered one of the important temples visited by Thirumangai Alvar. The Alvar has sung praise, imagining himself as a lady and Soundaraja as his lover. The temple is classified as a Divya Desam, one of the 108 Vishnu temples that are mentioned in the book.
The early works of Tevaram by the 7th-century poets Appar and Tirugnanasambandar mention the town had fortified walls, busy road building and a busy port. The inscriptions from the Kayarohanswami temple indicate the construction was initiated during the reign of the Pallava king, Narasimha Pallava II. A Buddhist pagoda was built under Chinese influence by the Pallava king and the town was frequented by Buddhist travelers.
In the 11th century CE, Chudamani Vihara, a Buddhist monastery, was built by the Sailendra king of Srivijaya Sri Mara Vijayattungavarman with the patronage of Raja Raja Chola. It was named Chudamani or Chulamani Vihara after king Sri Mara's father As per the small Leyden grant this Vihara was called Rajaraja-perumpalli during the time of Kulottunga I. Nagapattinam was the prominent port of Cholas for trade and a conquering gateway to the east.
In the early 16th century the Portuguese made commercial contacts with the town and established a commercial centre in 1554 CE. The Portuguese also conducted missionary enterprise here. In 1658, the Dutch made an agreement with King Vijaya Nayakkar of Thanjavur on 5 January 1662, by which ten villages were transferred from the Portuguese to the Dutch – Nagapattinam Port, Puthur, Muttam, Poruvalancheri, Anthanappettai, Karureppankadu, AzhingiMangalam, Sangamangalam, Thiruthinamangalam, Manjakollai, Nariyankudi. Ten Christian churches and a hospital were built by the Dutch. They released Pagoda coins with the name Nagapattinam engraved in Tamil. As per agreement between the first Maratha King, Ekoji Raje of Thanjavur, and the Dutch, Naagapattinam and surrounding villages were handed over to the Dutch on 30 December 1676. In 1690, the capital of Dutch Coromandel changed from Pulicat to Nagapattinam.
This town fell into the hands of the British in 1781 after the two naval battles between British and French fleets were fought off the coast of Negapatam, as it was then known: the first in 1758 as part of the Seven Years' War and the second in 1782 as part of the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War. The town was taken by the British from the Dutch in 1781. When the Dutch and British reached a peace agreement in 1784, Nagapattinam was formally ceded to the British. 277 villages, with Nagore as the headquarters, were handed over to the East India Company.
From 1799 to 1845 CE, Nagapttinam was the headquarters of Tanjore district. Nagapattinam and Nagore were incorporated as a single municipality in 1866 CE. The town remained one of the chief ports to the Madras Presidency. The port suffered decline after the inclusion of Tranquebar and Tuticorin ports. After India's independence, Sirkazhi continued to be a part of Thanjavur district until 1991, and later became part of the newly created Nagapattinam district. Nagapattinam was severely affected by the tsunami which followed the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. It is well developed in the year 2016 where there are many Big textiles showroom, Confectionery Houses, Schools, Colleges and Variety of fishes available in here.
Geography
Nagapattinam lies at. The town is bounded by Bay of Bengal in the east, Uppanar river in the south, Thiruvarur district in the west, Thanjavur district in the north west and Karaikkal & Puducherry in the north. The town lies in the sea level. The municipality covers an area of Nagapattinam is situated at a distance of from Chennai, from Karaikal, from Mayiladuthurai, from Kumbakonam, from Thanjavur and from Thiruvarur.Nagapattinam lies on a plain terrain of alluvial soil consisting of sand, silt and clay. The Vettar River and the tributaries of river Cauvery are the major water bodies. Paddy is the major crop in the region, followed by groundnut, pulses, sugarcane, cotton and sesame. The town is one of the cyclone-prone zones and was devastated during the 2004 tsunami. A very fine layer of high saline soil was deposited in the paddy fields.
Climate
Nagapattinam has a tropical savanna climate with a wet season from August to December due to the northeast monsoon. The city receives an annual rainfall of. Proximity to the sea results in a high humidity throughout the year, which reaches 70% from August to May.2004 tsunami
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, which triggered a series of devastating tsunamis along the coasts of most landmasses bordering the Indian Ocean. Nagapattinam district was the most affected part in Tamil Nadu, accounting for 6,064 of the 8,009 casualties in the state. A large number of the casualties were from the fishing community, who resided close to the seashore especially Akkaraipattai. The property losses impacted the fishing industry, as most of the boats were damaged by the inundation. The immediate aftermath created a lull in tourism.Demographics
According to 2011 census, Nagapattinam had a population of 102,905 with a sex-ratio of 1,026 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national average of 929. A total of 11,884 were under the age of six, constituting 6,089 males and 5,795 females. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 8.67% and 0.62% of the population respectively. The average literacy of the town was 78.74%, compared to the national average of 72.99%. The town had 24688 households. There were 33,532 workers, comprising 209 cultivators, 320 main agricultural labourers, 605 in house hold industries, 29,875 other workers, 2,523 marginal workers, 35 marginal cultivators, 130 marginal agricultural labourers, 64 marginal workers in household industries and 2,294 other marginal workers. As per the religious census of 2011, Nagapattinam had 71.4% Hindus, 24.79% Muslims, 3.68% Christians, 0.01% Sikhs, 0.02% Buddhists, 0.01% Jains and 0.08% following other religions.The decadal growth rate was higher during the decade ending in 1981, due to an increase in the town limits from to. The overall growth rate has declined over the period due to migration of people to other urban centres. There are 40 slums in the town as of 2001, with an estimated 44% residing in these slums. Out of 40 slums, 14 were affected by the 2004 tsunami. With the help of grant schemes and tsunami assistance programmes, these were rebuilt to tsunami-proof houses.
Economy
The main occupation of Nagapattinam is fishing in the waters of Bay of Bengal. The fish are sold in the daily and weekly fish markets in the town. There is a large number of ice factories for preserving the fish. The industry suffered a setback after the tsunami that struck the coast on 26 December 2004.There is limited agricultural activity, but much agricultural commerce is conducted in the town. A majority of the people are employed in service industry, belonging to the tertiary sector. The town is also the centre of retail provisions trading for the towns and villages surrounding Nagapattinam.
Tourism is a major economic driver with the presence of heritage and historic points like Nagore, Velankanni, Sikkal, Kodikkarai, Vedaranyam, Mannargudi and Tharangambadi.
There is limited industrial activity – the major industries are household, tailoring, embroidery, plastic wire and metal manufacturing. Cauvery Basin Refinery, a subsidiary of Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited is near Nagapattinam. Established in 1993, it is a major contributor to the economy of the town. The development of industries is constrained by the town being linear and by the applicability of Coastal Regulation Zone regulations that prevent large-scale construction and industrial buildings.
All major nationalised banks such as State Bank of India, Indian Bank, Central Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Indian Overseas Bank and private banks like ICICI Bank, City Union Bank have branches in Nagapattinam. All these banks have their automated teller machines located in various parts of the town.