1.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
2.
India
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India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and it is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast. It shares land borders with Pakistan to the west, China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the northeast, in the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Indias Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a border with Thailand. The Indian subcontinent was home to the urban Indus Valley Civilisation of the 3rd millennium BCE, in the following millennium, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism began to be composed. Social stratification, based on caste, emerged in the first millennium BCE, early political consolidations took place under the Maurya and Gupta empires, the later peninsular Middle Kingdoms influenced cultures as far as southeast Asia. In the medieval era, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived, much of the north fell to the Delhi sultanate, the south was united under the Vijayanagara Empire. The economy expanded in the 17th century in the Mughal empire, in the mid-18th century, the subcontinent came under British East India Company rule, and in the mid-19th under British crown rule. A nationalist movement emerged in the late 19th century, which later, under Mahatma Gandhi, was noted for nonviolent resistance, in 2015, the Indian economy was the worlds seventh largest by nominal GDP and third largest by purchasing power parity. Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the major economies and is considered a newly industrialised country. However, it continues to face the challenges of poverty, corruption, malnutrition, a nuclear weapons state and regional power, it has the third largest standing army in the world and ranks sixth in military expenditure among nations. India is a constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary system. It is a pluralistic, multilingual and multi-ethnic society and is home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats. The name India is derived from Indus, which originates from the Old Persian word Hindu, the latter term stems from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, which was the historical local appellation for the Indus River. The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi, which translates as The people of the Indus, the geographical term Bharat, which is recognised by the Constitution of India as an official name for the country, is used by many Indian languages in its variations. Scholars believe it to be named after the Vedic tribe of Bharatas in the second millennium B. C. E and it is also traditionally associated with the rule of the legendary emperor Bharata. Gaṇarājya is the Sanskrit/Hindi term for republic dating back to the ancient times, hindustan is a Persian name for India dating back to the 3rd century B. C. E. It was introduced into India by the Mughals and widely used since then and its meaning varied, referring to a region that encompassed northern India and Pakistan or India in its entirety
3.
Tamil Nadu
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Tamil Nadu is one of the 29 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai, Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Puducherry and the South Indian states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh. The state shares a border with the nation of Sri Lanka. Tamil Nadu is the eleventh-largest state in India by area and the sixth-most populous, the state was ranked sixth among states in India according to the Human Development Index in 2011, with the second-largest state economy after Maharashtra. Tamil Nadu is the second largest state economy in India with ₹13,842 billion in gross domestic product after Maharashtra. Tamil Nadu was ranked as one of the top seven developed states in India based on a Multidimensional Development Index in a 2013 report published by the Reserve Bank of India and its official language is Tamil, which is one of the longest-surviving classical languages in the world. Tamil Nadu is home to natural resources. In addition, its people have developed and continue classical arts, classical music, historic buildings and religious sites include Hindu temples of Tamil architecture, hill stations, beach resorts, multi-religious pilgrimage sites, and eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Archaeological evidence points to this area being one of the longest continuous habitations in the Indian peninsula, the ASI archaeologists have proposed that the script used at that site is very rudimentary Tamil Brahmi. Adichanallur has been announced as a site for further excavation. About 60 per cent of the epigraphical inscriptions found by the ASI in India are from Tamil Nadu. A Neolithic stone celt with the Indus script on it was discovered at Sembian-Kandiyur near Mayiladuthurai in Tamil Nadu, according to epigraphist Iravatham Mahadevan, this was the first datable artefact bearing the Indus script to be found in Tamil Nadu. Mahadevan claimed that the find was evidence of the use of the Harappan language, the date of the celt was estimated at between 1500 BCE and 2000 BCE. The early history of the people and rulers of Tamil Nadu is a topic in Tamil literary sources known as Sangam literature, numismatic, archaeological and literary sources corroborate that the Sangam period lasted for about six centuries, from 300 BC to AD300. Three dynasties, namely the Chera, Chola and Pandya, ruled the area of present-day Tamil Nadu, the Chera ruled the whole of present-day Kerala and parts of western Tamil Nadu comprising Coimbatore, Dharmapuri, Karur, Salem and Erode districts from the capital of Vanchi Muthur. The Chola dynasty ruled the northern and central parts of Tamil Nadu from their capital, Uraiyur, All three dynasties had extensive trade relationships with Rome, Greece, Egypt, Ceylon, Phoenicia, Arabia, Mesopotamia and Persia. Trade flourished in commodities such as spices, ivory, pearls, beads, Chera traded extensively from Muziris on the west coast, Chola from Arikamedu and Puhar and Pandya through Korkai port. A Greco-Roman trade and travel document, the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea gives a description of the Tamil country, besides these three dynasties, the Sangam era Tamilakam was also divided into various provinces named nadu, meaning country
4.
Kanyakumari district
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Kanyakumari district is the southernmost district in Tamil Nadu state and mainland India. It is the second largest district in the state in terms of population density, the district stands first in terms of literacy rate in the state. Kanyakumari district has a topography with sea on three sides and the mountains of the Western Ghats bordering the northern side. A few artifacts unearthed by excavations in there. The Presidency was later renamed Tamil Nadu and Kanyakumari, today, is one of the 32 districts of Tamil Nadu state, many historical assumptions persist in the district and state, which associate sages such as Vyasa, Agastya, Tolkappiyar, Avvaiyar and Thiruvalluvar to the district. The district is also the birthplace of Ayyavazhi, the area that comprises the current Kanyakumari district was a part of the old Ay kingdom of the first and second Sangham ages. Following the decline of the Ay kingdoms, the area became Venad, the wealth of the Nanjalnadu beckoned many invaded including the Nayaks and later an Islamist army during the reign of Umayamma Rani. The Venad region was in anarchy before Marthanda Varma ascended the throne in 1729 AD, before his reign the Samanthan Nairs ruled the province. Under their rule anarchy was dominant in Kanyakumari region, however, Marthanda Varma brought a sense of disorder under control by annexing the nearby territories, putting down the feudal lords and establishing the strong state of Travancore. He had also bought some portions of Kanyakumari from the then viceroy making it the southern boundary, under his rule the district improved in a social context as well as economically. The famous battle of Colachel took place in the district, later, the maharajahs of Travancore built the forts at Aramboly to prevent any invasion from the Carnatic. Key elements of Velu Thampi Dalawas revolt occurred in the area, in the year 1949, the area became a part of the reestablished Travancore Cochin state. The people of Agasteeswarem, Thovalai, Kalkulam and Vilavancode taluks, an extreme agitation by Tamil speaking residents under the leadership of Marshal Nesamony took place for including Kanyakumari within Tamil Nadu. Eventually the merger happened in 1956 based on language reorganization of states, the district of Kanyakumari is the southern most districts in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is situated between 77°15 and 77°36 east latitude and 8°03 and 8°35 north longitude, the district has borders with Tirunelveli district, the Gulf of Mannar, the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea and the state of Kerala. Kanyakumari includes the special grade village of Chinnamuttom, located at the southernmost point of the Indian Subcontinent, for administrative purposes, the district comprises four taluks, Thovalai, Agastheeswaram, Kalkulam, and Vilavancode. At the lower levels of administration, there are 99 village panchayats, the major towns of the district include, Agastheeswaram taluk, Nagercoil, Kanyakumari, Agastheeswaram, Suchindram and Rajakkamangalam. Kalkulam taluk, Padmanabhapuram-Thuckalay, Colachel, Kalkulam, Thiruvithamcode, Kurunthancode, Thiruvattar and Kulasekaram, Vilavancode Taluk, Karungal, Kuzhithurai-Marthandam, Vilavancode, Killiyur, Munchirai, Manjalumoodu Arumanai and Melpuram
5.
Tamil language
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Tamil is a Dravidian language predominantly spoken by the Tamil people of India and Sri Lanka, and also by the Tamil diaspora, Sri Lankan Moors, Burghers, Douglas, and Chindians. Tamil is a language of two countries, Singapore and Sri Lanka. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and it is also used as one of the languages of education in Malaysia, along with English, Malay and Mandarin. Tamil is also spoken by significant minorities in the four other South Indian states of Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and it is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India. Tamil is one of the classical languages in the world. Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions from 500 BC have been found on Adichanallur and 2 and it has been described as the only language of contemporary India which is recognizably continuous with a classical past. The variety and quality of classical Tamil literature has led to it being described as one of the classical traditions. A recorded Tamil literature has been documented for over 2000 years, the earliest period of Tamil literature, Sangam literature, is dated from ca.300 BC – AD300. It has the oldest extant literature among other Dravidian languages, the earliest epigraphic records found on rock edicts and hero stones date from around the 3rd century BC. More than 55% of the inscriptions found by the Archaeological Survey of India are in the Tamil language. Tamil language inscriptions written in Brahmi script have been discovered in Sri Lanka, the two earliest manuscripts from India, acknowledged and registered by the UNESCO Memory of the World register in 1997 and 2005, were written in Tamil. In 1578, Portuguese Christian missionaries published a Tamil prayer book in old Tamil script named Thambiraan Vanakkam, the Tamil Lexicon, published by the University of Madras, was one of the earliest dictionaries published in the Indian languages. According to a 2001 survey, there were 1,863 newspapers published in Tamil, Tamil belongs to the southern branch of the Dravidian languages, a family of around 26 languages native to the Indian subcontinent. It is also classified as being part of a Tamil language family, the closest major relative of Tamil is Malayalam, the two began diverging around the 9th century CE. According to linguists like Bhadriraju Krishnamurti, Tamil, as a Dravidian language, descends from Proto-Dravidian, linguistic reconstruction suggests that Proto-Dravidian was spoken around the third millennium BC, possibly in the region around the lower Godavari river basin in peninsular India. The material evidence suggests that the speakers of Proto-Dravidian were of the associated with the Neolithic complexes of South India. The next phase in the reconstructed proto-history of Tamil is Proto-South Dravidian, the linguistic evidence suggests that Proto-South Dravidian was spoken around the middle of the second millennium BC, and that proto-Tamil emerged around the 3rd century BC. The earliest epigraphic attestations of Tamil are generally taken to have been shortly thereafter
6.
Postal Index Number
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A Postal Index Number or PIN or Pincode is a code in the post office numbering or post code system used by India Post, the Indian postal administration. The code is six digits long, the PIN Code system was introduced on 15 August 1972 by Shriram Bhikaji Velankar, an additional secretary in the Union Ministry of Communications. The system was introduced to simplify the manual sorting and delivery of mail by eliminating confusion over incorrect addresses, similar place names, there are nine PIN zones in India, including eight regional zones and one functional zone. The first digit of the PIN code indicates the region, the second digit indicates the sub-region, and the third digit indicates the sorting district within the region. The final three digits are assigned to individual post offices, a state may have one or more sorting districts depending on the volumes of mail handled. The fourth digit represents the route on which a Delivery office is located in the sorting district and this is 0 for offices in the core area of the sorting district. The last two represent the delivery office within the sorting district starting from 01 which would be the GPO or HO. The numbering of the office is done chronologically with higher numbers assigned to newer delivery offices. If the volume of mails handled at an office is too large, a new delivery office is created. Thus two delivery offices situated next to each other only have the first four digits in common. Each PIN code is mapped to exactly one delivery post office which receives all the mail to be delivered to one or more lower offices within its jurisdiction, all of which share the same code. The delivery office can either be a General Post Office, a Head Office or Sub Office which are located in urban areas. The post from the office is sorted and routed to other delivery offices for a different PIN or to one of the relevant sub offices or branch offices for the same PIN. Branch offices are located in areas and have limited postal services
7.
Vehicle registration plate
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A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate or a license plate, is metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identification purposes. The registration identifier is a numeric or alphanumeric ID that uniquely identifies the owner within the issuing regions database. The first two letters indicate the state to which the vehicle is registered, the next two digit numbers are the sequential number of a district. Due to heavy volume of vehicle registration, the numbers were given to the RTO offices of registration as well, the third part indicates the year of registration of the vehicle and is a 4 digit number unique to each plate. In some countries, the identifier is unique within the entire country, whether the identifier is associated with a vehicle or a person also varies by issuing agency. In the vast majority of jurisdictions, the government holds a monopoly on the manufacturing of vehicle registration plates for that jurisdiction. Thus, it is illegal for private citizens to make and affix their own plates. Alternately, the government will merely assign plate numbers, and it is the owners responsibility to find an approved private supplier to make a plate with that number. In some jurisdictions, plates will be assigned to that particular vehicle for its lifetime. If the vehicle is destroyed or exported to a different country. Other jurisdictions follow a policy, meaning that when a vehicle is sold the seller removes the current plate from the vehicle. Buyers must either obtain new plates or attach plates they already hold, as well as register their vehicles under the buyers name, a person who sells a car and then purchases a new one can apply to have the old plates put onto the new car. One who sells a car and does not buy a new one may, depending on the laws involved, have to turn the old plates in or destroy them. Some jurisdictions permit the registration of the vehicle with personal plates, in some jurisdictions, plates require periodic replacement, often associated with a design change of the plate itself. Vehicle owners may or may not have the option to keep their original plate number, alternately, or additionally, vehicle owners have to replace a small decal on the plate or use a decal on the windshield to indicate the expiration date of the vehicle registration. Plates are usually fixed directly to a vehicle or to a frame that is fixed to the vehicle. Sometimes, the plate frames contain advertisements inserted by the service centre or the dealership from which the vehicle was purchased. Vehicle owners can also purchase customized frames to replace the original frames, in some jurisdictions licence plate frames are illegal
8.
Devi Kanya Kumari
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Devi Kanya Kumari is goddess Shree Bhagavathy in the form of an adolescent girl child. Devi is also known as Shree Baala Bhadra or Shree Baala and she is popularly known as Bhagavathy Devi. She is also known by other names, including Kanya Devi and Devi Kumari. She is also worshiped as Shree Bhadrakali by devotees, Sage Parashurama is said to have performed the consecration of the temple. The worship of Devi Kanya Kumari dates back to the Vedic times and she has been mentioned in Ramayana, Mahabharata, and the Sangam works Manimekalai, Puranaanooru and Nārāyaṇa Upanishad, a Vaishnava upanishad in the Taittiriya Samhita of Krishna Yajur Veda. As directed by his Guru Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Swami Vivekananda, came here to seek Devis blessing in December 1892 and it is in this location he decided to embark on the missionary work to a higher level of action rather than being passive like the usual Sanyasis. Swami Brahmananda and Swami Nirmalananda, another two disciples of Sri Ramakrishna Parama Hamsa, also worshiped Devi Kanyakumari, in fact, Swami Nirmalananda brought several small girls from many parts of Kerala to worship Bahagavathy in 1935-36 period. The rites and rituals of the temple is organised and classified by following Sankaracharyas treatise, Travancore joined the independent Indian Union in 1947. Later in the state partition Kanyakumari became part of Tamil Nadu. the supreme one, the less and with different forms, the nirguna, the unbiased. However, as the Veda and similar literature of ancient times are of Shruthi nature, so for using similies, and satyres for a poem, they personified many manifestations of the supreme almighty for better understanding. When Upanishads were created in the years, it changed into Smruthi. The personifications of the similes became characters in the Puranas’, during the later stage of Vedic era, when Purana, Vedanta and Itihas literatures emerged, the importance of the basic nature elements Agni, Varuna, Vayu and Indra in the literature decreased. The worshiping of The Supreme Almighty gradually became more developed and cultured along with the literature like Bhagavad Gita, different Vedantas resulted in the formation of various sects and communities addressed the Almighty in different names. The literatures became more focused on creating guides for leading a better way of life, different forms of worship arose, and different manifestations arose, however the worship was more or less directed towards The Almighty. The nature in which we are part of is defined as the manifested un-manifested form of the Almighty, the material or manifestation is everything in the universe people can feel with their senses. The non-material or unmanifested form of the Almighty is that things which people cannot feel by their senses, the feminine aspects of The Almighty are called as Prakriti, and the male aspects are called as Purusha. The Prakriti is addressed in different names by different Hindu communities as Adi-parashakti, Bhadra, Shakti, Devi, Bhagavathi, Amman, Rajarajeshwari, Shodashi, in Tantra, the worship of Prakriti is done in different methods, Dakshinachara, Vamachara and Madhyama in different temples. The name of Devi in temples during Saatvika or Dakshina rites is Shree Bhagavathy, shaktism views the Devi as the source, essence and substance of virtually everything in creation, seen or unseen, including Shiva himself
9.
Indian subcontinent
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Geologically, the Indian subcontinent is related to the land mass that rifted from Gondwana and merged with the Eurasian plate nearly 55 million years ago. Geographically, it is the region in south-central Asia delineated by the Himalayas in the north, the Hindu Kush in the west. Politically, the Indian subcontinent usually includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, sometimes, the term South Asia is used interchangeably with Indian subcontinent. There is no consensus about which countries should be included in each and it is first attested in 1845 to refer to the North and South Americas, before they were regarded as separate continents. Its use to refer to the Indian subcontinent is seen from the twentieth century. It was especially convenient for referring to the region comprising both the British India and the states under British Paramountcy. The term Indian subcontinent also has a geological significance and it was, like the various continents, a part of the supercontinent of Gondwana. A series of tectonic splits caused formation of basins, each drifting in various directions. The geological region called the Greater India once included the Madagascar, Seychelles, Antartica, as a geological term, Indian subcontinent has meant that region formed from the collision of the Indian basin with Eurasia nearly 55 million years ago, towards the end of Paleocene. The Indian subcontinent has been a particularly common in the British Empire. The region, state Mittal and Thursby, has also labelled as India, Greater India. The BBC and some sources refer to the region as the Asian Subcontinent. Some academics refer to it as South Asian Subcontinent, the terms Indian subcontinent and South Asia are sometimes used interchangeably. There is no accepted definition on which countries are a part of South Asia or Indian subcontinent. In dictionary entries, the term subcontinent signifies a large, distinguishable subdivision of a continent, the region experienced high volcanic activity and plate subdivisions, creating Madagascar, Seychelles, Antartica, Austrolasia and the Indian subcontinent basin. The Indian subcontinent drifted northeastwards, colliding with the Eurasian plate nearly 55 million years ago and this geological region largely includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The zone where the Eurasian and Indian subcontinent plates meet remains one of the active areas. The English term mainly continues to refer to the Indian subcontinent, physiographically, it is a peninsular region in south-central Asia delineated by the Himalayas in the north, the Hindu Kush in the west, and the Arakanese in the east
10.
Laccadive Sea
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The Laccadive Sea or Lakshadweep Sea is a body of water bordering India, the Maldives, and Sri Lanka. It is located to the west of Kerala and this warm sea has a stable water temperature through the year and is rich in marine life, with the Gulf of Mannar alone hosting about 3,600 species. Trivandrum, Kochi, Colombo, Quilon and Malé are the cities on the shore of the Laccadive Sea. The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Laccadive Sea as follows, a line running from Dondra Head in Ceylon to the most Southerly point of Addu Atoll. The West coasts of Ceylon and India, water temperature is rather constant through the year, averaging 26–28 °С in summer and 25 °С in winter. Salinity is 34‰ in the center and northern part and up to 35. 5‰ in the south, the coasts are sandy but the deeper parts are covered in silt. There are numerous coral reefs in the sea, such as the Lakshadweep islands which are made up of atolls, the Gulf of Mannar is known for its pearl banks of Pinctada radiata and Pinctada fucata for at least two thousand years. Pliny the Elder praised the pearl fishery of the gulf as most productive in the world, although extraction of natural pearls is considered too expensive in most parts of the world, it is still conducted in the gulf. Also collected in numbers are Shankha mollusks whose shells are used as a ritual. Other mollusks of the sea are either too scarce or not popular in the Indian society, another traditional occupation in the Laccadive Sea is fishing. The annual fish catch is 2,000 to 5,000 tonnes from the Lakshadweep islands, perches, halfbeaks, Carangidae, needlefish and rays are also caught near the reefs. Shrimp, Achelata and small fish, such as Sprattus, Pomacentridae and Apogonidae are widely used as a bait by the Laccadive islanders. With about 3,600 species of flora and fauna, the Gulf of Mannar is regarded as one of the richest marine biological resources in the world. Of these 3,600 species,44 are protected,117 are corals,79 crustaceans,108 sponges,260 mollusks,441 fin fishes,147 seaweeds and 17 mangroves. In 1986, a group of 21 islands and nearby waters with the area of 560 km² were declared Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park. The park and its zone were designated as a Biosphere Reserve in 1989. The Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve covers an area of 10,500 km² of ocean, islands and the adjoining coastline, and is the largest such reserve in India. Most of its area is restricted for outsiders and the access of boats is subject to strict rules, from about 150,000 people living in the buffer zone and more than 70% of them depend on the coastal marine resources
11.
Cardamom Hills
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Not to be confused with Cardamom Mountains in Cambodia. The Cardamom Hills are hills of southern India and part of the southern Western Ghats located in southeast Kerala and their name comes from the cardamom spice grown in much of the hills cool elevation, which also supports pepper and coffee. The Western Ghats, Periyar Sub-Cluster including the Cardamom Hills, is under consideration by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee for selection as a World Heritage Site, the Cardamom Hills central point is about 9°52′N 77°09′E. They cover about 2,800 km2 of mountainous terrain with deep valleys and it includes Idukki Dam and Mullaperiyar Dam. They conjoin the Anaimalai Hills to the northwest, the Palni Hills to the northeast, the crest of the hills form the boundary between Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Anamudi in Eravikulam National Park, is the highest peak in western ghats, the hills experience average daily temperatures of 15 °C in winter to 31 °C in summer. The annual rainfall of 2,000 mm to 3,000 mm in Periyar decreases to less than 1,500 mm in the east in Srivilliputtur Wildlife Sanctuary, on the western side, two-thirds of the precipitation is received during the southwest monsoon from June to September. The areas also receive rainfall from the northeast monsoon and from pre-monsoon showers and these hills are made up largely of several contiguous protected areas intended to restrict human access, protect specific endangered species and preserve some of the still undeveloped forest biomes. The central part of the hills comprise the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary covering an area of 777 km2, the 350 km2 core zone of the sanctuary is the Periyar National Park and Tiger Reserve. Periyar is an ecotourism destination. To the south of the Periyar Tiger Reserve are the forests of the Ranni, Konni. The Cardamom Hill Reserve is within the Cardamom Hills Idukki District and it comprises about 15,721 acres as per 1897 royal proclamation of the Kingdom of Travancore. But the extent of land in accordance with the boundaries of the notification is about 334 Sq miles. It is bordered by the Tamil Nadu border to the east, Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary on the south, the Periyar River on the west, now it is situated in the Idukki District of Kerala. According to the Chief Secretary of the Government of Kerala, Cardamom Hill land is Government land under the control of the Revenue Department for more than a century. The total extent of the Cardamom Hill area was 1071.9746 km2 of which 568.6 km2 was assigned under various Land Assignment Rules. The balance of 503.38 km2 is leased to farmers for cardamom cultivation The CHR accounts for about 70 percent of the production of India. CHR contains The Cardamom Research Station, situated in the Pampadumpara village of Udumbanchola taluk and it is located on the eastern side of Kumily-Munnar road
12.
Western Ghats
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Western Ghats மேற்கு தொடர்ச்சி மலை is a mountain range that runs parallel to the western coast of the Indian peninsula, located entirely in India. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the eight hottest hot-spots of biological diversity in the world and it is sometimes called the Great Escarpment of India. The range runs north to south along the edge of the Deccan Plateau. These hills cover 160,000 km2 and form the catchment area for complex riverine drainage systems that drain almost 40% of India, the Western Ghats block southwest monsoon winds from reaching the Deccan Plateau. The average elevation is around 1,200 m, at least 325 globally threatened species occur in the Western Ghats. The Western Ghats are the mountainous faulted and eroded edge of the Deccan Plateau, geologic evidence indicates that they were formed during the break-up of the supercontinent of Gondwana some 150 million years ago. Geophysical evidence indicates that the west coast of India came into being somewhere around 100 to 80 mya after it broke away from Madagascar, after the break-up, the western coast of India would have appeared as an abrupt cliff some 1,000 m in elevation. Basalt is the predominant rock found in the reaching a thickness of 3 km. Other rock types found are charnockites, granite gneiss, khondalites, leptynites, metamorphic gneisses with detached occurrences of limestone, iron ore. Residual laterite and bauxite ores are found in the southern hills. The Western Ghats extend from the Satpura Range in the north and it traverses south past the states of Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala. Major gaps in the range are the Goa Gap, between the Maharashtra and Karnataka sections, and the Palghat Gap on the Tamil Nadu and Kerala border between the Nilgiri Hills and the Anaimalai Hills. The mountains intercept the rain-bearing westerly monsoon winds, and are consequently an area of high rainfall, particularly on their western side. The northern portion of the coastal plain between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea is known as the Konkan, the central portion is called Kanara. The foothill region east of the Ghats in Maharashtra is known as Desh, the range is known as Sahyadri in Maharashtra and Karnataka. The Western Ghats meets the Eastern Ghats at Nilgiris in northwestern Tamil Nadu, Nilgiris connects Biligiriranga Hills in southeastern Karnataka with the Shevaroys and Tirumala hills. In the southern part of the range is Anamudi, the highest peak in Western Ghats, following is a list of some of the highest peaks of the Western Ghats, The Western Ghats form one of the four watersheds of India, feeding the perennial rivers of India. The major river systems originating in the Western Ghats include Godavari, Kaveri, Krishna, Thamiraparani, majority of streams draining the Western Ghats join these rivers and carry large volume of water during the monsoon months
13.
Thiruvananthapuram
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Thiruvananthapuram, formerly known as Trivandrum, is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Kerala. It is located on the west coast of India near the south of the mainland. Referred to by Mahatma Gandhi as the Evergreen city of India, Thiruvananthapuram was a trading post for spices, sandalwood and ivory. The city was ruled by the Ays and was captured by the rulers of Venad in tenth century A. D, in 1729, Marthanda Varma founded the princely state of Thiruvithamkoor and made Thiruvananthapuram the capital in 1745. It remained as a state ruled by Travancore under the loose governance of the British before joining the Indian Union in 1948. With nearly 80% of the software exports, Thiruvananthapuram is a major IT hub with the Technopark. Indias first and only magic academy, Magic Academy Research Centre run by Merlin award-winning magician Gopinath Muthukad is situated in Thiruvananthapuram, the city is home to animation companies like Toonz India Ltd and Tata Elxsi Ltd. The Kinfra Film and Video Park is one of the most advanced film and it is consistently ranked among the best cities to live in Kerala as well as India. The city was referred to as Trivandrum until 1991, when the government decided to reinstate the citys original name Thiruvananthapuram. Thiruvananthapuram is an ancient region with trading traditions dating back to 1000 BCE, the city was a trading post for spices, sandalwood and ivory. The early rulers of the city were the Ays and after their fall in the 10th century, in 1729, Marthanda Varma founded the princely state of Thiruvithamkoor and Thiruvananthapuram was made the capital in 1745 after shifting the capital from Padmanabhapuram in Tamil Nadu. In the mid-19th century, the city was under the reign of Swathi Thirunal, an observatory was established in 1837 with the Oriental Research Institute & Manuscripts Library and the University College established in 1873. Several colleges were established by Moolam Thirunal, sree Moolam Assembly, established in 1904, was the first democratically elected legislative council in any Indian state. After Indian Independence in 1947, Travancore chose to join the Indian union, in 1949, Thiruvananthapuram became the capital of Travancore-Cochin, the state formed by the integration of Travancore with the Kingdom of Cochin. The king of Travancore, Chitra Thirunal Bala Rama Varma, became the Rajpramukh of the Travancore-Cochin Union from 1 July 1949 until 31 October 1956, when the state of Kerala was formed on 1 November 1956, Thiruvananthapuram became its capital. The city has a population of 752,490 according to the 2011 census, the sex ratio is 1,032 females for every 1,000 males. In October 2010, the number of wards was increased from 86 to 100 post expansion of city limits by adding Sreekaryam, Vattiyoorkavu, Kudappanakunnu, hindus comprise 68. 5% of the population, Christians about 16. 7% and Muslims form 13. 7%. The major languages spoken are Malayalam and English, in Palayam in the city centre, there is a mosque, a temple and a Christian church next to each other as neighbours, establishing the communal harmony of Keralites
14.
Trivandrum International Airport
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Trivandrum International Airport is in Thiruvananthapuram and is the first airport in the state of Kerala, India. It was the international airport of India declared by then Prime Minister of India. The airport is a base for Air India Express operations and is a focus city for Air India, Jet Airways, SpiceJet. There are flights to Middle eastern and South eastern countries from here, Trivandrum International Airport operates two terminals. Terminal 1 handles domestic operations and Terminal 2 handles all international flight operations as well as all domestic flights by Air India. In addition to operations, Trivandrum Airport caters to the Indian Air Force. IAF have an apron to handle all their operations. Trivandrum airport also caters to the Rajiv Gandhi Academy for Aviation Technology which carries out training activities. The airport was established in 1932 as part of the Royal Flying Club under the initiative of Colonel Goda Varma Raja, Consort Prince of HRH Queen Karthika Thirunal of Travancore Kingdom. Col G. V Raja, a pilot, felt the need an airport to accommodate Travancore in the aviation map of India. A detailed report was made and presented to the King by Consort Prince in this regard, in 1935, on royal patronage of H. H Maharaja Chithira Thirunal, Tata Airlines made its maiden flight to the airport using DH. The first flight took off on 1 November 1935, carrying mails of Royal Anchal to Bombay, in 1938, the Royal Government of Travancore acquired a Dakota as Maharajas private aircraft and placed the first squadron of Royal Indian Air Force for protection of state from aerial attacks. After Independence, the airstrip was used for flights with construction of a domestic terminal. International operations were initiated by Air India to cities in the Arabian Peninsula in the late 1970s using Boeing 707, by early 80s, the then Indian Airlines started service to Colombo, followed by service to Male. Later, SriLankan Airlines and Air Maldives, the cargo warehouse is on the airport premises. It has a capacity to import 21000 MT and export 27000 MT per annum, in 2010-11, the airport achieved MT of import cargo and MT of export cargo. Major cargo jets such as Emirates has begun flights to Trivandrum International Airport, the air traffic control tower is 18 m tall. There are plans to build a new 43m tall ATC tower for Trivandrum airport near the new international terminal. The airport has an instrument landing system using distance measuring equipment, the Instrument Landing System allows aircraft landings in reduced visibility
15.
Kerala
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Kerala historically known as Keralam, is an Indian state in South India on the Malabar Coast. It was formed on 1 November 1956 following the States Reorganisation Act by combining Malayalam-speaking regions, spread over 38,863 km2, it is bordered by Karnataka to the north and northeast, Tamil Nadu to the east and south, and the Lakshadweep Sea to the west. With 33,387,677 inhabitants as per the 2011 Census, Malayalam is the most widely spoken language and is also the official language of the state. The region has been a prominent spice exporter since 3000 BCE, the Chera Dynasty was the first prominent kingdom based in Kerala, though it frequently struggled against attacks by the neighbouring Cholas and Pandyas. In the 15th century, the spice trade attracted Portuguese traders to Kerala, after independence, Travancore and Cochin joined the Republic of India and Travancore-Cochin was given the status of a state in 1949. In 1956, Kerala state was formed by merging Malabar district, Travancore-Cochin, Hinduism is practised by more than half of the population, followed by Islam and Christianity. The culture is a synthesis of Aryan and Dravidian cultures, developed over millennia, under influences from other parts of India, the production of pepper and natural rubber contributes significantly to the total national output. In the agricultural sector, coconut, tea, coffee, cashew, the states coastline extends for 595 kilometres, and around 1.1 million people in the state are dependent on the fishery industry which contributes 3% to the states income. The state has the highest media exposure in India with newspapers publishing in nine languages, mainly English, Kerala is one of the prominent tourist destinations of India, with backwaters, beaches, Ayurvedic tourism and tropical greenery as its major attractions. The name Kerala has an uncertain etymology, One popular theory derives Kerala from Kera and alam is land, thus land of coconuts, this also happens to be a nickname for the state due to abundance of coconut trees and its use by the locals. The word Kerala is first recorded in a 3rd-century BCE rock inscription left by the Maurya emperor Ashoka, the inscription refers to the local ruler as Keralaputra, or son of Chera. This contradicts the theory that Kera is from coconut tree, at that time, one of three states in the region was called Cheralam in Classical Tamil, Chera and Kera are variants of the same word. The word Cheral refers to the oldest known dynasty of Kerala kings and is derived from the Proto-Tamil-Malayalam word for lake, the earliest Sanskrit text to mention Kerala is the Aitareya Aranyaka of the Rigveda. It is also mentioned in the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, the two Hindu epics, the Skanda Purana mentions the ecclesiastical office of the Thachudaya Kaimal who is referred to as Manikkam Keralar, synonymous with the deity of the Koodalmanikyam temple. Keralam may stem from the Classical Tamil cherive-alam or chera alam, the Greco-Roman trade map Periplus Maris Erythraei refers to Keralaputra as Celobotra. According to Hindu mythology, the lands of Kerala were recovered from the sea by the warrior sage Parasurama. Parasurama threw his axe across the sea, and the water receded as far as it reached, according to legend, this new area of land extended from Gokarna to Kanyakumari. The land which rose from sea was filled with salt and unsuitable for habitation, so Parasurama invoked the Snake King Vasuki, out of respect, Vasuki and all snakes were appointed as protectors and guardians of the land
16.
Nagercoil
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Nagercoil is a town in the southernmost Indian state of Tamil Nadu and a municipality and administrative headquarters of Kanyakumari District. The city is situated close to the tip of the Indian peninsula and it was briefly part of the erstwhile Travancore state, till almost a decade after Indias Independence from Britain in 1947. In 1956, it was merged with Tamil Nadu, in its earlier days, the town and its surroundings were known as Nanjilnadu. Nagercoil holds a number of institutions, hospitals, offices and industries. It is also the hub of industrial and commercial activity in the district, the minerals ilmenite and monazite are mined there. The land is surrounded by hills and lush paddy fields. It is also known for different varieties of bananas, Nagercoil is a land of great traditional and cultural significance. Nagercoil derives its name from an old temple called the Nagaraja Temple. It has been an important temple for Hindus, for centuries and is also a tourist attraction, according to certain accounts, it may once have been a Jain temple as icons of the Tirthankaras Mahavira and Parshvanatha are found on the pillars of the temple. Archaeological records also show Jain influences in ancient times, the modern history of the town is interwoven with the history of Travancore state. The modern town of Nagercoil grew around Kottar, now a locality within the municipal limits. The town came to prominence during and after the reign of Maharaja Marthanda Varma, the king of Travancore, although Travancore was considered by many to be a Hindu administration, the rulers generally showed religious tolerance, and were not hostile to European educators, missionaries and traders. The British in India considered Travancore a model native state, at the time, Travancore was the most socially developed, and one of the most economically developed, states under the British Raj. During the British Raj, Travancore was essentially a vassal-state to the British, at the time of Indias independence from Britain, the then Dewan of Travancore, Sir C. P. The late Sir C. P. Ramaswami Iyer is still held in esteem in Nagercoil, for the many developmental projects he undertook in the then South Travancore. This was enacted in the Indian States Reorganisation Act,1956, according to 2011 census, Nagercoil had a population of 224,849 with a sex-ratio of 1,050 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national average of 929. A total of 20,241 were under the age of six, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 4. 19% and. 17% of the population respectively. The average literacy of the city was 95. 35%, the city had a total of 59,997 households
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Sangam period
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Sangam period is the period in the history of ancient Tamil Nadu spanning from c. 4th century BC to c. It is named after the famous Sangam academies of poets and scholars centered in the city of Madurai, according to Tamil legends, there were three Sangam periods, namely Head Sangam, Middle Sangam and Last Sangam period. Historians use the term Sangam period to refer the last of these, so it is also called Last Sangam period, or Third Sangam period. The Sangam literature is thought to have produced in three Sangam academies of each period. The evidence on the history of the Tamil kingdoms consists of the epigraphs of the region, the Sangam literature. Approximately during the period between 400 BC to AD200, Tamilakam was ruled by the three Tamil dynasties of Pandya, Chola and Chera, and a few independent chieftains, the Velir. There is a wealth of sources detailing the history, socio-political environment and cultural practices of ancient Tamilakam, including volumes of literature, tamilakams history is split into three periods, prehistoric, classical and medieval. A vast array of literary, epigraphical and inscribed sources from around the world provide insight into the socio-political and cultural occurrences in the Tamil nation. The religion of the ancient Tamils closely follow roots of nature worship, in the ancient Sangam literature, Sivan was the supreme God, and Murugan was the one celebrated by the masses, both of them were sung as deified Tamil poets ascending the Koodal academy. The Tamil landscape was classified into five categories, thinais, based on the mood, the season, other ancient works refer to Maayon and Vaali. The most popular deity was Murugan, who has from an early date been identified with Karthikeya. Kannagi, the heroine of the Silappatikaram, was worshiped as Pathini by many Tamils, there were also many temples and devotees of Thirumaal, Siva, Ganapathi, and the other common Hindu deities. The year was made up of twelve months and every two months constituted a season, with the popularity of Mazhai vizhavu, traditionally commencement of Tamil year was clubbed on April 14, deviating from the astronomical date of vadavazhi vizhavu. Pongal, பொங்கல் the festival of harvest and spring, thanking Lord Indiran and Lord El and this day comes on April 14/15. Mazhai Vizhavu, aka Indhira Vizha, the festival for want of rain, celebrated for one month starting from the full moon in Ootrai சித்திரை. It is epitomised in the epic Cilapatikaram in detail, soornavai Vizha, the slaying of legendary Kadamba Asura king Surabadma, by Lord, comes on the sixth day after new moon in Itrai. It is sung about in Thirumurugatrupadai and Purananuru anthology, vaadai Vizha or Vadavazhi Vizha, the festival of welcoming the Lord Surya back to home, as He turns northward, celebrated on December 21/22. It is sung about in Akanauru anthology, aathi Irai min means the star of the God on the Bull
18.
Ptolemy
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Claudius Ptolemy was a Greek writer, known as a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in the city of Alexandria in the Roman province of Egypt, wrote in Koine Greek, beyond that, few reliable details of his life are known. His birthplace has been given as Ptolemais Hermiou in the Thebaid in a statement by the 14th-century astronomer Theodore Meliteniotes. This is a very late attestation, however, and there is no reason to suppose that he ever lived elsewhere than Alexandria. Ptolemy wrote several treatises, three of which were of importance to later Byzantine, Islamic and European science. The first is the astronomical treatise now known as the Almagest, although it was entitled the Mathematical Treatise. The second is the Geography, which is a discussion of the geographic knowledge of the Greco-Roman world. The third is the treatise in which he attempted to adapt horoscopic astrology to the Aristotelian natural philosophy of his day. This is sometimes known as the Apotelesmatika but more known as the Tetrabiblos from the Greek meaning Four Books or by the Latin Quadripartitum. The name Claudius is a Roman nomen, the fact that Ptolemy bore it indicates he lived under the Roman rule of Egypt with the privileges and political rights of Roman citizenship. It would have suited custom if the first of Ptolemys family to become a citizen took the nomen from a Roman called Claudius who was responsible for granting citizenship, if, as was common, this was the emperor, citizenship would have been granted between AD41 and 68. The astronomer would also have had a praenomen, which remains unknown and it occurs once in Greek mythology, and is of Homeric form. All the kings after him, until Egypt became a Roman province in 30 BC, were also Ptolemies, abu Mashar recorded a belief that a different member of this royal line composed the book on astrology and attributed it to Ptolemy. The correct answer is not known”, Ptolemy wrote in Greek and can be shown to have utilized Babylonian astronomical data. He was a Roman citizen, but most scholars conclude that Ptolemy was ethnically Greek and he was often known in later Arabic sources as the Upper Egyptian, suggesting he may have had origins in southern Egypt. Later Arabic astronomers, geographers and physicists referred to him by his name in Arabic, Ptolemys Almagest is the only surviving comprehensive ancient treatise on astronomy. Ptolemy presented his models in convenient tables, which could be used to compute the future or past position of the planets. The Almagest also contains a catalogue, which is a version of a catalogue created by Hipparchus
19.
Alexandria
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Alexandria is the second largest city and a major economic centre in Egypt, extending about 32 km along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country. Its low elevation on the Nile delta makes it vulnerable to rising sea levels. Alexandria is Egypts largest seaport, serving approximately 80% of Egypts imports and exports and it is an important industrial center because of its natural gas and oil pipelines from Suez. Alexandria is also an important tourist destination, Alexandria was founded around a small Ancient Egyptian town c.331 BC by Alexander the Great. Alexandria was the second most powerful city of the ancient world after Rome, Alexandria is believed to have been founded by Alexander the Great in April 331 BC as Ἀλεξάνδρεια. Alexanders chief architect for the project was Dinocrates, Alexandria was intended to supersede Naucratis as a Hellenistic center in Egypt, and to be the link between Greece and the rich Nile valley. The city and its museum attracted many of the greatest scholars, including Greeks, Jews, the city was later plundered and lost its significance. Just east of Alexandria, there was in ancient times marshland, as early as the 7th century BC, there existed important port cities of Canopus and Heracleion. The latter was rediscovered under water. An Egyptian city, Rhakotis, already existed on the shore also and it continued to exist as the Egyptian quarter of the city. A few months after the foundation, Alexander left Egypt and never returned to his city, after Alexanders departure, his viceroy, Cleomenes, continued the expansion. Although Cleomenes was mainly in charge of overseeing Alexandrias continuous development, the Heptastadion, inheriting the trade of ruined Tyre and becoming the center of the new commerce between Europe and the Arabian and Indian East, the city grew in less than a generation to be larger than Carthage. In a century, Alexandria had become the largest city in the world and and it became Egypts main Greek city, with Greek people from diverse backgrounds. Alexandria was not only a center of Hellenism, but was home to the largest urban Jewish community in the world. The Septuagint, a Greek version of the Tanakh, was produced there, in AD115, large parts of Alexandria were destroyed during the Kitos War, which gave Hadrian and his architect, Decriannus, an opportunity to rebuild it. On 21 July 365, Alexandria was devastated by a tsunami, the Islamic prophet, Muhammads first interaction with the people of Egypt occurred in 628, during the Expedition of Zaid ibn Haritha. He sent Hatib bin Abi Baltaeh with a letter to the king of Egypt and Alexandria called Muqawqis In the letter Muhammad said, I invite you to accept Islam, Allah the sublime, shall reward you doubly. But if you refuse to do so, you bear the burden of the transgression of all the Copts
20.
Roman Empire
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Civil wars and executions continued, culminating in the victory of Octavian, Caesars adopted son, over Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC and the annexation of Egypt. Octavians power was then unassailable and in 27 BC the Roman Senate formally granted him overarching power, the imperial period of Rome lasted approximately 1,500 years compared to the 500 years of the Republican era. The first two centuries of the empires existence were a period of unprecedented political stability and prosperity known as the Pax Romana, following Octavians victory, the size of the empire was dramatically increased. After the assassination of Caligula in 41, the senate briefly considered restoring the republic, under Claudius, the empire invaded Britannia, its first major expansion since Augustus. Vespasian emerged triumphant in 69, establishing the Flavian dynasty, before being succeeded by his son Titus and his short reign was followed by the long reign of his brother Domitian, who was eventually assassinated. The senate then appointed the first of the Five Good Emperors, the empire reached its greatest extent under Trajan, the second in this line. A period of increasing trouble and decline began with the reign of Commodus, Commodus assassination in 192 triggered the Year of the Five Emperors, of which Septimius Severus emerged victorious. The assassination of Alexander Severus in 235 led to the Crisis of the Third Century in which 26 men were declared emperor by the Roman Senate over a time span. It was not until the reign of Diocletian that the empire was fully stabilized with the introduction of the Tetrarchy, which saw four emperors rule the empire at once. This arrangement was unsuccessful, leading to a civil war that was finally ended by Constantine I. Constantine subsequently shifted the capital to Byzantium, which was renamed Constantinople in his honour and it remained the capital of the east until its demise. Constantine also adopted Christianity which later became the state religion of the empire. However, Augustulus was never recognized by his Eastern colleague, and separate rule in the Western part of the empire ceased to exist upon the death of Julius Nepos. The Eastern Roman Empire endured for another millennium, eventually falling to the Ottoman Turks in 1453, the Roman Empire was among the most powerful economic, cultural, political and military forces in the world of its time. It was one of the largest empires in world history, at its height under Trajan, it covered 5 million square kilometres. It held sway over an estimated 70 million people, at that time 21% of the entire population. Throughout the European medieval period, attempts were made to establish successors to the Roman Empire, including the Empire of Romania, a Crusader state. Rome had begun expanding shortly after the founding of the republic in the 6th century BC, then, it was an empire long before it had an emperor
21.
Gulf of Mannar
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The Gulf of Mannar is a large shallow bay forming part of the Laccadive Sea in the Indian Ocean. It lies between the tip of India and the west coast of Sri Lanka, in the Coromandel Coast region. A species known as dugong is found here, the estuaries of Thamirabarani River of South India and the Malvathu Oya of Sri Lanka drain into the Gulf. Located on the tip of the subcontinent, the Gulf of Mannar is known to harbour over 3,600 species of flora and fauna. 117 hard coral species have recorded in the Gulf of Mannar. Sea turtles are frequent visitors to the gulf as are sharks, dugongs, however, the combined effects of 47 villages, with a total population of around 50,000 has meant that overharvesting of marine species has become a problem. The decline of populations has been accompanied with reducing numbers of pearl oyster, gorgonian coral. Endangered species include dolphins, dugongs, whales and sea cucumbers, in 1986, a group of 21 islets lying off the Tamil Nadu coast between Thoothukudi and Dhanushkodi was declared the Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park. The park and its 10 km buffer zone were declared a Biosphere Reserve in 1989, the Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve covers an area of 10,500 km² of ocean, islands and the adjoining coastline. The Gulf of Mannar is known for its banks of Pinctada radiata. Pliny the Elder praised the pearl fishery of the gulf as one of the most productive in the world, although extraction of natural pearls is considered too expensive in most parts of the world, it is still carried out in the gulf. The chief seaports on the Gulf of Mannar are Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu, while these ports can accommodate deep-draft vessels, the shallow Palk Strait can only accommodate small shallow-draft vessels
22.
Pearl hunting
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Pearl hunting is the act of recovering pearls from oysters in the sea. Pearl hunting used to be the industry in the Persian Gulf region. Before the beginning of the 20th century, the means of obtaining pearls was by manually gathering very large numbers of pearl oysters or mussels from the ocean floor or lake or river bottom. The bivalves were then brought to the surface, opened, more than a ton were searched in order to find at least 3-4 quality pearls. Because of the difficulty of diving and the nature of natural pearl growth in pearl oysters, pearls of the time were extremely rare. The Great Depression in the United States made it hard to get good prices for pearl shell, the natural pearls found from harvested oysters were a rare bonus for the divers. Many fabulous specimens were found over the years, by the 1930s, overharvesting had severely depleted the oyster beds. The government was forced to strictly regulate the harvest to prevent the oysters from becoming extinct, in the 19th century, divers in Asia had only very basic forms of technology to aid their survival at such depths. For thousands of years, most seawater pearls were retrieved by divers working in the Indian Ocean, in such as the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea. A fragment of Isidore of Charaxs Parthian itinerary was preserved in Athenaeuss 3rd-century Sophists at Dinner, Pearl divers near the Philippines were also successful at harvesting large pearls, especially in the Sulu Archipelago. In fact, pearls from the Sulu Archipelago were considered the finest of the world which were found in high bred shells in deep, clear, and rapid tidal waters. At times, the largest pearls belonged by law to the sultan, nonetheless many pearls made it out of the archipelago by stealth, ending up in the possession of the wealthiest families in Europe. Pearling was popular in Qatar, Bahrain, Japan, India, the Gulf of Mexico was particularly famous for pearling, which was originally found by the Spanish explorers. In the time of slavery in northern South America, a unique occupation amongst slaves was that of a pearl diver. A divers career was often short-lived because the waters being searched were known to be shark-infested, however, a slave who discovered a great pearl could sometimes purchase his freedom. Today, pearl diving has largely supplanted by cultured pearl farms. Particles implanted in the oyster encourage the formation of pearls, todays pearl industry produces billions of pearls every year. Ama divers still work, primarily now for the tourist industry, Pearl diving in the Ohio and Tennessee rivers of the United States still exists today
23.
Periplus of the Erythraean Sea
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The text has been ascribed to different dates between the 1st and 3rd centuries CE, but a mid-1st-century date is now the most commonly accepted. The Erythraean Sea, or in modern spelling, Eritrean Sea is presently a Greek name for the Red Sea, to the ancient Greeks it included the Indian Ocean, the work consists of 66 chapters, most of them about the length of a long paragraph in English. For instance, the short Chapter 9 reads in its entirety, the imports to this are as aforesaid, and from it likewise are exported the same goods, and fragrant gum called mokrotou. The inhabitants who trade here are more peaceful, in many cases, the description of places is sufficiently accurate to identify their present locations, for others, there is considerable debate. The description of the Indian coast mentions the Ganges River clearly, yet after that is somewhat garbled, the Periplus says that a direct sailing route from the Red Sea to the Indian peninsula across the open ocean was discovered by Hippalus. Many trade goods are mentioned in the Periplus, but some of the words naming trade goods are seen nowhere else in ancient literature, for example, one trade good mentioned is lakkos chromatinos. The name lakkos appears nowhere else in ancient Greek or Roman literature, some other named trade goods remain obscure. In the 10th-century manuscript, the text is attributed to Arrian, the Periplus was edited by Sigmund Gelen and first published in a modern edition by Hieronymus Froben in 1533. One historical analysis, published by Schoff in 1912, narrowed the date of the text to 60 CE. Schoff additionally provides an analysis as to the texts original authorship, and arrives at the conclusion that the author must have been a Greek in Egypt. By Schoffs calculations, this would have been during the time of Tiberius Claudius Balbilus, john Hill maintains that the Periplus can now be confidently dated to between 40 and 70 AD and, probably, between AD40 and 50. Because of the absence of any account of the journey up the Nile and across the desert from Coptos, ships from Himyar regularly traveled the East African coast. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea describes the empire of Himyar and Saba, regrouped under a single ruler Charibael. The Frankincense kingdom is described further east along the southern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, the ruler of this kingdom is named Eleazus, or Eleazar, thought to correspond to King Iliazz Yalit I,27. Inland from this lies the metropolis Sabbatha, in which the King lives. All the frankincense produced in the country is brought by camels to that place to be stored, and to Cana on rafts held up by inflated skins after the manner of the country, and in boats. And this place has a trade also with the ports, with Barygaza and Scythia and Ommana. Ras Hafun in northern Somalia is believed to be the location of the ancient trade center of Opone, Ancient Egyptian, Roman and Persian Gulf pottery has been recovered from the site by an archaeological team from the University of Michigan
24.
Indus River
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The Indus River, also called Sindhū or Abāsīn, is a major south-flowing river in South Asia. The total length of the river is 3,180 km which makes it one of the longest rivers in Asia and it is the longest river and national river of Pakistan. The river has a drainage area exceeding 1,165,000 km2. Its estimated annual flow stands at around 207 km3, making it the twenty-first largest river in the world in terms of annual flow, the Zanskar is its left bank tributary in Ladakh. In the plains, its left tributary is the Chenab which itself has four major tributaries, namely, the Jhelum, the Ravi, the Beas. Its principal right tributaries are the Shyok, the Gilgit, the Kabul, the Gomal. Beginning in a spring and fed with glaciers and rivers in the Himalayas. The Indus forms the delta of present-day Pakistan mentioned in the Vedic Rigveda as Sapta Sindhu, the river has been a source of wonder since the Classical Period, with King Darius of Persia sending his Greek subject Scylax of Caryanda to explore the river as early as 510 BC. In Pali, Síndhu means river, stream and refers to the Indus River in particular, the word Indus is the romanised form of the ancient Greek word Indós, borrowed from the old Persian word Hinduš which is in turn borrowed from the Sanskrit word Sindhu. Megastheness book Indica derives its name from the rivers Greek name, Indós, the ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indói, literally meaning the people of the Indus. The country of India and the Pakistani province of Sindh owe their names to the river, Rigveda also describes several mythical rivers, including one named Sindhu. The Rigvedic Sindhu is thought to be the present-day Indus river and is attested 176 times in its text –95 times in the plural, more often used in the generic meaning. In the Rigveda, notably in the hymns, the meaning of the word is narrowed to refer to the Indus river in particular. The Rigvedic hymns apply a feminine gender to all the rivers mentioned therein, Sindhu is seen as a strong warrior amongst other rivers which are seen as goddesses and compared to cows and mares yielding milk and butter. The Indus River provides key resources for Pakistans economy – especially the breadbasket of Punjab province, which accounts for most of the nations agricultural production. The word Punjab means land of five rivers and the five rivers are Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej, the Indus also supports many heavy industries and provides the main supply of potable water in Pakistan. The ultimate source of the Indus is in Tibet, the river begins at the confluence of the Sengge Zangbo and Gar Tsangpo rivers that drain the Nganglong Kangri, the Indus then flows northwest through Ladakh and Baltistan into Gilgit, just south of the Karakoram range. The Shyok, Shigar and Gilgit rivers carry glacial waters into the main river and it gradually bends to the south, coming out of the hills between Peshawar and Rawalpindi
25.
Malabar Coast
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The Malabar Coast is a long and narrow coastline on the south-western shore line of the mainland Indian subcontinent. Geographically, it comprises the wettest regions of southern India, as the Western Ghats intercept the moisture-laden monsoon rains, the term Malabar Coast is also sometimes used to refer to the entire Indian coast from the western coast of Konkan to the tip of the subcontinent at Kanyakumari. The coast runs south of Goa to Kanyakumari on Indias southern tip. Indias southeastern coast is called the Coromandel Coast, the Malabar Coast is also sometimes used as an all-encompassing term for the entire Indian coast from Konkan to the tip of the subcontinent at Kanyakumari. It is flanked by the Arabian Sea on the west and the Western Ghats on the east, the southern part of this narrow coast is referred to as the South Western Ghats moist deciduous forests. The Malabar Coast, throughout recorded history from about 3000 BC, had been a trading center in commerce with Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, Rome, Jerusalem. Its most famous ports were Naura, Balita, Kochi, Calicut, and Mangalore, the Oddeway Torre settlement, which have served as centers of the Indian Ocean trade, for centuries. During Ming Chinas treasure voyages in the early 15th century, Admiral Zheng Hes fleet often landed at the Malabar Coast, Malabar Portuguese Empire Portuguese India Dutch Malabar Coromandel Coast
26.
Barygaza
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Bharuch, formerly known as Broach, is a city at the mouth of the river Narmada in Gujarat in western India. Bharuch is the headquarters of Bharuch District and is a municipality of about 370,000 inhabitants. Being one of the biggest industrial areas including Ankleshwar GIDC, it is at times referred as the capital of India. The city of Bharuch and its surroundings have been settled since times of antiquity and it was a ship building centre and sea port in the pre-compass coastal trading routes to points West, perhaps as far back as the days of the Pharaohs. The route made use of the regular and predictable monsoon winds or galleys, many goods from the Far East were shipped there during the annual monsoon winds, making it a terminus for several key land-sea trade routes. Bharuch was known to the Greeks, the various Persian Empires, in the Roman Republic and Empire, in the 3rd century, Bharuch port was mentioned as Barugaza. Arab traders entered Gujarat via Bharuch to do business, the British and the Dutch noted Bharuch’s importance and established their business centres here. At the end of the 17th century, it was plundered twice, afterwards, a proverb was composed about it, “Bhangyu Bhangyu Toye Bharuch”. As a trading depot, the limitations of coastal shipping made it a regular terminus via several mixed trade routes of the fabled spice, during the British Raj it was officially known as Broach. Bharuch has been the home to the Gujarati Bhargav Brahmin community for ages, the community traces its lineage to Maharshi Bhrigu rishi and Bhagwan Parshuram who is considered to be incarnation of Lord Vishnu. The Bhargav community still administers a large amount of public trusts in the city, however the present day Bhargav Brahmins have migrated to Mumbai, Surat, Vadodara, Ahmedabad and other countries like the USA, UK & Australia. The city has textile mills, chemical plants, long staple cotton, dairy products, Gujarats biggest liquid cargo terminal is situated there. It also houses many companies, such as Videocon, BASF, Reliance, Safari Construction Equipments Pvt. Ltd. Bharuch is a shopping centre known for its salty peanuts. Because of the colour of its soil, Bharuch is sometimes referred to as Kanam Pradesh. According to the Skanda Purana, the sage Bhrigu came to Bharuch sitting on a tortoise, the tortoise is known as Kachchha in Sanskrit. Hence the place was named Bhrigukachchha, another theory states that the city derived its name from Bhr̥igukachchha, the residence of the great saint Bhrigu Rishi. The city then known as Bharukachch, which was later abridged to Bharuch
27.
Cholapuram
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Cholapuram is a panchayat town in the Thanjavur district of the state of Tamil Nadu, India. In ancient time, its called as Pairavapuram. According to the 2001 Indian population census, the population of Cholapuram was 6,364, cholapurams literacy rate stood at 79%, which is higher than the national average of 59. 9%. The male literacy rate was 79%, compared to the literacy rate of 66%. Cholapuram also has a large number of people under the age of six. People from this panchayat town studied well and doing job in abroad, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and other major cities in India in IT, Medical. The income of Cholapurans residents is heavily dependent upon agriculture and the welding works, the major crops cultivated in are paddy, pulses, gingelly, groundnut and sugarcane. Minor crops like maize, soybeans, and red gram vegetables, cotton, casuarina trees, fruits, chili, banana trees, ginger, groundnut, major business in Cholapuram include the Indian Bank and the Indian Overseas Bank. The Cholapuram area is popular for welding works, there are number of general merchant stores, medicals, fertilizer shops, fancy stores, super market, Restaurants, Hotels and Sweet Stalls are doing business. The main bus terminal in Kumbakonam, provides inner and outer area transportation, there are airports located in Thanjavur and Trichy
28.
Chera dynasty
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The Cheras were the principal ruling dynasty of the present-day state of Kerala and to a lesser extent, parts of Tamil Nadu in South India. Along with the Ay kingdom and the Ezhimala kingdom, they formed the kingdoms of Kerala in the early years of the Christian Era. The origins of the dynasty are unclear and it is understood that they were speakers of Proto-Tamil-Malayalam while some being practitioners of literary writing in Old Tamil. In fact, most of their history is reconstructed from the body of known as the Sangam literature written in Old Tamil around the 3rd century CE. While Pliny and Ptolemy refer to the Cheras as Calobotras, the Periplus refers to them as the Keprobotras, the earliest Sanskrit works which refer to the Cheras and Kerala is probably the Aitreya Aranyaka. It refers to the land as Chera-pada - and as one of the three peoples who did not follow some ancient injunctions, there are also brief references by Katyanana, Patanjali and Kautilya, however Panini does not mention of the land. The Tamil works collectively known as the Sangam literature form one of the most important sources for a detailed history of the Cheras. These works roughly span the period 300 BCE to 300 CE, among them, the most important sources for the Cheras are the Pattittupattu, the Agananuru, the Purananuru and the Silappatikaram. By the early centuries of the Common Era, civil society, the location of the Chera capital is generally assumed to be at modern Karur. The Cheras were in conflict with the neighbouring Cholas and Pandyas. The Cheras are said to have defeated the armies of the Pandyas. They also made battles with the Kadambās of Banavasi and the Yavanas on the Indian coast, after the 2nd century CE, the Cheras power decayed rapidly with the decline of the lucrative trade with the Romans. Sangam literature describes a line of Chera rulers dated to the first few centuries CE. It records the names of the kings, the princes, the internal chronology of this literature is still far from settled, and at present a connected account of the history of the period cannot be derived. Uthiyan Cheralathan, Nedum Cheralathan and Senguttuvan Chera are some of the referred to in the Sangam poems. Senguttuvan Chera, the most celebrated Chera king, is famous for the legends surrounding Kannagi, the Chera kingdom owed its importance to trade with West Asia, Greece and Rome. The Later Cheras ruled from the 9th century, little is known about the Cheras between the two dynasties. The second dynasty, Kulasekharas ruled from a city on the banks of River Periyar called Mahodayapuram, the Chera rulers of Venad, based at the port Quilon in southern Kerala, trace their relations back to the later/second Cheras
29.
Chola dynasty
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The Chola dynasty was one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of southern India. The earliest datable references to this Tamil dynasty are in inscriptions from the 3rd century BCE left by Ashoka, as one of the Three Crowned Kings of Tamilakam, the dynasty continued to govern over varying territory until the 13th century CE. The whole country south of the Tungabhadra was united and held as one state for a period of two centuries and more, the Chola fleet represented the zenith of ancient Indian sea power. During the period 1010–1200, the Chola territories stretched from the islands of the Maldives in the south to as far north as the banks of the Godavari River in Andhra Pradesh. Rajaraja Chola conquered peninsular South India, annexed parts of which is now Sri Lanka, Rajendra Chola sent a victorious expedition to North India that touched the river Ganges and defeated the Pala ruler of Pataliputra, Mahipala. He also successfully invaded cities of Srivijaya of Malaysia and Indonesia, the Chola dynasty went into decline at the beginning of the 13th century with the rise of the Pandyan Dynasty, which ultimately caused their downfall. The Cholas left a lasting legacy and their patronage of Tamil literature and their zeal in the building of temples has resulted in some great works of Tamil literature and architecture. The Chola kings were avid builders and envisioned the temples in their kingdoms not only as places of worship and they pioneered a centralised form of government and established a disciplined bureaucracy. The Chola school of art spread to Southeast Asia and influenced the architecture, the Cholas are also known as the Choda. There is very little available in regarding their origin. Its antiquity is evident from the mentions in ancient Tamil literature, Later medieval Cholas also claimed a long and ancient lineage. Mentions in the early Sangam literature indicate that the earliest kings of the dynasty antedated 100 CE, Cholas were mentioned in Ashokan Edicts of 3rd Century BCE as one of the neighboring countries existing in the South. A commonly held view is that Chola is, like Chera and Pandya, the annotator Parimelazhagar said, The charity of people with ancient lineage are forever generous in spite of their reduced means. Other names in use for the Cholas are Killi, Valavan and Sembiyan. Killi perhaps comes from the Tamil kil meaning dig or cleave and this word often forms an integral part of early Chola names like Nedunkilli, Nalankilli and so on, but almost drops out of use in later times. Valavan is most probably connected with valam – fertility and means owner or ruler of a fertile country, in Tamil lexicon Chola means Soazhi or Saei denoting a newly formed kingdom, in the lines of Pandya or the old country. There is very little evidence available of the Cholas prior to the 7th century. Historic records exist thereafter, including inscriptions on temples, the main source for the available information of the early Cholas is the early Tamil literature of the Sangam Period
30.
Hoysala Empire
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The Hoysala empire was a prominent Southern Indian Kannadiga empire that ruled most of the modern-day state of Karnataka between the 10th and the 14th centuries. The capital of the Hoysalas was initially located at Belur but was moved to Halebidu. The Hoysala rulers were originally from Malnad Karnataka, a region in the Western Ghats range. By the 13th century, they governed most of present-day Karnataka, minor parts of Tamil Nadu and parts of western Andhra Pradesh, the Hoysala era was an important period in the development of art, architecture, and religion in South India. The empire is remembered primarily for its temple architecture. Over a hundred surviving temples are scattered across Karnataka, well known temples which exhibit an amazing display of sculptural exuberance include the Chennakesava Temple at Belur, the Hoysaleswara Temple at Halebidu, and the Kesava Temple at Somanathapura. The Hoysala rulers also patronised the arts, encouraging literature to flourish in Kannada. Kannada folklore tells a tale of a young man Sala, who saved his Jain guru Sudatta by striking dead a Tiger he encountered near the temple of the Goddess Vasantika at Angadi, the word strike literally translates to hoy in Hale Kannada, hence the name Hoy-sala. This legend first appeared in the Belur inscription of Vishnuvardhana, early inscriptions, dated 1078 and 1090, have implied that the Hoysalas were descendants of the Yadava by referring to the Yadava vamsa as Hoysala vamsa. But there are no early records directly linking the Hoysalas to the Yadavas of North India, historians refer to the founders of the dynasty as natives of Malnad Karnataka, based on numerous inscriptions calling them Maleparolganda or Lord of the Male chiefs. This title in the Kannada language was used by the Hoysala kings as their royal signature in their inscriptions. Literary sources from that time in Kannada and Sanskrit have also helped confirm they were natives of the region known today as Karnataka, the first Hoysala family record is dated 950 and names Arekalla as the chieftain, followed by Maruga and Nripa Kama I. The next ruler, Munda, was succeeded by Nripa Kama II who held titles as Permanadi that show an early alliance with the Western Ganga dynasty. From these modest beginnings, the Hoysala dynasty began its transformation into a subordinate of the Western Chalukyas. Through Vishnuvardhanas expansive military conquests, the Hoysalas achieved the status of a kingdom for the first time. He wrested Gangavadi from the Cholas in 1116 and moved the capital from Belur to Halebidu, Vishnuvardhanas ambition of creating an independent empire was fulfilled by his grandson Veera Ballala II, who freed the Hoysalas from subordination in 1187–1193. During this time, peninsular India saw a four way struggle for hegemony – Pandya, Kakatiya, Veera Ballala II defeated the aggressive Pandya when they invaded the Chola kingdom. He assumed the title Establisher of the Chola Kingdom, Emperor of the south and he founded the city of Bangalore according to Kannada folklore
31.
Western Chalukya Empire
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The Western Chalukya Empire ruled most of the western Deccan, South India, between the 10th and 12th centuries. The dynasty is called Western Chalukyas to differentiate from the contemporaneous Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi, prior to the rise of these Chalukyas, the Rashtrakuta empire of Manyakheta controlled most of Deccan and Central India for over two centuries. The dynasty quickly rose to power and grew into an empire under Someshvara I who moved the capital to Kalyani. For over a century, the two empires of Southern India, the Western Chalukyas and the Chola dynasty of Tanjore fought many wars to control the fertile region of Vengi. During these conflicts, the Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi, distant cousins of the Western Chalukyas but related to the Cholas by marriage took sides with the Cholas further complicating the situation. His exploits were not limited to the south for even as a prince, during the rule of Someshvara I, he had led military campaigns as far east as modern Bihar. The Western Chalukyas developed a style known today as a transitional style. Most of its monuments are in the districts bordering the Tungabhadra River in central Karnataka, well known examples are the Kasivisvesvara Temple at Lakkundi, the Mallikarjuna Temple at Kuruvatti, the Kallesvara Temple at Bagali and the Mahadeva Temple at Itagi. This was an important period in the development of arts in Southern India, especially in literature as the Western Chalukya kings encouraged writers in the native language Kannada. The genealogy of the kings of this empire is still debated, the records suggests a possible rebellion by a local Chalukya King, Chattigadeva of Banavasi-12000 province, in alliance with local Kadamba chieftains. This rebellion however was unfruitful but paved the way for his successor Tailapa II, however, some inscriptions indicate that Balagamve in Mysore territory may have been a power centre up to the rule of Someshvara I in 1042. The Western Chalukyas and the Chola Dynasty fought many wars over control of this strategic resource. The imperial Cholas gained power during the time of the famous king Rajaraja Chola I, the Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi were cousins of the Western Chalukyas but became increasingly influenced by the Cholas through their marital ties with the Tamil kingdom. As this was against the interests of the Western Chalukyas, they wasted no time in involving themselves politically and militarily in Vengi and his successor, Jayasimha II, fought many battles with the Cholas in the south around c. 1020–21 when both these powerful kingdoms struggled to choose the Vengi king,1024, Jayasimha II subdued the Paramara of central India and the rebellious Yadava King Bhillama. It is known from records that Jayasimhas son Someshvara I, whose rule historian Sen considers a brilliant period in the Western Chalukya rule, moved the Chalukya capital to Kalyani in c. Hostilities with the Cholas continued while both sides won and lost battles, though neither lost significant territory during the struggle to install a puppet on the Vengi throne. In 1068 Someshvara I, suffering from an illness, drowned himself in the Tungabhadra River
32.
Travancore
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The Kingdom of Travancore (/ˈtrævəŋkɔər/, Malayalam, തിരുവിതാംകൂർ Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, the official flag of the state was red with a dextrally-coiled silver conch shell at its center. In the early 19th century, the became a princely state of the British Empire. When the region was part of the Chera empire, it was known as Thiruvazhumkode. It was contracted to Thiruvankode, and anglicised by the English to Travancore. In course of time, the Ay kingdom, part of the Chera empire, which ruled the Thiruvazhumkode area, became independent, the Aayis controlled the land from present day Kollam district in the north, through Thiruvananthapuram district, all in Kerala, to the Kanyakumari district. There were two capitals, the one at Kollam and a subsidiary one at Thrippapur. The kingdom was also called Venad. Kings of Venad had, at times, travelled from Kollam and built residential palaces in Thiruvithamcode. By the time of King Marthanda Varma, the half of the kingdom had become dominant. During his reign, it absorbed the north and Thiruvithamcode or Travancore became the official name, Travancore was located at the extreme southern tip of the Indian subcontinent. Geographically, Travancore was divided into three distinct regions, the eastern highlands, the central midlands, and the western lowlands. Venad was a state at the tip of the Indian Subcontinent. Till the end of the 11th century AD, it was a principality in the Ay Kingdom. The Ays were the earliest ruling dynasty in southern Kerala, who, at their zenith and their capital during the first Sangam age was in Aykudi and later, towards the end of the 8th century AD, was at Quilon. Though a series of attacks by the resurgent Pandyas between the 7th and 8th centuries caused the decline of the Ays, the dynasty was powerful till the beginning of the 10th century, when the Ay power diminished, Venad became the southernmost principality of the Second Chera Kingdom. An invasion of the Cholas into Venad caused the destruction of Kollam in 1096, however, the Chera capital, Mahodayapuram, also fell in the subsequent Chola attack, which compelled the Chera king, Rama varma Kulasekara, to shift his capital to Kollam. Thus the end of the Second Chera dynasty in the 12th century marks the independence of Venad, the history of Travancore began with Marthanda Varma, who inherited the kingdom of Venad, and expanded it into Travancore during his reign
33.
Pandyan dynasty
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The Pandyan or Pandiyan or Pandian dynasty was an ancient Tamil dynasty, one of the three Tamil dynasties, the other two being the Chola and the Chera. The Pandya King, along with Chera King and Chola King, were referred to as the Three Crowned Kings of Tamilakam, the dynasty ruled parts of South India from around 600 BCE to first half of 17th century CE. They initially ruled their country Pandya Nadu from Korkai, a seaport on the southernmost tip of the Indian Peninsula, fish being their flag, Pandyas were experts in water management, agriculture and fisheries and they were eminent sailors and sea traders too. Pandyan was well known since ancient times, with contacts, even diplomatic, the Pandyan empire was home to temples including Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai, and Nellaiappar Temple built on the bank of the river Thamirabarani in Tirunelveli. The Pandya kings were called either Jatavarman or Maravarman Pandyan, from being Jains in their early ages, they became Shaivaites after some centuries of rule. Strabo states that an Indian king called Pandion sent Augustus Caesar presents and gifts of honour, the country of the Pandyas, Pandi Mandala, was described as Pandyan Mediterranea in the Periplus and Modura Regia Pandyan by Ptolemy. The early Pandyan Dynasty of the Sangam Literature faded into obscurity upon the invasion of the Kalabhras, the dynasty revived under Kadungon in the early 6th century, pushed the Kalabhras out of the Tamil country and ruled from Madurai. They again went into decline with the rise of the Cholas in the 9th century and were in constant conflict with them. The Pandyas allied themselves with the Sinhalese and the Cheras in harassing the Chola empire until they found an opportunity for reviving their fortunes during the late 13th century and they also had extensive trade links with the Southeast Asian maritime empires of Srivijaya and their successors. The Pandyas excelled in trade and literature. They controlled the fisheries along the South Indian coast, between Sri Lanka and India, which produced some of the finest pearls in the known ancient world. Traditionally, the legendary Sangams were held in Madurai under their patronage, during their history, the Pandyas were repeatedly in conflict with the Pallavas, Cholas, Hoysalas and finally the Muslim invaders from the Delhi Sultanate. The Islamic invasion led to the end of Pandyan supremacy in South India,1323, Jaffna Kingdom in Sri Lanka declared its independence from the crumbling Pandyan Empire. The Pandyans lost their capital city Madurai to Madurai Sultanate in 1335, however they shifted their capital to Tenkasi and continued to rule the Tirulnelveli, Tuticorin, Ramanad, Sivagangai regions. Meanwhile, Madurai sultanate was replaced by Nayaka governors of Vijayanagara in 1378, in 1529 Nayaka governors declared independence and established Madurai Nayak dynasty. The word Pandya is derived from the Tamil word Pandu meaning very old, another theory is that the word Pandya is derived from the Tamil word Pandi meaning bull. Ancient Tamils, considered the bull as a sign of masculinity, the earliest Pandyans, probably used the bull as its emblem. Another theory suggests that in Sangam Tamil lexicon the word Pandya means old country in contrast with Chola meaning new country, Chera meaning hill country, the Chera, Chola and Pandya are the traditional Tamil siblings and together with the Pallavas are the major Kings that ruled ancient Tamilakam
34.
Vijayanagara Empire
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The Vijayanagara Empire was based in the Deccan Plateau region in South India. It was established in 1336 by Harihara I and his brother Bukka Raya I of Sangama Dynasty, the empire rose to prominence as a culmination of attempts by the southern powers to ward off Islamic invasions by the end of the 13th century. It lasted until 1646, although its power declined after a military defeat in 1565 by the Deccan sultanates. The empire is named after its city of Vijayanagara, whose ruins surround present day Hampi, now a World Heritage Site in Karnataka. The writings of medieval European travelers such as Domingo Paes, Fernão Nunes, and Niccolò Da Conti, Archaeological excavations at Vijayanagara have revealed the empires power and wealth. The empires legacy includes many monuments spread over South India, the best known of which is the group at Hampi, the previous temple building traditions in South India came together in the Vijayanagara Architecture style. The mingling of all faiths and vernaculars inspired architectural innovation of Hindu temple construction, first in the Deccan, efficient administration and vigorous overseas trade brought new technologies such as water management systems for irrigation. The empires patronage enabled fine arts and literature to new heights in Kannada, Telugu, Tamil. The Vijayanagara Empire created an epoch in South Indian history that transcended regionalism by promoting Hinduism as a unifying factor, differing theories have been proposed regarding the origins of the Vijayanagara empire. Others claim that they were Telugu people, first associated with the Kakatiya Kingdom, irrespective of their origin, historians agree the founders were supported and inspired by Vidyaranya, a saint at the Sringeri monastery to fight the Muslim invasion of South India. He created the Kampili kingdom, but this was a short lived kingdom during this period of wars, Kampili existed near Gulbarga and Tungabhadra river in northeastern parts of the present-day Karnataka state. It ended after a defeat by the armies of Delhi Sultanate, the triumphant army led by Malik Zada sent the news of its victory, over Kampili kingdom, to Muhammad bin Tughluq in Delhi by sending a straw-stuffed severed head of the dead Hindu king. Within Kampili, on the day of certain defeat, the populace committed a jauhar in 1327/28 CE, eight years later, from the ruins of the Kampili kingdom emerged the Vijayanagara Kingdom in 1336 CE. In the first two decades after the founding of the empire, Harihara I gained control over most of the south of the Tungabhadra river. The original capital was in the principality of Anegondi on the banks of the Tungabhadra River in todays Karnataka. The next ruler, Deva Raya I, emerged successful against the Gajapatis of Odisha, italian traveler Niccolo de Conti wrote of him as the most powerful ruler of India. Deva Raya II succeeded to the throne in 1424 and was possibly the most capable of the Sangama dynasty rulers and he quelled rebelling feudal lords as well as the Zamorin of Calicut and Quilon in the south. He invaded the island of Lanka and became overlord of the kings of Burma at Pegu, the Sultanate invaded Vijayanagara in 1417 when the latter defaulted in paying the tribute
35.
Madurai
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Madurai is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the headquarters of Madurai District. Madurai is the third largest city by population in Tamil Nadu, located on the banks of River Vaigai, Madurai has been a major settlement for two millennia. Madurai was the longest continuous capital city until British rule in India, Madurai has been selected as one of the hundred Indian cities to be developed as a smart city under Prime Minister Narendra Modis flagship Smart Cities Mission. Madurai is closely associated with the Tamil language, and the third Tamil Sangam, the recorded history of the city goes back to the 3rd century BCE, being mentioned by Megasthenes, the Greek ambassador to India, and Kautilya, a minister of the Mauryan emperor Chandragupta Maurya. Signs of human settlements and Roman trade links dating back to 300BC are evident from excavations by Archeological Survey of India in Manalur, the city has a number of historical monuments, with the Meenakshi Amman Temple and Tirumalai Nayak Palace being the most prominent. Madurai is an important industrial and educational hub in South Tamil Nadu, the city is home to various automobile, rubber, chemical and granite manufacturing industries. It has developed as a city for information technology. Madurai has important government educational institutes like the Madurai Medical College, Homeopathic Medical College, Madurai Law College, Agricultural College, Madurai city is administered by a municipal corporation established in 1971 as per the Municipal Corporation Act. Madurai is the corporation in Tamil Nadu next to Chennai corporation. The city covers an area of 147.97 km2 and had a population of 1,017,865 in 2011, the city is also the seat of a bench of the Madras High Court. The city is referred by various names including Madurai, Koodal, Malligai Maanagar, Naanmadakoodal, the word Madurai may be derived from Madhura arising out of the divine nectar showered on the city by the Hindu god Shiva from his matted hair. Another theory is that Madurai is the derivative of the word Marutham, a town in the neighbouring Dindigul district is called Vada Madurai and another in Sivagangai district is called Manamadurai. The different names by which the city has referred to historically are listed in the 7th-century poem Thiruvilayaadal puraanam written by Paranjothi Munivar. Koodal means an assembly or congregation of people, referring to the three Tamil Sangams held at Madurai. Naanmadakoodal, meaning the junction of four towers, refers to the four major temples for which Madurai was known for, tevaram, the 7th- or 8th-century Tamil compositions on Shiva by the three prominent Nayanars, namely Appar, Sundarar and Thirugnanasambandar, address the city as Thirualavai. As per Iravatham Mahadevan, a 2nd-century BCE Tamil-Brahmi inscription refers to the city as matiray, Madurai has been inhabited since at least the 3rd century BCE. Megasthenes may have visited Madurai during the 3rd century BCE, with the city referred as Methora in his accounts
36.
Marthanda Varma
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Marthanda Varma was ruler of the southern Indian state of Thiruvithaamkoor from 1729 until his death in 1758. He is most celebrated for crushing the Dutch expansionist designs at the Battle of Colachel in 1741, Marthanda Varma, then adopted a European mode of martial discipline and expanded his domain to encompass what became the modern state of Travancore. Marthanda Varma built a standing army of about 50,000, reduced the power of the Nair aristocracy. His alliance in 1757 with the ruler of Kochi, against Kingdom of Kozhikode, Travancore under Marthanda Varma did make a determined bid to consolidate its power by the use of maritime outlets. At his accession to the throne in early 18th century, the only route remaining was Thiruvithaamkoor to build an elaborate, the control of trade was also seen as crucial in the statecraft of the period. These principles were put into practice by Marthanda Varma and it was also the policy of Marthanda Varma to extend patronage to the Syrian Christians, a large trading community in Thiruvithaamkoor, as a means of limiting European involvement in trade. The key commodity was pepper, but other goods also came to be defined as Royal Monopoly Items, Thiruvananthapuram became a prominent city in Kerala under Marthanda Varma. Prime ministers under Marthanda Varma - Arumukham Pillai, Thanu Pillai, Marthanda Varmas policies were continued in large measure by his successor and nephew, Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma, who went on to successfully defend Thiruvithaamkoor against the Kingdom of Mysore. Marthanda Varma was born in 1705 to queen Karthika Thirunal and Raghava Varma of Kilimanur royal house, queen Karthika Thirunal - an adoptee from the Kingdom of Kannur in the north - was the senior queen of Attingal at the time. The state was ruled by chief Ravi Varma during this period, trippappur swaroopam then, was a small chiefdom extending from Edava in the north to Aruvamozhi in the south. According to historians, within this state the power of the chief was only nominal then, due to the power of the nobles, chief among them being the Barons of the Eight Houses. The powers of the ruler were also to a great extent curbed by the power of the Council of Eight and a Half, the rivalries of European powers like the Dutch and the English made the situation more complex. It was into these conditions, where the chief was powerless under the nobles of the state. It is also known that the prince advised the chief to sign treaty with the English East India Company, after being pleased by the maturity and administrative talent of his nephew, Rama Varma anointed the teenager as the Prince of Neyattinkara. After crushing the power of the feudal lords (the Nair aristocracy known as the Ettuveetil Pillamar, Marthanda Varma turned his attention to the neighbouring petty chiefdoms. The chief was brought to Thiruvananthapuram and lodged almost as state prisoner in the Valikoikkal palace, a contingent of Thiruvithaamkoor army under Dalawa Arumukham Pillai was stationed at Quilon. Marthanda Varma next turned his attention towards the little chiefdom of Marta, the neighbouring chiefdom of Kayamkulam - sensing an imminent invasion by Thiruvithaamkoor - soon allied itself with the Kochi, Purakkad and Vadakkumkur. The Kayamkulam chief was also successful in rescuing the Kollam chief from his Thiruvananthapuram prison, the allies built new fortification and strengthened their defences against the threat from Thiruvananthapuram
37.
Arcot, Vellore
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Arcot is a city and urban of Vellore city in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Located on the banks of Palar River, the city straddles a trade route between Chennai and Bangalore or Salem, between the Mysore Ghat and the Javadi Hills. As of 2011, the city had a population of 70000, the sweet makkan peda is a local speciality while Arcot biryani, a rice-based traditional food, is also served here. Its name is believed to have been derived from the Tamil words aaru + kaadu. However, arkaadu meant a forest of fig trees, jainism was flourishing in this part of Tamil Land who were otherwise known as Arugar most probably corrupted form of Arhants or the perfected souls. The word Arugar is found in ancient literary works and places dominant with arugars were related to them viz Arakonam, Arumbakkam, Aruvur. Not far away from present day Arcot there is a place called Arungundram, hence Arcot or Aarkaadu would have derived its name from Arugarkaadu. The towns strategic location has led to it being repeatedly contested and prompted the construction of a formidable fortress, the Nawabdom of the Carnatic was established by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, who in 1692 appointed Zulfiqar Ali Khan as the first Nawab of the Carnatic. In 1740, the Maratha forces came down upon Arcot and they attacked the Nawab, Dost Ali in the pass of Damalcherry. In the war followed, Dost Ali, one of his sons Hasan Ali. This initial success at once enhanced Maratha prestige in the south, from Damalcherry the Marathas proceeded to Arcot. It surrendered to them without much resistance, Chanda Saheb and his son were arrested and sent to Nagpur. In 1751, The English captured the town during the conflict between the United Kingdom and France for control of South India, the English successfully held it with only 500 men against the French and the Nawab, resisting for 56 days. The enemy army eventually dissolved and its leader, Chanda Shahib, was killed, mohammed Ali Khan Walajah took over as Nawab, effectively serving as a vassal of the British. His successors soon ran up debts at the hands of English speculators. In 1801, the town was annexed by the British East India Company, in the 20th century, Arcot declined in importance and was incorporated into Vellore District. Arcot has the tomb of the famous 18th-century Sufi Saint Tipu Mastan Aulia, the story goes that from the blessings of Tipu Mastan Aulia, Hyder Ali had a son Tippu Sultan of Mysore, whom he appropriately named after the saint. In Kaspa, Sri Vaikuntha Varadharaja Perumal Temple is situated, the speciality of this temple is that it is the only temple where the Lord Vishnu statue is erected in the middle with Sri Devi and Bamadevi at its sides
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Maharaja of Travancore
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Maharaja of Travancore was the principal title of the ruler of the Kingdom of Travancore in India. After British India became independent as two dominions in 1947, Chithira Thirunal agreed to accede his state to the new Dominion of India. On December 28,1971, Chithira Thirunal lost his privy purse, since then the head of the Travancore royal family is the pretender to the abolished title. The titular Maharaja fulfills his duties as Maharaja of Travancore in rituals related to the Padmanabhaswamy Temple, so the titles were not abolished by the Government, only their political powers and right to receive Privy Purse were cancelled
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Kollam
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Kollam or Quilon, formerly Desinganadu, is an old seaport and city on the Laccadive Sea coast of Kerala, India. The city is on the banks Ashtamudi Lake, Kollam has had a strong commercial reputation since the days of the Phoenicians and Romans. Fed by the Chinese trade, it was mentioned by Ibn Battuta in the 14th century as one of the five Indian ports he had seen during the course of his twenty-four year travels, desinganadus rajas exchanged embassies with Chinese rulers while there was a flourishing Chinese settlement at Kollam. In the 9th Century, on his way to Canton, China, Marco Polo, the great Venetian traveller, who was in Chinese service under Kublai Khan in 1275, visited Kollam and other towns on the west coast, in his capacity as a Chinese mandarin. V. Nagam Aiya in his Travancore State Manual records that in 822 AD two East Syrian bishops Mar Sabor and Mar Proth, settled in Quilon with their followers. Two years later the Malabar Era began and Quilon became the city of the Malabar region ahead of Travancore. Kollam is a city on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake that took the title Gods Own Country without much demur. The braids of Ashtamudi Lake lie about 71 kilometres north of the state capital, the city hosts the administrative offices of Kollam district and is a prominent trading city for the state. The proportion of females to males in Kollam city is second highest among the 500 most populous cities in India, Kollam is the least polluted city in India. Four major trading centers/towns around Kollam are Kottarakara, Punalur, Paravur, There was also internal trade through the Punalur Pass connecting the ancient town to Tamil Nadu. The rail links later established to Tamil Nadu supported still stronger trade links, the factories processing marine exports and the processing and packaging of cashewnuts extended its trade across the globe. Kollam is the fourth most populous city in Kerala and the fifth largest in incorporated area and it is known for cashew processing and coir manufacturing. Ashtamudi Lake is considered the gateway to the backwaters of Kerala and is a prominent tourist destination at Kollam. The Kollam urban area includes towns such as Paravur in the south, Kundara in the east. Other important towns in the city suburbs are Eravipuram, Kottiyam, Kannanallur, Kollam appeared as Palombe in Mandevilles Travels, where he claimed it contained a Fountain of Youth. During the later stages of the rule of the Chera monarchy in Kerala, Kollam emerged as the point of trade. Kollam continues to be a business and commercial centre in the Southern Kerala. In 825 CE, the Malayalam calendar, or Kollavarsham, was created in Kollam at meetings held in the city, the present Malayalam calendar is said to have begun with the re-founding of the town, which was rebuilt after its destruction by a fire
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Battle of Colachel
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The Battle of Colachel was fought on 10 August 1741 between the Indian kingdom of Travancore and the Dutch East India Company, during the Travancore-Dutch War. The Dutch never recovered from the defeat, and no longer posed a large threat to India. Almost all the pepper that the Dutch imported into their country came from the kingdom of Kayamkulam, when Marthanda Varma became king of the small kingdom of Venad, he started a policy of assimilating neighboring kingdoms into the new kingdom of Travancore. In a series of battles, Marthanda Varma annexed the kingdoms of Attingal, with this threat to their commercial interests in view, the Dutch Governor of Ceylon Gustaaf Willem van Imhoff wrote to Marthanda Varma demanding that he should end the aggression against Kayamkulam. Marthanda Varma wrote back to Van Imhoff, ordering him not to interfere in matters that did not concern him, in a subsequent meeting, Imhoff demanded that Marthanda Varma restore the annexed kingdom of Kayamkulam to its former ruling princess, threatening to invade Travancore should he refuse. Marthanda Varma countered that he would overcome any Dutch forces that were sent to his kingdom, thus, the interview ended in tension and subsequently led to the Travancore-Dutch War. In 1741, the Dutch installed a princess of the Elayadathu Swarupam as the ruler of Kottarakara in defiance of the demands of Marthanda Varma, the Travancore army inflicted a crushing defeat upon the combined Kottarakara-Dutch armies and assimilated Kottarakara into Travancore, forcing the Dutch to retreat to Cochin. Following this, Marthanda Varma captured all of the Dutch forts in the area and they captured the territory up to Padmanabhapuram and laid siege to the Kalkulam fort. In the words of the historian, Professor A. Sreedhara Menon, A disaster of the first magnitude for the Dutch. Subsequent peace treaties with Travancore saw the transfer of the remaining Dutch forts which were incorporated into the Nedumkotta lines, when De Lannoy and Donadi were paroled, they took up service with Travancore and modernized the Travancore Army into an effective fighting force. De Lennoy modernized the existing firearms and introduced better artillery and, more importantly, trained the Travancore army in the European style of military drill and military tactics. He was one of the commanders of the Tranvancore army during the battle of Ambalapuzha where his erstwhile employers were fighting on behalf of Cochin. Another direct outcome of the event at Kulachal was the takeover of the pepper trade by the state of Travancore. This development was to have repercussions on the Dutch and the trading world of Kerala at large. In 1753 the Dutch signed the Treaty of Mavelikkara with the Dutch agreeing not to obstruct the Rajas expansion and this marked the beginning of the end of Dutch influence in India. The VOC continued to sell Indonesian spices and sugar in Kerala until 1795, the Indian government has built a pillar of victory in Kulachal to commemorate the event. The Indian Post Department released a Rupee 5 stamp on April 1,2004 to commemorate the tercentenary of the raising of the 9th Battalion of Madras Regiment, Battle of Diu Battle of Swally Nagam ayya. Travancore state manual Iyer, Dr. S. Krishna, Travancore-Dutch Relations, Nagercoil, CBH Publications,1994,164 pgs
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Body of water
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A body of water or waterbody is any significant accumulation of water, generally on a planets surface. The term most often refers to oceans, seas, and lakes, a body of water does not have to be still or contained, Rivers, streams, canals, and other geographical features where water moves from one place to another are also considered bodies of water. Most are naturally occurring geographical features, but some are artificial, there are types that can be either. For example, most reservoirs are created by engineering dams, similarly, most harbors are naturally occurring bays, but some harbors have been created through construction. Bodies of water that are navigable are known as waterways, some bodies of water collect and move water, such as rivers and streams, and others primarily hold water, such as lakes and oceans. The term body of water can also refer to a reservoir of water held by a plant, note that there are some geographical features involving water that are not bodies of water, for example waterfalls, geysers and rapids. Arm of the sea - also sea arm, used to describe a sea loch, arroyo - a usually dry creek bed or gulch that temporarily fills with water after a heavy rain, or seasonally. Artificial lake or artificial pond - see reservoir or impoundment, barachois - a lagoon separated from the ocean by a sand bar. Bay - an area of water bordered by land on three sides, similar to, but smaller than a gulf, bayou - a slow-moving stream or a marshy lake. Bight - a large and often only slightly receding bay, or a bend in any geographical feature, billabong - see Oxbow lake, a pond or still body of water created when a river changes course and some water becomes trapped. Boil - see Seep Brook - a small stream, canal - an artificial waterway, usually connected to existing lakes, rivers, or oceans. Channel - the physical confine of a river, slough or ocean consisting of a bed. See also stream bed and strait, earth scientists generally use the term to describe a circular or round inlet with a narrow entrance, though colloquially the term is sometimes used to describe any sheltered bay. Basin - a region of land where water from rain or snowmelt drains downhill into another body of water, such as a river, lake, creek - an inlet of the sea, narrower than a cove. Delta - the location where a river flows into an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, distributary or distributary channel - a stream that branches off and flows away from a main stream channel. Draw - a usually dry creek bed or gulch that temporarily fills with water after a heavy rain, fjord - a submergent landform which has occurred due to glacial activity. Glacier - a large collection of ice or a river that moves slowly down a mountain. Glacial Pothole - see Kettle Gulf - a part of a lake or ocean that extends so that it is surrounded by land on three sides, similar to, but larger than a bay, headland - an area of water bordered by land on three sides
India
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Kanyakumari travel guide from Wikivoyage
