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Tiruvallur Tourist Places and Attractions

 

Kalyana Venkattaramasami temple 

Tiruvallur is a district in the Southern state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is nearly 45 km from Chennai, the capital city of Tamil Nadu.It is en route to Tirupathi, the abode of Lord Balaji. It derives its name from the Tamil word "Tiru-Evval-ur", meaning "how much". This is a very ancient city.

Tiruvallur is a town located on the Chennai-Tirupathi highway, approximately forty-four kilometers from Chennai. The railway station falls mid-way between the Chennai - Arakkonam railway line. A small town, and now the district headquarter of the recently made Tiruvallur district is developing very fast. It is one of twenty-seven districts in Tamil Nadu. Previously, Tiruvallur was a town in the district named Chengalpattu. Tiruvallur is the name of both the town as well as the district

History of Tiruvallur

The district of Tiruvallur has been carved out by bifurcating erstwhile Chengalpattu district (which was renamed as Chengalpattu-MGR/Kancheepuram at the time of 1991 Census). According to the said bifurcation Tiruvallur revenue division which included Tiruvallur, Tiruttani taluks and Uthukkottai and Pallipattu sub-taluks separated from Chengalpattu district along with Ponneri and Gummindipoondi taluks of Saidapet revenue division and formed this new district. At present this district is comprised of eight taluks namely Ambattur, Gummindipoondi, Ponneri, Uthukkottai, Tiruvallur, Poonamallee, Tiruttani and Pallipattu.

In the far past, this region was under a chain of regimes commencing from the Pallavas during the 7th century ending with the Nawab of Arcot during the early part of 19th century when it came under the British rule. In 1687, the Golkonda rulers were defeated and the region came under the Moghul emperors of Delhi. The towns and villages of this region were the scene of Carnatic wars. Battles are said to have been fought in this region during the struggle for supremacy between the English and French. The town of Pulicat was the earliest Dutch possession in India founded in 1609 which was ceded to the British in 1825. With this, the region came under the British rule which ended on the 15th August, 1947 with India becoming independent.

Geography of the Tiruvallur District

North latitude between 12°15 and 13°15, east longitude between 79°15' and 80°20'
The district is surrounded by Kancheepuram district in the South, Vellore district in the west. Bay of Bengal in the East and Andhra Pradesh State in the North. The district spreads over an area of about 3422 Sq.kms.

The coastal region of the district is mostly flat and dreary; but in the other parts it is undulating and even hilly in some places.

The northern taluks of the district like Ponneri, Uttukkottai, Gummidipundi etc. do not have much to offer from the scenic point of view. In the Tiruttani taluk, a number of hillocks are found scattered.
The soil of the district is mostly sandy, mixed with soda or other alkali or stony. Rocks found in and near the surface are in detached masses. Hence, the soil can't be termed as very fertile. The soil found nearer the sea coast is of the inferior erinaceous type which is most suited for raising casuarinas plants. No mineral of any importance is available in the district.
There are not many hills of any considerable height in this district. A few conical hills or ridges of small elevation exist like the St. Thomas Mount. Certain hillocks are found in Tiruttani. Most of the hills and hillocks are rocky and no verdant vegetation is seen in the slopes of these hills. The area under forests in this district is quite meager.

Animal Husbandry and Fisheries

Animal husbandry is a subsidiary occupation of the district due to the presence of a number of small and marginal farmers. Presently, there are four Government Schemes in operation Viz., Backyard poultry farm, Buffalo Rearing Scheme, Special Animal Husbandry Programme and special campaign to protect animals. There are 5 Veterinary Hospitals, 24 Veterinary Dispensaries, 77 sub-centres and 14 mobile veterinary units catering to the needs of the farming community.
The total coastal area of the district is about 49803 ha and has a coast line of 80 kms for marine fisheries. Prawn/shrimp culture is famous at the coast line of Gummidipoondi and Minjur. The total fish production is to the tune of 11372 tonnes.

Rainfall in Tiruvallur

The average normal rainfall of the District is 1104 mm. Out of which 52% has been received during North East Monsoon period and 41% has been received during South West Monsoon period.
The average temperature of the district is
Maximum 37.9°C
Minimum 18.5°C
Like other parts of Tamil Nadu, hot climate prevails during the month of April - May and humid climate during the rest of the year except December - February when it is slightly cold.

How to Reach Tiruvallur

Tiruvallur lies 42 kilometres west of Chennai and is well connected by trains and buses.

By Rail
It lies on the Chennai bangalore rail road. There are many local trains from the Chennai Central Suburban station and some trains from Chennai Beach station to Tiruvallur.

By Road
The government-run buses to Tiruttani and Tirupathi (Routes : 97 series and 201) connect Tiruvallur from Chennai. There are two major roads connecting Chennai and Tiruvallur. One route is through Porur and Poonamalle and the another one is through Avadi and Ambattur. Tiruvallur is connected from chennai by MTC bus routes from T.Nagar, CMBT, Broadway..etc

Tourist Interest Places of Tiruvallur 

Poondi Reservoir (Tiruvallur Taluk)

Poondi, a small village, is situated at a distance about 60 km. from Chennai. Frequent buses are available from Chennai and Tiruvallur to reach this place. 'Poondi' the name, it is said, is derived from Poondu in Tamil, the shrub which was once abundant in this place. Poondi has acquired a significant importance as it has a huge reservoir called Sathyamurthy Sagar. The area of the reservoir is about 121/2 square miles. The water from this reservoir goes to the Red Hills take from where the Madras city receives water supply after undergoing necessary proceeding. This reservoir and its suburbs make an interesting picnic spot.

Places of interest

Ambattur

Ambattur is an industrial Cente and township which is 16 km. to the west of Chennai city and situated in the Chennai - Avadi Trunk Road. It has railway station, bearing the same name on the Chennai - Arakkonam broadgauge line. Frequent bus service, both town and mofussil, help the people in transportation. This ancientvillage, being very near to Chennai city with rail and road facilities is in an advantageous location. This is the biggest small scale industrial estate not only in Tiruvallur district but in the whole of South Asia. It is spread over an area of 1221 acres of land with 1370 industries functioning there.

Though an attempt to start an industrial estate was made in year 1961, it had itsfunctioning commissioned in the year 1964, by the Government of Tamil Nadu. Several factors such as suitability of the soil communication facilities, availability of raw materials and a large volume of ground water suitable for industrial and domestic purposes, etc., were responsible for seeking this place for the setting up of this industrial Estate, an extent of 1000 acres adjoining the estate was acquired by the Tamil Nadu Housing Board for housing purposes. For more details such as the activities and achievements of - Industrial estate, please refer to the chapter on Industries.

There are two temples here, one of Sri Vinnaraya Perumal and another for Lord Siva. The latter is very old and dilapidated. Temples for Lord Muruga and for the local deity Kannatamman can be seen here. The Mounaswami Matam, which has a temple for Sri Bhuvaneswari Amman inside, attracts a large number of the devotees of Mounaswami. Once a major panchayat, Ambathur was made a township in the 1960's. It has now attained the status of selection grade Municipality. Sri Ramasamy Mudaliar's High School, two panchayat union elementary schools, one girls high school, A.M.M. Charities hospital, veterinary hospital, veterinary dispensary, a Madhar Sangam, a maternity centre, a carpentry union, a police station, etc., are located here.

Consequent on the developments of industries, several housing colonies have sprung up. Around the industrial estate, several industrial units have grown up, to swell the number of industries here. The T.I. Cycles of India Limited are running a factory manufacturing bicycles. The factory produces about 13,00,000 bicycles every year. The capital investment of the company is Rs.16 crores. The Dunlop Rubber Company has established a factory for the production of motor and giant tyres, cycle tyres, retreading compounds, etc.

Avadi

Avadi is situated at a distance of 24 km. On the road leading to Tirupathi and to the west of Chennai. It is served by a good network of buses which pass through, originating from Chennai. It is also served by the Avadi railway station situated on the Chennai-Arakonam broad gaugeline. It has got an air force station in that area.

Avadi has become a township since 1 March 1996. It has now become a centre of Industrial activities as around it function Ordnance factory, tank factory and the army vehicle depot, - all belonging to the Government of India, The Shaw Wallace Company and the Southern Cables Corporation, manufacturing cables of different types. The Tube Investment of India, having a factory producing varieties of engineering goods, a nit manufacturing steel tubes and several other industries under private management situate here.

The headquarters of the Special armed Police of the Tamil Nadu Government is located here. The Kendriya Vidyalaya, panchayat nion higher secondary schools,the government higher secondary school, a few higher secondary schools, run byprivate management, and a library maintained by the Local Library Authority are the institutions which faction here. A Police Station, Telephone exchange and township office are the other offices that function from here. The Highways Department maintains a travelers bungalow.

Chembarambakkam

Chembarambakka, a Village, situated about 21 km. to the west of Chennai, in five km. from the nearest town Poonamallee. One could see plenty of buses passing through this place enroute to the destinations like Kancheepruam, Sriperumbudur, Vellore, Bangalore, etc. Pattabiram, the nearest railway station is about 11 km. from here. An ancient Siva Temple cold be seen here in a dilapidated condition. The walls of the temple are adorned with inscriptions of the Chola period.

A huge beautiful Sivalingam is seen inside the santum which is, of course, in a ruined state. This temple is found in the south eastern corner of the village now. The Village, it is said, was to the south of the temple and in course of time, people settled in the place to the north of the temple towards the trunk road. The religious belief that the existence of a Siva temple towards south east corner of a village is not a good omen to the people perforced a futile attempt to shift the temple. This is the reason attributed for the neglect of the temple. Separate temples coexist for Vishnu, Mariamman and Pooniamman where regular daily poojas are performed.

'Chem' in Tamil means beautiful, 'Parambu' means hiss and 'pakkam' refers tovillage. Therefore, 'Chembarambakkam' means 'a beauutiful hill village'. It was an ex-zamindari village. The village has an immense irrigation tank which derives supply from anicut thrown across Cooum at Koratur through new Bungaur channel. The water from this tank is not used for irrigating this village but the Mangaduvillage down below.

Pazhayanur (Tiruttani Taluk)

Pazhayanaur, a village as ancient and as good a sacred place as Thiruvalangad, is situated at a distance of about 1.5 kilometres from Thiruvalangadu village. The contribution of Pazhayanur to the great tradition and glory of Tamils is unique. It was here that seventy Tamil Vellalars together sacrificed their lives to uphold a spoken work of honour. The opinion of the scholars is that nowhere could they come across such a unique incident involving the sacrifice of so many lives at an appointed hour.

The details of this incident are as described below : Once a murder, who killed his wife, reached pazhayanur in the evening of a particular day, closely followed by the spirit of the murdered wife (named Neeli). It is said that the ghost assumed the form of a woman with a child and waited for an opportune moment to seek revenge. This ghost made an appeal to the people of Pazhayanur to prevent the traveler, her husband, from deserting her. Protesting strongly against this, the man tried to convince that the woman was nothing but a ghost. Not convinced by his plea, the 70 people prevailed upon the traveler, ordered him to stay overnight with the woman, who claimed to his his wife. When the traveler protested this on the ground that he might be harmed by the woman, they pledged the word of honour that all of them would lay down their lives if, by change, any harm should befall him in the night by his wife.

But, the next morning to their utter shock, they could find only the dead body of the man murdered in revenge, by the woman who made good her escape by then. There was of course none to insist to keep their pledge, yet, the 69 of the 70 Vellalars undoubtedly thought that they had erred. To make the error in judgement, the 69 Vellalars of Pazhayanur lit fire and sacrificed their lives plunging into it. The other Vellala who was away in his field work in the early hours of the morning, when learnt this incident, killed himself at once with the plough shard. The Chera, the Cola and the Pandya, the great Tamil Kings, who, on hearing this incident and the sacrificial fire was still burning without dying visited Pazhayanur to pay homage to the noble martyrs of truth and justice.

The early Tamil literature has reference to this incident. Devaram of Thirugnansambandar,  of the 7th Century A.D., and Sekkizhar's Thiruthondar Puranam popularly known as Periapuranam, carry references to this incident. We have to hear in mind that Sekkizhar, who was the Prime Minister of Kulothunga Chola-II (A.D. 1137- 1150) wrote his monumental work after consulting official documents and making exhaustive reference to other records, practice and tradition. The great Saiva scholar Umapathy Sivachariar (A.D. 1313) also refers to this incident in his Sekkizhar Puranam.