Trichy

There are several theories as the origin of the city's name. One is that Tiruchirapalli was named after the three-headed demon Trishira (or "Chira") who performed penance at the Shiva temple in the city and obtained favors. The city was therefore named after the demon. Another theory states that since there are three peaks in the area, which are occupied by Shiva, Parvati and Vinayaka, the name Tri-Shikharam or Tirisirapuram arose. The legend says that Shiva in the guise of a woman attended to the call of a devotee in labor, hence he is called as Matrubhuteswarar (Matru means mother, Bhuteswar is another name of Siva meaning 'king of ghosts') or Taayumaanavar in Tamil.[3]
Perhaps Tiruchirappalli is a shortened form of ThIRU sri(CHI) RAnganathan PALLI, reflecting the sleeping posture of Lord Ranganatha in Srirangam. Or, as another belief says, perhaps the name started out as Thiru Javvandhipuram (Place of Marigold Flowers): javvandhi being the Tamil name for the marigold flower that still grows in abundance in and around the region, and puram which means a dwelling-place.
History


Rockfort along with Kaveri river bridge
Tiruchirapalli was originally a Chola citadel and later, during 1st millennium AD, it was occupied by other south Indian dynasties such as the Pallavas and Pandyas. The Chola's regained control over Tiruchirapalli during the 10th century. Nearby Urayur was the capital of the Early Cholas. Later, after the fall of the Chola empire, it came under the direct conrol of the Madurai Nayak Dynasty who paid tribute to the Vijayanagara empire. The Rock Fort temple, the most famous landmark in Tiruchirapalli, was built by the Nayaks.[2]. The Madurai Nayak rulers changed their capital from Madurai to Tiruchirapalli, and back, several times.
The city is home to Nagaraj Cholan and many historic temples, monuments, churches and mosques. Urayur, the Old Tiruchy, has over 2,500 years of known history and tradition. It was the capital of the early Chola kings. The oldest human-made dam, Kallanai, was built by Karikala Cholan across the Kaveri River about 10 miles from Urayur.
Trichy was an important town in the days of the Later Cholas and of the Nayak kings, and during the early days of the British East India Company. The conquest of Tiruchirapalli by the British East India Company marked a major step in the British conquest of India.
One famous landmark in Tiruchirapalli is the Rock Fort, a large outcrop of rock, 83 metres high. It is the only such outcrop in the otherwise-flat land of the city, and because of it Trichy is also called Rock City. On top of the rock is the Ucchi Pillayar Koil, a temple dedicated to the Indian god Vinayaka (Ganesha), from where one can enjoy a panoramic view of Tiruchirapalli. The temple was also used as a military fort by the Nayaks for some time.
On the southern face of the rock are several beautifully-carved cave temples of the Pallava period. On the eastern side is Sri Nandrudayan Vinayakar Temple, with Ganesha as the main deity. A large-sized Ganesha and depictions of other rare deities can be seen in this temple, which hosts festivals every year during the Vinayaka Chathurthi (birthday of Ganesha). Many Carnatic musicians have given concerts in this famous shrine. Around the rock temple is a busy commercial region, specializing in textiles, known as Chatram. The Main Guard Gate is flooded on festive occasions such as Deepavali, Ramzan, Bakrid, Christmas, and Pongal.
Trichy is famous for the number of Christian churches it contains -- it is said to have the greatest number of chapels in India. The most famous are Holy Redeemer's Church (Sagayamatha Koil), Lourdes Church, and The Cathedral.Trichy also is famous for Arcot Nawab masjid (one of the oldest) , with its large water storage tank (Ahil) .
Geography and climate


The river Kaveri flowing through Trichy, as seen from Rockfort temple
The topology of Trichy is flat. It lies at an altitude of 78 m above sea level. The river Kaveri (also called Cauvery) and the river Coleroon (also called Kollidam) flows here, the latter forms the northern boundary of the city. The river Cauvery flows along WNW-SSE direction through the city.
There are a few hills located within the city, the prominent among them are Golden Rock, Rock Fort, and the one in Thiruverumbur. There are few reserve forests along the river Cauvery, located at the west or the north-west of the city. The southern and the south-western part of the district is dotted by several hills which are thought to be an offset of the Western Ghat Mountain range—the soil here is considered to be very fertile. As two rivers flows through the city, the northern part of the city is greener than other areas of the city.
Trichy has a moderate and pleasant climate, with humidity slightly above normal. The city experiences mild winters and humid summers. The timing of the monsoon in this part of the country has lately become unpredictable, with the rainy season starting from mid-October until early-November and the rains then extending until early or mid-January.
Summer temperature : 41.10°C (maximum) 36.40°C (minimum)
Winter temperature : 21.31°C (maximum) 18.60°C (minimum)
Demographics
As of the 2001 national census[4], Trichy had a population of 746,062. Males constitute 49.97% of the population and females 50.03%. Trichy has an average literacy rate of 91.45%. Male literacy is 94.17% and female literacy is 88.73%. In Trichy 9.59% of the population is under 6 years of age.
The city's population is predominantly Hindu, and there are sizable Christian and Muslim populations. Sikhs JAINS also are present in smaller numbers.
Tamil is the official language. The dialect of the Tamil language spoken here is usually 'Neutral', although there is a hint of "Kongu Tamil". Madurai Tamil may be heard as one travels through the western and southern boundaries of the city. One may also hear elangai / Sri Lankan Tamil widely spoken in some pockets of the city. Other language spoken here is English.
Tiruchirapalli served as the headquarters of the South-Indian Railways (which was renamed later 'Southern Railways', with Madras/Chennai as the headquarters) during the pre-independence era, for a few years. Anglo-Indians, many of whom worked in the 'South-Indian Railways', started settling in 'Golden Rock-Township' and 'Crawford' located within the city, during that time.
Culture
The city has a multi-cultural society with a sizeable presence of Tamil, English, Marathi, Telugu, Hindi, and Malayalam-speaking population. The city projects a calm outlook and is considered to be friendly toward tourists.
One may experience typical Anglo-Indian, Andhra and Kerala cuisines here.
In addition to Pongal, the 'Thamizhar Thirunaal", Ugadi, Holi & Onam are festivals celebrated by their respective communities retaining their cultural roots.

ECONOMY

BHEL entrance on NH 67
Trichy is a major Engineering hub and Energy Equipment and Fabrication Capital of India. Some major industrial houses are located in Trichy: among them are BHEL, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited -- a prominent Navaratna company, a highly profitable Public Sector Undertaking which, along with its ancillary industries, contributes some 9000 crores rupees (1 crore = 10 million) to the industrial output of Trichy) -- also Ordnance Factory (HAPP and Small Arms Project), Golden Rock Locomotive Workshop(330 crores/yr), and Dalmia Cements.
The plant of BHEL in Trichy manufactures high pressure boilers. There also are many BHEL-groomed small to medium scale industries notable in the national and international market, such as Cethar Vessels(1200 crores/yr), Veesons Energy Systems, Anand Engg, GB Engg, Adela Software and Services Pvt. Ltd., Pi Square Software Solutions, Kps and Co Silica gel manufacturer, Simsys Corp Software Research and Development Company, Satron Technologies , Cethar FoodOils Ltd., and others.
Trichy also has exclusive Rotary Airpreheater manufacturer namely GEECO. Being a commercial hub, Trichy stands first with 70% in India, in boiler & windmill manufacturing and fabrication. Numbers of small scale industries have also sprung up in Trichy, mostly around Thuvakudi and Mathur. Leather tanneries are located on the way to Pudukottai. Viralimalai, considered an industrial suburb on Madurai road has the factories of TVS, India bus body building unit, MM Forgings. Also in the same area ,Sanmar Group of Companies are located. A very Big Steel Foundry 10000 Tons per annum is in operation and one more foundry is coming up. Apart from this three more companies catering to Chemical and Process Industries find place here. One can also find agro-based industries around Trichy city, especially along Coimbatore road and Chennai. Manachanallur, famous for its numerous rice mills supplying polished rice all over Tamil Nadu and outside is located about 7 km from Main Guard gate.
The economy of the city is driven to a certain extent by IT/ITES companies like Pradev Software Solution & Mindchain Solution, HCL,CONTURA Technologies,SUTHERLAND, ALSEC, encouraged by the support from state government. A dedicated stretch of land has been identified and developed to increase the state's share in national IT/ITES exports.

Transportation

Roadways

Trichy is well connected to various parts of Tamil Nadu, by private and public bus services. (1)The Chathram (Mainguard Gate) bus station, near Rock Fort temple, runs local and mofussil (City-to-Town) bus services which connect people to nearby towns and villages such as Thurayur, Perambalur, Ariyalur, Karur so ans so..... Bus services are frequent, once every two to five minutes.
The central bus station runs long distance services to major cities and states of South India such as Thanjavur,Chennai, Madurai, Coimbatore, Bangalore, Tirunelveli, Nagercoil, Tirupathi, Salem, Erode, Pudukkotai, Dindigul, Rameswaram, Theni,Hosur,Vellore also well-connected Karnataka, Andhra and Kerala through private charter and Luxery buses. One can get buses from Trichy to almost any part of the state, due to its geographical location in the center of Tamil Nadu.
On the road infrastructure front, with the completion of highway projects in Tamil Nadu state, Trichy will have four track highways from the city branching to destination Chennai, Madurai, Nagappattinam and Coimbatore.The four-laning of Chennai-Trichy should be completed in mid 2009 and also Trichy-Madurai would be completed at the same time. The widening of Trichy-Tanjore, Trichy-Karur and Trichy-Rameswaram should also be completed in 2 years.
Trichy is connected by major National Highways which connect Chennai(towards north)and Dindigul(towards south) by NH 45,Madurai and Tuticorin by NH 45B(towards south),Coimbatore and Ooty(towards west)and Tanjore and Nagapatinam(towards east) by NH 67,Putukkottai and Ramanathapuram(towards south-east) by NH 210 and Chidambaram (towards north-east) by NH 227.
Tamil Nadu Government introduced the Share -Auto scheme in the year 2001.The city has a very wide network of city buses and mini buses. The State-run DCTC town buses cover areas from trichy to pudukkottai, manapparai, musiri, viralimalai and vallam.Private and public buses connect Trichy to all parts of Tamil Nadu.

Railways

Trichy is the hub of Southern Railway's operation to connect this central part of Tamil Nadu to various parts of India, notably regions in Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Bengal, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi, and Madhya Pradesh. Trichy Railway Junction has five branches leading to Madurai, Rameswaram, Coimbatore, Tanjore and Chennai and currently there are 7 platforms. After the completion of electification of tracks between Villupuram-Trichy sector in Tamil Nadu, Trichy is set to become one of the busiest railway junctions. The Electrification between Villupuram and Trichy is almost complete and expected to become operational soon. The railway station code for Trichy Junction is TPJ.
The most important trains of Trichy are Pallavan Express, Trichy-Howrah Express, Rockfort Express, Trichy-Ernakulam Tea Garden Express are the important trains originating from Trichy.
The other important trains halting and passing through Trichy junction are Kanyakumari Express, Tamilnadu Sampark Kranti Express, Tirukkural Express, Ananthapuri Express, MAQ Chennai Express, Pothigai Express, Nellai Express, Cape-Howrah Express, MS Mangalore Express, Pearl City Express, MS Guruvayur Express, Jan Shatabdi Express, Nagercoil-Mumbai Express, Vaigai express, Rockfort link Express, Sethu Express, Madurai-Jammutawi link Express, Pandian Express, Madurai-Lokmanya Tilak express, Myladudurai-Mysore Express are most important express trains passing through Trichy junction.Other than Express trains there are more number of Passenger Trains which connects the Trichy with the nearest town frequently.

Airways

Main article: Tiruchirapalli Airport

Trichy has an international airport about five kilometres from the city, which operates flights to Indian cities, territories, and neighbouring countries including Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka and the Gulf by Air Asia, Indian Airlines, Air India Express, Srilankan Airlines, Mihin Lanka,Kingfisher Airlines,Paramount Airways and Kingfisher Red. Trichy airport is the second airport in south India next to Chennai to get international connectivity to Colombo (Srilanka) in 1981. Nowadays, flights are operated to Gulf countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.
Plans are being made to upgrade it to a fully fledged international airport in the next three years [2]. The extended runway (8000ft) was commissioned and further expansion to 12500 ft has started. Also, the construction of new terminal building is expected to be completed in 2008.An new Air Traffic Control Centre is also being planned to be constructed to cope up with growing air traffic in the region.
Various airlines including Malaysian airlines, Oman Air, Air Arabia will soon operate international flights while Kingfisher Airlines which now operates to Bangalore from Trichy is planning to connect various Indian cities. Air India Express will make Dubai and Singapore flights a daily service as soon as the corrections in the extended runway is completed.

Airlines and Destinations

Domestic

Carrier Destination
Kingfisher Red Chennai
Indian Airlines Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram
Air-India Express Chennai
Kingfisher Airlines Chennai, Bangalore
Paramount Airways Chennai

International

Carrier Destination
AirAsia Kuala Lumpur
SriLankan Airlines Colombo
Air-India Express Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Dubai, Kuwait
Mihin Lanka Colombo
Indian Airlines Sarah
Air Arabia Sarah
Malaysian Airlines Kuala Lumpur **
Oman Air Muscat **
Tiger airways Singapore **

** Starting soon
Administration
The city is a Municipal Corporation. It also serves as the headquarters of the district with the same name. The city has one Member of Parliament representing the Trichy constituency, but the southern part of the district including the manapparai town has been merged with pudukkottai parliamentary constituency for administrative reasons. Both Tiruchirappalli-I and Tiruchirappalli-II assembly constituencies are part of Tiruchirappalli (Lok Sabha constituency).[5] The city is headed by a Mayor, under whom are the Deputy Mayor and several councillors elected by people representing administrative wards; as well as a corporation Commissioner of the rank of IAS to administer the city. The district is headed by the District Collector of the rank of IAS. The District court is the highest court of appeal in Trichy/Tiruchirappalli. The city has seen moderate to high development in spite of funds constraint. The city's police force is headed by the City Police Commissioner of the rank of IPS. One of the 5 Central prisons of the state is located here.
Education

NIT, Trichy welcome board
Considered an educational city, Tiruchirapalli has schools and colleges that are hundreds of years old. College Road in Chatram has three colleges and five schools. Notable educational institutions from the city include: the National Institute of Technology, Trichy (formerly known as REC Trichy — Regional Engineering College), Anna University Trichy, Bharathidasan Institute of Management, Bharathidasan University and the Government Law College. St. Joseph's College is another important institution in Trichy. Former President of India, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and writer Sujatha Rangarajan (Rangarajan) studied here. R. Venkataraman, another former President of India also had his education in Trichy.
Tourism
• Planetarium/Science centre:
The Anna Science Centre-Planetarium is located 5 km from Trichy-Central bus terminus on Pudukkottai road, close to Trichy Airport.
• Zoo:
A Zoological Park has been proposed to be set-up in Trichy, along the river Cauvery soon.
• Picnic spots:
Grand Anicut at Kallanai (24 km) is an ancient dam built (according to legends) by Karikala Chola across the river Cauvery in the 1st century CE. It still is in use as part of the district's irrigation system.
Mukkombu or Upper Anicut (18 km) is a wonderful picnic spot where the river Kollidam or Coleroon branches off from the Cauvery.


A picture of upper Anicut or Mukkombu
Viralimalai (30 km) a hillock has a peacock sanctuary at the foothills.
Sittanavasal (58 km) is the site of an ancient Jain monastery with exquisite fresco paintings in a cave. It is also noted for its prehistoric burial grounds.
Puliancholai (72 km) is a waterfall in the foothills of the Kolli hills. It is a nice picnic spot.
Kolli Hills seated on the Pachamalai (Green hills) range which in turn is an eastern offshoot of the Eastern Ghats. The Pachaimalai range of hills is cut across by the river Cauvery at numerous places, forming small valleys. Kolli hills is a low lying hill station with gentle plateau falls inside Trichy district. Though the altitude of these hills is only average, it always has a pleasant climate and many parts of the hills are heavily wooded. However, it has retained its pristine beauty owing to being lesser known among the tourists.
• Others:
The spectacular Rock Fort Temple, the landmark of the city, is on the shores of the Kaveri. It is perched on a massive rocky outcrop at an altitude of 83 m above sea level. The Thayumanaswamy Temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva, is situated halfway to the top. It has a 100-pillar hall and a vimana covered with gold. On the southern face of the rock are several beautifully carved rock-cut cave temples of the Pallava period.
The Architecture of the St. Joseph's College Church situated within the St. Joseph College Campus on College road is awe inspiring and the height of the church(cross-included) is said to be just 7 feet shorter than the highest point in rock fort.
A famous mosque is located in Palakarai.
The Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple at Srirangam, situated 6 km north of the city, is among the most revered shrines dedicated to Lord Vishnu in South India, and is the largest temple complex in the world. Shrouded in a haze of coconut palms away to the north, the temple is built on an island in the middle of the Kaveri and covers an area of 2.5 km². Enclosed by seven rectangular walled courtyards, this temple has 21 gopurams, the largest of which was completed in 1987 and measures 73 m in height. Srirangam is connected to the mainland by a bridge. The temple is replete with excellent carvings and numerous shrines dedicated to various gods. It is believed that Sri Ramanujar the Vaishavite saint and philosopher is embalmed inside the temple premises in the Sri Ramanujar Sannidhi.
The Jambukeshwara Temple (Thiruvanaikaval), dedicated to lord Shiva, is situated just 2 km east of Srirangam and houses five concentric walls and seven gopurams. Mythology has it that an elephant once worshipped the Lord under the holy Jambu tree, and hence the name Jambukeshwara. The principal deity is the shiva lingam, almost submerged in water, which flows from the subterranean spring in the sanctum sanctorum.


The Samayapuram Mariamman Temple is located 12 km north of the Trichy central bus terminus on Trichy-Chennai NH 45.The Maariamman Temple is one of the most visited shrines in Tamilnadu, dedicated to maariamman, a manifestation of the primeval energy shakti as the mother goddess. The offerings are in various forms. The most common offering is the mavilakku mavu made of jagery, rice-flour, dhal and ghee. mariamman is believed to be a form of shakti associated with prosperity and health. Local beliefs associate the deity with cures for diseases such as small pox and chicken pox. Samayapuram was a local capital of the Vijayanagar rulers in the vicinity of Tiruchirappalli, and was known as Vikramapuram.
Tirupattur is located around 5 kms from Samayapuram. It is famous for its Bramhapureeswarar temple which has a huge shrine for Lord Brahma. This is the second of the two temples dedicated to Lord Bramha in the world. The first being in Ajmer, Rajasthan.
The poondi madha basilica Poondi_Madha_Basilica is one of the famous churches in trichy. It is approximately 25Kms from trichy junction and around 12Kms from the grand anaikut kallanai. It is an excellent place and its open to all. It has a wonderful atmosphere of garden and pet animals over there. The management had taken a good care to maintain it. A must see place for all the tourists.
There are numerous other churches, temples, and mosques in and around the city.
Kollam pond, is a large water-body located in Crawford lies along the Trichy-Madurai Railway line. The pond is home to different types of bird varieties including ducks and Kingfisher. One could also see few fisherman spreading nets naviagating with the help of vehicle tyre tubes.
Media and communication
The city has two major English dailies, The Hindu and The New Indian Express. Tamil language dailies include Dina Malar, Dina Thanthi, Dina Mani and Dinakaran with two other dailies Tamil Murasu and Malai Malar published in the evening. A short wave radio station is operated by All India Radio, with most programmes in Tamil, English and Hindi. A FM station AIR FM Rainbow operated by All India Radio with the programmes in Tamil, English and Hindi, Also a other Private FM Stations Hello FM 106.4Mhz (Malar Publication), Suryan FM 93.5Mhz (SUN Network) and Holly Cross (Educational) Operated in this City. Television relay started in 1985 from Delhi Doordarshan. In 1986, after inception of a repeater tower at Kodaikanal, telecast from Madras Doordarshan commenced. Television reception is through DTH or by Cable, while "Doordarshan" reception is still available using an external antenna. Trichy has an excellent communication infrastructure, with the major cellular/broadband service providers involved in. Telecom services BSNL (Second Largest Electronic Exchange in Tamilnadu),VSNL (TATA Indicom), Reliance, Vodafone, Airtel, Aircel and BPL available are by Landline, CDMA and GSM. Fiber optic cables were laid in 2001, improving internet access.

Entertainment
• Theme Park:
o A Water-theme park proposed by Trichy City Corporation is to come-up in Anna Nagar soon. Also another theme park promoted by a private company is under construction near Kudamuratti river within Trichy city limit.
• Planetarium
o Anna Planetarium is located at Guttapet,near to Trichy airport.

• List of Theaters in Trichy
The following list gives the Cinema halls in Trichy city. There are local, defunct and non-operating theatres which are not included in this list.
Cinema Theatres Location Features
Kalaiyarangam Central Bus Stand A/C, Qube Digital, 70MM
Maris Fort Station A/C, DTS, 70MM
Cauvery Palakkarai A/C, DTS
Sona Central Bus Stand A/C, DTS
Mega Star Thillai Nagar A/C, DTS
Ramba Chatram Bus Stand A/C, Qube Digital
Mina Central Bus Stand A/C, DTS, 35MM
Venkatesha Tiruvanaikovil A/C, DTS
Maris Rock Fort Station A/C, DTS
Oorvasi Chathram Bus Stand A/C, 35MM
Star Thennur Terminal A/C, DTS
Ramakrishna Thennur DTS
Maharani E.B.Road 70MM
Urvashi Chatram Bus Stand 70MM

Notable people

Some prominent people from Trichy include:
• Akilan, author, Tamil scholar, Sahitya Akademi Award recipient
• Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, Nobel Prize-winning physicist
• K. A. P. Viswanatham Pillai, (Fondly remembered as Ki. Aa. Pe), a great Tamil writer
• Sujatha Rangarajan, writer
• Hema Malini, actress
• Lalgudi Jayaraman, violinist
• Kavingnar Vaali, lyricist
• T. K. Thiyagaraja Bhagavatar, first superstar of Tamil cinema
• V. Periaswamy Pillai, philanthropist and Industrialist
• K. N. Nehru, Transport Minister of Tamilnadu
• A. R. Murugadoss, Tamil Film Director.
• Prasanna, Tamil Film Actor
• Ramasubramanian.T.K, physicist and famous writer
• Latha rajinikanth, famous superstar wife she lived in srirangam