Palayamkottai

"Fort Pallamcottah" (1800) by James Welsh

The archaic word Palayankottai in Tamil means a small administrative region or district. A Kottai is a fort. The portmanteau Tamil word Palayankottai was hence derived historically from an ancient fort that was in the centre of the region. Today, the fort lies in ruins and is almost camouflaged by its surrounding old residential edifices. To anyone who reads about Palayankottai for the first time, it may be surprising to see that atlases and other books refer to the city with both, an M or an N (Palayamkottai or Palayankottai). This uncertainty is because the actual Tamil word for the city uses an alphabet that is phonetically between M and N, and sometimes even completely substituted by G (pronounced Palayangkottai in colloquial Tamil). Natively speaking, it is hence correctly pronounced as Palayamnkottai. Historically during the British Raj, the area was referred to as Palancottah and also Palamkottah. The anglicization of the word was dropped by the locals immediately after independence, and the city is now called both Palayankottai and Palayamkottai according to official government documents and records. For disambiguation, the city is referred to as Palayankottai in this article.

Tirunelveli and Palayamkottai called as Twin city. Palayamkottai is situated on the eastern bank of the perennial Thamirabarani river. The region is very fertile and supports a thriving agrarian community in the midst of many urbanized areas. Regular monsoon rains coupled with the Thamirabarani water, support the purely agricultural villages around the city. Palayamkottai is located on the National Highway in close proximity to many bigger cities (international seaport: Tuticorin - 45 km; international airports: Trivandrum - 140 km, Madurai - 150  km; domestic airport: Tuticorin - 25 km) hence supporting trade and commerce.

Palayamkottai has always been a rather laid-back little city. Among the elite population, it is sometimes called as a Pensioner's Paradise. However, in recent years, businesses are rapidly developing and local businessmen are opening up major outlets in capital cities in response to their regional successes. However, it was only in late 2004 when the first ATM was installed in Palayamkottai and it was an instant success. In 2005, the government project of Underground drainage was undertaken and finished in about mid 2006. Similarly it was only in early 2006 that the city had its first traffic lights. In 2007, the city had a popular landmark - the district Police Headquarters, a remarkable purple building in the city centre. Close to it, is also one of the first Ladies' Police stations in the southern districts. Although broadband (256 kbit/s) was introduced in 2005, it was only on New Year's Day 2007, that BSNL announced 2 Mbit/s broadband access in the city commercially. Faster cable internet services are available by the year 2016 with speeds supporting up to 10 Mbit/s.[3]

Major localities in Palayamkottai are Vannarapettai, Murugankuruchi, Market, Samathanapuram, Rahmathnagar, Perumalpuram, Maharaja nagar, High Grounds, VM Chatram and KTC Nagar and posh town called Santhi Nagar out of which Vannarpettai, Murugankurichi and Market are concentrated with largely commercial activities. There are also several other minor suburban areas which collectively contribute to the overall cityscape of Palayamkottai.

a typical residential area

The little city also has a Government Museum with a huge and realistic fibreglass Tyrannosaurus rex which is popular among the young people of Palayamkottai. The museum houses a small collection of ancient artifacts found in the areas surrounding the city. Some of its literary collections include ancient Tamil inscriptions in palm leaves.

Palayamkottai also has one of the most popular Science Centres in South India, a satellite unit of Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum, Bangalore. Since the Science Centre lies between Palayamkottai and Tirunelveli (the twin cities) and as it is difficult to mark a border between the two, it is often called as the Tirunelveli District Science Centre (by the district's name). It is a common hangout area for young people, and is frequently visited by teams of school students to explore and learn the principles of science through the centre's interesting outdoor equipment and experiments.

Palayamkottai has many hospitals and other medical facilities. Among them, Our Lady's Hospital, founded nearly 50 years ago by a Belgian nun called Sister Delphine Bruyndonx, was and still remains one of Palayamkottai's popular hospitals for people who are poor or disadvantaged. Sister Delphine was popularly called the Teresa of Tirunelveli by all the people who knew her, because she had served this society since a time when it did not have any electricity.

"Shifa Hospital" one of the oldest and leading centre in Tirunelveli district and popular among the locals.

Government Siddha Medical College Hospital is a leading siddha hospital, established in 1964.

CSI Bell Pins Mission Hospital and the recently renovated CSI Jeyaraj Annapackiam Hospital in Palayamkottai provide free and reduced cost medical services to the local community. Dental clinics like NST Muthiah memorial dental hospital, Captain Manickam, Doss, Charli dental and Raakshak are popular among the locals. The Tirunelveli Medical college Hospital - a tertiary referral center, located in the High Grounds provides free services to poor people. Many nursing homes like Annai Velankani, Kartheek, Pushpalatha, Lakshmi Hospital and Celin hospital are known for their maternity care with all the latest medical equipment. Other hospitals in the region are Rosemary, Shifa Hospital, Galaxy, Devi and Sudharsanam hospital. Muthu Damian Hospital near the Palayamkottai bus depot offers both traditional Siddha treatment and modern medicine. Angel Heart centre is one of the leading heart speciality hospital. Palayamkottai also has a specialized kidney care centre and heart surgery centre. The city also has four blood banks: Shifa hospitals, Aarthi, Bethel and at Government Medical college hospital. For Paediatrics Krishna children's Hospital and Maternity Home serves as a private referral Hospital since 1983 and one of the most popular hospitals for maternity. Also in the area is Agnes hospital for Maternity and Dr Sundarajans hospital.

Being a student city, Palayamkottai has many playgrounds filled with hyperactive young cricketers. Palayamkottai has two major public playgrounds: the "VOC maithanam" and the "Anna Stadium". Grand celebrations during the Republic day and Independence day are conducted by various schools in the VOC ground. State Level Hockey tournaments sponsored by Bell Pins are held in VOC grounds annually. A park and an indoor stadium has been built here in this ground, in order to cover the small children and youngsters. The Anna Stadium holds field hockey and Kabbadi matches at both district and state level. The stadium has an excellent professional German Hockey Turf, which trains a lot of young and energetic teams and Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT)has recently released tenders for installation of synthetic athletic track in it.[4] The stadium also houses a well maintained swimming pool.

There is a big market in central Palayamkottai, serviced by many bus routes. Also very popular among locals, is the Ulavar Santhai where farmers sell their products directly. The produce is very fresh and very cheap, and the market is usually very crowded in the morning with eager housewives excersing their haggling skills with the illiterate farmers. The success of the Ulavar Santhai market in Palayamkottai was under a deep speculation during the changing of governments. Now, with the ruling party DMK back in power, (which originally introduced the concept) the Ulavar Santhai is maintained well and is a grocery market for the locals.

Supermarkets like Aryaas Supermarket have revolutionized shopping in Palayamkottai by bringing all homeneeds into a common commercial zone. Although there are not many supermarkets in Palayamkottai, there are practically all kinds of shops catering to the local people's needs. For example, electronic superstores like Viveks, Sathya and Vasanth & Co are prime hotspots for the digital lifestyle. RMKV and Colors are frequented by people for purchase of clothes and readymade garments. Eagle Book Centre, Shyamala book centre and Velavan are exclusive choices for good books and stationery. RMKV and Baby's Gallery cater to the needs of the kids segment. The entry of big players like Big Bazaar and Reliance Hypermall further promotes the economical status of Palayamkottai. Palayamkottai being a small city, brings a visitor back to square one in terms of shopping for quality goods.

Palayamkottai has schools for the blind, deaf and mentally handicapped children. These organizations are predominantly run by the Tirunelveli Diocese of Church of South India(CSI), they are

• Askwith School for the Visually Handicapped
• Florence Swainson School for the Hearing Impaired
• Bishop Sargent School for the Mentally Retarded
• Shalom Home for the Aged and the Needy

Leprosy missions, orphanages and medical missions are also very active organizations in Palayamkottai

Palayamkottai also has an efficient fire-fighting service which conducts camps in local schools annually. The postal service is also a reputed and historic department with its statues of Nandhis (mascot of the Indian Postal department) at the facade. It also has the post offices, police stations, big malls, markets, etc.

Palayamkottai Bus Stand, or Palai Bus Stand as it is popularly called by the locals, was the major connecting hub of the City bus network. In 2003, the then Chief minister J.Jayalalithaa inaugurated a major new bus terminal for Tirunelveli in Veinthankulam on Tiruvananthapuram High Road. The new bus terminal connects Palayamkottai and Tirunelveli in an extensive network of neighbouring towns, cities and also the major metropolitan cities of Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. The Palayamkottai bus terminal is also a major stopover for all buses going to Kanyakumari and Nagercoil. There are also numerous connections between the local Palayamkottai bus-stops and Tirunelveli town. Palayamkottai also has a railway station on the Tirunelveli Junction to Tuticorin railway station and Tiruchendur Junction lines

Share-autos (autorickshaws that car-pool paying customers on a common route) ply extensively along Palayamkottai's streets and are easy to flag down. The regular yellow-black Greaves Garuda autorickshaws, although plenty in number, are considered to be the common man's taxis of Palayamkottai. Autorickshaw drivers are known to overcharge tourists. Cars as taxis, are generally only available in taxi stands where tourists and locals use them to travel to short distances outside of the city. As a common practise, people of Palayamkottai or Tirunelveli do not use taxis as an alternate public transportation to buses or trains. Ola taxis have gained popularity with other private taxis as they are cheap than autos.

The city has several Hindu temples: The Gopalaswamy Temple, Siva Temple known as Thiripuraanthakaeshwarar temple, Ramar Temple, and Amman(goddess) temples. Dasara is a popular Hindu festival in this region. The renovation of the lord Gopalaswamy temple was completed by the Government of Tamil Nadu recently. It is a Vaishvanite temple symbolizing the cultural and architectural ancestry of the city. The herbal wall paintings found inside the sanctum sanctorum are considered rare. After renovation, the Azhagiyamannar Rajagopalaswamy Temple, built in the 11th century,[5] popularly known as Gopalasamy Temple celebrated Kumbhabhishekham on 9 July 2009. Popular temples in Palayamkottai are also located in Maharajanagar, Perumalpuram and Shanthi nagar. In particular, Aayirathamman temple,Yadavar Uchinimakali Amman temple and Thoothuvari temple (in its vicinity) and Shri.Muppandal Essaki Amman Temple near Perumalpuram are notable temples. Aazhigudi Maradachan with a monolithic 20 ft (6.1 m) high Ayyanar statue is also popular.

Gopalaswamy Temple

A popular mosque in the city is located in old Police Hospital road, with hundreds of Islamic followers chanting their prayers regularly. Melapalayam is the exclusive Muslim quarter of the city, with numerous mosques and schools for children of Islamic parents.

The city is an epicenter in south Tamil Nadu for Christianity and there are a lot of churches affiliated to Tirunelveli Diocese Church of South India (CSI), Society Of Jesus and others.

Holy Trinity Cathedral

The biggest and most widely recognized church in Palayamkottai is The Holy Trinity Cathedral of CSI at Murugankurichi. With its prominent centenary 35m high steeple, it is fondly called the 'Oosi Gopuram' (Needle Tower). Extensive renovations of the church were done during the period of Rev.Anand Asir, Rev.Dr.Joshva Raja and Rev.Vedhanbu, who worked as priests in the Trinity Cathedral in Palayamkottai and re-dedicated during the period of Bishop Jason S. Dharmarj and the Rev. V. Gandhi Selwyn, Former Bishop Commissary & Vice Chairman, CSI Tirunelveli Diocese. India's first church, Clarinda Church was founded and consecrated in 1860 by a Brahmin lady who was the first convert in the southern districts. The periphery of this tiny church has a cemetery with wonderfully decorated tombstones from England. Also there are numbers of churches found around Tirunelveli which are built during British period like military lines church and new built up congregations are also at perumalpuram church, shanthi nagar church and KTC nagar church.

St. Francis Xavier who was responsible for propagation of Christianity in the 16th century in Southern districts of Tamil Nadu had travelled to Palayamkottai. Fr.Joseph Constantine Beschi SJ, better known in Tamil as 'Veeramaamunivar', propagated Christianity in the area. St.Xaviers' Cathedral church, situated at the heart of St. Xaviers' College and established by Jesuit priests, now belongs to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Palayamkottai. It is one of the earliest Catholic Churches in Palayamkottai. The St.Xaviers' College church is dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption. It is an architectural amalgamation combining Christian, Hindu and Muslim architectures.

There are lot of NGO's in the city of which Saranalayam is for Abandoned babies, Street Children and Woman in Distress. Udavum Karangal is one among the various organizations for the poor orphan girls and boys, which has been run successfully since 1990.

Palayamkottai also has a jail called Palayamkottai Central Prison, which housed several eminent people during the pre-independence era and afterwards. Tamil language poet Subramanya Bharathi spent a part of his life here. The District Central Jail is notable for its large capacity and tight security. The prison is a popular landmark along the periphery of the city. Even the former Chief Minister, J.Jayalalitha (Late) was thrice held in Palayamkottai jail.

Palayamkottai assembly constituency is a part of Tirunelveli (Lok Sabha constituency).[8]