Kanyakumari
Kanyakumari
Kanyakumari "The Virgin Princess"
(also known as Cape Comorin) is a town in Kanyakumari
District in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. It is the southern
tip of Indian subcontinent. The southernmost town in mainland India, it is
sometimes referred to as 'The Land's End'.
A popular tourist destination in India, it is
famous for its unique ocean sunrise, sunset and moonrise, the 41-metre
(133 ft) Thiruvalluvar Statue and Vivekananda Rock
Memorial off the coast, and as a pilgrimage centre. Lying at the tip
of peninsular India, Kanyakumari is bordered on the west, south and east by
the Laccadive Sea. It has a coastal line of 71.5 km stretched on
the three sides
The town is situated 90 km south
of Trivandrum, the headquarters of Kanyakumari District, and about
20 km south of Theni.
On the shores of the town is a temple
dedicated to Goddess Kanyakumari (the virgin Goddess), after which the town is
named. Kanyakumari has been a city since the Sangam period and
has been referred to in old Malayalam literature and in the accounts
of Marco Polo and Ptolemy.
History
Etymology
The place derives its name from the
goddess Kanya Kumari, considered to be the sister of Krishna, a
goddess is believed to remove the rigidity from the mind, to whom women pray
for marriage. In 1656, the Dutch East India company conquered Portuguese
Ceylon from the Portuguese, and the name eventually corrupted to
"Comorin" and was called Cape Comorin during British
rule in India. The city was later renamed Kanyakumari by
the Government of India and the Government of Madras.
Legend
According to a Hindu legend, Kanya Devi,
an avatar of Parvati, was to marry Shiva, who failed to
show up on his wedding day. Rice and other grains meant for the wedding feast
remained uncooked and unused. As the legend goes, the uncooked grains
turned into stones as time went by. Some believe that the small stones on the
shore today, which look like rice, are indeed grains from the wedding that was
never solemnised. Kanya Devi is now considered a virgin goddess who
blesses pilgrims and tourists who flock the town. Her temple located in
Kanyakumari is a Shakti Peetha or a holy shrine. According to another
Hindu legend, Lord Hanuman dropped a piece of earth as he was
carrying a mountain with his life-saving herb, Mrita Sanjivani, from the
Himalayas to Lanka (Sri Lanka) during the Rama-Ravana war. This chunk of earth
is called Marunthuvazh Malai, literally "hills where medicine
lives". This is said to be the reason for the abundance of unique native
medicinal plants in the area. Marunthuvazh Malai is located near Kottaram about
7 km (4 mi) from Kanyakumari town on the Kanyakumari-Nagercoil
highway. The sage Agasthya, who was an expert in medicinal herbs, is
believed to have lived around this site in ancient days. It is believed to be
the reason so many medicinal herbs are found on the hills near Kanyakumari. A
nearby village is named Agastheeswaram after the sage. Today, there
is a small ashram on the middle of the Maruthuvazh Malai hill, which
tourists visit (after a short trek from the base of the hill), both to visit
the Ashram and also to take a glimpse of the sea near Kanyakumari a few
kilometres away, and the greenery below.
Demographics
As per the Census of 2011, Kanyakumari town had
61.16% Christians, 32.97% Hindus and 5.47% Muslims.
As of the census of India 2001, Kanyakumari had a population
of 19,739, comprising 9,884 males and 9,855 females, making the sex ratio
(number of females per thousand males) of the town to 997. A total of 2,403
people were under six years of age and the child sex ratio (number of females
per thousand males under six years of age) stood at 1,024. The town had an
average literacy of 88.62%, higher than the national average of 59.5%. There
were a total of 4,236 households in the town. As of 2001, Kanyakumari had a
total of 5,929 main workers: 11 cultivators, 78 agricultural labourers, 66
in household industries and 5,774 other workers. There were a total of 119
marginal workers: 4 marginal cultivators, 3 marginal agricultural labourers, 11
marginal workers in household industries and 101 other marginal workers.
Geography
Kanyakumari is located at 8.08°N
77.57°E. and
has an average elevation of 30 metres. The peninsular tip of Kanyakumari
is bordered on three sides by the Laccadive Sea. It is located at the
confluence of the Western Coastal Plains and Eastern Coastal
Plains.
Kanyakumari is at the southern tip and is the
southernmost point of the contiguous Indian Subcontinent. It thus finds
itself being a part of the common Hindustani phrase used to describe
the length of India "Kashmir se Kanyakumari"; before the partition,
the phrase in undivided India was "Khyber se
Kanyakumari". However, the southernmost point of Republic of
India is at Indira Point on Great Nicobar Island, at 6°45’10″N and
93°49’36″E. The nearest city is Thiruvananthapuram (85 km) and
the airport is Thiruvananthapuram International Airport, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala and
the nearest town is Nagercoil, the administrative headquarters
of Kanyakumari District, 22 km (14 mi) away.
Climate
|
hideClimate data for Kanyakumari
(1981–2010, extremes 1961–2012) |
|||||||||||||
|
Month |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
Year |
|
Record
high °C (°F) |
34.4 |
34.8 |
36.0 |
36.8 |
38.2 |
36.2 |
35.3 |
35.9 |
35.5 |
35.2 |
35.6 |
33.7 |
38.2 |
|
Average
high °C (°F) |
31.1 |
31.8 |
32.4 |
32.8 |
32.4 |
30.6 |
30.4 |
30.5 |
30.6 |
30.5 |
30.3 |
30.5 |
31.1 |
|
Average
low °C (°F) |
23.6 |
24.0 |
25.3 |
26.3 |
26.3 |
24.7 |
24.3 |
24.2 |
24.4 |
24.4 |
24.2 |
23.9 |
24.6 |
|
Record
low °C (°F) |
19.8 |
18.8 |
21.4 |
20.9 |
21.3 |
19.3 |
19.0 |
21.3 |
21.0 |
20.2 |
20.1 |
19.0 |
18.8 |
|
Average
rainfall mm (inches) |
14.1 |
7.0 |
17.9 |
61.9 |
58.7 |
87.7 |
43.9 |
31.8 |
44.1 |
121.5 |
176.7 |
50.2 |
715.5 |
|
Average
rainy days |
0.9 |
1.0 |
1.4 |
2.8 |
3.1 |
6.3 |
3.8 |
2.5 |
3.5 |
7.3 |
8.7 |
3.0 |
44.2 |
|
Average relative
humidity (%) (at 17:30 IST) |
66 |
68 |
70 |
74 |
77 |
79 |
79 |
79 |
80 |
80 |
75 |
68 |
75 |
|
Source: India
Meteorological Department |
|||||||||||||
Notable landmarks
Thiruvalluvar
Statue
The Thiruvalluvar Statue has a
height of 29 metres (95 feet) and stands upon a 11.5-metre (38 ft) rock
that represents the 38 chapters of "virtue" in the Thirukkural. The
statue standing on the rock represents "wealth" and
"pleasures", signifying that wealth and love be earned and enjoyed on
the foundation of solid virtue. The combined height of the statue and
pedestal is 133 ft (40.5 m), denoting the 133 chapters in
the Thirukkural. It has a total weight of 7000 tons. The statue, with its
slight bend around the waist, is reminiscent of a dancing pose of the ancient Indian
deities like Nataraja. It was sculpted by the Indian sculptor V. Ganapati
Sthapati, who also created the Iraivan Temple. Its opening ceremony was on
1 January 2000. The monument was hit by the Indian Ocean tsunami on
26 December 2004. but stood unaffected. The statue is designed to survive
earthquakes of unexpected magnitudes, such as magnitude 6 on the Richter Scale
occurring within 100 kilometres. This is far beyond that of any event recorded
in the regional history. During maintenance work, as well as during rough sea,
entry is restricted for tourists.
Vivekananda
Rock Memorial
The Vivekananda Rock Memorial is a popular tourist
monument in Vavathurai, Kanyakumari, India. The memorial stands on one of two
rocks located about 500 metres (1,600 ft) east of the mainland of
Vavathurai. It was built in 1970 in honour of Swami Vivekananda who
is said to have attained enlightenment on the rock. According to local
legends, it was on this rock that Goddess Kumari performed austerity. A
meditation hall (Dhyana Mandapam) is also attached to the memorial for visitors
to meditate. The design of the mandapa incorporates different styles of temple
architecture from all over India. It houses a statue of Vivekananda. The
rocks are surrounded by the Laccadive Sea. The memorial consists of two
main structures, the Vivekananda Mandapam and the Shripada Mandapam.
Gandhi
Memorial Mandapam
The Gandhi Memorial Mandapam has been built
on the spot where the urn containing the Mahatma's ashes was kept for public
viewing before immersion. Resembling central Indian Hindu temples in form, the
memorial was designed in a way that on Gandhi's birthday, 2 October, the first
rays of the sun fall on the exact place where his ashes were kept.
Tsunami
Memorial Park
Near Kanyakumari's southern shore stands a
monument to the memory of those who died in the 2004 Indian Ocean
earthquake and tsunami, an underwater megathrust earthquake that claimed around
280 000 lives in many countries, including India, Sri Lanka, Somalia, Thailand,
Maldives and Indonesia. People from places near and far visit this monument to
pay homage to all those who lost their lives.
Bhagavathy
Amman Temple
Bhagavathy Amman Temple is a 3000-year-old
temple dedicated to Goddess Kumari Amman located at Kanyakumari.
Kumari Amman is one of the forms of Devi, popularly known as "Kumari
Bhagavathy Amman". Kumari Bhagavathy Amman temple is the first Durga
temple created by Lord Parasurama and one of the 108 Shakthi Peethas. This
temple is situated at the shore of the Laccadive Sea. The Kumari temple
has been mentioned in Ramayana, Mahabharata and Purananooru.
Kamarajar
Mani Mantapa Monument
Kamarajar Mani Mantapa Monument was raised
and dedicated to a freedom fighter and former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu,
President of Indian National Congress, Mr Kamarajar. He is also popularly known
as Black Gandhi among the masses. Like the Gandhi Mantapa, this place is where
Kamarajar's ashes were kept for the public to pay homage before immersion into
the sea.
Tourism
The state-owned Poompuhar Shipping Corporation runs
ferry services between the town and the Vivekananda Rock Memorial and
Thiruvalluvar statue, situated on rocky islets off the coast. The operation of
the ferry service began in 1984. Two ferries were used to ferry the tourists
until June 2013, after which a new ferry was added to the service on the
occasion of 150th birth anniversary of Swamy
Vivekananda. Kanyakumari and nearby Nagercoil are directly
connected by rail with almost all metropolitan cities in India. The
nearest airport is Thiruvananthapuram International Airport, 90 km
(56 mi) from Kanyakumari Town and 70 km (43 mi)
from Nagercoil. Kanyakumari is 744 km (462 mi) from
Chennai.
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