TAMILNADUKnow about tamilnadu tourism
Tamil nadu lies in the Southern Indian Peninsula and is bordered by Pondichery, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. It is bounded by Eastern Ghat, Anaimalai Hills, Palghat and Gulf of Mannar, Palk Strait and Bay of Bengal.
It consist of 32 districts with various touristic importance. Chennai is the capital city of Tamilnadu. The Niligiris, Madurai, Tanjore, Kanyakumari, Chennai are some among the important tourist areas in Tamilnadu.
Tamil Nadu has a long tradition of venerable culture. Tamil Nadu is
known for its rich tradition of literature, music and dance which
continue to flourish today. Unique cultural features like Bharatanatyam
(dance), Tanjore painting, and Tamil architecture were developed and continue to be practised in Tamil Nadu.
Pongal, is one of the most widely celebrated festivals throughout Tamil Nadu. Jallikattu,
a bull taming contest, marks the main event during Pongal Festive Days. Cockfight is also famous in Tamilnadu.
The first month in the Tamil calendar is Chitterai and the first day of this month in mid-April is celebrated as Tamil New Year.
Thiruvalluvar Calendar is 31 years ahead of Gregorian Calendar, that is
2000 AD in Gregorian calendar is represented as 2031 in Thiruvalluvar
Calendar. Aadi Perukku is celebrated on the 18th day of the Tamil month Aadi, which celebrates the rising of the water level in the river Cauvery.
Apart from these major festivals, in every village and town of Tamil
Nadu, the inhabitants celebrate festivals for the local gods once a year
and the time varies from place to place. Most of these festivals are
related to the goddess Maariyamman,
the mother goddess of rain. Other major Hindu festivals including
Deepavali (Death of Narakasura), Ayudha Poojai, Saraswathi Poojai (Dasara), Krishna Jayanthi and Vinayaka Chathurthi are also celebrated. In addition, Christmas, Eid ul-Fitr, Easter and Bakrid are celebrated by Christians and Muslims in the state.
Tamils
have a large number of folk dances. These are performed for every
possible occasion, to celebrate the arrival of seasons, birth of a
child, weddings and festivals. Tamil dance is closely intertwined with
the Tamil theatrical tradition. The most celebrated of these is karakattam. In its religious form, the dance is performed in front of an image of the goddess Mariamman.
The dancer bears on his or her head a brass pot filled with uncooked
rice, decorated with flowers and surrounded by a bamboo frame, and
tumbles and leaps to the rhythm of a song without spilling a grain.
Karakattam is usually performed to a special type of song known as
temmanguppāṭṭu or thevar pāṭṭu, a folk song in the mode of a lover speaking to his beloved, to the accompaniment of a nadaswaram and melam. Other Tamil folk dances include mayilāṭṭam, where the dancers tie a string of peacock feathers around their waist; ōyilāttam,
danced in a circle while waving small pieces of cloth of various
colours; poikkal kuthiraiyaaṭṭam, where the dancers use dummy horses;
manattam, where the dancers imitate the graceful leaping of deer;
paraiyāṭṭam, a dance to the sound of rhythmical drumbeats, and
thīppandāṭṭam, a dance involving playing with burning wooden torches.
Bharatanatyam
is a classical dance form originating from Tamil Nadu. Prior to the
colonial perriod, it used to be performed in Hindu temples by Devadasis. In this form, it as also been called sadir or chinna melam.
Many of the ancient sculptures in Hindu temples are based on Bharata
Natyam dance postures. Bharatanatyam is a traditional dance-form known
for its grace, purity, tenderness, and sculpturesque poses. It continues
to be a popular dance style at present times and is practised by male
and female dancers all over India. Terukkuttu or Kattaikkuttu is a traditional form of Tamil street theatre folk dance/drama.
Cuisine
Main article: Tamil cuisine
Tamil cuisine is typical of South Indian cuisine, in that rice and rice-derived dishes form the major portion of a diet (see rice and curry).
There are regional sub-varieties namely Chettinadu, Kongunadu, Madurai,
Tirunelveli varieties etc. Traditionally, food is served on a banana leaf instead of a plate and eaten with the right hand. Rice is the staple food of Tamils and is typically eaten mixed with coconut chutney sambhar (with or without ghee), vegetarian or non-vegetarian kulambu, rasam, curd and buttermilk. This is accompanied with various vegetarian and/or non-vegetarian dishes like kootu, aviyal, poriyal, appalam, varuval, peratal, kothsu, varieties of pickles and chicken, mutton, or fish fry. Breakfast and snack items include dosai, Adai, idly, vadai, pongal, appam (aappam), paniyaram, puttu, uppumavu (uppuma), santhakai (a sort of noodles), idiyappam and uthappam. These items are eaten along with sambar, varieties of chatni and podi. Traditionally prepared filter coffee is unique in taste and popular all over the state. The Chettinad region is famous for its spicy non-vegetarian cuisine, while Ambur, Dindigal and Sankarankoil are known for their Biriyani.
Sweet items that are native to Tamil Nadu are Athirasam, Chakkarai
Pongal (prepared during Pongal) and Kuli Paniyaram. The city o fThirunelveli is renowned for its unique sweetmeat, Thirunelveli Halwa, while Palani
is known for its Panchamirtham. North Indian, Western, Chinese and fast
food culture are also becoming popular in modern Tamil Nadu.
Tourism
Main article: Tourism in Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu's tourism industry is the second largest in India, with an
annual growth rate of 16%. Tourism in Tamil Nadu is promoted by Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation (TTDC), a Government of Tamil Nadu undertaking. The tagline adopted for tourism promotion in Tamil Nadu is Enchanting Tamil Nadu. Approximately 2,804,687 foreign and 111,637,104 domestic tourists visited the state in 2010.[115] Tamil Nadu is a land of varied beauty. It boasts some of the grandest Hindu temples of Dravidian architecture. These temples are of a distinct style renowned for their towering Gopurams. The Brihadishwara Temple in Thanjavur, built by the Cholas, the Airavateswara temple in Darasuram and the Shore Temple, along with the collection of other monuments in Mahabalipuram (also called Mamallapuram) have been declared as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.[116][117] Madurai is home to one of the grandest Hindu temples in the World — Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple. Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam is the largest functioning temple in the world, Tiruchirappalli where the famous Rockfort Temple is located, Rameshwaram whose temple walk-ways corridor (Praagarams) are the longest [1.2 km] of all Indian temples in the world, Kanchipuram and Palani are important pilgrimage sites for Hindus. Other popular temples in Tamil Nadu include those in Gangaikonda Cholapuram, Chidambaram, Thiruvannaamalai, Tiruchendur, Tiruvarur, Kumbakonam, Srivilliputhur, Tiruttani, Namakkal, Vellore, Karur, Bhavani, Coimbatore, Kanniyakumari.
Tamil Nadu is also home to beautiful hill stations. Popular among them are Udhagamandalam (Ooty), Kodaikanal, Yercaud, Coonoor, Topslip, Valparai, Yelagiri and Manjolai. The Nilgiri hills, Palani hills, Shevaroy hills, Kolli Hills and Cardamom hills are all abodes of thick forests and wildlife. Mukurthi National Park & Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve
are the two tiger reserves in the state. Tamil Nadu has many National
Parks, Biosphere Reserves, Wildlife Sanctuaries, Elephant and Bird
Sanctuaries, Reserved Forests, Zoos and Crocodile farms. Prominent among
them are Mudumalai National Park, The Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve, Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park, Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary and Arignar Anna Zoological Park. The mangrove forests at Pichavaram are also eco-tourism spots of importance.
Kanyakumari, the southern most tip of peninsular India, is famous for its beautiful sunrise, Vivekananda Rock Memorial and Thiruvalluvar's statue built off the coastline. Marina Beach in Chennai is one of the longest beaches in the world.[118]
The stretch of beaches from Chennai to Mahabalipuram are home to many
resorts, theme parks and eateries. The prominent waterfalls in the state
are Courtallam, Hogenakal, Papanasam, Manimuthar, Thirparappu, Pykara
and Silver Cascade. The Chettinad region of the state is renowned for
its Palatial houses and cuisine. With medical care in Chennai, Vellore,
Coimbatore and Madurai, Tamil Nadu has the largest numbers in Medical tourism in India.
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