Sripuram Golden Mahalaxmi Temple

Golden Temple - when uttered this word, immediately people thinks of Amritsar and the Highest Body of the Sikh's pride Golden Temple.

Thirmalai naiker mahal-MADURAI

The palace is situated 2kms south east of Meenakshi Temple. The palace was built in 1636 by Thirumalai Nayakar.

The Meenakshi temple complex

Madurai or "the city of nectar" is the oldest and second largest city of Tamil Nadu..

The big Waterfalls at Hogenakal

You get the feel of the river running nearby when you enter the sanctuary enclosing Hogenakal waterfall. Suddenly.

Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabhudin Adbul Kalam

Adbul Kalam, was born on the 15th October, 1931, at Rameshwaram in TamilNadu. He did his B.Sc..

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Nagesh

Nagesh (Tamil: நாகேà®·்) (born C. Krishna Rao Gundu Rao; 27 September 1933 – 31 January 2009), was a Tamil film actor, mostly remembered for his roles as a comedian during the 1960s. He is regarded as one of the most prolific comedians in Tamil cinema.
Nagesh was born in a Kannada family from Dharapuram, Erode. He was educated in Madras and worked as a clerk in the Indian Railways before entering Tamil film industry. He acted in over 1,000 Indian films from 1958 to 2008, performing in variety of roles as comedian, lead roles, supporting actor and antagonist. He died on 31 January 2009.
In a stark contrast to the comic roles he performed, Nagesh's personal life was wrought with suffering. After losing his father at an early age, Nagesh had to endure a weak financial situation and family ostracism which plagued him throughout his life. The film Server Sundaram, a rags to riches story in which Nagesh plays the lead role, is believed to be roughly based on the real life story of the actor.
Despite being primarily a comedian, Nagesh was rated highly as a character actor by his peers. Nagesh's style of comedy was largely inspired by Hollywood actor Jerry Lewis. Similarities between Nagesh and Lewis earned Nagesh the sobriquet "Jerry Lewis of India".

Early life

Nagesh was born as Gundu Rao to Krishna Rao and Rukmaniamma on 27 September 1933. His parents belonged to the Kannada-speaking Madhwa Brahmin community. It is believed that he was born in Dharapuram in Former Integrated Erode district, now changed to new Tirupur district. His father died at an early age and the burden of educating Nagesh fell upon his mother. In his childhood, Nagesh was afflicted by small pox which slightly disfigured him.
He left Dharapuram at an early age and moved to Madras city in search of a career. At Madras, he shared a one-bedroom room with two others. His room mates, writer Vaali and director Sridhar, later became established themselves as prominent personalities in the Tamil cine field. He found employment as a clerk in the Indian Railways and was thus able to pay his rent and cope up with expenses.

Resurgence

Nagesh's career enjoyed a partial resurgence from the 1980s onwards when he acted in a number of movies, mostly in elderly roles, some of them as the villain. His most remembered role as a villain was in the 1989-hit Apoorva Sagodharargal. The movie was later dubbed into Hindi as Appu Raja. He also played the villain in Rajinikanth films Athisaya Piravi and Mounam Sammadham. His negative roles included sadistic schemers then muscular giants.
In the comedy flick, Michael Madana Kama Rajan, Nagesh played the role of a dishonest secretary Avinashi who commissions a look-alike Kameswaran to impersonate his boss, Madan, and lend him money from Madan's account. He even acted as a dead body in the 1994 film Magalir Mattum. He won a National Award as Best Supporting Actor for his role in the 1994 film Nammavar
Nagesh did a series of supporting roles in the 1990s and 2000s. Notable among them were those of make-up artist Joseph in Avvai Shanmugi in which he featured alongside another veteran Gemini Ganesan, Arjun's father in Rhythm, Madhavan's grandfather Subbuni in Minnale, Ajit's Grandfather in Poovellam Un Vasam, Father Rozario in Kadhal Kondain and Kamal Hassan's father in Vasool Raja MBBS. His handling of these roles gained him considerable appreciation from the public.
Nagesh had a good relationship with Kamal Hassan, with whom he had co-starred in a variety of movies from the 1970s to the 2000s. Kamal Hassan cast Nagesh in most of his self-productions.

Friday, March 25, 2011

Valparai


The pollution free heavenly land. Valparai is located above the 3,500 feet from the sea level on the Anamalai mountain rangeValparai does not mean only a single town. It stands majestically with Green Spread Mountains and forest all around. Facility with kind hospitality for you is assured in Valparai. All your needs such as boarding, food, shopping can be satisfied with esteemed Lodges, Hotels and Shops. The place to visit at least once in your life span. To bring out the Joy and peace within you. Visit, enjoy the pleasure of Nature, and keep the green memories alive......

The unique grass forests, Grass Hills, is also located near Valparai. The hill sports tall grass and houses elephants, boars, cheetah and other wild animals. In addition one can drive around the mountain tea estates enjoying the pleasant climate and forget the once dense forest that have paved the way for tea bushes.
64-km drive from Pollachi to Valparai is itself an exotic experience. En route is the Indira Gandhi Wild Life Sanctuary where lion-tailed macaque, the Nilgiri and the common langur, Malabar giant squirrel, elephant, gaur, spotted deer, sambar, barking deer and wild boar reside. From Valparai you can visit the Aliyar, Sholaiyar and Nirar dams. Tunnels bored into the mountains and canals to harness the water from Parambikulam, Aliyar, Nirar, Sholaiyar Dam, and several tourist spots.

Azhiyar Park

This Park is situated on the banks of Azhiyar Dam and surrounded by western ghats in three sides. Near to this is Siddashram.

Monkey Falls

This waterfall is situated just after the Siddashram on the way to Valparai from Azhiyar Dam. This is also known as Chinna Kuttralam. Thousands of people visits this place every year.

Sholaiar dam

This is a very deep dam located at a distance of 20 km, from Valparai.

Chinnakallar

This is the second highest rain fall area in India. This area always lies greenish, misty and wet. A waterfall which sounds like a Roaring Lion also located at Chinnakallar.

Nirar dam

Dam is situated in a wonderful location covered by a dense forest. This dam is built for multipurpose project such as irrigation, Hydro electricity production. There is a waterfalls near by the dam which resembles the Cascade.

Some of the major Plantation Companies are:

Tamil Nadu Tea Plantation Corporation (TNTPC)
The Bombay Burma Trading Corporation (MUDIS Group)
Tata Tea Estates Ltd (Tata Tea)
Tea Estates India Ltd (TEIL)
Woodbriar Ltd (Stanmoore Group)
Parry Agro Ltd
N.E.P.C Tea Ltd
Jayshree Tea Industries Ltd (Birla Group)
Periya Karamalai Tea Estates Ltd
Puthuthottam Tea Estate Ltd
Watersfalls Tea Estate Ltd.

Sirumalai

SIRUMALAI (DINDIGUL): Sirumalai hill will soon find a prominent place in tourists' map of Tamil Nadu as the State government has plans to set up one of the five genetic heritage gardens (Mullai Thottam) here mirroring tradition and culture of Tamil people as spelt out in the Sangam poetry.

This hill station is not yet tapped by tourism. Still it has its Virgin forest and stands green. It has good scenary, pleasant climate, misty mornings/evenings, spices, fruits, cool temperature, natural agriculture, good roads and many more.

Sirumalai is a small hill station 20 Km away from Dindigul on the Natham Road. The place has a lot of birds and animals and the youngsters can go for trekking and mountaineering here.

The place is mentioned in the ancient Ayurvedic books as a place abundant with many medicinal plants. The Siddha form of healing has been developed on these hills by the sages a thousand years back. The hill has a cool climate.


The hills can be reached from Madurai also. The farming methods are completely organic here on these hills. The place is cheap and convenient compared to other hill stations. It is 1,200 metres high and spreads over 60,000 acres. A third of this greenery is private revenue land on which grows coffee, cardamom, black pepper, banana and lemon.

Sirumalai will be declared a reserved forest area soon, which means restricted entry. Rosewood trees, besides silver oak, nellikai and katakai trees, grow in these thick forests.

Hill Resort - This is an economical Hill resort and a picnic spot for weary travellers. This is on the way to Natham 25 kms from Dindigul city. This place is accessible from Madurai also. Though the uphill journey is for a brief time, the 18 hair pin bends provide the real thrilling experience, characteristic of a trip to a hill station. The entire locale is green and lush and the climate is cool / warm. Sirumalai provides an opportunity to go on trekking and hiking. Beautiful scenic view of saathiyar river basin and Dindigul town delight the visitors. Vellimalai Temple, which is recently renovated, is the famous destination for devotees. Sanjeevi Hills, famous in Indian Epic Ramayana is also in the vicinity. Bus service and private cabs are available from Dindigul city.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Pichavaram


Pichavaram is located near Chidambaram in Cuddalore District, Tamil Nadu, in South India. The nearest railway station is Chidambaram from where it is accessible by road.
Pichavaram is home to the second largest Mangrove forest in the world, and it is one of the unique eco-tourism spots in South India. The backwaters, interconnected by the Vellar and Coleroon river systems, offer abundant scope for water sports such as rowing, kayaking and canoeing. The Pichavaram forest not only offers waterscape and backwater cruises, but also another very rare sight - the mangrove forest trees are permanently rooted in a few feet of water.

Mangrove Forest

The Pichavaram mangroves are considered among the healthiest mangrove occurrence in the world. Pichavaram consists of a number of islands interspersing a vast expanse of water covered with green trees. The area is about 2,800 acres (11 km2) and is separated from the sea by a sand bar which is a patch of extraordinary loveliness.
The Pichavaram mangrove biotope, consisting of rare species like Avicennia and Rhizophara; presents a special attraction, with its peculiar topography and environmental condition. It supports the existence of many rare varieties of economically important shell and finfishes.
The Pichavaram mangroves attract an appreciable bird population of residents, local migrants and true migrants. Amongst others, one can view birds like Watersnips, Cormorants, Egrets, Storks, Herons, Spoonbills and Pelicans. At the mangroves, so far, 177 species of birds belonging to 15 orders and 41 families have been recorded. The season for birds is from September to April every year. Peak population of birds could be seen from November to January. This is due to high productive nature (in terms of prey organisms) of the ecosystem and coincidence of the time of arrival of true migrants from foreign countries and local migrants from their breeding grounds across India. The availability of different habitat types such as channels, creeks, gullies, mud flats and sand flats and adjacent sea shore offers ideal habitat for difference species of birds.
In the above background, the Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation and the District Administration of Cuddalore District have proposed to conduct an Eco Tourism festival namely " DAWN FEST " (Vidiyal Vizha) at Pichavaram.

Reaching Pichavaram

How to get to Chidambaram:
Road - East Coast Road to Pondicherry, the Cuddalore Road and then the bypass to Chidambaram, a total of 248 km from Chennai and 357 Km from Coimbatore. Buses run frequently to Chidambaram and from there to Pichavaram (16 km.), Sirkazhi (20 km.), the Vaitheeswaran Koil (24 km.), Arikamedu (75 km., ancient Indo-Roman trading centre) and Gingee (132 km).
Rail — The Chidambaram railhead connects to Chennai, Kumbakonam, Madurai, Tiruchirapalli and Thanjavur.
Air — The nearest airhead is Tiruchirapalli, 168 km. from Chidambaram.

Twitter Delicious Facebook Digg Stumbleupon Favorites More

 
Twitter Bird Gadget