Hइस्टोरी ऑफ़ Kodaikanal
It is not known who first used this name or what they intended it to mean.The word Kodaikanal is formed from the two Tamil words Kodai and Kanal. Kanal means dense forest or closed forest. By pronouncing with short tamil o as Kodi, means Creepers. Thus, Kodai Kanal means the forest of creepers in reference to the dense undergrowth of creeping vines in the forest.[4]
Another Tamil word for creepers is Valli, the honey collecting daughter of the chief of the Veddas mountain tribe. The chief and his wife prayed to the Mountain God for a girl-child and their prayers were answered when the chief found a new-born girl child during a hunting expedition. As she was found among creeper plants, they named the child Valli and she grew up as princess of the tribe in Kurinji and became the consort of lord Murugan. [5]The romantic traditions of Murugan in Sangam literature are thus associated with the name Kodaikanal.
The Forest of Creepers was the English language meaning given in 1885 during the early western habitation of the place,[6] and is still accepted. [7]
[edit] History
Main article: History of Kodaikanal
The earliest residents of Kodaikanal were the Palaiyar tribal people. The earliest specific references to Kodaikanal and the Palani Hills are found in Tamil Sangam literature of the early Christian era.[8] Modern Kodaikanal was established by American Christian missionaries and British bureaucrats in 1845, as a refuge from the high temperatures and tropical diseases of the plains. [9] In the 20th century a few elite Indians came to realise the value of this enchanting hill station and started relocating here.[10]
[edit] Geography
1955 Topographic map of Kodaikanal
South facing escarpment from Dolphins Nose
The town of Kodaikanal sits on a plateau above the southern escarpment of the upper Palni Hills at 2,133 meters (6,998 ft), between the Parappar and Gundar Valleys. These hills form the eastward spur of the Western Ghats on the Western side of South India. It has an irregular basin as its heartland, the centre of which is now a 5 kilometers (3 mi) circumference manmade lake.
meadows and grasslands cover the hillsides. Gigantic Eucalyptus trees and shola forests flourish in the valleys. Mighty rocks and cascading streams. rise up from the valleys. There are many cascading streams, high waterfalls and ubiquitous gardens and flower beds in bloom.[10]
Another Tamil word for creepers is Valli, the honey collecting daughter of the chief of the Veddas mountain tribe. The chief and his wife prayed to the Mountain God for a girl-child and their prayers were answered when the chief found a new-born girl child during a hunting expedition. As she was found among creeper plants, they named the child Valli and she grew up as princess of the tribe in Kurinji and became the consort of lord Murugan. [5]The romantic traditions of Murugan in Sangam literature are thus associated with the name Kodaikanal.
The Forest of Creepers was the English language meaning given in 1885 during the early western habitation of the place,[6] and is still accepted. [7]
[edit] History
Main article: History of Kodaikanal
The earliest residents of Kodaikanal were the Palaiyar tribal people. The earliest specific references to Kodaikanal and the Palani Hills are found in Tamil Sangam literature of the early Christian era.[8] Modern Kodaikanal was established by American Christian missionaries and British bureaucrats in 1845, as a refuge from the high temperatures and tropical diseases of the plains. [9] In the 20th century a few elite Indians came to realise the value of this enchanting hill station and started relocating here.[10]
[edit] Geography
1955 Topographic map of Kodaikanal
South facing escarpment from Dolphins Nose
The town of Kodaikanal sits on a plateau above the southern escarpment of the upper Palni Hills at 2,133 meters (6,998 ft), between the Parappar and Gundar Valleys. These hills form the eastward spur of the Western Ghats on the Western side of South India. It has an irregular basin as its heartland, the centre of which is now a 5 kilometers (3 mi) circumference manmade lake.
meadows and grasslands cover the hillsides. Gigantic Eucalyptus trees and shola forests flourish in the valleys. Mighty rocks and cascading streams. rise up from the valleys. There are many cascading streams, high waterfalls and ubiquitous gardens and flower beds in bloom.[10]
