Thengapattanam
{{Short description|Town in Tamil Nadu, India}}
{{more citations needed|date=December 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2018}}
{{Infobox settlement
|name = Thengapattanam
|settlement_type = town
|image_skyline =
|image_alt =
|image_caption =
|nickname =
| image_map =
| map_alt =
| map_caption =
| pushpin_map = India Tamil Nadu#India3
| pushpin_label_position = left
| pushpin_map_alt =
| pushpin_map_caption =
| coordinates = {{coord|08|14|25|N|77|10|23|E|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = {{flag|India}}
|subdivision_type1 = State
|subdivision_type2 = District
|subdivision_name1 = Tamil Nadu
|subdivision_name2 = Kanyakumari
|established_title =
|established_date =
|founder = Malik Deenar and fellow Arab Traders
|named_for = coconuts
|government_type =
|unit_pref = Metric
|area_footnotes =
|area_total_km2 =
|area_rank =
|elevation_footnotes =
|elevation_m = 0
|population_total = 4361
|population_as_of = 2017
|population_footnotes =
|population_density_km2 =
|population_rank =
|population_demonym =
|demographics_type1 = Languages
|demographics1_title1 = Official
|timezone1 = IST
|utc_offset1 = +5.30
|postal_code_type = PIN
|postal_code = 629173
|area_code = 04651
|area_code_type = Telephone code
|registration_plate = TN-75
| blank_name_sec2 = HDI
| blank_info_sec2 = High
|blank1_name_sec1 = Nearest city
|blank1_info_sec1 = Nagercoil & Trivandrum
|blank1_name_sec2 = Nearest Airport
|blank1_info_sec2 = Trivandrum International Airport
|website =
|footnotes =
|pushpin_label_alt =
|pushpin_label_caption =
|government_body =
|demographics1_info1 = Tamil.
|blank2_name_sec1 = Lok sabha constituency
|blank2_info_sec1 = Kanyakumari
|blank3_name_sec1 = Vidhan Sabha
|blank3_info_sec1 = Killiyur
}}
Thengapattanam (also referred to as "Thengapattinam", thennaipattinam" and "thenpattinam" ), named after dense coconut grooves, is a major trade and tourism centre in the painkulam panchayath along the coastal plains of Kanyakumari district. Thengapattanam, once part of Travancore and later Kerala, was added to Tamil Nadu on 1 November 1956 along with some parts of today's Kanniyakumari District.
Etymology
Thengappattanam derives its name from the abundance of coconut groves sprout along the vast estuary, meaning the town/city with coconut trees in abundance. The word Thenga(i) is found in Malayalam/Tamil refers to coconut/palm; The suffix "pattanam" is derived from "pattinam", a Tamil word which means coastal town or a city. Thus "Thenga+pattanam" became Thengapattanam in the later years. Also, acclaimed Malayalam/Arabic novels on Islamic history refers to this town as Naariyal pathathan, Naariyal meaning "coconut", and pathathan is an Arabic word for town.{{cn|date=July 2023}}
History
{{unreferenced section|date=March 2019}}
Capital of "Thenga Nadu"
Chilappathikaram, the Tamil epic refers thengapattanam as the capital of "thenga nadu" – one of the 48 countries of lemuria, otherwise known as ‘kumari kandam’, where the Dravidian civilizations known as the ‘cradle of civilizations’ flourished. The world renowned historical research traveler ‘dalami’ refers this place as a ‘harbour town’ in this book written in ad 100. The king of ‘thenga nadu’ karunan thadangal is said to have ruled from here.{{cn|date=July 2023}}
Dutch Invasion
This area, once under the domain of chera, pandya and nayakkar kings, was later ruled by the kings of travancore. Attingal queen got the right to rule this area in ad 1700. During this time in the middle of the 17th century, the naval forces headed by the Dutch colonel nicolfwar besieged this town and gained control of it. The Dutch records of ‘wrin-de-herik’ state that after the take over a Dutch infantry division, a go down and a church were established here in ad 1678. In ad 1694, the forces attingal queen fought the Dutch, chased them out and regained its control.{{cn|date=July 2023}}
The rule of Venad
The Dutch again attacked thengapattinam, when it became part of ‘venad’ under the rule of marthanda varma maharaja. during this battle fought to chase out the Dutch, many Muslims lost their lives.{{cn|date=July 2023}}
The ‘kuntadipattan paarai’ which came under the heavy attack of the Dutch cannons stand out to be a ‘living memorial’ today. Later, due to the ‘Tamil nadu liberation movement’ this part was annexed to Tamil Nadu in 1956.{{cn|date=July 2023}}
It is worth mentioning here that the famous raja kesavadas, the then divan of the king Rama varma of travancore was brought up in his youth in the well known ‘puthen veedu" here.
Geography
=Topography=
Thengapattanam is located in the South western coast of India bordering the Arabian Sea to the west, western ghats to the north, and vast fertile plains with intermittent Rocky hills to the east. The town is 11 km into the Tamil Nadu border from Kerala. The Kerala state capital Thiruvananthapuram is 45 km away from here, whereas Nagercoil is 35 km away. It shares borders with Erayumanthurai, and Amsi villages on either side. The mean elevation of the town is {{convert|9|ft|m|abbr=on}} with the highest point Chentapalli Rock being {{convert|50|ft|m|abbr=on}} high above sea level. The Thamirabarani River wraps around most parts of the Kanyakumari district and becomes Kuzhithurai River before reaching Thengapattanam Estuary.{{cn|date=July 2023}}
The AVM Canal (Anantha Victoria Marthandam Canal) commissioned by Marthanda Varma Maharaja in the 1860s to facilitate smooth trade, and navigation, passes through this town, the waterway lost its signiface and consequently had to cess operation in the 1980s following the establishment of roadways, unmitigated moderation, and unlawful encroachments adjoining the canal. The Canal, while it functioned, merged with Thamirabarani River River at Thengapattanam, and formed a basin known as Valiyar. The development project mooted to revive AVM Canal Waterways would link Thengapattanam with Kanyakumari in the east and Kasargode in the north-west in Kerala, when it becomes operational.{{cn|date=July 2023}}
=Geology=
Thengapattanam is classified under the Seismic Zone III, indicating a moderate risk of damage from earthquakes.
=Climate=
The climate here is classified under Köppen–Geiger climate classification system as As/Aw/Am, as an implication the town experiences moderate tropical climates ranging from monsoon to Savannah dry influenced by the vicinity to Thermal equator. The town has been an annual recipient of unusually high rainfall from both the North-East and South-west monsoons.
The South-western monsoon spans the months of June till September, and the North-Eastern monsoon period commences by the October and winds up in the mid or late December. On an average, the Town receives 2100mm of rainfall with 104 rainy days.
The summer here, spanning from the month of May to late June, is tropical dry and may reach a peak of 34 °C. The average Humidity in summer is around 74% percentage, while in June the humidity surfaces the 90% mark.
The temperature during winter, on the other hand, reaches a low of 20 °C as the night falls. The winter season is marked by high precipitation and moderate rainfall.{{cn|date=July 2023}}
{{Weather box
|location = Thengapattanam (Kanyakumari District) (1971–2010)
|metric first = Yes
|single line = Yes
|Jan record high C = 34.4
|Feb record high C = 34.7
|Mar record high C = 36.0
|Apr record high C = 36.8
|May record high C = 38.2
|Jun record high C = 36.2
|Jul record high C = 35.2
|Aug record high C = 35.9
|Sep record high C = 35.5
|Oct record high C = 35.2
|Nov record high C = 34.3
|Dec record high C = 33.6
|year record high C = 38.2
|Jan high C = 31.0
|Feb high C = 31.4
|Mar high C = 32.2
|Apr high C = 34.1
|May high C = 33.7
|Jun high C = 33.3
|Jul high C = 27.8
|Aug high C = 28.0
|Sep high C = 29.6
|Oct high C = 29.1
|Nov high C = 29.1
|Dec high C = 28.9
|year high C = 32.3
|Jan low C = 20.3
|Feb low C = 23.5
|Mar low C = 25.0
|Apr low C = 25.1
|May low C = 24.8
|Jun low C = 25.9
|Jul low C = 26.2
|Aug low C = 22.2
|Sep low C = 24.2
|Oct low C = 21.3
|Nov low C = 24.0
|Dec low C = 19.1
|year low C = 21.8
|Jan record low C = 20.1
|Feb record low C = 18.8
|Mar record low C = 21.4
|Apr record low C = 20.9
|May record low C = 21.3
|Jun record low C = 19.3
|Jul record low C = 19.0
|Aug record low C = 21.3
|Sep record low C = 21.0
|Oct record low C = 20.8
|Nov record low C = 20.1
|Dec record low C = 19.0
|year record low C = 19.0
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 61.6
|Feb precipitation mm = 60.8
|Mar precipitation mm = 81.1
|Apr precipitation mm = 119.2
|May precipitation mm = 148.0
|Jun precipitation mm = 250.4
|Jul precipitation mm = 288.1
|Aug precipitation mm = 295.3
|Sep precipitation mm = 174.1
|Oct precipitation mm = 141.8
|Nov precipitation mm = 130.9
|Dec precipitation mm = 92.0
|year precipitation mm = 2058.2
|Jan precipitation days = 2.0
|Feb precipitation days = 4.1
|Mar precipitation days = 4.3
|Apr precipitation days = 6.5
|May precipitation days = 9.7
|Jun precipitation days = 18.6
|Jul precipitation days = 19.0
|Aug precipitation days = 20.5
|Sep precipitation days = 12.9
|Oct precipitation days = 21.9
|Nov precipitation days = 19.5
|Dec precipitation days = 11.4
|year precipitation days = 104.4
|Jan humidity = 69
|Feb humidity = 61
|Mar humidity = 73
|Apr humidity = 81
|May humidity = 86
|Jun humidity = 88
|Jul humidity = 80
|Aug humidity = 76
|Sep humidity = 77
|Oct humidity = 74
|Nov humidity = 76
|Dec humidity = 74
|year humidity = 71
|Jan sun = 250.7
|Feb sun = 253.6
|Mar sun = 245.8
|Apr sun = 291.4
|May sun = 303.4
|Jun sun = 292.3
|Jul sun = 175.6
|Aug sun = 156.0
|Sep sun = 181.2
|Oct sun = 163.0
|Nov sun = 182.5
|Dec sun = 229.8
|year sun = 2365.0
|source 1= India Meteorological Department (record high and low up to 2010){{cite web
|url=http://www.imdpune.gov.in/Temp_Extremes/histext2010.pdf
|format=PDF
|title=Ever recorded Maximum and minimum temperatures up to 2010
|publisher=India Meteorological Department
|accessdate=25 October 2014
|url-status=live
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140316064314/http://www.imdpune.gov.in/Temp_Extremes/histext2010.pdf
|archivedate=16 March 2014
}}
}}
Tourist attraction
File:Tpmbeach 2013-12-30 17-41.jpg
Thengapattanam has a long seashore with ferry services available. Thengapattanam is a major tourist attraction in the Kanyakumari districtknown for its sea, river, canal, paddy fields, rocky mountains and lush green groves. The water way mooted by the then travancore government popularly known as avm canal originates from Mangalore in Karnataka and reaches Thengapattinam without any hurdles. Even now passengers and goods are ferried through this canal to places like Poothurai, Thoothoor, Vallavilai, Neerodi, Kollencode and Poovar. The merger of the Tamiraparani River here with the Arabian Sea is considered to be especially beautiful. This has also been used to describe the merger of the river with sea (estuary / firth) known as "Pozhi" in local vernacular.{{cn|date=July 2023}}
As one of the few picnic spots in the district, the town contains tiny hill-tops where cool wind blows throughout the year.{{cn|date=July 2023}}