Country India District Tirunelveli Pincode(s) 627357 | State Tamil Nadu Time zone IST (UTC+5:30) | |
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Demonym(s) Thenkalamite, Thenkalathaar, Thenkalathukaarar, Thenkalathukaaramma | ||
Thenkalam, officially called Tenkulam, is a village in the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu, India. It lies about 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) from the city of Tirunelveli and about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from Sankarnagar, a suburb of Tirunelveli which lies on the way to Madurai on National Highway 44.
Contents
- Map of Thenkalam Tamil Nadu 627357
- Thenkalam amman kovil kodai veera deventhiran groups
- Etymology
- Geography
- Neighborhoods
- Utilities
- Transport
- Schools
- Notable People
- References
Map of Thenkalam, Tamil Nadu 627357
Thenkalam amman kovil kodai veera deventhiran groups
Etymology
Eventhough the village is now widely known as Thenkalam, official records show that it was once called Tenkulam. Tenkulam must be the anglicized form of Thenkulam. Assuming this, Thenkulam can be broken into two words: Then & Kulam. 'Then' in Tamil refers to 'South' while 'Kulam' may refer to two things: Pond(குளம்) or a group of related people(குலம்). So, Thenkulam can be translated into English as 'Pond in the south' or 'People of the south'. It is to be noted that there is a large pond to the southeast of the village, Thalaiyuthu Kulam.
Geography
Thenkalam is located in a hillocky region being surrounded by two large hillocks: one to the east and the other one to the south. The eastern hillock is called Keezhamalai which is a mere translation (Keezha-East; Malai-Hillock). The southern hillock is similarly called Therkkumalai. The neighborhood of Therkkumalai Colony is located here. The village pond, Thalaiyuthu Kulam, is built by connecting the two hillocks with an embankment. It is a rain fed farm pond which acts as a direct source of irrigation for lands in the Keelapathu and also indirectly helps agriculture by increasing the water table which rises water levels in surrounding wells.
Neighborhoods
- Kamaraj Nagar
- Keezha Thenkalam
- Mela Thenkalam
- Periyar Nagar
- Therkkumalai Colony
Keezha Thenkalam, Periyar Nagar and Therkumalai Colony are predominantly occupied by people belonging to Hindu Pallar community, a Scheduled Caste. Mela thenkalam and Kamaraj Nagar are mixed with people belonging to various castes including Christians and Muslims.
Utilities
Thenkalam houses a Post Office, a Bank, a Veterinary centre etc., and hence is an important centre of business in the area. Electricity is supplied by Tamil Nadu Electricity Board(TNEB). Thalaiyuthu Sub-Station of TNEB is the local body responsible for power supply in the village.
Transport
Thenkalam is well connected with Tirunelveli Old Bus Stand by bus, average journey time being 40 minutes. The nearest railway station is Talaiyuthu where only passenger trains stop. Tirunelveli Junction is the nearest major railhead with daily trains to Chennai, Bengaluru, Madurai, Salem, Tiruchirappalli, Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Coimbatore; weekly trains to Hyderabad, Kolkata and a bi-weekly to Delhi(Thirukural Express). The nearest airport, Tuticorin Airport, is connected with chennai by two daily flights. The nearest international airport is at Madurai.
Schools
- Panchayat Union Elementary School (ஊராட்சி ஒன்றிய தொடக்கப் பள்ளி)
- T.D.T.A School
- St.Paul's Nursery and Primary School
- Star School
All the schools offer studies only upto class 5 above which one has to go to schools in neighbouring villages or towns. The last two of the four are Private Schools.
Notable People
- Daniel Selvaraj, Sahitya Akademi Award winning Tamil writer.