Tiruchirapalli (also spelt Tiruchirappalli, commonly known as Tiruchi or Trichy, formerly known as Trichinopoly under British rule) is a city situated on the banks of the Cauvery River, centrally located in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

Origin of the name

The name of the town, Tiruchirapalli, originates as a tribute (thiru in Tamil means respected) to a Jain monk called Chira, so “Tiruchirapalli” means “the town of respected Chira”.

History

It has many historic churches, mosques, temples, and monuments. It was an important town in the days of the later Cholas as well as during the early days of the British East India Company.

One famous landmark in Tiruchirapalli is the Rock Fort — a huge outcrop of rock. There is a Ganesha temple on top, which was also used as a military fort for some time.

Rock Fort is an eighty-three metre high rock which is the only outcrop in the otherwise flat land of the city. The Rock is one of the oldest in the world — approximately 3,800 years old, which makes it as old as the rocks of Greenland and older than the Himalayas. On top of the rock is the Ucchi Pillayar Koil (the Columns Hall of a Thousand Pillars), a temple dedicated to Vinayaka, from where one can enjoy a panoramic view of Tiruchirapalli.

For this reason the city is also called the Rock City. On the southern face of the rock are several beautifully carved cave temples of the Pallava period.

Around the rock temple is a busy commercial region, specialising in textiles. It is known as Chatram nowadays. Chatram is a place for shoppers. The Main Guard Gate is flooded on festive occasions such as Diwali and Pongal.

Economy

Tiruchirapalli is an industrial city with many manufacturing industries and factories in its suburbs. A few industries are:

• Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited
• Ordance Factory
• Golden Rock Coach Manufacturing Unit

Education

Considered an educational town, Tiruchirapalli has schools and colleges that are hundreds of years old. College Road in Chatram has more than three colleges and five schools.

List of universities

• Bharathidasan University
• NIT Trichy

See also List of Colleges in Trichy.

Notable people from Tiruchirapalli

• Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, the Nobel laureate, physicist.

Places to see

The temple towns of Srirangam, Uttamar Kovil, and Thiruvanaikkovil are near Tiruchirapalli.

See also

• Srirangam
• Kaveri river