T.Kallupatti
Encyclopedia
Town with Initials , the concept of Mother Village
The town has an initial similar to a person and this is actually a common thing seen in Southern Tamilnadu. The Initial for the town is the Name of the Mother Village from which it derives its existence. Its as similar to the relation between Mother and Children. This actually had been the original Tamil culture for years. Here T.Kallupatti's Mother village is Devankurichi(spelled as Thevankurichi) a small village on the road towards PeraiyurPeraiyur
Peraiyur is a panchayat town in Madurai district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.-Geography:Peraiyur is located at . It has an average elevation of 150 metres .-Demographics:...
. The Devankurichi hill is a symbol of spirituality as one can see it while driving closer to T.Kallupatti. Many people throng the Agneeswaran Temple of Devankurichi for doing the last rites of those who are dead and so its equated to Kasi.
Community
T.Kallupatti is a symbol of mixed culture . muthiraiyar , Telugu people, thevar , pillai and dalits are major communities . TeluguTelugu language
Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
speaking people who had migrated during the Vijayanagara Rule. The major communities are Kammavar Nayakkar,Gaurava Naidu, Ganjam Reddy
Reddy
Reddy is a social group or caste of India, predominantly inhabiting Andhra Pradesh. They are enlisted as a forward caste by the government. Traditionally, they are a high-caste community of nobility, warriors and cultivators. According to academics, they were a warrior caste in the remote past and...
. Tamil communities like Maravar
Maravar
Maravar are a Tamil community of the state of Tamil Nadu, southern India, and are one of the three branches of the Mukkulathor confederacy.Maravars are found predominantly in the Southern districts of Tamilnadu viz., Madurai, Theni, Sivagangai, Ramanathapuram, Dindigul, Virudhunagar, Thirunelveli,...
(Thevar sect), form the next significant group of the town.Brahmin population is now eroded. There is also a significant number of Christian and Muslim population in the town. Dalits of the area are well educated and settled except for a smaller group. Significance identities of this historical place are Ealoor(7 villages) Muthalamman Temple, Devankurichi Temple, Gandhinikatan Ashram, Teachers' training school, Govt hospitals, etc.,. during our independence, t.kallupatti was as a hub for meeting and discussion place of freedom fighters. this place is being visited by many national freedom fighters and political leaders.
- UgadiUgadiYugadi or Ugadi or "Samvatsradi" , Konkani/Marathi: युगादी yugādi, , formed by sandhi of yuga "age" and ādi "beginning": the beginning of an age) is the New Year's Day for the people of the Deccan region of India. It falls on the different day every year because the Hindu calendar is a lunisolar...
is celebrated with same fanfare like other Tamil festivals and Telugu communities have local deities shared with Tamil communities.
Temples and festivals
Madurai District has the endless list of Towns with unique specialities and T.Kallupatti is not far behind in that.- Muthalamman (Women Goddess) Temple Festival is a famous Temple Festival celebrated between 7 villages around T.Kallupatti. It is one of the rare festivals which doesn't have any Caste issues and everyone come together to help and celebrate. This is a major shift from the caste related violences during Temple festivals in Tamilnadu and Southern districts in particular. The festival involves each of the 7 villages preparing their own Sapparam for their goddess.VannivelampattiVannivelampatti-About:Vannivelampatti , is a Gram panchayat in Madurai district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.-History:Vannivelampatti was known as vannivalampatti which means, a village situated at the right side of the strange Vanni Vinayaka facing west at the top of the Devankkurichi hill.-Groups based on...
comes closer to compete with T.Kallupatti Sapparam in terms of height. The festival comes a few days before Diwali. - Mariamman Temple Festival is a yearly festival involving Tamil traditions. Women take Mulaipari during the festival.
- Solapatti Karuppaswamy Temple - Telugu and Tamil communities do offerings on a regular basis to the Karuppaswamy temple.
Karaikeni Padukalam
KaraikeniKaraikeni
Karaikeni is a Gram panchayat in Madurai district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.-Location:Karaikeni is situated 2 km from T.Kallupatti. It comprises 2 villages Karaikeni and Theppathupatti.-Culture:...
is a small village where the Padukalam is celebrated where many villages come together to have different war like activities. The history goes back 500 years when Karaikeni ruler Arasuthevar decided to resolve a dispute between 2 other small rulers. The decision was to contest a war to decide the winner. 1 of the ruler and his army was destroyed but one warrior escapes. His descendants come together every 2 years to celebrate this festival. Now the festival involves a fight between the groups in typical Tamil tradition involving Silambu
Silambu
Silambu is a traditional anklet worn mostly by South Indians. This ornament is referred to in the famous Tamil silapapthigaram, where the story begins and ends with a silmabu. In olden days, both men and women wore a variety of silambu. This can be discovered in most of the Tamil texts...
.
Languages
- TeluguTelugu languageTelugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
( Spoken by Nayakkars, Naidus, reddys. Telugu spoken here has some Tamil words.). - TamilTamil languageTamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
Gandhiniketan Ashram
The major place to visit in T.Kallupatti is the Gandhiniketan Ashram.When one travels from Madurai
Madurai
Madurai is the third largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It served as the capital city of the Pandyan Kingdom. It is the administrative headquarters of Madurai District and is famous for its temples built by Pandyan and...
in Tamilnadu along the highway leading to Coutrallam the famous waterfalls, what comes strikingly into view at the 40th kilometre is the Gandhi Niketan Ashram- one of the few surviving Gandhian Institutions in India, still vibrant with Gandhian thoughts and ideals. On entering the campus of this institution located in a sprawling 40 acres of land one can feel the peace and tranquility that pervades the place.
Formation
Gandhi Niketan Ashram which has a long history and rich tradition behind it is the brain child of Freedom fighter Mr. G. Venkatachalapathy ("The Architect of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Movement in Tamil Nadu") and was started it in 1940 to help create an independent India and reconstructing Rural India as envisioned by Mahatma GandhiMahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...
.
Post independence
After India attained independence in 1947, the Gandhi Niketan Ashram was involved in areas like community development, panchayati raj, and khadi and village industries. Development officials and activists from all over India were trained here to work at the grassroots. The Ashram also played a key role in the Bhoodan movement spearheaded by Acharya Vinoba Bhave.Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
the Nobel laureate and Civil rights leader of America who visited the founder at Madras twice and got a first hand account of the experiences of Venkatachalapathy in organizing Satyagraha and constructive programmes. E. F. Schumacher
E. F. Schumacher
Ernst Friedrich "Fritz" Schumacher was an internationally influential economic thinker, statistician and economist in Britain, serving as Chief Economic Advisor to the UK National Coal Board for two decades. His ideas became popularized in much of the English-speaking world during the 1970s...
, one of the founders of the Green Movement in the west and renowned author of the book “Small is Beautiful” visited the Ashram in 1962 and obtained valubable insights into the areas of appropriate technology of benefit to the rural poor. Schumacher was later seen as an adviser for the Indian planning commission in the early 70s.
Late Gandhian Leaders like Thiru Muniyandi Ayya, Thiru Palraj made sure the efforts were taken through the last 30–40 years. Students still wear Khadi dress as the uniform and do all work within school and maintain them without any caste difference.
Objectives
- To operationalise the Gandhian vision of Gram Swaraj by promoting constructive training, demonstration and development programmes
- To enable the villagers to produce their own clothing by spinning and weaving with hand spun yarn
- To promote an appropriate educational system suited to rural realities based on the Gandhian concept of Basic Education
- To eradicate the evil of untouchability and to propagate Adult Literacy
- To train the rural people to keep their villages clean.
- To improve agricultural practices and to teach villagers to produce nutritive food grains
- To educate people on the dangers of alcoholism and wean them away from liquor
- To achieve all of the above to create a village reconstruction army
e-Learning at Gandhiniketan Ashram
An ambitious programme to introduce computer-aided learning and interactive curriculum support in 1,000 rural schools in the country had been launched here. The e-learning/digital content programme was launched by former President A P J Abdul Kalam at the Gandhi Niketan Ashram School in 2008. The initiative helps students clarify their doubts sitting in their class. Schools are given infrastructure required for IT-based education which would have animation and interactive tools for various projects at the high/higher secondary school level.Public administration and rural development
T.Kallupatti Block comprises about 42 Villages and is one of the effectively administered rural blocks of the state. There is 100% Electricity coverage in all villages. Protected Water Supply is available in all villages under the Block. Male to Female Ratio is 1000-1001 which shows a major shift from UsilampattiUsilampatti
Usilampatti is a Town and a municipality in Madurai district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is one of the comparatively rich towns of Tamil Nadu.-Geography:...
Block ( just 20 km far ) where female infanticide is high.44% of Women are employed which provides a diverse workforce. 65% depend on Agriculture. MicroFinance and Illegal Money Lending is very less in the Block as there are 15 Agriculture Cooperative Banks. All 42 Villages are Panchayats and 39 of the 42 are Revenue Villages. There are 88 Child Welfare Centres with most of them Concentrated in the T.Kallupatti Town and are well connected through village Roads. Although Peraiyur is the Taluk the Central Location of T.Kallupatti and its being on the NH 208 provided it with a statistical advantage in Development and so Peraiyur
Peraiyur
Peraiyur is a panchayat town in Madurai district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.-Geography:Peraiyur is located at . It has an average elevation of 150 metres .-Demographics:...
comes under T.Kallupatti block as a revenue firka.
T.Kallupatti Block
| Density of Population per km2 | 319 |
| Percentage of Urban Population to total Population | 22.69 |
| Number of female per 1000 males | 1001 |
| Percentage of workers to total population | 51.12 |
| Percentage of Female workers to total workers | 44.24 |
| Percentage of Agricultural workers to total workers | 67.46 |
| Percentage of gross cropped area to net area sown | 99.54 |
| Bovine population per km2 | 50.23 |
| Percentage of villages electrified | 100% |
| Percentage of Villages covered by prot. water supply | 100% |
| No. of Police Stations | 3 |
| No. of Noon Meal Centre | 88 |
Sustainable development
At T. Kallupatti, 35 street lights, seven sodium vapour lamps at a bus stand and a motor pumpset of 7.5 horsepower used for an overhead tank are powered by a biomassBiomass
Biomass, as a renewable energy source, is biological material from living, or recently living organisms. As an energy source, biomass can either be used directly, or converted into other energy products such as biofuel....
gasifier unit. The unit of 12 KVA (kilovolt ampere) generates 220 units a day at a mere Rs.500. The bus stand and a nearby park are lit up round the clock, even in times of load shedding.
Biomass power generation method
The unit is fuelled completely by Julia Flora, a plant known as Seemakaruvellai (Thorny tree). A feasibility study for the project showed that the plant was available in abundance in the locality. This was critical to ensure long-term sustainability of the project. Self-help groups supply the wood, which is dried in the sun for 10 days and then chopped into pieces. The progress of the unit is closely monitored.The Highlights of biomass power generation method include
- Reduction in the emission of carbon and soil erosion.
- Provides a means of restoring degraded land.
- Raw materials, wood, bagasse, rice husk and other agricultural residues/wastes could be used to generate heat and electricity for agricultural and industrial processes.
- Short-rotation wood species, including casuarinaCasuarinaCasuarina is a genus of 17 species in the family Casuarinaceae, native to Australasia, southeast Asia, and islands of the western Pacific Ocean. It was once treated as the sole genus in the family, but has been split into three genera .They are evergreen shrubs and trees growing to 35 m tall...
, are used to fuel the biomass units. - By harvesting crop in rotation, a standing plantation of 250 hectares will grow 10,000 tonnes of casuarina, which is sufficient to generate 1 megawatt.
- A 2,500-hectare casuarina energy plantation could support a plant of 10-12 MW.
Police station
T.Kallupatti police station is grouped as mother villages and as Hamlets under each mother village. There are 15 mother villages.Electricity
T.Kallupatti has a substation of TNEB which supplies electricity to the town and nearby villages. The capacity was upgraded in 2010 .By road
The Town is well connected by National Highway 208 (India)National Highway 208 (India)
National Highways 744 is a National Highway in Southern India that links Tirumangalam near Madurai in Tamil Nadu with Kollam in Kerala...
till Thirumangalam
Thirumangalam
Thirumangalam may refer to:* Thirumangalam, Chennai* Tirumangalam, Madurai* Thirumangalam, Tiruchi* Thirumangalam, Tiruchengode...
where it joins with National Highway 7 (India)
National Highway 7 (India)
National Highway 7, commonly referred to as NH 7, is major North-South National Highway in India that runs through the states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu....
to Madurai
Madurai
Madurai is the third largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It served as the capital city of the Pandyan Kingdom. It is the administrative headquarters of Madurai District and is famous for its temples built by Pandyan and...
in the North. NH208 runs via Rajapalayam
Rajapalayam
Rajapalayam is a town and a special grade municipality in Virudhunagar district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located 85 km southwest of Madurai in the state of Tamil Nadu. Its main attractions are the Ayyanar Falls and the neighbour town of Srivilliputtur...
till Kollam
Kollam
Kollam , often anglicized as ', is a city in the Indian state of Kerala. The city lies on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake on the Arabian sea coast and is situated about north of the state capital, Thiruvananthapuram...
(Kerala) on the south. All buses to Rajapalayam and Tenkasi run through the town and is the route for Srivilliputhur
Srivilliputhur
Srivilliputhur is a semi-urban town and a municipality in Virudhunagar district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu....
, Courtallam
Courtallam
Courtallam is a panchayat town situated at a mean elevation of on the Western Ghats in Tirunelveli District of Tamil Nadu, India. Many seasonal and a few perennial rivers such as the Chittar River, the Manimuthar River, the Pachaiyar River and the Tambaraparani River originate in this region...
, Ayyappa Temple in Pamba and southern Kerala Towns including Trivandrum via Shencottah.
By rail
Nearest Railway Stations are Thirumangalam(18 km) and VirudhunagarVirudhunagar
Virudhunagar is a municipality in Virudhunagar district of the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu.In the beginning of 20th century AD, Virudhupatti was one among the six important places of Ramanathapuram District. Due to the rapid growth in the field of Trade and Education, it was renamed as...
(27 km)
Economy
Agriculture is the highest grosser in and around T.Kallupatti. CucumberCucumber
The cucumber is a widely cultivated plant in the gourd family Cucurbitaceae, which includes squash, and in the same genus as the muskmelon. The plant is a creeping vine which bears cylindrical edible fruit when ripe. There are three main varieties of cucumber: "slicing", "pickling", and...
cultivation yields more revenue along with other seasonal crops. Cucumber sales can be seen when vehicles cross the town and stop near the Bus Station. Rice is cultivated in the Western side of the Town and the block. There is also high level of black soil in the area leading to Groundnut
Peanut
The peanut, or groundnut , is a species in the legume or "bean" family , so it is not a nut. The peanut was probably first cultivated in the valleys of Peru. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing tall...
cultivation.
Institute for Village Industries
Dr. J.C. Kumarappa Institute of Rural Technology and Development, an institutional training centre of the KhadiKhadi
The term khādī or khaddar means cotton. khādī is Indian handspun and hand-woven cloth. The raw materials may be cotton, silk, or wool, which are spun into threads on a spinning wheel called a charkha. It is a versatile fabric, cool in the summer and warm in the winter...
and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) at T. Kallupatti provides Six-month training in footwear and leather goods manufacturing, five-month training in tailoring and embroidery, four-month training in servicing of electronics and electrical appliances, three-month training in welding and fabrication, fancy leather and rexin goods making, motor winding, cutting and tailoring, two-month training in exercise book manufacturing, toilet and laundry soap making, handmade paper conversion (notebooks, file, cover, carry bag, etc.), fruits and vegetable processing, one-month training in spices and masala making, detergent cake making, two-week training in screen printing, week-long training in cleaning powder making, detergent powder, fruit jam, squash and pickles making, and four-day training in bio manure and vermin-compost.Form 2011 this institute closed by the administrates of the gandhi nekaten ashram .
Recent industrialisation
Textile mills, handlooms and factories have come around T.Kallupatti leading to larger number of jobs for men and women. This is due to the cheap labour around the town. Textile Mills from RajapalayamRajapalayam
Rajapalayam is a town and a special grade municipality in Virudhunagar district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located 85 km southwest of Madurai in the state of Tamil Nadu. Its main attractions are the Ayyanar Falls and the neighbour town of Srivilliputtur...
have opened their units in the vicinity. This has led to jobs for women and has accounted more than 40% jobs for women.
Major workforce work in
- M/s Auro Mira Bio Energy Madurai Limited (AMBEML) on the road to Rajapalayam.
- Textile Mills on the Road towards Madurai.
- Paramount Textiles.
- Small-Scale Industrial units in Gandhi Niketan, including leather factories.
- Khadi Units.
Banking
- Indian Overseas BankIndian Overseas BankIndian Overseas Bank is a major bank based in Chennai , with 2018 domestic branches and six branches overseas. Indian Overseas Bank has an ISO certified inhouse Information Technology department, which has developed the software that 2018 branches use to provide online banking to customers; the...
covers most of the customers and nearby villages. - 15 Primary Agricultural Co-operative Banks.
- 2 Scheduled Banks
- 5 Nationalised Banks
Rural Industrial Service Centre
The Khadi and Village Industries Commission has a rural industrial service centre here. There are only 3 centres like this . The other 2 centres are in Chennai and Madurai . The cells will guide budding entrepreneurs to set up industries in rural areas. This free service will provide a thrust to the rural employment-generation programme of the KVIC .Higher secondary schools
- Gandhi Niketan Higher Secondary School. - Students wear the tradional Khadi dress and the institution educates almost 80% of the students in the union and villages. The school is part of the ECO CLUB and is evaluated to be part of National Green Corps.
- GOVT. Higher Secondary School.
- M.S.R. Matriculation Higher Secondary School - run by Dr.R.Muthukrishan.
- Lakshman Memorial Matriculation School
Primary and middle schools
- Lakshmanan Memorial English School
- Jaya Nursery English School.
- Gandhinikethan Primary School
Colleges
- DIET - Government Teacher Training College
- MSR Teacher Training Centre
- Nagalakshmi Ammal Arts and Science College
Politics
T.Kallupati was under Sedapatti (State Assembly Constituency)Sedapatti (State Assembly Constituency)
Sedapatti is a state assembly constituency in Tamil Nadu. Elections and Winners from this constituency are listed below. Elections were not held in year 1957 and 1962.- Madras State :- Tamil Nadu :...
seat till 2009 and now its merged with Tirumangalam(Madurai) constituency after realignment. The Parliamentary Constituency was Periyakulam (Lok Sabha constituency)
Periyakulam (Lok Sabha constituency)
-Assembly segments:Periyakulam Lok Sabha constituency was composed of the following assembly segments :#Periyakulam#Theni#Bodinayakkanur#Cumbum#Andipatti#SedapattiIt is Renamed as Theni Lok sabha constituency-Members of the Parliament:...
till 2009 and now it falls under Virudhunagar MP constituency. T.Kallupatti also has Seva Groups for each community. Some of them are Karana Maravar Seva Sangam, All Telugu Sangam and branches of AITUC.
Current Representations
- TN Legislative Assembly - Muthuramalingam of AIADMK - Thirumangalam Constituency.
- Member of Parliament - Manick Thakur of Indin National Congress - Virudhunagar (Lok Sabha constituency)Virudhunagar (Lok Sabha constituency)Virudhunagar is a Lok Sabha constituency in Tamil Nadu. Originally Sivakasi, it was converted into Virudhunagar after the 2008 delimitation.- Assembly segments :Virudhunagar constituency was formed in 2008...
.
Sedapatti R. Muthiah
A Prominent leader from here is Sedapatti R. MuthiahR. Muthiah
Sedapatti R. Muthiah is an Indian politician of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. He was one of the Top Leaders of AIADMK right from its creation and was Second in command in AIADMK till 1998...
. He was the Former TamilNadu Assembly Speaker while part of AIADMK from 1991-96. He was also the Union Minister for Surface Transport in the NDA Government led by A.B. Vajpayee. He later joined DMK.
Mr. Muthiah was elected from Sedappatti as Member of Legislative Assembly for five terms. He was instrumental in the development of large number of villages and brought efficient rural administration by forming Peraiyur Taluk and T.Kallupatti Union. Many Village Roads connecting to T.Kallupatti were developed. Government Schools were started in many villages and Health care was provided to almost all villages. This enabled him to get a wider support from women and old age people. He is affectionately called SEDAPPATTIYAR by people of the area which later became his name. He later joined DMK after a prolonged absence from political scene.
Healthcare
There is a higher number of Hospitals run by private. Apart from that 1 Government Hospital and 15 Primary Healhcare Centres are available. M.S.R Matriculation school has a Health and Educational Society which comprises Srinivasa Clinic run by Dr. R. Muthukrishnan who is also the Founder Chairman of the School.An NGO Called Nagar Nala Committee Operating in the town Conducting Free Eye Camp associate with Aravindh Eye Hospital,Madurai every month Last Saturday. It is organised by Its Secretary Thiru. N. Rajagopal Ayya. The organisation completes more than 160th camp 1 years back and still going on.it is world record .
Community centers and marriage halls
- Ayyanar Kalyana Mandapam(Biggest in town)
- Town Panchayat community center
- Kammavar Mahal
- Lakshmi Mahal