Sengottai is a town in Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, in the foothills of the Western Ghats

Western Ghats

The Western Ghats, Western Ghauts or the Sahyādri is a mountain range along the western side of India. It runs north to south along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau, and separates the plateau from a narrow coastal plain along the Arabian Sea. The Western Ghats block rainfall to the Deccan...

. It is located roughly 5 km from the Courtallam Waterfall, near the border with Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

. The Harihara and Kuntaaru rivers flow through the Town.

History

Before state reorganization sengottai was a part of the Travancore Kingdom. In December 1851, the boundary between tirunelveli and Travancore on the sengottai side was clearly defined as proposed by General Cullen as early as 1846, and finally sanctioned by the Madras Government. sengottai Municipality was constituted in 1921. The States Reorganisation Act, 1956 came into effect from the 1st November 1956 and consequently the Tamil speaking area of sengottai taluk of Quilon district were added to Madras State. sengottai was revised from III grade to II grade as per G.O. No.85 dated 22.5.98

The name sengottai means red fort in Tamil.There is fort like structure on the entrance of this town.

Geography

Sengottai is surrounded by mountains on two sides, and as a result possesses fertile soil. Spread over an area of 2.68 km². The flow of Courtallam Waterfall is highly seasonal is the normal rainy season lasts from July through September. Starting in November up until January, the weather becomes colder.

Legislative Assembly

• M.L.A : RAJA P. Chendur Pandian,(Kadayanallur constituency)

MINISTER OF KATHIR KRAMAM
...

Civic Administration

• Municipal Chairman : Mohana krishnan
• Vice Chairman : Aathimoolam C

Economy

The economy of Sengottai is chiefly agrarian in nature and people are engaged in the cultivation of rice, urad dal, groundnut, ginger and coconut. The terracotta and pottery industry, and cane furniture are the important economic activities. A large number of saw mills are present in Sengottai Piranoor. shencottai is famous for its cane work and also for dosakal.

Demography

India census

Census

A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

, Sengottai had a population of 26,838. Males constitute 49.9% of the population and females 50.1%. In Sengottai, 10.49% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Culture

During the Tamil month of Maargazhi

Tamil calendar

The Tamil calendar is a solar and sidereal Hindu calendar used in Tamil Nadu. It is also used in Pondicherry , and by the Tamil population in Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius and Sri Lanka. It is also used by Telugu speaking people in Tamil Nadu...

(corresponding to December through January), people in Sengottai sing bhajan

Bhajan

A Bhajan is any type of Indian devotional song. It has no fixed form: it may be as simple as a mantra or kirtan or as sophisticated as the dhrupad or kriti with music based on classical ragas and talas. It is normally lyrical, expressing love for the Divine...

before sunrise and put special rangoli

Rangoli

Rangoli is a traditional decorative folk art from India. These are decorative designs made on floors of living rooms and courtyards during Hindu festivals and are meant as sacred welcoming areas for the Hindu deities. The ancient symbols have been passed on through the ages, from each generation to...

outside their houses every day. Hot curd rice is served early in the morning after the bhajans in the Temples.
During the Month of January, Tamil month Thai Charriot festival is celebrated grandly. In that occasion Swamy Lord Siva, kulasekaranathar and Lord parvathi, Dharmasavathini and Lord Ganesha and murugan will come in separate wooden charriot respectively. In that festival approximately 25000 people will come together to pull the charriot. The car will run through four ratha veedhis and it will halt at its location. The thai poosam festival will prolong for 10 days. Every vinayagar pooja celebration is very popular. Around 30 vinayagar idols will be used.

Transport

Sengottai is connected by road to most places in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The nearest airport is in 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...

, roughly four hours by road and three hours by train. There is a railway station and railway line between Sengottai and Tenkasi. Trivandrum International Airport is four hours by road. This road passes through the beautiful Western Ghats.
Trains available at Sengottai include:

• sengottai - 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...
  
    Passenger
• Sengottai – Tirunelveli
  Tirunelveli
  Tirunelveli , also known as Nellai , and historically as Tinnevelly, is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the headquarters of the Tirunelveli District and the sixth biggest city in Tamil Nadu...
  
   Passenger
• Sengottai – Chennai Egmore
  Chennai Egmore
  Chennai Egmore , formerly known as Madras Egmore, is a railway station in Egmore, Chennai , South India. The station acts as the arrival and departure point for trains connecting Chennai and southern, central Tamil Nadu and Kerala.This is one of the two main railway terminals in the city along with...
  
   Pothigai Express
  Pothigai Express
  The Pothigai Express is a train service running between Chennai Egmore and Sengottai on the Southern Railway zone of the government-owned Indian Railways...
  
  
• Punalur-Sengottai Passenger

Transport Corporation of Tamil Nadu, Tirunelveli & Madurai Branch Depots and Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation Express Service Depot serve Sengottai.They operate the buses to sengottai continuously even at the night also.

These two depots operate buses from Sengottai to various cities of Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry and Kerala. The main cities are Tirunelveli

Tirunelveli

Tirunelveli , also known as Nellai , and historically as Tinnevelly, is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the headquarters of the Tirunelveli District and the sixth biggest city in Tamil Nadu...

,Chennai, Tirupur, Coimbatore, Trichy, Madurai, Tiruchendur, Tuticorin, Srivilliputtur and Papanasam

Papanasam

Papanasam is a panchayat town in Thanjavur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. In otherwords it is a grown up village and Growing Town. This is the town 25 km from Tanjore and 15 km from Kumbakonam...

 in Tamil Nadu and Thiruvananthapuram

Thiruvananthapuram

Thiruvananthapuram , formerly known as Trivandrum, is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala and the headquarters of the Thiruvananthapuram District. It is located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland...

 UD, Pathanamthitta

Pathanamthitta

Pathanamthitta is a large town and a municipality situated in the central Travancore region in the state of Kerala, south India, spread over an area of 23.50 km2. It is the administrative capital of Pathanamthitta district. The city has a population of 38,000...

, Kottarakkara

Kottarakkara

Kottarakkara , also transliterated as Kottarakara, is a town and taluk in Kollam District , in Kerala state, India. The town is close to the Kollam port which has a rich history linked to the early medieval period as well as a reputation for being an important commercial, industrial and trading...

, Kottayam

Kottayam

Kottayam is a city in the Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of 55.40 km2. It is the administrative capital of the Kottayam district. Kottayam Kottayam (Malayalam: കോട്ടയം) is a city in the Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of 55.40 km2. It is the administrative...

, Guruvayur

Guruvayur

Guruvayur is a municipal town in Thrissur District, of Kerala State in India. It houses the famous Guruvayur Sree Krishna Temple, the fourth biggest temple in India in terms of the number of devotees per day.-History:Guruvayur, according to the legends may be 5,000 years old as the Guruvayur...

, Punalur

Punalur

Punalur is a city situvated near the Tamil Nadu Kerala Border in Kollam district in the southern state of Kerala, India. It is the pioneer in starting industrial revolution in Kerala by establishing Punalur Paper Mills, the first industry in kerala. It is situated in the banks of the river Kallada...

, and Quilon

Quilon

Quilon may refer to,* Venad, a former state on Malabar Coast, India* Kollam , Kerala state, India* Kollam district, Kerala state...

 (Kollam) in Kerala and Pondicherry in Pondicherry UD.

Educational Institutions

Schools

• A.G Matriculation and Higher Secondary School(shencottah)
• S.M.S.S. Boys Govt Higher Secondary School(shencottah)
• S.R.M. Girls Higher Secondary School(shencottah)
• Emmanuel Matriculation Higher Secondary School
• Ariyanallur Primary School
• Vanchinathan Primary School(shencottah)
• Catchchery Compound middle School
• A.G Primary School(shencottah)
• Sri Parasakthi Vidhyalaya
• Hilton Matriculation School(coutrallam)
• Sri Ram Matric Higher Secondary School(Vallam)
• M M Middle School
• Seyad Residential School
• Bharath Montessori Matriculation and Higher secondary School(Ilanji)
• Meloor Govt High School
• Mettu Primary School
• Annai Theresa R.C.High School Vallam
• T.D.T.A. Middle School Vallam

College near to Shencottai

• Sri Parasakthi College for Women
• JP engineering & art and science college
• Trinity Bible College, K.P. Valasi, Shenkottai.
• nallamani yadhav college of art and science
• shenthil andavar polytechnic college

Bank's and ATM's

• Canara Bank and ATM
• State Bank of Travancore and ATM
• Tamil Nadu Mercantile Bank and ATM
• Indian Overseas Bank and ATM
• Tirunelveli Co-operative Central Bank
• ICICI Bank ATM
• Federal Bank ATM
• axis bank ATM

Tourist areas

• Tenkasi - Tenkasi is a town located 5 Kms from Sengottai, Images of Tenkasi can be viewed at http://www.flickr.com/photos/59865572@N00/sets/72157627474577956/
• Kundaru Dam & Kannupulimedu Dam (5 km from Shengottai)
• Kulasekekara Ganapathi Temple (Near to Bombay store- sengottai)
• Paalaruvi Falls (15 km from Shencottai)
• Manalar and Kumbaratty Falls in Kerala (13 km from Shencottai)
• Courtallam waterfalls (5 km from Shencottai)
• Thenmalai dam (23 km from Shencottai)
• Adavinar dam (8 km from Shencottai)
• Five falls (7 kilometer from shengottai )

Masjith

*Thanjur masjith
*Kader oli masjith
*Mela pallivasal masjith
*Sulaimaan Nabi Masjith
*Piranoor arabic school masjith(piranoor)

Movie theatres

There are two movie theatres here.Both are now upgraded to QUBE

QUBE

QUBE was a cable television system that played a pivotal role in the history of American cable television. Launched in Columbus, Ohio in December 1977, QUBE introduced viewers, and the international press, to several concepts that became central to the future development of cable television:...

 with DTS sound system.Once up on a time all new movies were released in Kaleeswari theatre but now all 'A' Movies are released.All new movies are released in Anand theatre (near vandimalai amman kovil),..there are two more theaters now it has been closed padmanabha(muthu swamy park) and balaji(gundaru Bridge).

Temples

• Kali Amman Temple (Kali), Vadaku Theru, Melaa Bazzar
• Kulasekekara Ganapathi Temple (Near to Bombay store- sengottai)- Komba mela has been done for this temple on 14 Nov 2011 by THANGAIAH MUDALIYAR.
• Kulasekaranathar(Lord Siva),Dharmasamvardhini (Amman) Temple
• Azhagiya Manavala Perumal Temple
• Nithyakalyani amman Temple (Elathur Road)
• Muppudathi Amman Temple
• Vandimalachi Amman Temple
• Sri Selva Vinayagar Temple (Vallam Road)
• Appa Madaswamy Temple (Near SRM Girls School)
• A famous Murugan temple called "Thirumalai Kovil" has 605 steps, and is situated at Panpoli
  Panpoli
  Panpoli is a small village situated near Sengottai in Tirunelveli district, Tamil Nadu, India.Panpoli is a beautiful place to visit for its greenish environment, hill views and its humanity....
  
   which is about 5 kilometres away from Senkottai. This beautiful temple is dedicated to Lord Muruga on the ranges of the Western ghats
• Famous Ayyappa temples Aryankavu, Achankovil, and Kulathupuzha are nearby Sengottai.
• Murugan temple (Thiru IlanjiKumaran Temple, Ilanji) is on the way to Courtallam from Sengottai.
• Madhunadheswarar Temple in Elathur. (This Shiva temple was built by the saint Agasthiyar under the holy tamarind tree. The idol was kept under a bee hive. So, honey dripped on the Shivalingam and hence the name Madhunadheshwarar temple. Location: 4 km from Sengottai).
• Sadasiva Murthy Temple at Puliyarai (7 km from Sengottai -Famous for Lord Guru Dhakshinamoorthy)
• Chitra Sabha (5 km from Sengottai) Chitra Sabha (Hall of Pictures) dedicated to Lord Nataraja and decorated with paintings of rural deities and devotees, puranic stories and religious events. The Sabha is one of the five Sabhas, where Lord Nataraja is said to have performed the cosmic dance.
• Kutralanathar Temple, Courtallam (5 km from Sengottai)
• Ayikudi Balasubramanya Swami Temple (12 km from Sengottai)

Other temples situated in Sengottai are - Sri Navaneetha Krishnan kovil in river Street.

• Punamallaisoodumperumal temple"(Opposite to Government Hospital),
• Anjanayar temple (Near by Police Station),
• Sathguru Sri Malayalam swami temple (Near Forest Office check post)
• Saiva Pillaiyaar Kovil
• Sithi vinayakar temple(Near SRM Higher Secondary School)).
• Sri Rama Bhajani Madam,Siva Madam in Amman Sannathi street.
• Arumugasamy odukam, Near Kundar river bridge

Famous personalities

• Vanchinathan Iyer
  Vanchinathan
  Vanchinathan , popularly known as Vanchi, was an Indian Tamil independence activist.He is best remembered for having shot dead Ashe, the Collector of Thirunelveli and having later committed suicide in order to evade arrest....
  
  
• Scientist S.S. Pillai
• "Isaiyulaga Mannan" S.G.Kittappa
• Sattanatha karayalar
• Kannan Yadav
• Sivakrishna Challa