Coimbatore - Industrial Center of Tamil Nadu

Coimbatore is a growing industrial city located in Tamil Nadu state in southern India. One of the largest cities in the state, Coimbatore is a hub for the textile manufacturing, coffee processing, and leather tanning industries in southern India. The city is situated on the slopes of the Nilgiri Hills above the Noyyal River, and blessed with a relatively cool climate.

Coimbatore, as well as being a major transportation and commercial center in the western part of Tamil Nadu, is also the travel hub for a number of religious shrines like Perur and Tiruppur and also hill stations in the Nilgiri Hills like Ooty. The tea plantations of Valparai as well as the Eravikulam and Indira Gandhi National Parks are also nearby. Coimbatore is also known as Kovai.

History of Coimbatore

The name of Coimbatore comes from the name of a local deity Koniyamman, later anglicised by the British rulers of India. Ruled by a series of empires and dynasties, including the Cholas and Cheras of Tamil Nadu as well as the Hoysalas of Karnataka, Coimbatore was relatively insignificant until the 19th century when the British occupied India. Coimbatore played an important role in the Poligar War between the palayakkarars of Madurai and the British occupiers between 1799 and 1802 which the British eventually triumphed in.

The British helped establish the textile manufacturing industry in Coimbatore which flourishes even today and is the source of the city's economic prowess. The cotton fields in the surrounding areas help feed the textile mills in Coimbatore and have helped the region grow in affluence since India's independence.

One of the most ancient and culturally rich cities in India, Madurai has a history dating back to 550 BC. Situated on the Vaigai River, Madurai has served as the administrative and commercial center for a long line of kingdoms and empires, most notably the ancient Tamil kingdom of the Pandyas.

Madurai has great import to the Tamil language as the seat of the Tamil Sangam, where great literature was produced by the gathering of poets and writers. Madurai is also synonymous with the magnificent Meenakshi Temple located in the heart of the city. The modern city is in fact built around the temple, which was first erected by the Pandyan king Kulasekara and dedicated to Lord Shiva and his consort in the form of Meenakshi.

As early as 300 BC, the Greek traveler Megasthenes visited Madurai and helped establish trade between the city and Greece. After its golden age under the Pandyas from the 6th to the 10th centuries AD, Madurai fell into the hands of the rival kingdom of the Cholas. It would be recaptured by the Pandyas in the 13th century AD, but would fall again, this time to the Vijayanagar Empire in 1371. Later, it would come under the control of the Nayaks who ruled it until the British captured Madurai at the end of the 18th century AD.

Its long and colorful history has infused Madurai with a culturally rich heritage rivaling some of the greatest cities on earth.