Nazareth, Tamil Nadu
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Nazareth is a town in the Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu, India.
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[edit] Geography
Nazareth is too small to be marked on the map of India [but you can find it in Google Earth]. Situated near the southern tip of the country, it was named as Nazareth by the early missionaries. We also have a Bethlehem and a Jerusalem closeby. The Anglican Church with its bottle-shaped steeple is central to the life of the community.
Nazareth is in Thoothukudi district. It is about 50km from Thoothukudi; and about 36km from the city of Tirunelveli. It has a railway station, as well as a bus station. There are several villages surrounding Nazareth and all of them are considered part of Nazareth; the postal address for those villages needs to be addressed as Nazareth in order for those villages to receive incoming mail.
There are several daily trains to Chennai through Tirunelveli and to Tiruchendur. Nazareth is well connected to major cities in Tamil Nadu as well as to several villages in the area. Bus services abound to various places including direct nightly services to the State capital Chennai, the commercial city of Coimbatore, Bangalore, and a host of other places.
[edit] Climate
There climate of Nazareth is usually hot and dry. A short rainy season exists but the weather is for the most part hot and burning.
[edit] History
The history of Nazareth is closely tied with the Church of South India. Nazareth is part of the Nazareth-Thoothukudi diocese. The main thing about Nazareth are its educational institutions.
[edit] Demographics
According to the 2001 census, the population of Nazareth is 16,943. The predominant religion in Nazareth is Christianity. Above 90% of the population are Christians. This is fairly unusual for an Indian town where the predominant religion is usually Hinduism. A Hindu temple was built overnight on central government’s property with out any approval from Government [in the late 70s].
During Christmas all streets in Nazareth are being decorated with colourful lights.
[edit] Education
The Margoschis School for boys and the St. John's School for girls are two famous schools with a prestigious past (St. John's GHSS is the first school for girls in South India). They have students and alumni from all over the general area. Margoschis College is in the neighbouring village of Pilliamanai, and is famous for its education in the area as well. It also has several small schools including a higher level educationally challenging English medium Matriculation School along with several Tamil medium schools for poor and disabled
A College of Polytechnic and Engineering has also recently been set up in Margoschis Nagar in Nazareth.Polytechnic and Enginering collesges are one of the best Institutes in Tamilnadu. The Art Industrial School in Nazareth is a relatively well known technical training school in that part of Thoothukudi district.In 2006 B.Sc Nursing college also start in Nazareth.It also has one teacher training school and community college.
Margoschis High School and Nazareth Margoschis College at Pillianmani [NMCP] are named after Rev. Canon Arthur Margoschis (1876 – 1908).
The educational facilities in Nazareth have a large catchment area from the surrounding villages:
- Oyangudi (2.5km)
- Vellamadam (3km). Vellamadam is surrounded by 3 lakes which are fed by the Tamirabarani and Manimutharu rivers. Agriculture is the main employemnt in this village.
