Muppandal

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Muppandal (Tamil: முப்பந்தல்)is a small village on the southern tip of India in Kanyakumari District, in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is located in a hilly region where wind from the Arabian Sea gusts through mountain passes.^[1]

There is a legend that Avvaiyar had arranged for a marriage, to which she invited the sovereigns of the Chera, Chola and Pandya kingdoms. The kings erected pandals (mandapams) in the respective places allotted to them and this eventually led to the place being called Muppandal (meaning 'three pandals').

1 Wind power
2 Shrine
3 See also
4 Notes
5 External links

[edit] Wind power

Aralvaimozhy railway station with a view of wind farm

The once-impoverished village benefited from the building of the nearby Muppandal wind farm, a renewable energy source, which supplies the villagers with electricity for work.^[2]^[3] The village had been selected as the showcase for India's $2 billion clean energy program which provides foreign companies with tax breaks for establishing fields of wind turbines in the area. Now huge power-producing windmills tower over the palm trees. The village has attracted wind energy producing companies creating thousands of new jobs, dramatically raising the incomes of villagers.^[1]

The suitability of Muppandal as a site for wind farms stems from its geographical location as it has access to the seasonal monsoon winds.^[2]

[edit] Shrine

In Muppandal, there is an image of Avvaiyar in the temple dedicated to the poet. According to tradition, this is the spot where she died^[4]. Avvaiyar was actually not one but several women. An unmarried woman who devoted herself to higher learning was respectfully called 'Auvvai' in ancient Tamil society during the Sangam era.