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 a village and 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. There is a 100+ year old church in the center of the town. It has a very tall tower, the tower has a flat top. The story goes that if the tower had been built any taller the tower would have been unstable. This part of Southern Tamil Nadu has a very high density of gothic styled churches- living relics from a bygone missionary era. A Vinayagar Temple situated near the railway station.
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 . 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
The climate of Nazareth is usually hot and dry. A short rainy season exists but the weather is for the most part hot and humid.
[edit] History
Nazareth is a Christian town. The town was created by missonaries from Europe. 98% of its population are Christians. There is one small Hindu temple.
[edit] Demographics
According to the 2001 census, the population of Nazareth is 16,943. The predominant religion in Nazareth is Christianity. Around 90% of the population are literate.
During Christmas all streets in Nazareth are decorated with colourful lights.
Most of the population comprises the caste Nadar, a dominant caste in southern Tamil Nadu.
[edit] Education
The Margoschis Higher Secondary School for boys and the St. John's Higher Secondary School for girls are two famous schools with a prestigious past (St. John's GHSS is the first school for girls in South India). Mr. John Ponratnam was the first headmaster. 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 Engineering colleges 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.
[edit] Margoschis High School
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:
- Mukuperi (1.5km)
- Kulathukudi(4km)
- Oyangudi (2.5km)
- Vellamadam (3km)
Vellamadam is surrounded by 3 lakes which are fed by the Tamirabarani and Manimutharu rivers. Agriculture is the main employment in this village.
In 2007, Calvary Chapel Trust, headquartered in Bangalore, purchased a facility from the Catholic Church and turned it into a boy's orphanage called "Heaven's Gate." This residential facility is home to HIV+ boys with hopes to increase the number there in the future. In 2008, Boise Idaho based Genesis World Mission, Inc. brought a medical team to perform a 3 day medical outreach to the community. Over 1100 people were served with primary medical care with the help of local Indian medical providers and volunteers.
