Sulur

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?Sulur Tamil Nadu • India
Sulur
Coordinates: 11°02′N 77°08′E / 11.03, 77.13
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
Area • Elevation	• 340 m (1,115 ft)
District(s)	Coimbatore
Population	24,359 (2001)

Coordinates: 11°02′N 77°08′E / 11.03, 77.13 Sulur is a panchayat town in Coimbatore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 Town and the people
4 Temples
5 Sulur, Air Force Station (VOSX)
6 Educational institutions
7 Famous personalities
8 References

[edit] Geography

Sulur is located at 11.03° N 77.13° E.^[1] It has an average elevation of 340 metres (1115 feet).

[edit] Demographics

As of 2001 India census,^[2] Sulur had a population of 24,359. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Sulur has an average literacy rate of 78%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 83%, and female literacy is 72%. In Sulur, 9% of the population is under 6 years of age.

[edit] Town and the people

The history of Sulur dates back to 2300 years, The ancient coins dating back to third century BC has been found at Sulur. During ninth century AD, Adithya Cholan introduced agriculture in Sulur. The Sulur Reservoir was constructed during Adithya Chola.

The Sulur pond was reconstructed in thirteenth century AD during the rule of Sundra Pandian.

Sulur is well connected by buses from Coimbatore and it has a small railway station namely 'Sulur Road'. The nearest domestic com International airport (Peelamedu International Airport) is in coimbatore. Sulur is about 30 minutes drive from Coimbatore airport. Sulur has a main bus stand and buses to Tirupur, Palladam, Ukkadam, Gandhipuram, Peelamedu and to all the nearby villages are available. Sulur has a police station, a BSNL telephone exchange and a Panchayat office.

Till ninth century Sulur was called Suralur. From ninth century to fourteenth century it was called Ariyapirati Nallur, during the regime of Adithya Chola. From fourteenth century to eighteenth century it was called Sundrapandiya Nallur, during the regime of Sundra Pandiyan. From eighteenth century it was called Suranur, which in due course got transformed to Sulur.

Some people say^[who?] that the Sural, a type of cane which was abundant in this region lead to the name 'Suralur', which during British era got transformed to the presently used 'Sulur'.

Some people say^[who?] that the ruler of then Sulur was Suran, due to which it got the name Suranoor.

Some people say^[who?] that previous name of Sulur was Suranoor. As the Surasamsaram, the fight depicting the demon Suran and Lord [1]Murugan, was famous in this place in earlier days, later the name transformed to 'Suralur' then in due course it got changed to the current name 'Sulur'.

The local people is predominantly made of Thevar and Gounder community. Sulur has many cotton mills and provides employment to approximately 5,000 to 10,000 people from Sulur and from the nearby villages. Most of the people who cannot continue their studies after school join these mills and the knitwear companies of Tirupur. The local market (Sulur Sandhai) opens near the banks of Sulur river every Friday. People from Sulur and from the nearby villages gather here and sell their vegetables and fruits here.

The people of Sulur are known for their hospitality. The 'Pongal Vizha' conducted in Sulur is very popular. This Pongal Vizha is conducted in "Anna Kalaiarangam" which is the common stage in Sulur where all the get-togethers happen.

The Sulur Panchayat board started functioning on 30 August 1892.

The Sulur police station came into existence in 1861 during the British rule. Until 1920 the police station was near the girls' high school. After that it got shifted to Trichyroad, where the current police station is located.

The Registrar Office opened on 1 January 1884.

The Electricity board opened in Sulur on 1 November 1933, and the Telephone Exchange opened on 31 July 1961.

The Sulur Post Office was opened in June 1882. The Sulur Telegram Office opened on1 February 1948 in the today's post office.

The Cooperative Movement in Sulur started in 1911.

Sulur has produced various personalities (non resident Indians) residing throughout the world including U.S., Australia, Canada, New Zealand, France and Germany.

Another interesting fact is that most of the people from Sulur have the habit of adding the first letter 'S' from Sulur (town's name), along with their initials.

[edit] Temples

Sulur has numerous temples out of which Perumal Kovil, Vaitheeswaran Kovil, and Mahakaliamman Kovil are very popular. Perumal Kovil and Eswaran Kovil are situated on the beautiful banks of Sulur Lake. It also has the famous Kumaran Kottam temple constructed by RVS group of Institutions. In Perumal Kovil, 'pepper' is given to devotees which is not done in any other Venkateshwara temple all over the world. The story behind this is, a merchant was travelling through the forests of Sulur to go to nearby town to sell his items(eatables). Night descended and so he decided to take rest in the temple. When he was about to sleep, a god appeared before him in the form of a poor farmer and asked him if he had anything to eat. The merchant told that he had nothing except pepper in all his bags which could not be eaten. So the god said "ok" and left the place. The next day when he woke up, to his surprise he found all his bags contained pepper. Then he realised the person who came the previous day was not an ordinary man but the god Balaji. He immediately went before the statue and cried for forgiveness. Balaji appeared before him and told that he would be forgiven if he renovated the temple and the temple gave out pepper to all of his worshippers from that day forth.

The Sulur Sivankovil (Sivan temple) was constructed in 9th century during the rule of Adithya Cholan. The Perumalkovil (Perumal temple) was constructed during 15th century during the Vijayanagar regime. The Masjid at Sulur was constructed in 18th century . The land and the funds for the Masjid was gifted by Tipusulthan.

[edit] Sulur, Air Force Station (VOSX)

The Indian Air Force station is located in the east outside the town, in Kangayampalayam Village. The Sulur Airbase came into existence in 1940 was used in World War II by the Royal Navy's Fleet Arm: “Royal Navy Squadron”(RANS). It was used as repair base for Southeast Asian planes. The Sulur Airbase which was used by the British, was burned down on 26 August 1942 during the 1942 August revolution. In 1943, the Indian Royal Airforce came to Sulur, which later got shifted to Cochin in 1949.

After gaining independence, the Indian Navy established INAS Hansa at Sulur to operate the Sea Hawks. After the liberation of Goa, INAS Hansa shifted to Dabolim there and Sulur was taken over by the Air Force.

In 1955, the 5BRD (No 5, Base Repair Depot) of Indian Air Force was planned and it started functioning in 1959.

For some time this airbase was also used for domestic flights. Since 14 January 1984 this base has been a part of the Indian Air Force.

The runway was used for racing motorcycle and cars in 1960s.

[edit] Educational institutions

The current Govt Boys Higher Secondary School: founded in 1889 as Thiruvengadanathar Upper Primary School and in 1925 April it became- Taluk Board Higher Elementary School, then in June 1926, it became the Zilla Board Middle School, then in 1948-June- as (Union, Kalagam)Board secondary school, and in 1962-July, -as(Union, Kalagam)Board boys secondary school, and in 1966-January, as Govt boys (high)secondary school and then in 1978 July as Govt boys higher secondary school.

Girls high school started in July, 1962 with 224 students. The girls high school inauguration was attended by the then CM. Mr. Bhaktavasalam.

The following are the schools in Sulur

Govt Boys Higher Secondary School
Govt Girls Higher Secondary School
Kalaivani Matriculation School
Kendriya Vidyalaya AFS Sulur ( One of the best KV's in India )
Kennedy Matriculation School
RVS Matriculation Higher secondary School
Michael Job Matriculation School
Kovai Maruthamali Matriculation School
Kids Club

The colleges include 'RVS Arts and science college','RVS Pharmacy college','RVS B.Ed College'.All the colleges in Sulur are run by RVS Group.

[edit] Famous personalities

S.k.Karuppannathevar
S.V.Lakshmanan, Ex MLC
S.R.S
S.R.Karuppannan, I.A.S - ( the First & only Person from Sulur to be an IAS, till date)
S.S Selvaraj ( ShanmugaDevi Theatre built in 1930s, SLS Nanjammal Waedding Hall )
S S Ponmudi, former M.L.A (D.M.K)
S S Vanangamudi, Managing Director of Apex Laboratories Chennai. [www.apexlab.com]
Actor Sivakumar (Father of popular actor Surya)
Actor and Director Manivannan
Director Sulur Kalaipithan
Dr. K. V. Kuppusami (Educationalist and Industrialist)
S.R.Thangavel
Sulur Ganesh(All India Radio)
S M Velusamy M.L.A (A.D.M.K)