Virapandianpatnam

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Virapandianpatnam, a tiny village situated on the south west coast of India near Thiruchendur, Thoothukudi District, Tamil Nadu is also loveably called by the locals as 'Veeriampathy' or Pattanam. People who live here were converted to Roman Catholicism by St. Francis Xavier a few hundred years ago. The village is overwhelmingly Roman Catholic. One interesting thing about the location is that it is less than 2 km from Thiruchendur, a predominantly Hindu town and about 10 km from Kayalpatnam, a predominantly Muslim town.

The focal point of the village is a Roman Catholic Church which was built in 1886. Surrounding the church is the village cemetery, a grotto for Mother Mary, the Priest's quarters, a high school and a nunnery. Sprinkled around the village are different chapels for various saints. The church has daily masses, one at 5:15am and 7:00am. Most masses are broadcast over the church speakers and most in the village can hear it from their homes. The Church recently got a face lift with new paint and pews throughout the church.

Though many of the villagers are now into various other businesses and occupations, fishing and fish related business are the main source of income among the people who currently reside in this village. There are many Patnathars (as people from Pattanam are called) all around the world working in IT companies and Non IT companies.

The nick name 'Tiny Vatican' suits very well to this village as people who live in this village are religious, peace loving and God fearing people. This village is a very good example in many ways for other growing villages in India.

The nearest airport is Madurai which is about a 4 hour drive from Pattanam. Most major cities in Tamil Nadu can be accessed via bus. There is a train station in Pattanam but it caters to only a few trains. The easiest way to access Pattanam is to take the train from Chennai to Tuticorin and either take a taxi or a bus. One other easy way is to take a bus from Chennai. There are many private luxurious buses from Chennai that can take one in relative comfort in about 15 hours.