Kalavai
| Kalavai | |
|---|---|
| city | |
  Kalavai Location in Tamil Nadu, India | |
| Coordinates: 12°41′N 79°25′E / 12.68°N 79.42°ECoordinates: 12°41′N 79°25′E / 12.68°N 79.42°E | |
| Country |
 India |
| State | Tamil Nadu |
| District | vellore |
| Elevation | 138 m (453 ft) |
| Population (2001) | |
| • Total | 9,761 |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Tamil |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
Kalavai is a panchayat town in vellore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
Demographics
As of 2001 India census,[1] Kalavai had a population of 9761 as on year 2001. Males constitute 49% of the population and females 51%. Kalavai has an average literacy rate of 68%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 77%, and female literacy is 59%. In Kalavai, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age. It is surrounded by 60 villages. Some of the peaceful and famous villages nearby are: (in the South:) Melpulam, Thaangal, Vembi, Pennagar, Kuppidichatham, Mambakkam, Valapandal (in the East:) Chennasamudthiram, Nallur, PaneerThangal, (in the West:) Mel Netthapakkam, Kalavai puthur, Agaram and (in the North:) Allalacherry, Kootroad, Mulluvadi and Keerambadi.
Schools
Two Government Higher Secondary School each for Boys and Girls are situated in the centre of Kalavai. Government Boys Higher Secondary School is located near the bus terminus and Government Girls Higher Secondary School is co - located aside.
Colleges Adhiparasakthi group of colleges are situated near by kalavai kootroad.
George and the Church
There is a church in Kalavai called David's Memorial Church affiliated to Church of South India (C.S.I), Vellore Diocese, which was inaugurated in 2005. The church was built by George Rathinakaran in memory of his father David, who was a World War II veteran and local teacher.
Temple Town
You can find many ancient temples like Kottai Koil (Fort Temple) which were built in early 1900s. Temple of Siva is quite famous during the days of Pournami (the full moon day) every month. This Kottai koil or Natarajar Temple, a very old temple has a great Natarajar statue which looks like the statue in Chidambaram Natarajar Temple, the statue is made up of panchalogams. Other attractions in this town are the Karivaradharaja perumal koil which was built by the pallavas located in the main bazaar. Other temples in Kalavai are Kaarisanathar temple of lord shiva, Angalamman Kovil, Sri Kamalakkani Amman koil, Mandapathu Vinayagar koil, Kaaliamman koil, Muthumaariyamman koil, Karpaga Vinayagar koil, Kalavai Gramatevathai Kavathamman koil, and Agram Mathuvathamman koil is very old built 3000 years ago.
The Sankara Matham is located very close to the Bus-stand. The Matham also runs a home for the aged and a home for the physically handicapped, close to the Matham premises.
Places to Visit
The town is historically significant for the Sankara Matham, and houses the Adhistanams (place where the mortal remains of a Saint are interred) of the 66th and 67th pontiffs of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam - Sri Chandrasekarendra Sarswathi the VII and Sri Mahadevendra Saraswathi the V. The 68th Pontiff His Holiness Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Swamiji was initiated into ascetic order and ordained as the 68th Acharya of the Kanchi Kamakoti Math in Kalavai.
Villages like Vellambi and Mazayur are located in the north of Kalavai
Sweets and Savouries
Kalavai is famous for its variety of sweets & savouries. It is famous in the region for its unique sweet called Makhan Paeda. This is a cheese based dessert similar to gulab jamum or dumplings. Traditionally they were made from freshly curdled milk. They are mainly made from milk solids, also known as khoya in India. This khoya are kneaded into a dough, sometimes with a pinch of flour. This is shaped into small balls and filled with raisins, dates, roasted almonds, cashew nuts and watermelon seeds. Water melon seeds contain citrulline, which act as an antioxidant and are believed to treat impotence. These smalls balls are deep fried in oil at a low temperature of about 148°C.[1] The balls are then soaked in a sugar syrup flavored with green cardamom, rosewater and saffron.
Apart from Makhan Paeda, sweets such as Bahadurshah, Chandrakala, Suryakala, Jhangiri and Boondi are popular here. Savouries like onion pakoda, mixture, murukku, sev, ribbon pakoda prepared here have a distinct taste. Since there is good harvesting of groundnut in this region, roasted groundnuts are widely used in their savouries.
References
- ↑ "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 2004-06-16. Retrieved 2008-11-01.