Kayathar / Kayatharu is a

panchayat town A nagar panchayat () or town panchayat or Notified Area Council (NAC) in India is a settlement in transition from rural to urban and therefore a form of an urban political unit comparable to a municipality. An urban centre with more than 12,00 ...

Thoothukudi district The Thoothukkudi District is one of the 38 districts of Tamil Nadu, a state in southern India. On 20 October 1986, an M. G. Ramachandran-led government bifurcated the Tirunelveli district to form the district. It is shared by its boundaries w ...

in the

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

Etymology

Kayathar / Kayatharu means "bitter river", from ''Aaru'' (Tamil for river) and ''kayarpu/kasappu'' (Tamil for bitter). This name may refer to the river flowing through the town and was attributed to Sri Kodhandaramar who always wore a ''thulasi malai'' (in English "basil garland" which has a bitter taste) and whose temple is located on the banks of the river. Arulmigu Kothandarameswarar Temple located here is one of the oldest temples in Thoothukudi district.

History

The last

Pandiya King The Pandya dynasty (), also referred to as the Pandyas of Madurai, was an ancient Tamil dynasty of South India, and among the four great kingdoms of Tamilakam, the other three being the Pallavas, the Cholas and the Cheras. Existing since a ...

, Marthanda Varman, fought and lost to the Nayakar Dynasty at Kayathar. The local chief Veerapandiya Kattabomman, whose fort was located near Kayathar (Panchalan kurichi), was hanged by the British in this place. A statue commemorating him was built in Kayathar by Tamil cinema actor

Sivaji Ganeshan Villupuram. Chinnaiya Manrayar Ganesamoorthy (1 October 1928 – 21 July 2001), better known by his stage name Sivaji Ganesan, was an Indian actor and film producer. He was mainly active in Tamil cinema during the latter half of the 20th centur ...

. The poet Kalamega Kavi came to Kayathar and was hungry but didn't get any food in the Perumal temple. He was forced to carry Lord Perumal statue and was frustrated by his hunger. He sang poems to destroy the Perumal temple. After much decay it has been rebuilt in 2009. The patriotic and revolutionary poet Mundasu Kavi Thiru Bharathiyaar was born near Kayathar (Ettayapuram).

Geography

It is situated along

National Highway 7 The following highways are numbered 7. For roads numbered A7, see list of A7 roads. Route 7, or Highway 7, may refer to: International * AH7, Asian Highway 7 * European route E07 * European route E007 Afghanistan *Kunduz-Khomri Highway (A7) ...

(NH7) between

Tirunelveli Tirunelveli (), also known as Nellai and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of the Tirunelveli District. It is the fourth-largest munici ...

and

Kovilpatti Kovilpatti is an industrial city and special grade municipality in Thoothukudi District, Tamil Nadu, India. It is located 65 km (40 mi) from Thoothukudi, 102 km (63 mi) from Madurai and 565 km (351 mi) from Chennai. It is the headquarters of t ...

. Kayathar / Kayatharu is situated about from

on the way to

Madurai Madurai ( , , ), formerly known as Madura, is a major city in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District, which is ...

Veerapandiya Kattabomman Veerapandiya Kattabomman was an 18th-century Palayakarrar and king of Panchalankurichi in present-day Tamil Nadu, India. He fought the British East India Company and was captured by the British with the help of the ruler of the kingdom of Pu ...

, one of the earliest opponents of

British rule in India The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

(in the first

Polygar War The Polygar Wars or Palaiyakkarar Wars were wars fought between the Polygars (''Palaiyakkarars'') of the former Tirunelveli Kingdom in Tamil Nadu, India and the British East India Company's Madras Regiment between March 1799 to May 1802 or Ju ...

), was hanged here on a

Tamarind Tamarind (''Tamarindus indica'') is a Legume, leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is indigenous to tropical Africa and naturalized in Asia. The genus ''Tamarindus'' is monotypic taxon, monotypic, meaning that it contains only this spe ...

tree, by the British in 1799. A memorial to him has been built here by the

government.

Conservation

Kutti Kulam: The water harvesting area. The rain water is saved in this pool for agricultural usage.

Demographics

Population

India

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, Kayatharu had a population of 9497. Males constitute 50% of the population and females 50%. Kayatharu has an average literacy rate of 66%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 74%, and female literacy is 57%. In Kayatharu, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Religion

Hinduism, Christianity and Muslim. The city has temples, churches and mosques.

Economy

Mat production is a huge industry. The area is famous for heavy winds so it has windmills. The city has a weekly market, held every Thursday. There is an exclusive area for the functioning of this market. Several goods from cooking items to animals are sold here. Kayathar is the center for marketing many agricultural things for the farmers around ~50 villages.

Education

Veera Pandia Kattabomman Govt. Hr. Sec. School. The school is named after the Veerapandiya Kattabomman. He was remembered for his activism against the British. The school is located midst farm fields. And BABA MARTIC CULATION HR.SEC.SCHOOL for financially settled people for English medium.

Sports

Several cultural and sports events are arranged by the youngsters during the Pongal festival (14-20 January). The Kabadi game conducted is the most famous among those. More than 20 teams from nearby villages are participating every year.

References

{{Reflist Cities and towns in Thoothukudi district