Neerody is a village located at the southernmost coastal tip of the

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil languag ...

state of

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

. It is bordered by the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel ...

, and the

A.V.M. Canal AVM Higher Secondary School is one of the oldest and largest schools in Nepal. It was established in 1966 AD (2022 BS) at Manbhawan, Lalitpur, by a pioneer in the field of education, the late Satya Narayan Bahadur Shrestha. It won national and re ...

. A road cuts the village into two. The principal language spoken in Neerody is

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam wa ...

Historical background

Historically, Neerody formed a part of the

Travancore The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. A ...

princely state A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, subject to ...

. In 1956 the

States Reorganisation Act The States Reorganisation act, 1956 was a major reform of the boundaries of India's states and territories, organising them along linguistic lines. Although additional changes to India's state boundaries have been made since 1956, the States ...

of 1 November, Neerody was incorporated into the

speaking state of Tamil Nadu. Neerody is mostly

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

.{{citation needed, date=December 2011 Christianity in Neerody probably dates from the arrival of

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Port ...

missionaries in India, but may have been introduced earlier. Additionally, due to pioneer missionary

St. Francis Xavier Francis Xavier (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; Latin: ''Franciscus Xaverius''; Basque: ''Frantzisko Xabierkoa''; French: ''François Xavier''; Spanish: ''Francisco Javier''; Portuguese: ''Francisco Xavier''; 7 April 15063 December 1 ...

, Christianity spread far and wide in southern India so that by the close of the sixteenth century, Christian communities were well-established all along the Indian coast. Now Neerody is part of

Kollemcode Kollemcode (also spelled Kollencode, Kollangode, Kollamkode) is a municipality in Kanyakumari district, India. Kollencode is situated in Tamil Nadu-Kerala border. It has 33 wards. It is a coastal village on the shores of the Arabian Sea. Kollamco ...

Municipality.

Economy

Approximately, 95% of the population of Neerody is involved in the fishing trade. The remaining 5% are of the educated or salaried class. However, the entire community depends on the sea. Neerody fishermen are known for their migratory fishing patterns. These fishermen are experts of seasonal fishing and often travel hundreds of miles in search of fish stocks. During the Ani-Adi season (between June and August), they flock to the sea port of

Vizhinjam Vizhinjam is a region located in the city of Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of the state of Kerala in India. It is located 16 km south west from the city centre and 17 km south of Trivandrum International Airport along NH66. Adani Port ...

. During other seasons, they travel to the post cities of

Mangalapuram Mangalore (), officially known as Mangaluru, is a major port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bangalore, the state capital, 20 km north of Karnataka–Ker ...

, Pallikara,

Neendakara Neendakara is a suburb of Kollam city in Kerala, India. The twin harbours, Neendakara and Shakthikulangara are located here. , url=https://www.tourmyindia.com/states/kerala/neendakara-port-kollam.html Trawling ban and withdrawal of the state off ...

Katpadi Katpadi () is a locality in Vellore, at the northern part of Vellore city in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Its railway is located on the gauge line between Chennai-Bangalore and Villupuram-Tirupati. Politics and geography Once a village, Katp ...

, Kaapu, and Ejamadi. Though the fishermen of Neerody are skillful, nearly all the families are of lower class income.

Education

* Neerody has one St.Nicholas High School and 7 Nursery schools. * 100% results on the 10th SSLC Examination. However, 5% of the students never complete the equivalent of the eighth grade.

Festivals

*The St. Nicholas Festival will be held from November 27 to December 06 * Villages in Kanyakumari district