One of the oldest regular schools in South India, Sethu Lakshmi Bai Higher Secondary School, is situated in the heart of town. It was established under the supervision of the Travancore administrators and named after a Sethu Lakshmi Bayi, the Queen of Travancore between 1924 to 1931. Another school which was named after a Travancore ruler is Sri Moolam Thirunal Rama Varma Higher Secondary School. |
There are many software, research and development companies in Nagercoil. RedEgg InfoExpert Technologies is now part of Thomson Reuters set up an office with a strength of around 325 employees. The Nagercoil office has been outsourcing their product’s to North America. In 2010 Hinduja Global Solution setup their third largest development center in India after, Bangalore and Chennai. |
Being the major Tamil Nadu town closest to the Kerala capital, Thiruvananthapuram (65 km away and the closest international airport to Nagercoil), trading and sending supplies to Kerala and Thiruvananthapuram is a major activity for the bustling markets at Vadasery and Kottar – availability and many items being cheaper in Tamil Nadu than in Kerala adds to the thriving business. |
The district has the highest literacy rate in Tamil Nadu (88.11). Some schools and colleges in Nagercoil are more than 150 years old, like the Scott Christian College, built by British missionaries. European missionaries, in the 19th century and early 20th century played a major role in imparting education to the people of the town and district. |
Supply of marine and agricultural produce to the overseas export-markets are also important economic activities, though primarily done through exporters or agents in Kerala. Remittances to Nagercoil from overseas, from Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) hailing from the town, is a major contributor to the local economy. |
The town is a centre for the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant reactors, being built with Russian assistance, which is situated in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu, but is the closest major town to the facility. The public sector Indian Rare Earths Limited (IRE) has a facility at Manavaalakurichy, near the town. |
Educational institutions include privately funded engineering colleges, the state-run Kanyakumari Government Medical College (at Asaripallam near Nagercoil), and many polytechnic colleges and arts and science colleges. As in neighbouring Kerala, women’s education and career-development are given importance. |
Like the London Missionary Society (LMS), another organisation that rendered valuable services to the cause of education and upliftment of the socially downtrodden has been the Church Missionary Society (CMS). Both these societies still have a presence in Nagercoil (nearly two centuries after inception). |
The other great missionary was William Tobias Ringeltaube, a native of the then Prussia (present Germany), who established schools and worked among the poor and downtrodden around the town. He started one of the first regular schools in Travancore at Mylaudy, near Nagercoil which is still active. |
Tamil is official language in Kanyakumari. Tamil and Malayalam are spoken by the people. Tamil language along with English is used as a medium of teaching in all major schools. The Tamil spoken here is a mix of Malayalam and Tamil, sometimes unintelligible to the people of North Tamil Nadu. |
In the Christian theological side, the Concordia Theological Seminary established in 1924 caters to the training of Pastors of the India Evangelical Lutheran Church. A CBSE schools in Nagercoil is the Adarsh Vidya Kendra which is situated at Vetturnimadam, 3 km from Nagercoil. |
The Clock Tower in the heart of the town, which is more than one hundred years old. The clock in the tower, was presented by the European missionary, Rev. Duthie to the Maharajah of Travancore, when the Maharajah visited Nagercoil in the late 19th century. |
Some of the festivals celebrated here are Pongal, Onam, Suchindrum “Ther Festival”, Ayya Vaikunda Avataram, Deepavali, Easter, Christmas, New Year, St. Francis Xavier’s feast, Bhagavathy Amman Temple festival, Ramzan (Eid ul fitr) and Bakrid (Eid ul alha). |
The food is generally spicy with coconut an important ingredient in almost all side dishes and curry, very much like that of neighbouring Kerala. Seafood is popular among the people, though there are also many vegetarians in and around the town. |
The greatest concentration of the population of the town and the District is along the coastal belt, on the eastern side, while the largely forested areas on the western side of the district (along the Western Ghats) are sparsely populated. |
St. Francis Xavier’s Church, in the Kottar locality of the town, which was built in 1600, is important due to the visit and stay of St. Francis Xavier. The church was built on land allotted to St. Xavier by the Venad king. |
Fresh water supply to the town is from the Mukkadal Reservoir, about 8 km from the town – itself a scenic place, with an island in the middle of the reservoir. The reservoir is surrounded by hills of the Western Ghats. |
St. Francis Xavier, the Roman Catholic missionary, made Kottar locality in the town his principal residence for two years in the 16th century, while preaching around the town and in neighbouring Tirunelveli district. |
The Salvation Army is known in the town for their medical services in and around the town. Their Catherine Booth Hospital in the Vadasery locality of the town was established in the 19th century and is still active. |
Krishnancoil, situated on the way to Trivandrum at NH-47 is named after the temple where the presiding deity is Lord Kishna in his childhood avatar. This temple is 1.5 km from the heart of Nagercoil town. |
The European missionaries converted a section of the people to Protestant Christianity. Roman Catholicism had been introduced earlier by St. Francis Xavier in the 16th century and later by other Jesuits. |
St. Francis Xavier’s Cathedral at Kottar, Nagercoil, built in 1600CE. St. Francis Xavier, the missionary-saint resided for sometime at Kottar, while doing missionary work in the neighbouring areas. |
Nagercoil enjoys a blend of Tamil and Keralite cuisine. Rice is the staple food. Fish is popular and forms a part of everyday meal for many. People generally prefer marine fish to fresh water fish. |
The hilly, undulating terrain in Kanyakumari District is Mostley forest land and the remaining is covered by rubber and other plantation plants. Elephants are common in this area. |
Small Scale industries (cottage industries) include coir-making, floral trade, handloom-weaving, rubber products, food-processing units, and lace-making (export-oriented). |
Banana & Jack fruit plays a main role in the town’s Sweet/sour recipes. Its been told that the word Jack actually derived from Tamil name of the fruit ?????. |
F. V. Arul (IPS)- Former Director of Central Bureau of Investigation, Commissioner of Police (Greater Chennai) & First Indian Vice-President of “Interpol” |
Fish-net manufacturing is a growing business in and around the town; nets for commercial fishing are supplied to the domestic and export markets. |
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