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Ariyankuppam (also known by its former name Ariancoupom) is a Town,
Commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...
, Sub-Taluk, and
Assembly Constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...
in the Union Territory of
Puducherry Puducherry or Pondicherry may refer to: * Puducherry (union territory), a union territory of India ** Pondicherry, capital of the union territory of Puducherry ** Puducherry district, a district of the union territory of Puducherry ** Puducherry t ...
,
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 so ...
. The streets in Ariyankuppam are straight and in grid form, similar to Puducherry
boulevard A boulevard is a type of broad avenue planted with rows of trees, or in parts of North America, any urban highway. Boulevards were originally circumferential roads following the line of former city walls. In American usage, boulevards may ...
.


Origin of name

The name Ariyankuppam comes from Aricamedu, an archaeological site in Ariyankuppam. Ariyankuppam is also known as Ariyanagar or Ariankuppam.


History

Ariyankuppam (Arikamedu) was an ancient Indian fishing village which was formerly a major port dedicated to bead making and trading with
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
traders. Now Ariyankuppam is administrated as a town under Puducherry Union Territory of India


Demographics

India
census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...
, Ariyankuppam had a population of 47,021. Males constitute 50% of the population and females 50%. Ariyankuppam has an average literacy rate of 81.49%, male literacy is 88.89%, and female literacy is 74.13%. In Ariyankuppam, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.


Geography

Ariyankuppam is located at 11.54° N 79.48°E. Ariyankuppam is 5 km. from Puducherry city. It is in between Puducherry and Cuddalore on NH-45A. One can reach Ariyankuppam by any local bus from Puducherry to Veerapattinam. Also you can catch any bus to Cuddalore, Bahoor or Madukarai from Puducherry running via Ariyankuppam.


Place of interest


Arikamedu Archaeological Excavation

Arikamedu is an
archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology a ...
located at a distance of 1 km from Ariyankuppam, where
Mortimer Wheeler Sir Robert Eric Mortimer Wheeler CH CIE MC TD (10 September 1890 – 22 July 1976) was a British archaeologist and officer in the British Army. Over the course of his career, he served as Director of both the National Museum of Wales an ...
conducted his best-known excavation in the 1940s. According to Wheeler, Arikamedu was a Tamil fishing village which was formerly a major port dedicated to bead making and trading with
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
traders. It flourished for centuries until the Romans left. Various Roman artifacts, such as a large number of amphorae bearing the mark of Roman
potter A potter is someone who makes pottery. Potter may also refer to: Places United States *Potter, originally a section on the Alaska Railroad, currently a neighborhood of Anchorage, Alaska, US * Potter, Arkansas *Potter, Nebraska * Potters, New Je ...
schools VIBII, CAMURI and ITTA, have been found at the site, supporting the view on an ancient trade between
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
and the
ancient Tamil country Tamiḻakam ( Tamil: தமிழகம்; Malayalam: തമിഴകം), refers to the geographical region inhabited by the ancient Tamil people, covering the southernmost region of the Indian subcontinent. Tamilakam covered today's Tamil Na ...
. An Archaeological Museum is also present.


Veerampattinam Temple Car Festival

Sengazhuneer Amman Temple () at
Veerampattinam Veerampattinam is the largest coastal village in the union territory of Puducherry situated between Pondicherry and Cuddalore. The village is 7 km away from the Pondicherry city centre and frequent bus services are available from Pondiche ...
is the abode of Sakti and is the oldest temple in Ariyankuppam. It is located at a distance of 2.5 km from Ariyankuppam. The goddess at the sanctum sanctorum faces the sea while the seven deities face the north. The temple also houses Amman, Ganapathy and Murugan gods. A grand festival is celebrated every year for six continuous Fridays starting from the Tamil month of Aadi. Special importance is given to the fifth Friday of the six Fridays and this day is declared as public holiday by the Government of Puducherry. On this day, thousands of prigrims throng this holy place to celebrate the festival. Right from the days of the French, it was a custom to invite the Lt. Governor of Puducherry to start the
Temple car Temple cars are chariots that are used to carry representations of Hindu gods. The car is usually used on festival days, when many people pull the cart. The size of the largest temple cars inspired the Anglo-Indian term Juggernaut (from Jaga ...
procession by pulling its long rope.


Chunnambar Boat House

Chunnambar Boat House () is located in Ariyankuppam. It is one of the major tourist spot in Puducherry and it can be reached at a distance of 7 km from Puducherry. The boat house needs to be renamed either as Ariyankuppam Boat House or Sankaraparani Boat House as it is located in
Sankaraparani river The Sankaraparani River is a river in Tamil Nadu state of southern India. It originates on the western slope of the Gingee Hills in Viluppuram District, and flows southeastwards to empty into the Bay of Bengal south of Pondicherry. The Sankarapa ...
bank at Ariyankuppam. Chunnambar is a verbal name given to
Sankaraparani river The Sankaraparani River is a river in Tamil Nadu state of southern India. It originates on the western slope of the Gingee Hills in Viluppuram District, and flows southeastwards to empty into the Bay of Bengal south of Pondicherry. The Sankarapa ...
. The boat house comes under Ariyankuppam (West) village of Ariyankuppam Commune.


PachaiVazhiAmman Kovil

Arulmigu PachaiVazhiAmman sametha Mannathaswamy Kovil is an ancient Temple of Ariyankuppam. History of this temple goes back to 17th century. It is located between Ariyankuppam and Chunnambar Boat House at a distance of 1.2 km from Ariyankuppam. The presiding deity is Goddess Pachaivazhiamman ()


Church of Our Lady of Good Health

The church founded in 1690 was subsequently rebuilt several times. This is the oldest church still standing in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Puducherry and Cuddalore. The interior has rounded arches carrying a vault over the central aisle. A freestanding Crucifix is displayed upon the altar and brightly painted wooden images are set on shelves in the side walls.


Puducherry New Harbour

Puducherry New Harbour is located at Periya Veerapattinam. From here, one can see the New Light House, and The Notre Dame des Anges located in Puducherry Beach.


References

*R.E. Mortimer Wheeler, ''My Archaeological Mission to India and Pakistan'',
Thames and Hudson Thames & Hudson (sometimes T&H for brevity) is a publisher of illustrated books in all visually creative categories: art, architecture, design, photography, fashion, film, and the performing arts. It also publishes books on archaeology, history, ...
, London, 1976.


External links


Official website of the Government of the Union Territory of Puducherry
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070312024110/http://www.4to40.com/discoverindia/places/index.asp?article=discoverindia_places_arikamedu Arikamedu Archaeological Site in India - A Brief Note by Discover India Site] {{Puducherry District Ariyankuppam, Cities and towns in Puducherry district