Kodiakkarai also called Point Calimere or Cape Calimere, is a low

headland A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape.Whittow, John ...

of the

Coromandel Coast The Coromandel Coast is the southeastern coastal region of the Indian subcontinent, bounded by the Utkal Plains to the north, the Bay of Bengal to the east, the Kaveri delta to the south, and the Eastern Ghats to the west, extending over an ...

, in the

Nagapattinam district Nagapattinam district is one of the 38 districts (a coastal district) of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. Nagapattinam district was carved out by bifurcating the erstwhile composite Thanjavur district on 19 October 1991. The town of Nagapatt ...

of the

Indian state India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, with a total of 36 entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and smaller administrative divisions. History Pre-indepen ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is 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 India ...

. The Cape is located about south of

Vedaranyam Vedaranyam () (also spelt as Vedaraniam and Vedaranniyam) is a town in Nagapattinam district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The town is named after the presiding deity of the Vedaranyeswarar Temple. The recorded history of Vedaranyam is know ...

in the delta region of the Cauvery River, and marks a nearly right-angle turn in the coastline. The antiquity of the area is evidenced by the Kodi Kuzhagar temple built during the Chola period, and a Chola lighthouse, which was destroyed in the

2004 Indian Ocean tsunami An earthquake and a tsunami, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and, by the scientific community, the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, occurred at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7) on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Suma ...

. Kodiakkarai has been designated as a

Ramsar site A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) **

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

epic, The

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...

. The highest point of the cape, at an elevation of , is Ramarpatham, meaning "Rama's feet" in

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 ...

. A stone slab on the Cape bears the impressions of two feet and is said to be the place where

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...

stood and reconnoitered Ravana's kingdom in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, which is to the south of the Point. It is also mentioned by Kalki in his historical novel '' Ponniyin Selvan''.

Flora and Fauna

The forests of Kodiakkarai, also known the Vedaranyam forests, are one of the last remnants of the dry evergreen forests that were once typical of East Deccan dry evergreen forests ecoregion. The Point Calimere Wildlife Sanctuary, with an area of , was created on 13 June 1967. Kodiyakarai wild animals

The sanctuary includes the cape and its three types of habitat: dry evergreen forests, mangrove forests, and

wetlands A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

. In 1988, the sanctuary was enlarged to include the Great Vedaranyam Swamp and the Talaignayar Reserve Forest, and renamed the

Point Calimere Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary Point Calimere Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary (PCWBS) is a protected area in Tamil Nadu, South India along the Palk Strait where it meets the Bay of Bengal at Point Calimere (Tamil: கோடியக்கரை ''Kodiakkarai'') at the southeaster ...

, with a total area of . Point Calimere is home to the endangered endemic Indian blackbuck and is one of the few known wintering locations of the

spoon-billed sandpiper The spoon-billed sandpiper (''Calidris pygmaea'') is a small wader which breeds on the coasts of the Bering Sea and winters in Southeast Asia. This species is highly threatened, and it is said that since the 1970s the breeding population has dec ...

. It also holds large wintering populations of greater flamingos. The area is dotted with salt pans and these hold large crustacean populations that support the wintering bird life. Pesticide runoff from agricultural fields and shrimp farms has entered the ecosystem resulting in many species having high concentrations of DDT and HCH in their tissue.

Cultural Heritage

Several sites of religious, historical or cultural importance are located within the sanctuary: * Ramar Padam (literally:

s Footprint) located on the highest point of land in the sanctuary, is a small shrine containing the stone footprints of Lord Rama. Large numbers of Rama devotees gather here during the second week of April to celebrate

Ram Navami Rama Navami () is a Hindu festival that celebrates the birthday of Rama, the seventh avatar of the deity Vishnu. people from different parts of Jharkhand attended the world famous international Hazaribagh procession organized in the city every ...

Festival. *Kuzhagar Temple or Kodi Kuzhagar Temple (கோடிக் குழகர் கோயில்) :ta:கோடியக்கரை அமுதகடேசுவரர் கோயில் (also called Amrithakadeswarar Temple) is a

Hindu temple A Hindu temple, or ''mandir'' or ''koil'' in Indian languages, is a house, seat and body of divinity for Hindus. It is a structure designed to bring human beings and gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion.; Quote: "The Hind ...

dedicated to

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

, located in the town of Kodikkarai in

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 ...

. Kuzhagar is revered in the 7th century Tamil Saiva canonical work, the ''Tevaram'', written by Tamil saint poets known as the nayanars and classified as ''

Paadal Petra Sthalam The Paadal Petra Sthalam, also known as Thevara Sthalam, are 276 temples that are revered in the verses of Saiva Nayanars in the 6th-9th century CE and are amongst the greatest Shiva temples of the continent. The Divya Desams by comparison ar ...

''. Kuzhagar temple is originally believed to have been built by the

Cholas The Chola dynasty was a Tamil thalassocratic empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd century BCE d ...

and it has several inscriptions dating back to the

Chola The Chola dynasty was a Tamils, Tamil thalassocratic Tamil Dynasties, empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated ...

period. * Navakodi Sitthar Aalayam is a temple in south of the Kodiakkarai village. The history of this temple is the wedding ceremony of Lord Shiva and Parvathy ammaal have been attended by lot many Sitthars at this location. Chola Emperor and Mannar Sarafoji were visited this temple. A small village called "Kanakkar Madam" near this shrine was demolished by 1940s (around 80 years ago) and the people who were living there are relocated to Kodiakkarai village and they are still called as Kanakkarmadathiaar's family. A large congregation of devotees from all over Tamil Nadu state to come on special day of Amaavasai/Pournami to celebrate a special festival here every year. The greatest lord and the environment gives the peace like never ever feel. * Sanyasin Muniaswar Kovil is a shrine between the eastern bank of Muniappan Lake and Kodiakkarai Road visited by devotees on all auspicious occasions. On 20 March a special Puja is celebrated here. * Mattumunian Kovil is a small temple in the south of the sanctuary where people worship and offer prayers throughout the year. A major festival occurs here on the 3rd Friday of September. * Modi Mandapam is a shrine located near Ramar Padam where people of all castes worship. Hindu legend says that Lord Vedaraneswarer spends a night here with his consort during January - February. In the first week of March a major festival is held here. * Avulaiganni Dargah is the grave of a Muslim saint located near the road by Ramar Padam. His death anniversary is observed here at the end of November. * Shevrayan Kovil is a shrine to the deities ''Shevrayan'' and ''Soni'' located deep in the forests of the northern part of the sanctuary. A small village near this shrine was relocated outside the sanctuary after the creation of Kodiakkarai Reserve Forest. A large congregation of devotees from Arcothurai celebrate a special festival here in June/July. PCWBS-Adivasi

* Adivasi Colony is a community of Ambalakars living in huts of mud, coconut fronds and palmyrah leaves on the edge of Kodiakkarai village. Their traditional livelihood was the collection of non-timber forest products in the areas that are now the sanctuary. These practices are now prohibited but not fully eliminated. Many of these people catch fish and small prawns in the nearby mudflats and swamps. Some work as day labourers in the nearby salt pans. They have little interaction with other communities on the island. PCWBS-lighthouse

* Chola Lighthouse is the remains of a brick and mortar lighthouse near Point Calimere said to have been built by the

s more than a thousand years ago. This structure was badly damaged by the

2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami An earthquake and a tsunami, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and, by the scientific community, the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, occurred at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7) on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Suma ...

but can still be seen in the intertidal zone near the British lighthouse. * British Lighthouse is a tall operating lighthouse built by the British at the tip of Point Calemere in 1890 and can be seen at sea. * Kodiakkarai Lighthouse is a tall modern aid to navigation located near Kodiakkarai Beach and is accessible to the public between 1500 - 1700hrs. This dominates the sanctuary and may be seen by seamen far at sea.

References

{{Authority control Calimere, Point Mangroves Ramsar sites in India Nagapattinam district

Flora and Fauna

Cultural Heritage

See also

References