Thanjavur District is one of the 38 districts of the state of Tamil Nadu, in southeastern India. Its headquarters is Thanjavur. The district is located in the delta of the Cauvery River and is mostly agrarian. As of 2011, Thanjavur district had a population of 2,405,890 with a sex-ratio of 1,035 females for every 1,000 males.

Geography

The district is located at in Central Tamil Nadu bounded on the northeast by Mayiladuthurai district, on the east by Tiruvarur District, on the south by the

Palk Strait The Palk Strait ( ta, பாக்கு நீரிணை ''Pākku Nīriṇai'', si, පෝක් සමුද්‍ර සන්ධිය ''Pok Samudra Sandhiya'') is a strait between the Tamil Nadu state of India and the Jaffna Distric ...

of Bay of Bengal on the west by Pudukkottai District and Tiruchirappalli, small border with Cuddalore on the northeast and on the north by the river

Kollidam The Kollidam (referred to as Coleroon in Colonial English) is a river in southeastern India. The Kollidam is the northern distributary of the Kaveri River as it flows through the delta of Thanjavur. It splits from the main branch of the Kaveri ...

, across which lie part of Tiruchirappalli, and Ariyalur districts.

Demographics

According to 2011 census, Thanjavur district had a population of 2,405,890 with a sex-ratio of 1,035 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national average of 929. A total of 238,598 were under the age of six, constituting 121,949 males and 116,649 females. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 18.91% and 0.15% of the population respectively. The average literacy of the district was 74.44%, compared to the national average of 72.99%. The district had a total of 605,363 households. There were a total of 974,079 workers, comprising 117,321 cultivators, 327,673 main agricultural labourers, 26,430 in house hold industries, 363,060 other workers, 139,595 marginal workers, 12,592 marginal cultivators, 87,688 marginal agricultural labourers, 4,770 marginal workers in household industries and 34,545 other marginal workers.

Politics

Economy

Agriculture

Thanjavur district lies in the Kaveri delta, the most fertile region in the state. The district is the main rice producing region in the state and hence known as the Rice Bowl of Tamil Nadu. The

Kaveri River The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery, the anglicized name) is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri river rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri range in the Western Ghats, Kodagu dist ...

and its tributaries irrigate the district. Apart from paddy, farmers here grow

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...

and

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with ...

and it is the largest producer of coconut in Tamil Nadu. Being an agrarian economy, industrial growth in the district is mainly confined to agro-based industries. Many rice mills and oil mills are spread over the district.

Tourism

Great Living Chola Temples of Thanjavur

Airavateswara Temple, Darasuram in Thanjavur District

Thanjavur's

Brihadisvara Temple Brihadishvara Temple, called Rajarajesvaram () by its builder, and known locally as ''Thanjai Periya Kovil'' ("Thanjavur Big Temple") and ''Peruvudaiyar Kovil'', is a Shaivite Hindu temple built in a Chola architectural style located on the ...

(known also as Rajarajesvaram or Peruvudaiyār Kōvil), 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 now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is one of the largest of its kind and also one of the finest examples of classical Dravidian architecture in the world. Airavateswara temple in Darasuram near

Kumbakonam Kumbakonam (formerly spelt as Coombaconum or Combaconum) or Kudanthai is a city municipal corporation in the Thanjavur district in the States of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located from Thanjavur and from Chennai and is the headq ...

has also been designated part of the same UNESCO World Heritage site and forms another major tourist attraction of the district. The green paddy fields of the Kaveri river valley provide a picturesque setting for these and other important ancient monuments of the district.

Manora Fort

The Manora Fort is situated 20 km (12 mi) away from Pattukkottai and 60 km (37 mi) from Thanjavur in a place called

Mallipattinam Mallipattinam is a coastal village in the Pattukkottai taluk of Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu, India.The popular town near to mallipattinam are Adirampattinam.Mallipattinam is 20.5 km distance from its Taluk Main Town Pattukkottai. Mallip ...

. The fort was built by Maratha ruler Serfoji II in 1814–1815 to commemorate the successful advance of the British over

Napoléon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

. Overlooking the Bay of Bengal, the fort is hexagonal structure and has eight storeys, raising to a height of 75 ft (23 m) tapering to its top. The tower is surrounded by a wall and a moat ant it resembles a fort. The monument looks like a pagoda, with arched windows, circular staircase and eaves separating one storey from the other.

Flora

The flora of Thanjavur was studied and documented in some detail by S.A Ganapathy for a doctoral thesis in 1992.

Cultural significance

Thanjavur is famous for the "Saraswathi veena" (the national instrument), Thanjavur art plates, Thanjavur oil paintings and Thalaiyatti Bommai.

Notable people

* Rao Bahadur Sir A. T. Pannirselvam Udaiyar, Leader of justice party *

V. S. Srinivasa Sastri Valangaiman Sankaranarayana Srinivasa Sastri (22 September 1869 – 17 April 1946) was an Indian politician, administrator, educator, orator and Indian independence activist. He was acclaimed for his oratory and command over the English langua ...

Srinivasa Ramanujan Srinivasa Ramanujan (; born Srinivasa Ramanujan Aiyangar, ; 22 December 188726 April 1920) was an Indian mathematician. Though he had almost no formal training in pure mathematics, he made substantial contributions to mathematical analysis ...

* Sivaji Ganesan, actor and former Rajya Sabha Member *

K. Thulasiah Vandayar Krishnasami Thulasiah Vandayar (11 May 1929 – 17 May 2021) was an Indian politician and head of the Poondi estate in the Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu, India. He was the member of Lok Sabha for Thanjavur from 1991 to 1996. He was the chair ...

, former MP * G K Moopanar TMC- Congress *

G. K. Vasan G. K. Vasan (born Govindaswamy Karuppiah Vasan, 28 December 1964) is an Politician, Indian Politician and son of G. K. Moopanar, G. K Moopanar, a veteran Indian National Congress, Indian National Congress Leader. G K Vasan is currently the p ...

Rajya Sabha Member * S. S. Palanimanickam, former Central Minister * S.D Somasundaram EX Minister and MP * Parasuram EX MP – Loksabha * L. Ganesan – EX MLA, MP, MLC * R. VaithiyaLingam – Ex Minister and Rajya Sabha Member * M Ramachandran MLA – DMk * Durai Govindarajan EX MLA * Durai Chandrasekaran MLA * R. Doraikkannu Ex. Minister for Agricultural, Tamil Nadu

Notes and references

External links

Thanjavur District
{{Authority control Districts of Tamil Nadu