Travel Title: Trip to Thoothukudi (Tuticorin), Tamil Nadu, India.
When: March 2013
About The Trip:
Purpose: The highlight of our visit to Thoothukudi was to see how salt was produced in India.
Days/Nights: 1 Day
Arrangements: Travel Agent / Self-guided Tour
Route: Tiruchirappalli INDIA – Thoothukudi INDIA – Tiruchirappalli INDIA
Traveling Method & Time:
Tiruchirappalli – Thoothukudi = by car (≈ 4 hours)
Thoothukudi – Tiruchirappalli = by car (≈ 4 hours)
Details:
Saturday came again, yippie! So, off we went to Thoothukudi to have a closer look at how salt was produced in India, the Indian way.
You know, Thoothukudi was once a fishing port (it is still a fishing port only larger than before) and was a part of the Greater Tirunelveli District in Tamil Nadu, India. It was originally called as ‘Thiru Mandira Nagar’. When British took over the area, they changed the name to Tuticorin. Then when the British left, the name was changed to Thoothukudi and has remained as Thoothtukudi since then.
During World War II, when India was still under British dominance, the economic and stragetic importance of Tuticorin Port made the town vulnerable to enemy bombings. Therefore sirens and bomb shelters were installed in many parts the town.
Thoothukudi is the headquarters of Thoothukudi District in Tamil Nadu, India. It is located about 590 kilometres south of Chennai, 275km south of Tiruchirappalli and 190 kilometres northeast of Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum).
Thoothukudi has been a centre for maritime trade and pearl fishery for more than a century and is the 2nd largest salt producer in India next to Gujerat. Salt pans and factories in and around the city contribute majorly to the economy of the city.
Apart from the salt pans, we also managed to visit other major attractions in the city.
1) The Our Lady of Snows Basilica, a 16th century site at the Beach Road, which was originally dedicated to St. Peter before Jesuits consecrated it to Our Lady of Snows a few years later. It is one of the Catholic pilgrimage centres in India dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
According to Wikitravel, “Tuticorin is famous for Our Lady of Snows Shrine Basilica festival which takes place during August every year. To show their love and gratitude, devotees presented a golden car which is used to carry the miraculous statue of Our Lady of Snows around the town during her feast day. The Golden Car first appeared in procession on 2nd February 1806 and since then on 5th August of every year. A big star rests over the royal crown on the top of the car, signifying the name of Our Lady as the Star of the Sea (Stella Maris). The statue is one of three works of religious art originally brought by explorer Ferdinand Magellan to the Philippines, the others being the Santo Niño de Cebu and the Manapad altar crucifix.”
2) St. Aloysius Church, a church-cum-school located right in the heart of the city.
3) The Tuticorin Railway Station is one of the oldest and popular railway stations in India. The line between Madurai and Thoothukudi was opened in 1874.
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