Chola Nadu: Difference between revisions

{{more citations needed|date=August 2012}}

[[File:Cholanadu.gif|thumb|371x371px|The middle and southern portion of Chola Nadu]]

 

 

== Location ==

[[File:Grand Anicut kallanai.JPG|thumb|right|Kallanai / Grand Anicut built by Karikala Cholan, on the River Kaveri, near Tiruchirappalli]]

 

According to the ''Gazetteer of the Trichinopoly District'', Vol II, 1931, p 67, "the traditional meeting place of the three Tamil kingdoms was the temple of Cellānti Amman on the banks of the Kāvēri, twelve miles west of Kulittalai and three miles below the junction of the Amarāvati and the Kāvēri. The temple was the common place of worship for the kings of the three Tamil dynasties; a bund which runs to the south of the river marks the boundary between the Cōla and the Pāntya territories, and the Karaipōttanār on the opposite bank of the river was the boundary between the Cōla and the Cēra kingdoms".<ref name="dikshitarp52">{{cite book|title=The Śilappadikāram|author=V. R. Ramachandra Dikshitar|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1939|author-link=V. R. Ramachandra Dikshitar|page=52|title-link=Śilappadikāram}}</ref>

== Culture ==

 

 

 

Bharatanatyam, a popular dance form by Bharatha muni, flourished in the dance of ''sadir'' which was practised in the temples of Chola Nadu by ritual temple dances or ''devadasis''. Patronized and financed by dharmakarthas and rich mirasidars, ''sadir'' was popular until the early years of the 20th century when a strong voiced campaign resulted in the devadasi practised being outlawed. Sadir has, since, purged itself of its erotic symbolism and movements and gradually evolved into the commoners' dance Bharathanatyam.

The Chola Nadu region had a population of over 10 million with a density of above 400 persons per km² in 2001. Due to fertile soil and favourable climate, the region has been the most densely populated in the Tamil country since ancient times.

 

 

== Important Personalities ==

The Chola Nadu region has produced a number of noteworthy personalities in the fields of arts, science, film and politics. Long recognized as a hub of Carnatic music, the region is home to most of India's renowned Carnatic musicians. There have also been important individuals in the field of politics. In British times, civil servants and lawyers from Chola Nadu like [[Sir T. Madhava Rao]], [[Sir A. Seshayya Sastri]], [[Sir Mohammad Usman]], [[Sir A. T. Panneerselvam]], [[Sir T. Muthuswamy Iyer]], [[Sir P. S. Sivaswami Iyer]], [[T. Ananda Rao]], [[S. Satyamurti]], [[V. S. Srinivasa Sastri]], [[V. P. Madhava Rao]] and [[R. Raghunatha Rao]] dominated the bureaucracy. The maternal ancestors of [[Sir C. P. Ramaswami Iyer]] hailed from [[Kumbakonam]]. Tamil writers [[U. V. Swaminatha Iyer]], [[Samuel Vedanayagam Pillai]], [[V. V. S. Aiyar]] and [[Kalki Krishnamurthy]], [[Kalki Sadasivam]] journalists [[Kalki Sadasivam]], [[G. A. Natesan]] and [[Kasturi Ranga Iyengar]], Indian independence activist [[G. Subramania Iyer]] who founder ''[[The Hindu]]'', politicians [[M. R. Sethuratnam Iyer]] and [[S. Muthiah Mudaliar]] and Indian media mogul [[S. S. Vasan]] and National award-winning film producer Venus T. Govindarajan were some prominent individuals from the Chola Nadu region. Yesteryear film actors [[Sivaji Ganesan]], [[Manorama (Tamil actress)|Manorama]], [[M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar]], [[Gemini Ganesan]], [[P. U. Chinnappa]] and [[T. R. Rajakumari]], [[Papanasam Sivan]] Indian scientist and Nobel Prize winner [[Sir C. V. Raman]] and mathematician [[Srinivasa Ramanujan]], [[Muthulakshmi Reddi]], [[Sujatha (writer)|Sujatha]], [[Jayendra Saraswathi]], [[Sri Sri Ravi Shankar]], [[U. Sagayam]], [[Gopinath Chandran]], [[Madhan (writer)|Madhan]], [[N. Gopalaswami]], [[M. S. Swaminathan]], [[Viswanathan Anand]], [[Venkatraman Ramakrishnan]] were other important people from the region.

 

 

== See also ==