27-567: Kolli Malai also known as Kolli Hills , is a Hill station and Taluk in Namakkal district , in Tamil Nadu , India.. The Mountain is named Kolli Malai after the name of Goddess Etukkai Amman (also known as Kollipavai) guarding the hills with her divine protection. The Kolli Hills are featured in several works of classical Tamil literature such as Silappathigaram , Manimekalai , Purananuru and Akananuru . Mahavidwan R. Raghava Iyengar in
54-624: A number of birds such as Crested Serpent Eagle , Indian Grey Hornbill , laughing thrush are found in Kolli Hills. Among these lizards such as Hemiphyllodactylus kolliensis and Hemidactylus kolliensis are endemic only to Kolli Hills. Hill station A hill station is a town located at a higher elevation than the nearby plain or valley. The English term was originally used mostly in colonial Asia , but also in Africa (albeit rarely), for towns founded by European colonialists as refuges from
81-590: Is a waterfall located in Kolli Hills of the Eastern Ghats , in Namakkal district , Tamil Nadu , India . It falls from a height of 300 feet (91 m) and is formed by the Aiyaru river . Agaya Gangai is also known as Peraruvi and can be reached by climbing down 1196 steps. The caves of sages Bogar , Agastyar , Korakkar and Kalangi Nathar are located near the waterfalls inside the forest. Agaya Gangai dwarf gecko
108-525: Is a 11th-century hill station that was developed by the Ganga dynasty in present-day Karnataka , India. Tipu Sultan (1751–1799) notably used it as a summer retreat. Hill stations in British India were established for a variety of reasons. One of the first reasons in the early 1800s, was for the place to act as a sanitorium for the ailing family members of British officials. After the rebellion of 1857 ,
135-625: Is a site of pilgrimage, because of the Arapaleeswarar temple , which is believed to have a secret path to the Shiva temple in Rasipuram . This Shiva temple is said to have been built by Valvil Ori in the 1st or 2nd century CE when he ruled this area. "Arappaleeswara sathakam" is a poem which praises Lord Arappaleeswarar. It is believed that this temple existed during the Sangam period itself. According to legend,
162-434: Is said to have killed a lion, bear, deer and a boar with a single arrow. The hills are said to be guarded by Kollipavai also called as "Ettukkai Amman", the local deity. According to legend, the sages chose Kolli hills when they were looking for a peaceful place to do their penance. However, the demons invaded the hills to disrupt the penance when the sages began their rituals. The sages prayed to Kollipavai, who according to
189-536: Is visited by nature lovers, hikers, trekking clubs, tourists and meditation practitioners among hill stations in Tamil Nadu. Agaya Gangai is the waterfall situated near the Arappaleeswarar temple. Under the foothills of the Kolli Hills many small and big towns exist. From these places the Kolli Hills is visible in a panoramic view and the climatic conditions of these places is influenced by the climatic conditions of
216-418: The sloth bear , barking deer , slender loris , Indian pangolin , jackals , mongoose , palm civet , and many reptiles including endemic species like the lizards Draco dussumieri , Varanus bengalensis , Calotes calotes , and rare, non venomous snake of the family Uropeltidae including the recently discovered Uropeltis rajendrani , Rhinophis goweri , the endangered Python molurus and
243-603: The 1870s as having "such beautiful English rain, such delicious English mud." Shimla was officially made the "summer capital of India" in the 1860s and hill stations "served as vital centres of political and military power, especially after the 1857 revolt." As noted by Indian historian Vinay Lal , hill stations in India also served "as spaces for the colonial structuring of a segregational and ontological divide between Indians and Europeans, and as institutional sites of imperial power." William Dalrymple wrote that "The viceroy
270-567: The British "sought further distance from what they saw as a disease-ridden land by [escaping] to the Himalayas in the north". Other factors included anxieties about the dangers of life in India, among them "fear of degeneration brought on by too long residence in a debilitating land". The hill stations were meant to reproduce the home country, illustrated in Lord Lytton 's statement about Ootacamund in
297-517: The Indian state of Himachal Pradesh , are two example of that misuse of Hill Station or more accurately deviation of its meaning. These two historical settlements existed prior to the British, and haven't been specially frequented by them or even extensively modified or shaped by them. However, the rise of internal domestic tourism in India from the eighties and the subsequent reproduction of Hill Station practice by urban middle-class Indians contributed to
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#1732891502502324-476: The Kolli Hills. Following are the few Towns surrounding the Kolli Hills: Namakkal , Kalappanaickenpatti , Belukuruchi , Sendamangalam , Rasipuram , Namagiripettai , Thammampatti , Mullukkurichi , Vairichettipalayam , Thuraiyur , Puliancholai , Thathaiyangarpet , Pasarikombai and all these places are well connected by bus services. People of Kolli Hills come down by foot with their produces to
351-419: The Shiva linga in the temple was found when a farmer was ploughing his land. It is said that the farmer accidentally hit the Shiva linga while ploughing, and that led blood to ooze out of the statue. The small wound is said to be visible on the Shiva linga even today. There is also a temple for Ettukai Amman or Kolli Pavai which is one of the oldest in the town and the place itself derives its name. Kolli Hills
378-491: The evolution of hill stations in India: high refuge, high refuge to hill station, and hill station to town. The first settlements started in the 1820s, primarily as sanitoria. In the 1840s and 1850s, there was a wave of new hill stations, with the main impetus being "places to rest and recuperate from the arduous life on the plains". In the second half of the 19th century, there was a period of consolidation with few new hill stations. In
405-531: The final phase, "hill stations reached their zenith in the late nineteenth century. The political importance of the official stations was underscored by the inauguration of large and costly public-building projects." The concept of Hill Station has been used loosely in India (and more broadly South Asia) since the mid-20th century to qualify any town or settlement in mountainous areas, which attempt to expand its local economy toward tourism, or have been invested by recent mass tourism practices. Kullu and Manali in
432-399: The foothills of Kolli Hills and they sell their produces and go back after buying their required materials. This type of activities take place in few places like, Karavalli, Belukurichi , Pavithiram , Thammampatti , and Puliancholai . People from various surrounding places of Tamil Nadu come to Belukurichi to buy the products of Kolli Malai. Forests here are rich and diverse. Higher up
459-533: The imperial hill station reflected and reinforced a framework of meaning that influenced European views of the non-western world in general." The historian of Himalayan cultures Shekhar Pathak speaking about the development of Hill Stations like Mussoorie noted that "the needs of this (European) elite created colonies in Dehradun of Indians to cater to them." This "exclusive, clean, and secure social space – known as an enclave – for white Europeans ... evolved to become
486-613: The labelling of these two localities as Hill Stations . Munnar , a settlement in the state of Kerala whose economy is primarily based on tea cultivation and processing , as well as plantation agriculture, is another example of a hill town transformed by contemporaneous tourism practices as a hill station. Most hill stations, listed by region: Hundreds of hill stations are located in India. The most popular hill stations in India include: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Punjab Sindh Balochistan Gilgit Baltistan Agaya Gangai Agaya Gangai ( English : Ganges of sky)
513-512: The myth, chased away the demons with her enchanting smile. The Kollipavai hills is still worshipped by the people here and her smile is revered. The mountains have several mythological legends associated with them, and often come across as an eerie place in contemporary tales due to the unexplored and less traveled terrain. This mountain is full of herbs which retains health and vigour. E. D. Israel Oliver King of MS Swaminathan Research Foundation has documented over 250 sacred forests in Kolli Hills in
540-424: The requirements at Kolli hills. Apart from its historical significance, the mountains are covered with Tropical Moist Mixed evergreen forests, but increasing areas of forests have been cleared for farming. Farm products of the mountain ranges include black pepper , jackfruit , banana , pineapple , Oranges , Tapioca , and other spices . Rice and other minor millets (Foxtail, Finger Millet and Little Millet) form
567-404: The research monograph Araichi Katturaigal has given exhaustive references to Kollipavai from early Sangam literature , concluding that the image is in Kolli Hills. The region was ruled by Valvil Ori around 200 CE, who is praised as one of the seven great philanthropists of ancient Tamil Nadu. His valor and marksmanship are sung by several poets, and his exploits are a popular part of folklore. Ori
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#1732891502502594-403: The seats of government and foci of elite social activity", and created racial distinctions which perpetuated British colonial power and oppression as Nandini Bhattacharya notes. Dale Kennedy observed that "the hill station, then, was seen as an exclusive British preserve: here it was possible to render the Indian into an outsider". Kennedy, following Monika Bührlein, identifies three stages in
621-469: The slopes, patches of tropical evergreen forests occur and the Ariyur Shola is one such. These forests are home to several species of endemic trees and plants. Kolli hills is said to have the largest expanse of evergreen or shola forest cover anywhere in the entire Southern part of the Eastern Ghats . Several coffee plantations, fruit orchards and silver-oak estates occur in this region. Wildlife such as
648-531: The staple food of the tribal people who inhabit these mountains. The jackfruit grown on these mountains is well known for its taste and fragrance and is often soaked in wild honey that is also harvested from these mountains. The mountains are covered by green vegetation in the spring and monsoon, and are streaked with streams. There are three reserve forests that are controlled by the Government of Tamil Nadu, namely Ariyur Solai, Kundur Nadu, Pulianjolai. The mountain
675-423: The summer heat and, as Dale Kennedy observes about the Indian context, "the hill station (...) was seen as an exclusive British preserve: here it was possible to render the Indian into an outsider". The term is still used in present day, particularly in India, which has the largest number of hill stations, most are situated at an altitude of approximately 1,000 to 2,500 metres (3,300 to 8,200 ft). Nandi Hills
702-538: The year 2005. The Kolli hills became taluk and forms a part of Namakkal district. Semmedu village is the headquarters for the Kolli Hills block and Semmedu is connected by road from Namakkal and Salem . Nowadays the Bus service is provided up to Arappaleeswarar Temple. BSNL (earlier DOT) established the first Telecommunication networks (LDPCO) in 1977 and afterwards the Telecom facilities are continuously expanded depending upon
729-461: Was the spider at the heart of Simla's web: From his chambers in Viceregal Lodge, he pulled the strings of an empire that stretched from Rangoon in the east to Aden in the west." Meanwhile Judith T Kenny observed that "the hill station as a landscape type tied to nineteenth-century discourses of imperialism and climate. Both discourses serve as evidence of a belief in racial difference and, thereby,
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