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Culture of Thoothukudi

Thoothukudi has a vivid and rich culture. The region was ruled by many different rulers and impact of all of them including Portuguese, British and Dutch can be easily seen on the culture of the city at present. For example, Macaroons, a famous Thoothukudi sweet is known to be given by Portuguese over the years. Many churches situated all over the city indicate the influence of Christianity over the town.

Culture of Thoothukudi

People of Thoothukudi


People of Thoothukudi are very simple and sweet by nature. 70% of the people indulge in the agriculture for their earning, while the remaining are employed in the city’s salt pans, tourism, fishing and sea borne trading activities. Most of the people speak Tamil as it is the official language of the town. A lot of people also speak English.

Some of the renowned people of the city include V.O.Chidambaram Pillai, Veerapandi Kattabomman, Subramania Bharathi and Umaru Pulavar. Subramania Bharathi was the famous poet born at Ettayapuram, while Veerapandi Kattabomman is known for waging a war against the British. V.O.Chidambaram Pillai is the most famous among all the renowned people of Thoothukudi. He was the one who brought the first swadeshi ship “Galia” to the Tuticorin port. Umaru Pulavar was one the greatest Islami poet and was born in Ettayapuram in 1642.

Festivals and Events of Thoothukudi


One of the most famous festivals of Thoothukudi is Pongal just like the other parts of Tamil Nadu. It is also known as Makar Sankranti in other parts of our country and people celebrate it for four days in the month of January here. Other festivals include Deepavali, Dasara, Krishna Jayanti, Vinayaka Chaturthi, Milad un Nabi, Muharram, Eid ul-Zoha, Good Friday, Easter and Christmas. District specific festivals include Tuticorin Paniya Matha Festival, Skanda Sashti, Vaikasi Visakam and Muthaaramman Kovil Festival.

Architecture of Thoothukudi


Architecture of Thoothukudi is impacted by many different rulers and all of them have built something in their period to leave their impact on the city of pearls. Effect of Pandya dynasty can be easily seen on Ettayapuram Palace, a famous tourist spot of Thoothukudi. Portuguese impact can be easily seen on one of the most famous tourist attraction of Thoothukudi – Paniya Matha Church. British and Portuguese have built many churches all around the city during their rule. 

Demographics of Thoothukudi


Spread over an area of 1,832 sq mi, Thoothukudi district has a population of 1,750,176 as per the census of 2011.  Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes accounted for .28% and 19.88% of the total population respectively. Its sex ratio is of 1,023 females for every 1,000 males with an average literacy of 77.12%. Most of the people are well versed with Tamil, being the official language and English as well. Although with the passage of time, a lot of people are engaging in ship building factories, chemical and power factories and other factories as well.

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