Jump to content

Culture of Coimbatore

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Culture of Coimbatore is based on the culture of the Kongu Nadu region and is distinctly unique. Being a cosmopolitan city, the culture of the city reflects its diverse population which has resulted in a unique blend. Though it is generally considered a traditional city, Coimbatore is more diverse and cosmopolitan than other cities in Tamil Nadu. Traditional music, dance and all other art forms of Tamil Nadu are very popular in the city. One can find a unique blend of culture from traditional foods to fast foods, from ancient temple architecture to modern high-rises and from classical music and dance to the growing nightlife in the city. Popularly called as the Manchester of South India, the city is known for its industries and has developed a reputation for entrepreneurship.[1][2]

Music and arts

[edit]

The city conducts its own music festival every year.[3] Art, dance and music concerts are held annually during the months of September and December (Tamil calendar month – Margazhi).[4] The heavy industrialisation of the city has also resulted in the growth of trade unions.[5] Swamikannu Vincent, who had built the first cinema of south India in Coimbatore, introduced the concept of Tent Cinema in which a tent was erected on an open land to screen the films.[6][7] Central Studios was set up in 1935 while S. M. Sriramulu Naidu established Pakshiraja Studios in 1945.[8] Coimbatore also houses a number of museums and art galleries like G.D. Naidu Museum & Industrial Exhibition, H A Gass Forest Museum, Government Museum, Kadhi Gandhi Gallery and Kasthuri Srinivasan Art Gallery and Textile Museum.[9][10]

Religion in Coimbatore (2011)[11]
Religion Percent(%)
Hindu
 
 83.3%
Muslim
 
 8.6%
Christian
 
 7.5%
Other or not stated
 
 0.6%

People

[edit]

The city's population is predominantly Hindu, along with a small group of Muslim[12] population. Christians, Sikhs and Jains are also present in small numbers.[13][14][15] Coimbatore also has a large number of Telugus,[16] Kannadigas, Malayalis,[17][18][19] mainly from Palakkad and North Indians,[20] mainly Gujaratis,[21] who are engaged in trade and commerce. During the 1970s the city witnessed a population explosion as a result of migration fueled by increased economic growth and job opportunities.[22][23]

Popular places of worship
Perur Pateeswarar Temple
Marudamalai Murugan Temple

Places of worship

[edit]

The Mariamman festivals at the city's numerous Mariamman temples are major events in summer.[24] There are numerous temples in and around the city popular among those include Major Hindu temples in the city include the Perur Patteeswarar Temple,[25] Naga Sai Mandir,[26][27] Koniamman Temple,[24] Thandu Mariamman Temple,[28] Eachanari Vinayagar Temple,[29][30] Puliakulam Temple,[31] Marudamalai Murugan Temple,[32] Loga Nayaga Shaniswara Temple,[33][34] Ashtamsa Varadha Anjaneyar Temple,[35] Masani Amman Temple,[36] Karamadai Ranganathar Temple,[37] Dhyanalinga Yogic Temple and Adiyogi Shiva.[38] The mosques on Oppanakara Street and Big Bazaar Street date back to the 18th century CE.[39] Christian missions date back to the 17th century when permission was granted by the Nayak rulers to set up churches in the region.[40] Sikh Gurudwaras and Jain temples are also present in Coimbatore.[41]

Cuisine

[edit]
Dosa with chutney and sambar traditionally served in banana leaf
See also: Tamil cuisine

Coimbatore cuisine is predominantly south Indian with rice as its base. Most local restaurants still retain their rural flavor, with many restaurants serving food over a banana leaf.[42] Eating on a banana leaf is an old custom and imparts a unique flavor to the food and is considered healthy.[43] North Indian, Chinese and continental cuisines are also available. Idly, dosa, paniyaram and appam are popular dishes.[44][45][46][47]

Coimbatore has an active street food culture and various cuisine options for dining. Arisi paruppu sadam and sambar sadam, made from a mixture of dal and rice, is a recipe that existed from the 4th century CE that is unique to the area. Ariseemparuppu or arisi paruppu satham (literally translated as Rice and dal) originated from Coimbatore and the people of the city celebrate January 8 as national Aruseemparuppu day, after given light by a popular influencer and food consultant.[48] Kaalaan is a popular dish prepared by simmering deep-fried mushrooms (usually chopped) in a spicy broth until it reaches a porridge-like consistency; the dish is served sprinkled with chopped onions and coriander leaves.[49][50] Chaats made from potatoes and a mix of other vegetables and spices are also popular.[51]

Language

[edit]

Tamil is the official language and Kongu Tamil (also called Kangee or Kongalam), a dialect, is predominantly spoken.[52] The speciality of Kongu Tamil is the use of the alveolar ற – Tra/Dra (as in the English word track) instead of retroflex T/D (ட) of standard Tamil. For example, 'ennuDaya' (mine) of standard Tamil is pronounced enRa in the Kongu dialect. Additionally the use of guttural nasal (ங்) that sounds "ng" as in the English word Gang, is more prevalent in Kongu Tamil, leading to situations where the grammar of Kongu Tamil would not fit into the grammar of standard Tamil (as laid down in authoritative treatises like Tolkappiyam and Nannool). One of the examples is the use of ங் to end a word like வாங் "vaang", means 'come' expressed in a respectful tone, which in standard Tamil would be "vaanga".[53] Coimbatore also has a significant number of Telugus,[54] Kannada,[55] Malayalis,[56][57][58] and North Indians mainly Gujaratis.,[20][59] As per the 2011 census, Tamil is the most spoken language with 710,326 speakers, followed by Telugu (173,136), Kannada (102,000), Malayalam (76,485). Other languages spoken in the city include Urdu (15,484) and Hindi (13,608).[60][55][61]

Festivals

[edit]
Pongal, the major festival in the region

Being a cosmopolitan city, almost all major festivals like Deepavali, Eid and Christmas are celebrated here. Thai Pongal, celebrated in the month of January, is an important festival of and is celebrated over a period of five days. Puthandu signifying the beginning of the Tamil calendar usually falls in April and is celebrated widely. Onam is also celebrated with much fanfare due to a considerable Malayali immigrant population. Koniamman Temple car festival is celebrated in the month of March each year.[62] Perur Pateeswarar Temple car festival is celebrated in the month of March each year and seedling planting festival is celebrated each year in the month of June.[63][64] Vinayagar Chathurthi is celebrated in major temples such as Puliakulam Vinayagar Temple and Eachanari Vinayagar Temple.[65] Thaipusam is another major festival celebrated in Murugan temples.[66] Aravan Festival is celebrated as a "Community Reconciliation Festival" in various areas.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Is Coimbatore the next BPO city?". CNBC-TV18. 5 July 2008. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
  2. ^ "German state keen to share expertise with Coimbatore". Business Line. 22 June 2007. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
  3. ^ "Some music lovers still travel to Chennai for cultural overdoze". The Times of India. 14 December 2011.[dead link]
  4. ^ "In December, all the city's a stage". The Times of India. 14 December 2011. Archived from the original on 19 July 2012.
  5. ^ "A time of troubles". Frontline. 7 March 1998. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 23 June 2010.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. ^ "He brought cinema to South". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 30 April 2010. Archived from the original on 2 February 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
  7. ^ "Brahmanyan". The Times of India. 21 July 2007. Archived from the original on 30 June 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  8. ^ M. Allirajan (17 November 2003). "Reel-time nostalgia". The Hindu. Chennai, India. Archived from the original on 9 November 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  9. ^ "The natural witness". The Hindu. 19 October 2009. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  10. ^ "Gass Forest Museum to be reopened". The Hindu. 21 January 2007. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  11. ^ "Population By Religious Community – Tamil Nadu" (XLS). Office of The Registrar General and Census Commissioner, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2011. Archived from the original on 13 September 2015. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
  12. ^ "Indian Muslim Population Data". Aicmeu.org. Archived from the original on 5 January 2009. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  13. ^ "Primary Census Abstract – Census 2001". Directorate of Census Operations – Tamil Nadu. Government of Tamil Nadu. Archived from the original on 17 February 2011. Retrieved 14 June 2010.
  14. ^ "KMK plans to overcome casteist tag". The Hindu. 20 May 2009. Archived from the original on 6 June 2009. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
  15. ^ "Roots of capital". Frontline. 5 July 2008. Archived from the original on 23 June 2010. Retrieved 23 June 2010.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  16. ^ The 1971 census puts Telugu speakers at 22.95% of the total population. India. Office of the Registrar General, K. Chockalingam (1979). Census of India, 1971: Tamil Nadu. Manager of Publications. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  17. ^ Some estimates put it as high as 40% or at 300,000. Rajan, M.C (7 February 2010). "It's passion for the mother tongue not chauvinism". India Today. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  18. ^ "Majority should protect the minority". The Hindu. 4 October 2009. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
  19. ^ "Keralites' wishes take flight on Paramount's wings". The Indian Express. 8 November 2008. Archived from the original on 28 January 2012. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
  20. ^ a b "Residential space: Coimbatore spins a growth story". The Economic Times. 17 January 2010. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
  21. ^ "Providing quality education". The Hindu. 24 September 2006. Archived from the original on 5 January 2008. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
  22. ^ Elangovan, K. "Site Suitability Analysis using GIS for Coimbatore City". GIS Development. September 2005. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
  23. ^ Urban labour market structure and job access in India: a study of Coimbatore. International Institute for Labour Studies. 1990. pp. 4–7. ISBN 978-92-9014-468-7.
  24. ^ a b "Rajagopuram for Kovai Koniamman temple too". The Indian Express. 2 March 2010. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  25. ^ Suryanarayanan, R (27 May 2005). "Rich in history and architecture". The Hindu. Retrieved 9 March 2016.[dead link]
  26. ^ R, Balapattabi (1 August 2006). Nectarine Leelas of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Sai Towers. p. 108. ISBN 978-81-7899-009-5.
  27. ^ N, Kasthuri (16 April 2014). Sathyam Shivam Sundaram – Volume 1. Sri Sathya Sai Sadhana Trust. ISBN 978-93-5069-170-0.
  28. ^ "Traffic diversions for temple festival tomorrow". The Hindu. 21 April 2014. Archived from the original on 22 December 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  29. ^ "About us, Eachanari Vinayagar Temple". Government of Tamil Nadu. Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  30. ^ "Eachanari Vinayagar Temple". Dinamalar (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  31. ^ Knapp, Stephen (2009). Spiritual India Handbook. Jaico Publishing House. pp. 428–30. ISBN 978-81-8495-024-3.
  32. ^ Subburaj, A (27 September 2015). "Domestic tourism flourishes in Coimbatore district". Times of India. Archived from the original on 12 June 2016. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  33. ^ "Shani peyarchi celebrated in Shiva temples". Dina Thanthi (in Tamil). 16 December 2014. Archived from the original on 18 December 2014. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  34. ^ "Shani peyarchi celebrated in Puliakulam temple". Dinamani (in Tamil). 17 December 2014. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  35. ^ "Sri Ashtamsa Varadha Anjaneyar Temple". Dinamalar (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  36. ^ Rangaswamy, Sudhakshina (25 July 2003). "Transformation of the inner Self". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 9 November 2012. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
  37. ^ M., Rajagopalan (1993). 15 Vaishnava Temples of Tamil Nadu. Chennai, India: Govindaswamy Printers. pp. 89–95.
  38. ^ "'Aadiyogi bust' declared world's largest by Guinness Book of World". Hindustan Times. 12 May 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  39. ^ Baliga, B.S. (1966). Madras District Gazetteers: Coimbatore. Superintendent, Government Press.
  40. ^ Hiltebeitel, Alf (2011). When the Goddess was a Woman. BRILL. p. 388. ISBN 978-90-04-19380-2.
  41. ^ "This road leads to Kovai's only gurdwara". The Times of India. 30 March 2014. Archived from the original on 3 October 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  42. ^ "Serving on a banana leaf". ISCKON. Archived from the original on 14 January 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  43. ^ "The Benefits of Eating Food on Banana Leaves". India Times. 9 March 2015. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016.
  44. ^ "Snack Street combines taste of street food with hygiene of restaurant". The Hindu. 19 July 2013. Archived from the original on 21 December 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  45. ^ Achaya, K.T. (1 November 2003). The story of our food. Universities Press. p. 80. ISBN 978-81-7371-293-7.
  46. ^ Balasubramanian, D (21 October 2014). "Changes in the Indian menu over the ages". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 14 April 2016.
  47. ^ "Kovakkai, Kongunadu and Quizzing". The Hindu. 3 February 2011. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  48. ^ Nagarajan, Rema (26 March 2011). "Taste some cuisine from Kongunadu". Times of India. Archived from the original on 9 August 2017. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  49. ^ Kannadasan, Akila (2 November 2012). "A rainy day". The Hindu. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  50. ^ Nath, Parthasarathy (27 May 2013). "A taste of tradition". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 21 December 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  51. ^ "Street Food in Coimbatore, 10 Best Food Places in Coimbatore – Treebo". Treebo Blog. 17 December 2017. Archived from the original on 25 May 2019. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
  52. ^ Silva, Severine (1963). Toponomy of Canara. University of Michigan. p. 34. In the southern part of Mysore the Tamil language is at this day named the Kangee, from being best known to them as the language of the people of Kangiam
  53. ^ Poezold, F; Simpson, William (1809). Tamil̲umaiṅakilēcumāyirukakir̲a akarāti (2nd ed.). Oxford University.
  54. ^ Chockalingam, K (1979). Census of India, 1971: Tamil Nadu. Government of India. pp. 88–89.
  55. ^ a b "Kannadigas outnumber Malayalis 2:1 in Tamil Nadu". The Times of India. Retrieved 25 November 2008.
  56. ^ Rajan, M.C. (7 February 2010). "It's passion for the mother tongue not chauvinism". India Today. Archived from the original on 15 April 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  57. ^ "Majority should protect the minority". The Hindu. 4 October 2009. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
  58. ^ "Keralites' wishes take flight on Paramount's wings". The Indian Express. 8 November 2008. Archived from the original on 8 March 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
  59. ^ "Providing quality education". The Hindu. 24 September 2006. Archived from the original on 17 January 2011. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
  60. ^ 2011 Census of India, Population By Mother Tongue
  61. ^ Harriss, John; Kannan, Kappadath Parameswara; Rodgers, Gerry (1990). Urban labour market structure and job access in India: a study of Coimbatore. International Institute for Labour Studies, Centre for Development Studies, University of East Anglia. pp. 4–7. ISBN 978-92-9014-468-7.
  62. ^ "Koniamman car festival". Thamizhe. 9 February 2020. Archived from the original on 21 February 2021. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  63. ^ "பேரூர் பட்டீசுவரர் கோவில் தேரோட்டம்: ஆயிரக்கணக்கான பக்தர்கள் தரிசனம்". 19 March 2019. Archived from the original on 20 October 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  64. ^ "Seedling Planting Festival at Perur Pateeswarar Temple in Coimbatore". Maalai Malar. 20 June 2018. Archived from the original on 23 January 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  65. ^ "Puliakulam temple background". The Tamil Samayam. 13 September 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  66. ^ "Thai Poosam celebrated with fervourt". The Hindu. 4 February 2015. Archived from the original on 22 December 2016. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Culture_of_Coimbatore&oldid=1253021505"