 The house in Ettayapuram where Bharathiar was born Ettayapuram (எட்டையாபுரம் in Tamil) is a village in Thoothukudi (a.k.a. Tuticorin) district of Tamil Nadu. It is famous for being the birth place of the great Tamil Poet Mahakavi Bharathiar. Muthuswami Dikshitar, one of the triad of Carnatic music also was patronised in his final years by the ruler of Ettayapuram. Umarup pulavar also lived here.
History
Ettayapuram was originally Ilasanadu, which was ruled by the Pandya Kings. When they could no longer rule directly, Ettappan was appointed as Zamindar. After 150 years of rule by the descendants of Ettappan, Ilasanadu became Ettayapuram. Even today, some people call it Ilasai. Notable among them is Ilasai Sundaram, who is a Tamil Scholar. As of November, 2004, he is the Director of the Madurai All India Radio station.
Legacy of Subramanya Bharathy
See also Subramanya Bharathy
 Mahakavi Bharathi 1882-1921 Subramanya Bharathi better known as Mahakavi Bharathiar (Maha Kavi meaning Great Poet) in Tamil, deemed as one of the greatest poets of twentieth-century India was born here on December 11, 1882. A prolific writer, philosopher and a great visionary of immense genius and perspicacity, Bharathiar was also one of the most prominent leaders of the Indian independence movement in South India. He studied in a local high school named "Raajah's High School", where he showed exemplary poetic talent even at an early age of 11. At various points in time, he was patronised by Ettappan, the local ruler, even though differences used to crop up between them often.
Ettappan
 The remains of Ettappan's palace Ettappan carries a mixed image. The negative impression is due to the fact that he gave away the information regarding Veerapandya Kattabommu's whereabouts to the Britishers, which eventually led to the arrest and hanging of Kattabomman. In fact, Ettappan came to be used as a metaphor for a whistleblower or traitor. On the other hand, he was admired by some of the natives for his welfare activities including arrangements for water supply through huge tanks. He was also a patron of poets and musicians. Notable examples are Bharathy and Muthuswami Dikshitar.
Occupation
People of Ettayapuram are primarily engaged in weaving, making match boxes and agriculture. Currently all these trades have become less remunerative and the people here are forced to migrate to cities like Chennai to work as labourers in grocery shops.
Weaving
Most of the people living here are traditional weavers who weave cotton yarn using handlooms. These hand looms are not suited for weaving complex patterns as designs on the yarn. There are some recent moves by National Institute of Fashion Technology to train people on Jacquard looms, which is suited for weaving complex patterns in a semi-automated way using punched cards. Some people who are relatively wealthy, use power looms. People are also employed in other allied trades of preparing the thread for weaving, dyeing etc.
Making match boxes
The next major occupation here is making match boxes, which includes manufacturing small boxes that contain match sticks, preparing match sticks and loading them on to the match boxes. Nowadays, as many people have started using mechanical lighters for starting fire and also due to automated match stick makers, this trade is on the decline.
Agriculture
The area of land under cultivation has fallen sharply due to failing rains and relatively poor soil fertility. The soil type is black soil, which supports crops like cotton, sun flower etc.
Tourist attractions
Ettayapuram is well connected to Madurai, Thoothukkudi, and Tirunelveli by road. Train services are available from Chennai, Bangalore and else where in India, upto Kovilpatti, which is 15 km from here.
Places of interest in Ettayapuram
- Bharathiar's House
- Bharathy's Memorial
- Muthuswamy Dikshitar's Memorial
- Umarup Pulavar Dargah
- Ettappan's Palace
Places of interest near Ettayapuram
- Paanchaalankurichi Fort of Kattabomman
- Nellaiappar Temple in Tirunelveli
- Coutralam waterfalls near Tirunelveli
External links
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