Nazareth, Tamil Nadu

Nazareth is a town in the Tuticorin district of Tamil Nadu, India.

Market Street, Nazareth, With St. John's Cathedral in the background

Geography

Nazareth in Tuticorin district. It is about 50km from Tuticorin itself; and about 36km from the city of Tirunelveli. It has a railway station, as well as a bus station. It is an important town in the locality and is generally considered the "big" town, in that part of the district.There are several villages surrounding Nazareth and all of them are considered part of Nazareth; the postal address for those villages needs to be addressed as Nazareth in order for those villages to receive incoming mail.

There are several daily trains to Madras through Tirunelveli and to Tiruchendur. Nazareth is well connected to major cities in Tamil Nadu as well as to several villages in the area. Bus services abound to various places including direct nightly services to the Tamil Nadu capital Chennai, the commercial city of Coimbatore, Madurai, and a host of other places. Nazareth is very modern and western like compare to other towns of India. It is also much more cleaner and less polluted than most indian cities.

Climate

There climate of Nazareth is usually hot and dry. A short rainy season exists but the weather is for the most part hot. Although the overall weather is hot and dry, the air temperature is somewhat cooler. The town is filled with trees, almost all of the house have tress in its yard. The whole town is filled with trees of all varieties which cools down the temperature significantly.

History

The history of Nazareth is closely tied with the Church of South India. Nazareth is part of the Nazareth-Tuticorin diocese. The main thing about Nazareth are its educational institutions.

Demographics

According to the 2001 census, the population of Nazareth is 16,943. The literacy rate is 83.75%. The predominant religion in Nazareth is Christianity. Above 85% of the population are Christians. This is fairly unusual for an Indian town where the predominant religion is usually Hinduism.

During Christmas all streets in Nazareth are being decorated with colorful lights. Most of the Nazarenes are living in USA.Nazareth is surrounded by small villages like Vellamadam etc.

Education

The Margoschis School for boys and the St. John's School for girls are two famous schools with a prestigious past (St. John's GHSS is the first school for girls in South India). They have students and alumni from all over the general area. Margoschis College is in the neighbouring village of Pilliamanai, and is famous for its education in the area as well. It also has several small schools including a higher level educationally challenging English medium Matriculation School along with several Tamil medium schools for poor and disabled

A College of Polytechnic and Engineering has also recently been set up in Margoschis Nagar in Nazareth.Polytechnic and Enginering is best Institute in Tamilnadu. The Art Industrial School in Nazareth is a relatively well known technical training school in that part of Tuticorin district.In 2006 B.Sc Nursing college also start in Nazareth.

Vellamadam

Vellamadam is 3 KMs from Nazareth. Out of 1000 Population approximately 70% literacy. Agriculture is a main business. Vellamadam is surrounded by 3 ponds which is feed by Tamirabarani and Manimutharu rivers.