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Kodaikanal
is
a
town
and
hill
station
in
Dindigul
district in
the state of Tamil
Nadu,
India.
It
is
situated
at
an
altitude
of
2,225 m
(7,300 ft)
in
the Palani
Hills,
of
the
Western
Ghats.
Kodaikanal
was
established
in
1845
to
serve
as
a
refuge
from
the
high
temperatures
and
tropical
diseases during
the
summer
in
the
plains.
It
is
a
popular
tourist
destination
and
is
referred
to
as
the
"Princess
of
Hill
stations"
with
much
of
the
local
economy
is
based
on
the
hospitality
industry serving
tourism.
As
per
the 2011
census,
the
city
had
a
population
of
36,501.The
word Kodaikanal is
an
amalgamation
of
two
Tamil
language
words: kodai meaning
"gift"
and kanal meaning
"forest"
translating
to
"gift
of
the
forest".The
earliest
references
to
Kodaikanal
and
the
Palani
hills
are
found
in Tamil
Sangam
literature. Tamil
composition
Kurunthokai,
the
second
book
of
the
anthology
Ettuthokai ,
mentions
the
mountainous
geographic
region
(thinai)
of
Kurinji.
The
region
is
associated
with
Hindu
god
Murugan and
is
described
as
a
forest
with
lakes
waterfalls and
trees
like
teak,
bamboo and sandalwood.The
name
of
the
region, Kurinji,
derives
from
the
name
of
the
famous
flower
Kurinji found
only
in
the
hills
and
the
occupants
of
the
region
were
tribal
people
whose
prime
occupations
were
hunting,
honey
harvesting and
millet cultivation.The
hills
were
populated
by
the
Palaiyar tribal
people.In
1821,
a British Lieutenant,
B.
S.
Ward,
climbed
up
from
his
headquarters
in
the
Kunnavan
village
to
Kodaikanal
to
survey
the
area
and
reported
of
beautiful
hills
with
a
healthy
climate
with
about
4,000
people
living
in
well-structured
villages. In
1834,
J.C
Wroughten,
then revenue
collector
of Madura
and
C.
R.
Cotton,
a
member
of
the Madras
Presidency's
board
of
revenue,
climbed
up
the
hills
from
Devadanapati. In
1836,
botanist
Robert
Wight visited
Kodaikanal
and
recorded
his
observations
in
the
1837 Madras
Journal
of
Literature
and
Science. In
1852,
Major
J.
M.
Partridge
of
the
Bombay
Army
built
a
house
and
was
the
person
to
settle
there.In
1853,
only
six
to
seven
houses
were
there
when
then
Governor
of
Madras
Presidency
Charles
Trevelyan visited
in
1860.In
1862, American
Missionary
David
Coit
Scudder arrived. In
1863,
acting
on
a
suggestion
of
Vere
Levinge,
then
collector
of
Madurai,
an
artificial
lake
was
formed.
In
1867,
Major
J.
M.
Partridge
imported
Australian
eucalyptus and wattle
trees
and
in
1872,
Lt.
Coaker
cut
a
path
along
the
steep
south
east
facing
ridge
which
overlooks
the
plains
below
and
prepared
a
descriptive
map
the
region.In
the
later
half
of
the
19th
century,
it
became
a
regular
summer
retreat
for
American
missionaries
and
other
European
diplomats
as
a
refuge
from
the
high
temperatures
and
tropical
diseases of
the
plains.In
1901,
the
first
observations
commenced
at
the
Kodaikanal
Observatory . In
1909,
the
area
had
developed
into
a
small
town
with
151
houses
and
a
functioning
post
office,
churches,
clubs,
schools
and
shops. In
1914,
the
ghat
road
was
completed. It
continued
to
served
as
a
summer
retreat
during
the British
Raj
and
became
a
popular
hill
station
later.
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