Tiruchirappalli (Tamil : திருச்சிராப்பள்ளி) also spelled Tiruchirapalli, commonly known as Tiruchi or Trichy (Tamil : திருச்சி) formerly also pronounced as Trichinopoly (under British rule) is the fourth largest city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu (after Chennai, Coimbatore and Madurai). It is situated in the centre of the state, on the banks of the Cauvery River. Trichy is a corporation and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirapalli District.

Trichy encompasses Srirangam, a Vaishnavite temple and the biggest functioning Hindu temple in the world. Trichy also emcompasses "ThiruAnaikka" (ThiruvAnaikkaval), one of the five main abodes ("Panchaboodha Sthalam") of Lord Shiva. ThiruvAnaikkaval is the House of Water. Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman was born in Thiruvanaikaval and his house has been preserved as a museum. There Tiruchirapalli town was named after a three headed demon "Trishira" ] called "Chira"(the son of Ravana) who performed penance at the Siva temple here and obtained boons.Legend has it that Shiva was worshipped by the demon ruler Tirisiran, hence Tiruchirappalli, Tirisirapuram etc. Also, since the three peaks here on this hill are occupied by Shiva, Parvati and Vinayaka, the name Tri-Shikharam or Tirisirapuram came into being. Legend has it that Shiva in the guise of a woman (mother) attended to the call of a devotee in labor, hence he is called as Matrubhuteswarar.

There is yet another belief about the origins of the name Trichy. Apparently the name started out as Thiru Javvandhipuram (Place of Marigold flowers; javvandhi, the Tamil name for the flower Marigold which grew(and still does) in abundance in and around this region and the word puram refers to a place of dwelling) which over time became corrupted to Trichy.

History

Tiruchirapalli is home to Nagaraj Cholan and many historic temples, monuments, churches and mosques. Uraiyur(also pronounced as Oraiyur) which is the Old Tiruchy has a long tradition. With over 2,500 years of known history, it was the capital of the early Cholas. The oldest man made dam Kallanai was built by Karikala Cholan across the river Kaveri about 10 miles from Uraiyur. It was an important town in the days of the later Cholas, Nayaks as well as during the early days of the British East India Company. The Madurai Nayak rulers changed their capital from Madurai to Tiruchirapalli and back several times. The conquest of Tiruchirapalli by the British East India Company marked a major step in the British conquest of India.

One famous landmark in Tiruchirapalli is the Rock Fort, a huge outcrop of rock of 83 metres high, which is the only outcrop in the otherwise flat land of the city. For this reason, the city is also called Rock City. On top of the rock is the Ucchi Pillayar Koil, a temple dedicated to the Indian God Vinayaka (Ganesha), from where one can enjoy a panoramic view of Tiruchirapalli. The temple was also used as a military fort by the Nayaks for some time. On the southern face of the rock are several beautifully carved cave temples of the Pallava period. On to the eastern side is Sri Nandrudayan Vinayakar Temple, with the powerful Lord Ganesha as the main deity. A big sized Ganesha and other rare deities can be seen in this temple,which hosts festivals every year during the Vinayaka Chathurthi ( birthday of the Lord)and many carnatic musicians and stalwarts have given musical concerts over 70 years in this famous shrine.Around the rock temple is a busy commercial region, specializing in textiles, known as Chatram. The Main Guard Gate is flooded on festive occasions such as Diwali,,(Bakrid) Christmas and Pongal. Trichy is famous for the number of churches in India . It has the most number of chapels in India. The most famous of them are The Holy Redeemer's Church, Lourdes Church and The Cathedral.

Trichy also famous for Arcot Nawab masjid (one of the oldest one) with a huge water storage tank (Ahil). Fort also still exist nearby masjid. This city is famous for various culture where all the faith people enjoy the peace and prosperity

Topography/Geography

The city's population is predominantly Hindu, along with a sizable Christian and Muslim populations. Sikhs are also present in smaller numbers.

Tamil is the official language. The dialect of the Tamil language spoken here is often 'Neutral', although a tint of "Kongu Tamil", Madurai Tamil may be heard as one travels through the western and southern boundaries of the district/city. One may also hear elangai/srilankan Tamil widely spoken in some pockets of the city. Other languages spoken here include Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi. Once, Tiruchirapalli served as the headquarters of the erstwhile South-Indian Railways(which was renamed later as 'Southern Railways' with Madras/Chennai as the headquarters) during the pre-independence era for a few years. Anglo-Indians(many of them who worked in the 'South-Indian Railways') started settling in 'Golden Rock-Township' and 'Crawford' located within the city.

Culture

The city has a multi-cultural society with a sizeable presence of english, telugu, hindi, and malayalam speaking population. The city projects a calm outlook and is considered to be friendly with tourists.

One may get to experience typical anglo-indian, andhra and kerala cuisines here.

Apart from Pongal - the 'Thamizhar Thirunaazh", Ugadi; Holi & Onam may also be seen to be celebrated by the respective communities retaining their cultural roots.

Cuisine

Trichy cuisine is predominantly south Indian with rice found as the main-ingridient. The city prefers a fairly mild flavour, with variations to suit local palette. Lunch is usually served in many restaurants over a banana leaf. North Indian, Chinese and continental cuisines are also available. Jelebi, Mysorepa (a sweet made from lentil flour and ghee), idly, dosa, Halwa