Coordinates: 13.3667°N 80.

3333°E

Coromandel Coast
The Coromandel Coast is the southeastern coast region of the
Indian subcontinent, bounded by the Utkal Plains to the north, the
Bay of Bengal to the east, the Kaveri delta to the south, and the
Eastern Ghats to the west, extending over an area of about 22,800
square kilometres.[1] Its definition can also include the northwestern
coast of the island of Sri Lanka. The coast has an average elevation
of 80 metres and is backed by the Eastern Ghats, a chain of low,flat-
topped hills.

Contents
Etymology
Description
Economy
Geography
Climate Districts along the Coromandel Coast
Flora
History
Applications of the name
In literature
See also
References
External links

Etymology
Coromondel is the Dutch pronunciation of "Karimanal", a village in the
Sriharikota island in the north of Pazhavercadu (Pulecat Lake).[2] Pazhavercadu
(Pulicat) was an early Dutch settlement along with Masoolipatnam in present-
day Andhra Pradesh. There is a Dutch Cemetery belonging to the seventeenth
Century at Pulicat. It is said that the first Dutch ship stopped here for fresh
drinking water, and upon asking the name of the place Karimanal was spelled as
Coromondal (K replaced with C and d inserted).[3]

The land of the Chola dynasty was called Cholamandalam (ேசாழ ம டல )

in Tamil, literally translated as The realm of the Cholas, from which the
Portuguese derived the name Coromandel.[4][5][6][7][8] The name could also be
derived from Kurumandalam, meaning The realm of the Kurus.[9]
Map of the coast (in French)

Description
Economy
Agriculture is the mainstay of the coastal economy. Rice, pulses (legumes), sugarcane, cotton, and peanuts (groundnuts) are
grown. Bananas and betel nuts are grown together with rice in the low-rainfall region of the interior. There are casuarina and
coconut plantations along the coast.

Large-scale industries produce fertilizers, chemicals, film projectors, amplifiers, trucks, and automobiles. There is a heavy vehicle
and armoured car factory at Avadi and a nuclear power station at Kalpakkam.

Roads and railways linking Chennai, Cuddalore, Chidambaram, Chengalpattu, and Puducherry run parallel to the coast.

Geography
The coast is generally low, and punctuated by the deltas of several large rivers, including the Kaveri, Palar, Penner, and Krishna
River, which rise in the highlands of the Western Ghats and flow across the Deccan Plateau to drain into the Bay of Bengal. The
alluvial plains created by these rivers are fertile and favour agriculture. The rivers remain dry during most of the year. There is
little forest cover, but marshes, swamps, scrub woodlands, and thorny thickets are common.

The coastline forms a part of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. The important ports include Chennai, Thoothukkudi, Nellore,
Ennore and Nagapattinam, which take advantage of their close proximity with regions rich in natural and mineral resources and
good transport infrastructure.

Climate
The Coromonnel Coast falls in the rain shadow of the Western Ghats mountain range, and receives less rainfall during the
summer southwest monsoons, which contributes heavy rainfall in some parts of India. The region averages 800 mm/year, most of
which falls between October and December. The topography of the Bay of Bengal, and the staggered weather pattern prevalent
during the season favours northeast monsoons, which have a tendency to cause cyclones and hurricanes rather than a steady
precipitation. As a result, the coast is hit by inclement weather almost every year between October and January.

The high variability of rainfall patterns is also responsible for water scarcity and famine in most areas not served by the great
rivers. For example, the city of Chennai is one of the driest cities in the country in terms of potable water availability, despite high
percentage of moisture in the air, due to the unpredictable, seasonal nature of the monsoon.

Flora
The Coromandel Coast is home to the East Deccan dry evergreen forests ecoregion, which runs in a narrow strip along the coast.
Unlike most of the other tropical dry forest Biome regions of India, where the trees lose their leaves during the dry season, the
East Deccan dry evergreen forests retain their leathery leaves year round.

The Coromandel Coast is also home to extensive mangrove forests along the low-lying coast and river deltas, and several
important wetlands, notably Kaliveli Lake and Pulicat Lake, that provide habitat to thousands of migrating and resident birds.

History
By late 1530 the Coromandel Coast was home to three Portuguese settlements at Nagapattinam, São Tomé de Meliapore, and
Pulicat. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Coromandel Coast was the scene of rivalries among European powers for control of
the India trade. The British established themselves at Fort St George (Madras) and Masulipatnam, the Dutch at Pulicat, Sadras
and Covelong, the French at Pondicherry, Karaikal and Nizampatnam, the Danish in Dansborg at Tharangambadi.
The Coromandel Coast supplied Indian Muslim eunuchs to the Thai palace and court of
Siam (modern Thailand).[10][11] The Thai at times asked eunuchs from China to visit the
court in Thailand and advise them on court ritual since they held them in high
regard.[12][13]

Eventually the British won out, although France retained the tiny enclaves of Pondichéry
and Karaikal until 1954. Chinese lacquer goods, including boxes, screens, and chests,
became known as "Coromandel" goods in the 18th century, because many Chinese exports
were consolidated at the Coromandel ports.

Two of the famous books on the economic history of the Coromandel Coast are
Merchants, companies, and commerce on the Coromandel Coast, 1650–1740
(Arasaratnam, Oxford University Press, 1986) and The World of the Weaver in Northern
Coromandel, c.1750-c.1850 (P. Swarnalatha, Orient Longman, 2005).

On 26 December 2004, one of the deadliest natural disasters in modern history, the Indian
Ocean earthquake, struck off the western coast of Sumatra (Indonesia). The earthquake
and subsequent tsunami reportedly killed over 220,000 people around the rim of the
Indian Ocean. The tsunami devastated the Coromandel Coast, killing many and sweeping Sarasa chintz from the
Coromandel Coast, 17th or
away many coastal communities.
18th century, made for the
Japanese market. Private
Applications of the name collection, Nara Prefecture.

Four ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Coromandel after the Indian
coast. The Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand was named after one of these ships, and the town of Coromandel, New Zealand
was named after the peninsula. Coromandel Valley, South Australia, and its neighbouring suburb, Coromandel East, gain their
name from the ship Coromandel, which arrived in Holdfast Bay from London in 1837 with 156 English settlers. After the ship
reached the shore, some of its sailors deserted, intending to remain behind in South Australia, and took refuge in the hills in the
Coromandel Valley region.

A red nail varnish made by Chanel is named coromandel due to its suggestions of exoticism. One of the earliest superfast trains of
Indian Railways that runs between Howrah and Chennai is named Coromandel Express.

In Slovene the idiom Indija Koromandija (India Coromandel) means a land of plenty,[14] a promised land, a utopia where
"Houses are bleached with cheese and covered with cake".[15]

In literature
The 1955 historical novel Coromandel! by John Masters describes a young English adventurer arriving in the 17th century at the
Coromandel Coast. He is the founder of the Savage family, whose descendants live during British rule in India and appear in
other books of Masters' series.

There is a well-known poem by the Indian poet and freedom fighter Sarojini Naidu titled 'Coromandel Fishers'. The little-known
early 20th-century poet Walter J. Turner wrote a poem titled 'Coromandel'.

"The Courtship of the Yonghy-bonghy-bo" by Edward Lear is set on the Coast of Coromandel.

Coromandel wood is referred to by Dame Edith Sitwell in her poem "Black Mrs. Behemoth", part of "Façade". She likens the
wood's grain to the rolling, curling smoke of a blown out candle. Sir Osbert Sitwell (Dame Edith's brother) composed a poem
titled "On the coast of Coromandel".
Coromandel Sea Change is a 1991 novel by Rumer Godden about a diverse group of guests staying at a hotel on the Coromandel
coast during an election campaign.

The coast is noted in M. M. Kaye's novel The Far Pavilions. A work of fiction, the lead character, Ashton Hilary Akbar Pelham-
Martyn, retires to the Coromandel Coast early in the tale.

See also
Malabar Coast
Presidency of Coromandel and Bengal Settlements

References
1. Encyclopædia Britannica entry on Coromandel Coast (https://www.britannica.com/place/Coromandel-Coast)
2. Topographic Map of India "66C/7 & 66C/11" by Survey of India
3. "http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/mag/2003/10/19/stories/2003101900280700.htm"
4. The Land of the Tamulians and Its Missions, by Eduard Raimund Baierlein, James Dunning Baker
5. South Indian Coins – Page 61 by T. Desikachari – Coins, Indic – 1984
6. Indian History – Page 112
7. Annals of Oriental Research – Page 1 by University of Madras – 1960
8. The Periplus of the Erythræan Sea by Wilfred Harvey Schoff
9. Edgar Thurston (2011). The Madras Presidency with Mysore, Coorg and the Associated States (https://books.go
ogle.com/books?id=O4VLY1KcltcC&pg=PA11). Cambridge University Press. p. 11. ISBN 978-1-107-60068-3.
10. Peletz (2009), p. 73 Gender Pluralism: Southeast Asia Since Early Modern Times (https://books.google.com/boo
ks?id=BFXpi5ZKKF8C&pg=PA73), p. 73, at Google Books
11. Peletz (2009), p. 73 Gender Pluralism: Southeast Asia Since Early Modern Times (https://books.google.com/boo
ks?id=-YnQJXxspJUC&pg=PA73), p. 73, at Google Books
12. Peletz (2009), p. 75 Gender Pluralism: Southeast Asia Since Early Modern Times (https://books.google.com/boo
ks?id=BFXpi5ZKKF8C&pg=PA75), p. 75, at Google Books
13. Peletz (2009), p. 75 Gender Pluralism: Southeast Asia Since Early Modern Times (https://books.google.com/boo
ks?id=-YnQJXxspJUC&pg=PA75), p. 75, at Google Books
14. Slovar slovenskega knjižnega jezika "Indija Koromandija" (http://bos.zrc-sazu.si/cgi/a03.exe?name=sskj_testa&e
xpression=indija+koromandija&hs=1)
15. "Razvezani jezik" From: [http://razvezanijezik.org (http://razvezanijezik.org/?page=indija+koromandija)

WorldStatesmen.org: India (http://www.worldstatesmen.org/India.htm)

External links
Encyclopædia Britannica: Coromandel Coast (region, India) (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/138164/
Coromandel-Coast)

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