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Located in the
foothills of the Nilgiri Hills, Coimbatore is an industrial
city of the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The city is
an important textile-manufacturing centre in India and as
such it is sometimes also called as /’Manchester of
South India/’. There are more than a hundred textile
mills in and around Coimbatore apart from a number of other
manufacturing units, which produce engineering equipment
and electronic items.
Coimbatore existed even prior to the 2nd century AD as a small
tribal village called Kongunad. It was Karikalan, the first
of the early Cholas, who brought Kongunad under Chola control
in the second or third century AD. Some of the great rulers
who ruled over the city were the Rashtrakutas, Chalukyas, Pandyas,
Hoysalas and the Vijayanagara kings. It was only when Kongunad
fell to the British along with the rest of the state, its name
was changed to Coimbatore.
The city/’s nearness to the Nilgiri hills gives it a
pleasant climate that is much cooler than the coastal regions
of Tamil Nadu. Summers are hot with the maximum temperature
reaching 39°C and the minimum temperature going down to
21°C. Winters are mild with the maximum temperature hovering
around 30°C and the minimum temperature rarely going below
15°C. Coimbatore experiences rains in October-November,
brought about by the retreating monsoons (north-eastern monsoon). |
