Kolli Hills / Kolli Water Falls

Kolli Hills   is    a   major   mountain    range  and   is  an   outliner  of  the  Eastern Ghats. It is eighteen miles ( 28 Kilometeres)   long  (north south)  twelve miles(19 Kilometers) wide (east/west) and covers approximately   400  square   miles.   The  name Kolli Malai    refers   to   the   mountain's   once  hostile nature; the unsuspecting and unaclamatized aliens,  attracted   by   natural   beauty.    Viewed  from  plains  of Namakkal the  mountain  appears as  a flat-topped  mass.  The mountain has   been inhabitated   from   prehistoric times.  It is much celebrated in the Tamil Literature of the Sangam period; at least eleven poets mention it in their poems. Next to the  Servarayan,  this  is  the  only mountain that is still covered with remnants of rain forests.

 

The government reserve forests are seen in Ariyur, Puliyan Solai, Selur and Vazhavandhi Nadu. An area of 2,00 hectares is in the process of reforestation. Tigers and elephants which were once common in it are now extinct; only small animals such as black bears, hares, porcupines, and wild dogs are seen.

 

Namakkal Dhurgam Fort

The fort is on the summit of Namagiri.  It is one of a few naturally strong forts steeped in bloody history of the district.  It was under Mysore  until it was captured by the British in 1769. It was retaken by Hyder Ali a few months afterwards  and was lost again to the British in 1792. It contains the ruins of a Vishnu temple dedicated to Ethirili(Peerless) Perumal with in inscription of Sadaiyavaraman Sundhara Pandiyan.

 

The fort covers an area of one and a half acres of flat surface and is accessible from the southwest by a flight of narrow steps.

 

The namam (mark) is the white and red graphic symbol of Vishnu. The symbol is depicted with two white and  one red vertical lines. The Vaishnavites usually wear the symbol on their forehead.

 

On the hills and hillocks of Salem where Vishnu Shrines are situated, large namams are painted on the nearby boulders. On the Nama  Malai , the northern spur(693 meters high) of the Jarugu Malai range, a conspicuous namam is painted on a rock on the hill side near a small Vishnu shrine. Each of the two prongs (representing the feet of Vishnu) of the namam is about 40' long and 6'eide, clearly visible from all parts of the city. Le Fanu commented.

 

On this enormous representation in colours of the sacred trident (which) can be seen by the worshipper some seven miles off. This mode of parading religious insignia is by no means peculiar of India.

 

The traveler by the Great Western Railway to oxfordshire (in English) will see the whole side of a hill stripped to the gravel in the shape of an enormous cross. I have seen in Salt Lake City, USA an enormous U painted on the hill signifying the University of Utah. Mountain of Nama. It is the name of rounded  mass of gneiss rock  (65 meters high and about  a mile in circumference) at the center of Namakkal town.  The rock expanse on the eastern base of the hill was where Mahatma Gandhi held a Public meeting in 1933.

 

Two rock-cut cave temples dedicated to Ananthasayi and Narasimha Swamy, are on the eastern and western sides of the rock. The temples and the images of Gods within the temples were hewn out of the living rock. As they grow naturally out of the living stuff of the earth and is sustained by the power of the rock and hill, these shrines are esteemed higher than the ordinarily built temples.

 

The rock also contains eight theerthams ( holy water springs) the biggest of which is the Kamalayam (Home of the Lotus) sacred to the Goddess Namagiri Amman.  It was the chief source of water supply for the town until water from the Kaveri was brought. The other other Theerthams are Anantharama Theertham Narasimha Theertham and Serbha theertham. Another list includes the following : Hanuman Theertham, Lakshmana Theertham, Lakshmi Therrtham, Narayana Theertham, Rishi Theertham, and Seetharam Theertham.

 

Aiyaru River

Beautiful river,  its constituent streams are Aroychi Aru, Kanappadi Moolai Aru, Maasimalai Aruvi, Nakkattu Aru, and Thazhigai Aru.  It Orignates in the Siddhan Kuttu Peak (4500) as Vellaipaazhi Aru. At various points of its course in the kolli malai, this river is known as the Arappalli Isvarar Arui. Beyond the Arappalli Isvarar Kovil it falls down as Akaasa Gangai and flows out of the district at Puliyamsolai to join with the Kaveri.