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Parangimalai பரங்கிமலை Bhringimalai St. Thomas Mount | |
|---|---|
 St Thomas Church on the Mount | |
  Parangimalai பரங்கிமலை  Parangimalai பரங்கிமலை | |
| Coordinates:13°00′28.1″N80°11′33.0″E / 13.007806°N 80.192500°E /13.007806; 80.192500[1] | |
| Country | India |
| State | Tamil Nadu |
| Metro | Chennai |
| Government | |
| • Body | St.Thomas Mount-cum-Pallavaram |
| Area | |
• Total | 12.92 km2 (4.99 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 91.44 m (300.0 ft) |
| Population (2011)[1] | |
• Total | 43,795 |
| • Density | 3,390/km2 (8,779/sq mi) |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Tamil |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| Planning agency | CMDA |
Parangimalai (known in English asSt. Thomas Mount) is a smallhillock in theChennai district ofTamil Nadu, India, near the neighbourhood ofGuindy and very close toChennai International Airport. By extension, it is also the name of the neighbourhood surrounding the hillock.
The neighbourhood is served by theSt. Thomas Mount railway station, on the southern line of theChennai Suburban Railway Network.[citation needed] Integration of theMetro andMRTS with the suburban station in the neighbourhood, is expected to make the suburb the city's largest transit hub afterChennai Central.[2]
In the state assembly elections of1967 and1971, there was a constituency known as theSt. Thomas Mount.
According to Hindu tradition, the sageBhringi resided and meditated on the hillock in his quest to seeShiva. The locality thus came to be known asBhringi malai, or "the hill of Bhringi", which over time morphed into "Parangimalai". It is also said that this connects several other regions in the city with the origin of their names. For instance, the place where he laid his pitcher, known in Tamil askindi while performing worship, has now come to be known as "Guindy".[3]
The place is named St. Thomas Mount in English afterSaint Thomas the Apostle, who is claimed to have lived and preached in the locality according to Christian tradition.[3]
The St. Thomas Mount block is a revenue block in theChengalpattu district of Tamil Nadu, India.[4] As per the Census 2011, the St. Thomas Mount development block covered an area of 86.94 km2 (33.57 sq mi), of which 42.98 km2 (16.59 sq mi) was classified as rural and 43.96 km2 (16.97 sq mi) as urban. The block included 121,017 household with a total population of 475,995. The sex ratio was 978.7 females per 1,000 males. The number of children in the age group 0–6 years was 55,103. Scheduled castes numbered 74,322 (15.6%) and scheduled tribes were 2.544 (0.53%). The literacy rate was 77.6%, with males at 81.3% and females at 73.9%.[5]
The following 15 rural village panchayats and part of Greater Chennai Corporation come under St Thomas Mount Panchayat Union:[4]
The ancientSyrian Christian community of India traces the origin of theirchurch toSt. Thomas the Apostle. Beginning in the 17th century, this part of Chennai was populated predominantly byAnglo-Indians. TheSt. Thomas Garrison Church is at the foot of St. Thomas Mount.
A shrine dedicated to "Our Lady of Expectation" (Mother Mary) was built in 1523 on top of the Mount. The altar of this shrine was built on the spot where St. Thomas' death is traditionally believed to have occurred. At the northern foot of the mount is a gateway of four impressive arches surmounted by a cross bearing the inscribed date 1547. A flight of 160 steps leads up to the summit of the mount. The steps leading up the hill were donated by the famous ArmenianCoja Petrus Uscan. There are 14Stations of the Cross on the way to the summit.
TheSt. Thomas Syro Malabar Catholic Church is located east of the shrine at North Silver Street, footholds of the mountain shrine.
St. Thomas Mount has several schools and training institutions.
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The 14Stations of the Cross are positioned along the 160-step climb up the Mount.
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{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
