Arimalam is located in Pudukkottai district in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is a panchayat town located at 10.257434°N 78.889371°E. The average elevation of the town is 66 metres. The town is located at a distance of about 18 kilometers from Pudukkottai. To cater to the educational needs of the town, two schools Government Higher Secondary School and Government Girls High School have been established here. The town also has 3 preliminary schools.
History of Arimalam
The town has been named Arimalam from the word aruma Nam meaning fine smell. Later the word was pronounced as arimaNam. Again it was changed to arimazham. According to history the word Arimalam was initially derived from the words Arum Pazham. It is said that once a saint was passing through the Arimalam forest. He was very hungry and after searching for food he finally found a mango fruit to eat. Being satisfied he named it Ariya meaning rare and pazham meaning fruit. With time the town was named as Arimalam.
Arimalam has been ruled by rules of several powerful dynasties like Chola Dynasty, Pandya Dynasty, Chettinad dynasty and Thondaiman Dynasty. Under the British Raj Arimalam the town came under the Pudukkottai, then a Princely state. Elections for a President were conducted by the British. The first President of the town was ASSRM Swaminathan Chettiyar.
Demography of Arimalam
According to the Indian census report of 2001 Arimalam had a population of 7811. The males constitute 49% and females constitute 51% of the population. The average literacy rate is 61%. It is higher than the national average of 59.5%. 57% of males and 43% of females are literate in the town. 12% of the population is under 6 years of age in Arimalam. Arimalam comprises of mixed population. Most of them are Muslims, Christians and Chettiars.
Pilgrimage Centres in Arimalam
Arimalam has five famous temples located here, Arimalam, Sivan, Kovil, Panaiyur and Kamatchiyamman. Sundara Swami Kovil and Setrumal Ayyanar Temple are the other two temples visited by many devotes. In the year 2007 a Church was built in the town on the sandapettai road surrounded by a beautiful garden. The church can accommodate almost 250 people and is visited by many Christians.
