Tirusulam is a southern suburb of Chennai and a village panchayat in Chengalpattu district, Tamil Nadu, India. It lies within the Chennai Metropolitan Area, between Pallavaram and Meenambakkam, immediately beside Chennai International Airport. The 2011 census classified Tirusulam as a census town and recorded a population of 14,086 within an area of 2.40 km².
The locality is characterised by rocky hills and former granite quarries. Its principal historic monument is the Tirusoolanathar Temple, where inscriptions ranging from the reign of the Chola ruler Kulothunga I to the later Chola and Pandya periods have been recorded. Tirusulam is also the location of the CSIR-Structural Engineering Research Centre's Tower Testing and Research Station, established in 1984 in a former granite quarry.
Names and etymology The spelling Tirusulam is used in contemporary government and census records, while the form Trisulam occurs in older English-language scholarship. Medieval inscriptions associated with the local Shiva temple preserve an older form, Tiruch-churam, in the title Tiruch-churam Udaiya Nayanar. An inscription of the reign of Kulothunga I places the temple at Pallapuram alias Vanavan-Mahadevi-chaturvedimangalam, in Churattur-nadu, a subdivision of Puliyur Kottam.
Geography Location and physical setting Tirusulam lies in the southern part of the Chennai metropolitan area, adjoining the airport complex and close to Pallavaram and Meenambakkam. The settlement occupies 2.40 km² according to the 2011 census. Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority planning records place Tirusulam within the St Thomas Mount sector of the metropolitan planning area.
The landscape differs from much of the surrounding coastal plain in having conspicuous rocky hillocks and quarry faces. One of the former granite quarries is occupied by the Tower Testing and Research Station of CSIR-SERC, whose horseshoe-shaped site is used for full-scale structural testing.
Terrain and environment Granite quarrying and stone crushing have substantially altered parts of the hill landscape. A study commissioned by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board reported that quarrying and stone-crushing operations had taken place in the Tirusulam–Moovandar area since 1965 and identified a cluster of 57 stone crushers in the study area. The study examined particulate emissions and measures for controlling dust from the crusher cluster.
History
Early and medieval history Archaeological evidence indicates occupation of the Tirusulam area before the historic period. The Chennai Circle of the Archaeological Survey of India lists megalithic cists and cairns at Tirusulam among the archaeological sites of the former Kanchipuram district.
The principal body of written evidence for medieval Tirusulam survives at the Tirusoolanathar Temple, also described in scholarship as the Dharmapurisvarar or Tiruch-churam Udaiya Nayanar temple. The oldest part of the surviving structure consists of an apsidal sanctuary and ardhamandapa; the goddess shrine and enclosure are later additions.
Thirteen inscriptions at the temple were assigned by S. R. Balasubrahmanyam to the Later Chola period, extending from the reign of Kulothunga I to that of Rajaraja III, together with a thirteenth-century inscription of the Pandya ruler Maravarman Kulasekhara. An inscription of Kulothunga I records a royal order concerning the temple and a grant of land for the restoration of worship and temple festivities. It identifies the shrine as that of Tiruch-churam Udaiya Nayanar at Pallapuram, also called Vanavan-Mahadevi-chaturvedimangalam, within the Chola administrative divisions of Churattur-nadu and Puliyur Kottam.
One inscription provides an unusual glimpse of the temple's medieval history: its priests and servants petitioned that worship and the temple festival had fallen into abeyance, following which provision was made for their restoration by royal order during the reign of Kulothunga I.
Colonial and early twentieth-century period Tirusulam remained a small settlement on the outskirts of Madras into the early twentieth century. In his 1939 History of the City of Madras, historian C. S. Srinivasachari described Tirusulam as a village close to old Pallavapuram and attached to Pallavaram, drawing particular attention to its Chola-period Shiva temple and inscriptions.
Modern development The growth of aviation and metropolitan transport substantially changed the eastern side of Tirusulam during the twentieth century. Chennai Airport's original passenger terminal was at neighbouring Meenambakkam; the Airports Authority of India records that a new passenger terminal complex was constructed at Tirusulam in 1988, while the former Meenambakkam terminal came to serve principally as a cargo facility.
An unusual reuse of Tirusulam's quarry landscape is the CSIR-Structural Engineering Research Centre's Tower Testing and Research Station. Established in 1984 within a horseshoe-shaped former granite quarry opposite Chennai Airport, the facility is used for full-scale testing of electricity-transmission, communication and other tower structures and is described by CSIR-SERC as one of the leading facilities of its kind internationally. In 2019, Tirusulam became part of the newly formed Chengalpattu district when that district was separated from the former Kancheepuram district.
Demographics The 2011 Census of India recorded 14,086 inhabitants in Tirusulam, comprising 7,078 males and 7,008 females. There were 3,502 households, and 1,855 residents were aged under six. The census recorded the settlement as an urban census town with an area of 2.40 km².
Administration and political representation Tirusulam is a village panchayat within the St Thomas Mount Panchayat Union of Chengalpattu district. Before the creation of Chengalpattu district in November 2019, the locality formed part of Kancheepuram district.
For elections to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, Tirusulam falls within the Pallavaram Assembly constituency.
Economy and commerce Stone quarrying and crushing were historically significant industrial activities around the Tirusulam hills. Although the physical landscape retains extensive former quarry workings, more recent official environmental studies have concentrated on the cluster of stone-crushing units operating in Tirusulam and neighbouring Moovandar.
A prominent feature of the local commercial landscape is the Pallavaram Friday Market, or Pallavaram Sandhai, a weekly bazaar held along Old Trunk Road between Pallavaram and Tirusulam. The market developed during the nineteenth century as a cattle market and subsequently expanded into a general weekly bazaar serving the southern suburbs of Chennai. In 2011 the British-era market was moved from its former site near Bazaar Road to Old Trunk Road; contemporary reports described nearly a thousand stalls operating at the weekly market.
The Friday market continues to attract vendors and shoppers from across Chennai and neighbouring districts, with goods ranging from vegetables and plants to household articles, furniture, second-hand equipment and collectibles.
Transport and connectivity
Tirusulam is served by Tirusulam railway station on the Chennai Suburban Railway corridor between Chennai Beach and Tambaram. The Airports Authority of India identifies Tirusulam as the nearest suburban railway station to Chennai International Airport. The station lies on the Grand Southern Trunk Road corridor opposite the airport complex.
The airport is also served by Chennai Airport metro station on the Blue Line of the Chennai Metro. The metro and suburban railway therefore provide separate rapid-transit connections between the airport–Tirusulam area and central Chennai.
Chennai International Airport itself occupies the eastern side of the locality. Its passenger terminal complex is situated at Tirusulam, while the older airport facilities at adjacent Meenambakkam are associated principally with cargo operations.
Landmarks Tirusoolanathar Temple – a Shiva temple preserving Later Chola and Pandya inscriptions. The oldest surviving architectural components comprise an apsidal sanctuary and ardhamandapa, while other parts of the complex are later additions.
Tirusulam hills – the rocky hill system forming the principal natural feature of the locality. Parts of the hills were historically quarried for stone, leaving a number of prominent quarry faces and excavations.
Tower Testing and Research Station – a CSIR-SERC research facility established in 1984 within a former granite quarry opposite Chennai International Airport. It is used for full-scale structural testing of towers and tower-like structures.
Traditions and folklore Local temple tradition associates the landscape around Tirusulam with Brahma. According to the legend, Brahma created the celestial woman Tilottama and, after becoming infatuated with her, was pursued by Shiva's attendants. He is said to have taken refuge among the hills at Tirusulam, where he repented and worshipped Shiva. The four hills surrounding the Tirusoolanathar Temple are traditionally identified with the four Vedas, and the locality is said in this tradition to have once been known as Brahmapuri.
A further temple tradition concerns the two images of the goddess Tripurasundari preserved at the shrine. The temple priest told News Today that an older image was believed to have been damaged during an invasion and replaced; according to the tradition, a subsequent dream instructed that the damaged image should not be discarded but placed beside the principal deity, where it remains.
Role in film shooting
The Tirusulam hills have also been used as filming locations for Tamil cinema and television productions. Films reported as having been shot in the area include Bhairavi, Oorkavalan, Indru Poi Naalai Vaa, Gentleman and Theeradha Vilaiyattu Pillai. The higher parts of the hills overlook the surrounding southern suburbs and provide prominent views across Chennai International Airport and its runways.
References
External links Chengalpattu District Administration