About City Kumbakonam
Kumbakonam is very famous for the presence of a number of temples and ranks very next to Kanchepuram town, Tamil Nadu. Kumbakonam being the headquarters of Kumbakonam Taluk had different names like Kudanthai, Kudamooku and Baskarashetram from time immemorial. Kumbakonam town is very famous for Mahamagam festival, which is celebrated once in every 12 years. This town has more than 188 temples of various historical periods scattered throughout the town. At the time of Mahamagam festival, it is believed that in Mahamagam tank, the holy stream of water from the famous rivers like Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswathi, Sarayu, Godavari, Mahanadi, Narmatha, Payoshnl and Cauvery are meeting together and is also believed that taking bath would wash off the sins according to the Hindu religion.
The existing Government Arts College at Kumbakonam is one of the oldest colleges in Tamil Nadu and gained the title as “Cambridge of South India” in the Olden days. The famous mathematician Ramanujam studied in this institution.
In 1853, a Gorgeous Protestant church was erected in the town, but due to the shifting of district court and due to migration of large number of Europeans to Thanjavur, the importance of the church has declined over the years.
The town was originally a religious centre, with the presence of large number of temples. It has gained importance as a Commercial and Industrial (small-scale) centre during the last quarter of the 19th century. During the early period of 20th century, the town has gained importance especially for silk and metal manufacturing activities, which supports sizable number of workers in the town.