48
TRICHINOPOLY CITY
cathedral, a fine edifice, has been recently completed. Attached to
the institution is a large boarding-house for native Catholic students,
as well as lodgings for Brahman and high-caste Hindus and hostels
within the college compound. The S.P.G. College, which is a
development of various schools founded by Swartz, was raised to
a first-grade college in 1883. There is a hostel for Hindu students
upon the college premises, and hard by is another bearing the name
of Bishop Caldwell and intended mainly for Christian students from
Tinnevelly. The proselytizing activity of the Jesuit Mission led to the
establishment in 1886 of the National high school in the interests of
the Hindu community.
Trichfir (Trissivaperfar).-Town in the tdluk of the same name,
Cochin State, Madras, situated in 10 32' N. and 76° 13' E. Area,
3ā square miles; population (1901), 15,585, of whom as many as
6,663 are Christians. Trichūr is considered the oldest town on the
west coast, and its foundation is attributed by local tradition to Parasu-
rama. It was the scene of many historical events, of which the more
recent were its capture and occupation by the Zamorin in 176o, by
Haidar's army under Sardar Khan in 1776, and by Tipü in 1789.
The town and the palace were fortified in 1774 with mud walls and
trenches, but these defences are now in ruins. Situated at the head of
the backwater communication, and possessing a railway station, Trichfir
is a centre of considerable trade, which is chiefly in the hands of native
Christians and Brahmans from Tinnevelly. The former are an enter-
prising and prosperous community, the members of which own, among
other concerns, four tile factories, a tannery, and a calico-weaving
establishment. The chief buildings and institutions are the Palace,
the Residency, the offices of the Chief Engineer, the Conservator of
forests, and the Superintendent of police, the courts of the District
Judge and the District magistrate, the civil hospital, three high schools
for boys, and three lower secondary schools for girls. There are three
important churches, one for the Chaldean Syrians, another for the
Romo-Syrians, and the third for the Protestants. The most interesting
and noteworthy institutions of the town are the temple of Vadakun-
nathan, which is considered the oldest on the west coast, and the three
Brahman maths, or religious houses, which are said to have been
founded by three of Sankaracharya's pupils. Situated on an eminence,
the temple contains several shrines and is surrounded by a high and
thick masonry wall, with four massive ;ojuranis or towers. Its income
exceeds Rs. 30,000 per annum. The maths are also well endowed;
in one of them Nambūdri Brahmans are fed gratuitously and taught
the Vedas.
Trikāliir.-Subdivision, Mluk, and town in South Arcot District,
Madras. See TIRUKKOYILUR.
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