Kalrayan Hills
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Kalrayan Hills
These hills are situated partly in the Atur and Uttangari taluks of Salem District and partly in South Arcot District, Madras, lying between 11° 38' and 12 degree 4' N. and 78 degree 28' and 78 degree 49' E. They stand east of the Tenandamalai, being separated from it by the Kottapatti valley, and are perhaps the largest in superficial extent of the hill ranges in Salem District. Different portions of the range have local names, but the principal divisions are the Periya ('big') Kalrayans, which attain an elevation of 4,300 feet, and the Chinna ('little') Kalrayans, reaching to little above 3,000 feet. The temple of Kari Raman in the Periya Kalrayans is held in great reverence by the Malaiyalis who inhabit these hills. The range is parcelled out into five jagirs or estates, the owners of which govern their tenants in a primitive and patriarchal fashion. The fever on the range is so dreaded that few dwellers on the plains ever go up it, and consequently the people have retained many curious customs which differ from those of the low country. They are exclusively of the caste known as Malaiyalis ; but there is no doubt that they are not a distinct race, but merely Tamils who at some remote period took refuge in these hills from the troublous times through which the plains were passing.
