Celebrating Coimbatore (Quickquotes)

I remember sitting in the ELS interview, scratching my head and trying to find the answer to the question that this quizzer-senior-ex-ELS member (who subsequently became a good friend) had asked me – How did Coimbatore get its name? There was a smug expression on his face and being the interviewer, he had the power to utter those golden words – ‘YOU will get into the club, only if you answer this question’ (Trust me, many such questions will be tagged with the golden sentence, during the course of these interviews, that at the end of the interview, one ends up getting too used to gold, that one wants to listen to the platinum sentence). Being the hard-core-Coimbatore-lover that I am, I rebuked myself severely for having scratched my head a little too much that evening and for grinning wide to admit that I did not know the answer (And I got into the club, without answering this question, yes).
Coimbatore (a.k.a Kovai) was once a dense forest and amidst all those trees, it managed to house a small tribal group called the Irulas, who gradually started refurbishing the land. The Irula tribe was led by King Kovan and he christened his land ‘Kovanpudur’ (no, not Kovaipudur). The Kovan and the Pudur elements of the word became diluted and due to the British influence, the land came to be known as ‘Coimbatore’. During the period of the Cheras, Coimbatore was known as ‘Veera Kerala Nallur’ and it was also known as ‘Koniamanpudur’, because of the presence of the Koniamman temple. Doesn’t this make you want to go “What’s in a name?”
Coimbatore has been gracious enough to put up with me for 20 odd years and during this period of time, I have managed to befriend the city and lead a symbiotic relationship with it. This city has never been ‘the third largest city in South India’ or ‘the Manchester of South India’ for me. It has been the unfussy and simple city that lets you lead a much uncomplicated life (According to me, a city is very VERY important in determining the life that you lead). Coimbatore has faces to it, unlike a couple of cities that wear masks. While many metropolitan cities pant vehemently, this city takes some time out to breathe meditatively.
The tree laden curvaceous roads of Race course, the crowded bus stand in Ukkadam, the lustrous cross cut road, throbbing with the dynamic pulse that can so rarely be found in other parts of this city, the amiable Saibaba colony, the parallel silver-tongued Avinashi and Trichy roads, the harmonious lanes of Vadavalli furnish the city with naiveté, that can seldom be found in any other metropolitan city.
Through this column, I will attempt to capture scents (like that of Annapoorna’s mouthwatering sambar), sights (like that of neatly cut Krishna Sweets’ Mysore Pak, arranged homogeneously in a tray) and sounds (like that of the noisy crowd in Kannan departmental store, on a Saturday or a Sunday evening) of Coimbatore. Because they make me want to Celebrate Coimbatore !