Tam: திண்டுக்கல் tiṇṭukkal
‘Pillow Rock’ [Tintukkal]
From: Tam: tiṇṭu ‘pillow’, ‘semicircular cushion’; and kal, ‘rock’.
Dindigul Fort (270m high and 2.75km round) was built on a wedge-shaped rock in 1605.
It was under Nayak rule for more than a century until Chanda Sahib, a Nawab under the Mughals, seized control. It swapped hands a few times.
Tipu Sultan proclaimed himself King of Dindigul in 1788, but lost it to the British four years later.
In the past Dindigul was a tobacco manufacturing centre (it made Winston Churchill’s favourite cigars) but in recent times it has specialised in locks, safes and textiles.
Dindigul Fort (1913) A.D.G. Shelley
