Tam: திருப்பூர் tiruppūr
‘Holy City’ City/District, Tamil Nadu
From Tam: tiru, ‘holy’, ‘eminent’, ‘auspicious’; and Skt: puram, ‘town’, ‘city’.
Tiruppur has temples dating back to the Cholas and Pandyas including the 10thC Sukreeswarar Temple.
Tiruppur’s main claim to fame is as major textile and knitwear centre and it is nicknamed the ‘Knitwear Capital of India’.
It accounts for 90% of India’s cotton knitwear exports, employs over 60,000 people and contributed textile exports worth $3.5 billion; although all of this has come with serious environmental and social costs.
The video below suggests an alternative etymology based on an old legend.
