Sriperumbudur

Sriperumbudur is an industrial town in the Kancheepuram district in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is located quite close to the state capital of Chennai and lies on the Chennai Bangalore Highway. Thus, witnessed tremendous industrialization, growth in infrastructure and establishment of Special Economic Zones in the area.

Sriperumbudur is the birthplace of the Hindu saint Sri Ramanuja. Sri Ramanuja is the propounder of the Vaishnavism sect. There is an idol called ‘Thamugantha Thirumani’ established in his temple. This divine idol is revered by the locals and experiences high tourist footfalls as well.

Apart from Sri Ramanuja’s idol, the Vallakottai Murugan temple is at a distance of 10 km from Sriperumbudur, famous for the Lord Murugan statue. This statue is the tallest of its kind in India.

Sriperumbudur is often remembered as the town where former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by a human bomb. The incident occurred on May 21, 1991 and the area has ever since been converted by the state government into a memorial. Several foreign dignitaries, locals & Indian and foreign tourists visit the Rajiv Gandhi memorial in order to pay homage to the late prime minister.

The ‘Madras Motor Sports Club’ organizes racing events every year in Irungattukotai near Sriperumbudur. The South India Rally and the AI India Motor Race Meet are the events held by the club. The Federation Internationale de Motorcyclisme and the Federation Internationale du Sport Automotive have procured licenses to race Formula III cars. The races held here are of a world class standard and frequented by tourists in prime season.

Regular bus and train services from Bangalore and Chennai offer convenient travel to Sriperumbudur. Public transport within the city is also comfortable and hiring taxis is not too expensive either.

Sriperumbudur experiences hot and humid summers and mild monsoons. Temperatures in summer months (March to June) can go up to 40o Celsius and can get rather uncomfortable for travellers. Though the monsoon season is from June end to September and the temperatures are relatively lower at this time, it is still very humid. December to February constitutes winter and is generally advised as the best time of the year to travel to Sriperumbudur. Since the region has a largely temperate climate, the winter is not too extreme and the temperature ranges between twenty five and thirty five degree Celsius.