Melamaravakkadu
Melamaravakkadu is a village in Thiruvarur district in Tamil Nadu, India. The village is located between Mannargudi and Thirumakkottai. It is 304 km (191 mi) from Chennai, and 28 km (17 mi) from Tiruvarur. Government. Melamaravakkadu is administered by an Asesham panchayath. As of 2011, the panchayath covered an area of 11.55 km2 (4.46 sq mi) and had a population of 3,796. Melamaravakkadu comes under the Mannargudi assembly constituency which elects a member to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly once every five years, and also part of the Thanjavur constituency which elects a Member of Parliament (MP) every five  years. Etymology. The word ‘’Maravakkadu’’ derives from the Tamil words ""Marakkamudiyatha kaadu"",("Unforgettable forest"). In early days this village might have been filled with forest. The word "Mela" refers to "West". The village is located on the west side of the Paamani river. The village is locally referred as "Maravai". Geography. It is situated at an average elevation of 6 m (20 ft) on the banks of the Pamaniyar River, a tributary of the Vettar, and is covered with fertile soil conducive to rice cultivation. The topography is completely flat and the town is a part of the fertile Cauvery River  delta. Economy. Agriculture is the principal occupation of the people of Melamaravakkadu and its crops include paddy, sugarcane, sesame, groundnut and pulses like urad and mung bean. The agriculture of the village depends on the river Pamaniyar; other sources of irrigation include bore-wells. People and culture. Melamaravakkadu has three prominent Hindu temples: During the Tamil months of Vaikashi (May–June), the most prominent festival of the Sri Mangalamariyamman temple, Vaikaasi Thiruvizha, is celebrated for five days. The village has two schools: According to the 2011 census, Melamaravakkadu had a population of 865 with a gender-ratio of 423 females  for every 442 males, much more than the national average of 92.9. Over 90 percentage of the people are literate, higher than the national average. As of 2012, a total 1.14 km2 (281 acres) (24.38%) of the land was residential, and 0.72 km2 (177.03 acres) (63%) agricultural.