About Hosur, Hosur History, Hosur Yellowpages, Hosur Industry Directory, Hosur temples, Hosur website

During 1995, a Tamil poet wrote:

குளிர் போர்வையால் போர்த்தப்பட்ட இரவும்,

வென்பனித் திரையால் மூடப்பட்ட காலையுமாக,

எங்கெங்கு கானினும் டேரா, ரோசா பூந்தோட்டமுமாக,

பலவண்ண கலவையில் தூய குளிர் காற்று வீசிய

சுத்தமான இயற்கை வளங்களால் நிறைந்த ஓசூர்



"kuLir pOr-vai-yaal pOr-ththap-patta iravum,

ven-panith thirai-yaal mUdap-patta kaalai-yumaaka,

eng-kengu kaaninum daaraa, rOsaa pUnthOttamumaaka,

palavaNNa kalavai-yil thUya kuLir kaaRRu vIsiya

suth-thamaana iyar-kai vaLang-ka-Laal niRaintha OchUr"

meaning is "the night is covered by cold; the morning is of mist; every where there are Dara and Rose flower gardens; With this colored mixture of pure cool air, Clean natured Hosur"

About Hosur:

Hosur, also known as Little England, for its climatic conditions, has a history of more than 2000 Years. Hosur, is known on these days, not only for its climatic condition, but for the thousands of industries located here.  Hosur is at the height of about 900 meters above sea level and is on 'Deccan Plateau'.  Average temperature during summer is 25° to 35° C and during Winter it is 13° to 25° C. Month of March and April used to be hot and rainy season starts in the month of May and lasts up to December. Rain during the month of May is mostly due to summer. June and July used to witness high speed winds along with rain.

Other than climate, Hosur is very special for the languages spoken. The population is identified as Local and Settled. 'Local' means, people who live in Hosur even before industrialization and 'Settled' means people who got settled in Hosur after 1970s. 70% of the Locals have Telugu as their mother tongue, while 99% of the Settled have Tamil as their mother tongue. Other than Telugu and Tamil, the next widely spoken language is Kannada.

Here is one more interesting thing about Hosur.  Though the majority language spoken during partition of states on language basis was Telugu in this area, Hosur was not merged with Andhra because, this Telugu speaking part is isolated from Andhra as Krishnagiri and other Andhra bordering areas had Tamil majority speaking areas.  More-over, Rajaji too preferred this area be with Tamil Nadu as according to his vision, being with Tamil Nadu will bring this area into industrialization and development path which has now become TRUE.

About Hosur Forest Area:

Hosur Forest area comes under Melagiri hill and spreads 1415 sq Kms as reserved forest area and 8544 Hectares of reserved land area.

Boundaries for this forest is:

• North side: Karnataka state's Kolar forest
• North East side: Andhra state's Chithoor forest
• West Side: Karnataka state's Bennargatta reserve forest park and Kanagapura forest
• South side: River Cauvery

Hosur History:

This is the image of Hosur during British rule - Photo courtesy - Archeological Survey of India

Photographed (later colored) by Thomas Daniell during 1804 AD who accompanied Lord Cornwallis and depicts Hosur - Photo courtesy - Archeological Survey of India

Photographed by A Soosai Prakash of HosurOnline on 1st May 2010 after the car festival.

Hosur comes under Krishnagiri District.  Krishnam in north Indian language means black and Giri means hill (Granite hills). Hosur and its surroundings are very rich in Granite.  So Krishnagiri means - place rich in Granite rocks. The other reason for the name 'Krishnagiri' may be that - the hill in the town of Krishnagiri looks so similar to the rocky hills of Gingee, where one of the hill is named as Krishangiri and the fort built by Cholas during 13th centuary on that hill was later used as ruling throne by foreign invaders like Marathas, Nayaks and Mughals who also ruled this part of the country. Mughal Emporer Aurangazeb leased Gingee to 'Swarup Singh' one of the Bundela (a Rajput race which ruled central India) Chieftain and even today we can see a hamlet of Rajputs at Venkatesh Puram near Bagalur (10 kms from Hosur), whom might have migrated along with Swarup Singh or his son Dev Singh (in French De Sing - Desing-gu Raja). Few others claim that the hills (located in Krishnagiri and Ginjee) were named after Krishna Deva Raya - so Krishna - Giri (Hill)

During Sangam age, Hosur was called as 'Murasu Naadu'. Stone art found in stones reads that the area of Hosur was cultured even during the stone age. The area was also called as Thagadoor during ancient Tamil Sangam age and also as Athiyamaan Naadu as Hosur was under the rule of Athiyamaan, the king who gave 'Karu-Nellikkaai' to prolong the life of Tamil poet Av-vai-yaar. During ancient Tamil sangam age, Hosur, Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Mysore, Bangalore and Salem were ruled by Tamil kings and were very much a part of Tamil Nadu.

A small temple was built for 'Kaali-kaambaal - Kaamadeswarar' on the Hill (now, can be seen while climbing to the hill top) at Hosur by a Bundela named Batta Kur-rappa Nayaka who got settled at Bagalur. Either he should belong to the family of Swarup Sing who ruled Gingee or might have come along with Tippu Sultan as Bundelas are known for fighting Mugals and at the same time few of them joining hands with Muslim invaders and get the right to rule countries encroached by them. Till today the festival for the temple coincides with the north Indian festival Holi, while most of the people of this area do not know what ''Holi Festival'' mean! The tower of the temple also does not resemble to that of Tamil temple architecture adding evidence to the claim of being built by a north Indian. The temple is considered to be built during 1207 AD and hence establishment of modern Hosur can be considered from that year i.e. 1207 AD. Chandira Choodeswarar Temple located on the 250ft high hill top, was built by the Hoysala dynasty king, Thirupuvanamalla Barvatharaja Anthiyazhvar, during the year 1218 AD to 1296 AD.  The temple was renovated by Azhakiya Perumal Aathimoolam. He also belonged to Hoysala Dynasty.   It was Hoysala King Ramanatha (Rama Nayakkan) who had his head quarters at Veppanapalli and Kolar, built the lake 'Ramanayakkan Eari' to store water for irrigation purposes and till today the lake is called by his name. Ramanatha was the king who developed Hosur and a small market was setup near the present day's Gandhi Statue area.

Photo image of Ramanayakkan Eari. Photographed by A Soosai Prakash on 20th May 2010

After Ramanathan, his son Vishwanathan took the throne but he was toppled by his cousin Palla-raayan III. Pallaraaya III, established his kingdom up to Kerala's Cannanoor. The rule of Hoysala dynasty came to an end after Pallaraaya III died during a war with Maaravarman Sundarapandiyan of Madurai's Pandiyan dynasty. Pallaraaya's son married one of the sister of King Harihara, who established Vijayanagar kingdom.

During late 13th and early 14th century AD Hosur was under the rule of Kolar. Stone scriptures says that the king was called as 'Azahgiya Perumaal Aththi-mallan Kaaruvaan-arachan'. He brought the Bagalur landlords (Bandelas) under his control. He established the villages Aththi-palli, Aththi-mugam, Aththi-chandiram and Aththi-naththam and all the names relate to his name and even today it is called by his name. From Pandiyans, Hosur came under the rule of Vijayanagar and then went into the control of Hyder Ali. After Hyder Ali, Hosur came under the rule of Tippu Sultan and a mosque was built by Sultan in Hosur and the mosque is located in Ram Nagar area.

Mosque built by Tippu Sultan. Photographed by A Soosai Prakash on 1st May 2010

During Sultan's rule, the Hill Top temple was renovated and maintained well and documents speak about the same. The renovation work was carried out by a British architect named 'Hamilton' whom Sultan captured during a war with British force.

As per the agreement made at Mangalore between British's East India Company and Sultan, towns of Hosur, Denkanikottai and Krishnagiri came under the rule of East India Company. Mr. Cornwallis took charge for ruling this part of the country. Cornwallis appointed Captain Kaspy as the collector for Hosur. Bret took charge from Kaspy and as per the wish of Bret's wife, Bret constructed a fort which looked similar to that of London's 'Kenilworth Fort' at a cost less than Rs 10,000/-. Bret was dismissed for constructing this Fort as Cornwallis felt that Bret has mishandled/misused the company's money for constructing the fort. The fort was located near the present day Kottai Mariyamman temple. The name 'Kottai' speaks about the Fort and there are very few remains of the fort today. It is said that few selfish people of Hosur, after independence, looted the bricks/stones/pillars of the fort and made it to disappear. Even during 1980s a small swimming pool opposite the Maariyamman temple had been witnessed by people who settled at Hosur during that period.

This photo image of Kenilworth Fort, constructed by Bret in Ram Nagar area of Hosur was taken during 1880 by Photographer Henry Dixon - Photo Courtesy: Archaeological Survey of India Collections: India Office Series (volume 21, 'a' numbers)

 

This photo image of Kenilworth Fort was taken during early 1980s but the date and exact year is not known

Built by collector Mr Brett (1859-62) Photographed by Mr Henry Dixon in 1860 - Hosur Ram Nagar

 

The remain of the above seen fort as on 16th January 2011 - Photo by A Soosai Prakash for HosurOnline

 

A Panorama - Video of the location as seen on 16th January 2011. The bridge shown is the original bridge that remains even today

Even during 18th centaury AD, it was Denkanikottai, Bagalur and Soolagiri considered to be towns and for Madurai - Mysore war, movement of forces were in the route via Javalagiri and Denkanikottai and there was no symptom of further developments in Hosur area.

During British rule, Salem collector Walton Elliot Lockhart, made Hosur the head quarters for Salem district. Present day Sub-collector's office at Hosur opposite Ramanayakkan Eari was then the district collector's office.

Hosur Sub Collector Office - Photographed for HosurOnline on 29th June 2010 by A Soosai Prakash. The stone with date is provided in the photograph separately

The cattle farm at Hosur was established in the year 1824 as Army Remount Depot, by British for rearing and breeding Horses. This farm was handed over to the Agricultural Department of Govt. of Madras on 1st September 1924 as a Cattle Breeding Station. The Farm was subsequently taken over by the Madras Civil Veterinary Department on 1st April 1938 with the object to maintaining the purity of the Indian Milk Breeds of Cattle and to conduct basic research on animal breeding and the Farm was redesigned as Livestock research station. The farm was renamed as District Livestock farm subsequent to the reorganization of Livestock Research station on 1st January 1970. During recent years, the cattle farm is being moved to Namakkal in a very slow phase and soon the land may fall in the hands of Real Estate brokers! as already the most expensive trees like Sandal wood and Silver oak are being looted in day light.

Photo Image of Cattle Farm. Photographed by Mr Sivaraman of JPSR Enterprises during the year 2000

During 1980s industrialization began with the help of SIPCOT and Hosur became Industrial Town. Concept of SIPCOT in Tamil Nadu was first established in Hosur and later implemented in other parts of the state. It was Karunanidhi - Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu along with Rajaji and C. Subramanian (then finance minister for India), who took lot of efforts to establish industries at Hosur. After that basic development started taking place. While urbanization and industrialization began by The People of soil in rest of Tamil Nadu, it is the Tamil Nadu government which took efforts for the development of Hosur.

Hosur is today well connected by road (NH 7), by Railway (direct trains to Delhi, Mumbai, Coimbatore etc.,), by sea (Seaport located just 340 Kms away) and by air (airport is 35 KMs).

Roads towards Hosur - Just save the image to view enlarged

Read Complete article on Hosur history here - as per TN Govt. Gazette


Hosur Tourism

Next to Anchetty there is a village called Dhabbaguli which is located near Urigam - 55kms from Hosur (Hosur - Denkanikottai - Urigam - Dhabbaguli). At Dhabbaguli, there is a temple and only at this village point River Cauvery enters into Tamil Nadu. Dhabbaguli is in a reserved forest area with dense trees and bamboos. Reaching Dhabbaguli is possible only by trekking or by private vehicles. Vehicles can enter the reserved forest area only with prior permission from forest officials at Hosur, else will put you into trouble in the hands of them. Here, you can spot wild animals and birds. Very calm and serene locality. 

Anchetty Reserved Forest - River Cauvery is seen in the middle of valleys. Photographer Alex. Photographed on August 2009

Reaching Hogenakal via Hosur - Denkanikottai is also a thrilling experience.

A stay at Bettamugilaalam (the highest peak in Krishnagiri Taluk) Forest Bungalow having camp fire at night is a real enjoyment.

Visiting Thally and participating in Adeetha Ashram's mind development program will be a very nice experience (Stay and participate in 3 to 7 days program)

Picnics can be arranged to Kelavarapalli dam which has a children's park, can kill a day. Visiting Hill temple and visiting Pach-chai kulam area, visiting another hill temple dedicated for Lord Venkata-ramaswamy will make a day.

Swimming pools are available at Well Fit Health Club (located near SIPCOT Phase II), Renaissance Grand Hotel, Jain Farms, Hotel Sivaranjani, Infrag Farm House (located near Kelamangalam)

Boating is available at Perandapally Village - can be reached by taking a road opp. Bimetal Bearing on NH 7.


Business:

The salubrious climate makes Hosur to hold number two position in cut rose export in all over India. The climate makes suitable for cultivation of all vegetables round the year. Daily, tons of vegetables are sent to other parts of the state and the country. Vegetables are also being exported. Hosur is well know for Roses, Color Capsicums, Varieties of flowers, Tomatoes, Cali-Flower, Cabbage etc,.  Other than the regular Uzhavar Sandhai which concentrates on retail sales; Hosur has a special Uzhavar Sandhai (Farmer's Market) which deals only with whole-sale business and is supported by Coimbatore Agriculture University.

A farmer working in his farm growing Beetroot - Photographed for HosurOnline on 29th June 2010 by A Soosai Prakash

Cabbage is grown in large quantities at Hosur - Cabbage farm view - Photographed for HosurOnline on 29th June 2010 by A Soosai Prakash

Cattle rearing was the primary occupation for Villagers surrounding Hosur - Photographed for HosurOnline on 29th June 2010 by A Soosai Prakash

Cattle rearing is the primary occupation for Villagers in surrounding Hosur

Hosur is number two town in Tamil Nadu state in terms of commercial tax revenue.

Hosur, the town located just 40 KMs from Bangalore central, and borders Bangalore is always an envy to the neighbor.

Manufacturing industries include Ashok Leyland manufacturing heavy trucks, TVS Motor Company making Three Wheelers and Two wheelers, Titan Watches & Titan Jewelry - TATA group of companies and etc. Manufacturing facilities of Hindustan Motors, Caterpillar, Luk-India, Exide batteries, Gabriel Shock Observers etc., are located. Other industries related to Granite and marble, pharmaceuticals, Tissue culture labs, Floriculture, Sericulture etc., have lots of presence here.

1000s of ancillary units supporting the major industries can be seen spread all over the town - almost in nook and corner of the town.

Real estate investment in Hosur is always a profit even during recessions. Insecure feeling caused by Kannada racists, among other communities and genocide witnessed in Bangalore during 1990s have made Hosur the right choice of investment destination for Tamils and other communities living and earning in Bangalore. Most of IT company employees from Tamil Nadu invest in Hosur. Real estate related crime including murder is on raise since December 2009.

Internet service providers are available in plenty. As lazy BSNL provides poor service to its telephone and broadband using clients, most of the large users migrate to Tata, Reliance, Aircel, Zylog-Wi5, Geity Online, SunNet etc., Airtel provides wired internet broadband in SIPCOT 1 area, but their service too is now (as of March 2012) getting worse.

Car showrooms are available for Chevrolet, Honda, Hyundai, Tata and Maruthi and they are located on NH 7 towards Krishnagiri from Hosur.

Two wheeler (motor bike) showrooms for Honda, Hero, Enfield, Yamaha, Bajaj, TVS and Suzuki are located on NH7 towards Krishnagiri from Hosur.


Shopping:

Retail stores are thriving in our markets, and already Nilgiries has its store here. Pallavi Stores at Bagalur road and Kingson Supermarket opp. Railway Station, gives pleasurable shopping experience and helps in saving money while shopping.

For pooja related items shopping can be done on MG Road - Taluk Office Road intersection.

For pooja flowers, bit of Taluk Office road between MG road and Netaji road is the right place.

For fancy flowers (real flowers like hybird Rose, Gerbera etc), visit Indira Nagar, which is just opp. Bus stand

For Tamil - Sidha - Ayurvedha medicine, bit of Taluk Office road between MG road and Netaji road is the right place.

Textile showrooms are present in plenty at MG Road and Netaji Road. For branded cloth for men visit Old Bangalore Road. For school/industry readymade uniforms - go to Geetha Textiles (you can save money while shopping here) located in MG Road and for uniform cloths go to Bhavani Textiles (Bombay Dyeing showroom) - opp Ramar Koil.

For under-garments, lingerie, Lungies etc go to Chandrasekara Textiles, adj. to SKPD Hall in MG Road.

Branded home appliances can be bought in Old Bangalore Road and MG Road. For budget home appliances, Taluk office road is the paradise. Lots of electrical shops are present here.

Most of the Jewelry shops are concentrated at MG Road. Tanishq, GR Thangamalligai, Alukas group, Nathella, AVR, Susheel and other leading jewelers have their showrooms in this town.

For fancy jewelry, try shops near Ramar Koil and Bose Bazaar area.

For foot wears, MG Road, Old Bangalore Road and Netaji road are the best choice.

For shamiyana, chairs and cooking utilities rental, Netaji road is the place.

For charcoal, lime stone etc Netaji Road is the place.

For buying paints and related items, visit Periathambi Chettiar showroom or Senthil Hardwares.

Fruits can be bought at Municipal shopping complex located near Gandhi statue.

Vegetables are sold in Uzhavar Sandhai (7am to 12 noon), located near Taluk Office. For bulk purchase, go to Bathalapalli Vegetable Market. For quick shopping of vegetables, go to Netaji Road.

Sea Fish is sold near Gandhi Statue and near Balaji Cine Theater. For Lake/Dam fish walk to NH7 - Krishnagiri Road, near the side of the bridge, Poultry is sold in Anna Nagar. Mutton is sold in Anna Nagar - Bismilla Mutton Stall is good and safe.

Agriculture equipments, seeds and fertilizers are sold in Rayakottai road.

Automobile spares are available in NH 7. Most of the four wheeler workshops are located on NH 7 towards Krishnagiri from Hosur Bus Stand.

Batteries for invertors and Automobile are available near the bridge on NH 7 towards Bangalore - Battery House is a good choice.

Plenty of budget hotels and restaurants are located near Bus Stand area. Double check for the quality of the guest rooms before checking in, as very few black sheep are busy engaging in illegal brothel and may put you in police hands. To book rooms in bulk, try at Hotel Victoria, on NH 7 and Hotel Sreenivas on Bagalur Road.

Community halls are available at HIA in SIPCOT Phase I, ALMDC near Mookandapalli, Sivaranjani Hotel, Hotel Rennaissance, Janani Restaurant near BSNL Town exchange, Aarthi Garden Restaurant in Bagalur Road etc.,

Reputed Kalyana Mandapams in Hosur are Sreenivasa Mahal in Sivaranjani Hotel complex, Meera Mahal in Railway Station Road, KAP Kalyana Mandapam near Boys High School.

Many exhibitions and events to promote businesses are arranged by HIA and HOSTIA - both associations for industries.

Almost 12,000 dailies are sold in Hosur a day. Dinakaran (6000 copies as on 26.05.2010), Dinathanthi and The Hindu (2700 copies as on 26.05.2010) contribute the sales a lot.

Mobile phone industry is booming in Hosur. All the mobile phone service providers have their own dealer network and tower network.

For computer accessories - walk-in-to Sun Systems in Tank Street. For branded PCs, laptops go to TCS or Swastik Systems or MSK Infotech or Flake Agencies.


Eat Outs:

For Vegetarian budget restaurants, go to Arusuvai, located opp to Hosur Bus Stand. If you look for better care, then walk into Sangeeth Sagar Restaurant. For luxury go to Renaissance Grand or Sivaranjani.

For Non-Veg, you have Andhra Style (Previously called as Nandini), Periyathaai (opp Taluk Office). To buy parcel and eat at home, then try at Selvi Mess or Amman Mess for parotta and get Gravy from Janani.  Briyani at Janani is really good.  Planning a dinner with family or friends or official purpose, try Janani Restaurant.

Pizza HUT has its counter opp Srinivasa Theater in Rayakottai Road.  Mc Donald has its counter near Kamanthotti Village

For evening eat outs, go to Amirtham Chats near Gandhi Statue.

For buying sweets, Agarwal, Aryabavan, Aryaas, Kannaiya Bakery and Salom are good. Salom is located on Railway station road. For Bakery items you have Bake - Land, opp TVS Nagar on Thalli Road.


Other Info:

Population: 244,518 (as per 2011 census)

Hosur Town area: 11.71 Sq. Km

Hosur Taluk area: 959.46 Sq. Km

Hosur Altitude: 878 Mts (2883 feet) above sea level

Hosur Average Rainfall: 822.3 mm per annum,

Hosur Water requirement: 120,00,000 liters /day

Hosur Water Source of Kelavarappally Dam :: Ponniar River

Hosur Latitude : 12.7167 Latitude DMS: 12° 43' 0 N

Hosur Longitude: 77.8167 Longitude DMS: 77° 49' 0 E

Hosur Time Zone: UTC+ 5:30 East

Hosur Telephone area code: 04344

Hosur PINCODES: 635109 (Town), 635126 (SIPCOT), 635110 (Rayakottai Road)

Vehicle Reg. Codes: TN - 29 (Before 2006) TN-24-Z to TN-24-V - (After 2006 and before 30th Nov 2008) & TN-70 (After November 30th 2008)

For land price in Hosur, property prices in Hosur, property rates in Hosur, land value Hosur

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