From the archive record
Eastern Ghats shola forests and tea gardens: aerial footage along South India Coromandel coast. Coromandel Coast, broad coastal plain in eastern Tamil Nadu state, southern India. Extending over an area of about 8,800 square miles (22,800 square km), it is bounded by the Utkal Plains to the north, the Bay of Bengal to the east, the Kaveri delta to the south, and the Eastern Ghats to the west. The region derives its name from the Tamil Chola Mandalam (“Land of the Chola,”) an ancient dynasty that ruled the region from the mid-9th century CE to 1279. It also has been known since ancient times as the “land of the temples,” for the many temples that are located along the coast. Agriculture is the mainstay of the coastal economy. Rice, pulses (legumes), sugarcane, cotton, and peanuts (groundnuts