Parangipettai

Parangipettai ( Pa-re-gi-Pe-Tie), historically called Porto Novo ("New Port" in Portuguese), is a coastal panchayat town in Cuddalore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Parangipettai is located on the north bank of the mouth of the Vellar River at a distance of 30 km from Cuddalore. From the state capital city of Chennai, Parangipettai can be reached through the National Highway NH32 stretch between Cuddalore and Chidambaram. Its strategic location on the Coromandel Coast has long made it a major trading center. In particular, it was an important trading destination for the Arabs, especially the Yemenis. During the colonial era, the Portuguese, the Dutch and the English successively colonized the area. There is also a Gandhian connection to Parangipettai. Anne Marie Petersen became in 1909 a missionary in the so-called Loventhal Mission.