The town of Rajapalayam lies at the base of the Ghat mountain ranges in south India. Some say that cotton marketing is the backbone of the town because so many mills there spin and weave high quality Indian cotton, as well as imported cottons like Pima, Giza, Australia, Ultima, and Acala.
Others say that Rajapalayam is renowned for its mangoes, and in particular, a variety of mango that many culinary experts say is the tastiest of them all, the Sappattai. It looks a little like an apple, is crunchy like raw guava, and while it tastes like a mango, it is far from tart. In fact, the Sappattai is described as tasting like palm jaggery, a non-spun cane sugar consumed on the Indian continent.
We write about Rajapalayam, however, for a different reason.
The Bouvier des Flandres, Lhasa Apso, Boston Terrier, Dogue de Bordeaux, Great Pyrenees…..these are a few of the dog breeds named for their place of origin, but the Indian sighthound known as the Rajapalayam is probably the least well known of breeds so named.
More about Vali, the rajapalayam dog’s behaviour can be found at http://www.vali.dog.