is a mangrove forest. Fort St David, situated on the River Gadilam near Devanampattinam and acquired in 1653 CE by Elihu Yale, a Christian slave-trader and cruel slave master, is one of the most visited tourist attraction in Cuddalore. The wealth embezzled and extracted by him was infused into Yale University. Only two decades later, in 1677, when Shivaji captured Gingee, the fort fell into the Marathas' hands. In 1690, the British East India Company purchased the fort and the adjacent villages (within "ye randome shott of a piece of ordnance".) A great gun was fired to different points of the compass. All the country within its range, including the town of Cuddalore, passed into English possession. The villages thus obtained are called "cannonball villages". The fortifications were strengthened in 1693, 1698, 1702, 1725, 1740 and 1745. In 1746 Fort St. David became the British headquarters for British India. The British ruled a more significant part of south India (Tamil Nadu, parts of the present- Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka) from Fort St. David. An attack by Dupleix was successfully repulsed. In 1756, Clive was appointed governor. The French captured the fort in 1758 but in 1760 relinquished it to Sir Eyre Coote of the British East India Company. The French recaptured the fort in 1782 and held it in 1783 during the Battle of Cuddalore. In 1785 the fort passed into British possession. By this time, however, the centre of British rule was Fort St George. The Garden House was the official residence of the Cuddalore District Collector, Robert Clive. It is typical of later medieval architecture. The Garden House roof was built using only bricks and slaked lime with no steel and wood. Satyagnana Sabha (சத்ய ஞான சபை, Temple of Wisdom is a temple constructed (25.01.1872) by the saint Sri Raamalinga Swaamigal (Vallalaar) in the town of Vadalur in Cuddalore district, Tamil Nadu, India. It is an octagonal structure; the sanctum sanctorum of this temple is concealed from the main hall by seven curtains which are parted only on the Thai Poosam day. All the four towers of the Chidambaram Nataraajar temple are visible from the sabha. Ramalinga Swamigal, often called Vallalar, established the Sathyagnana Sabhai. He built a temple which is open year-round. Thousands of visitors attend festivals and monthly puja dates at this temple. Vadalur is well connected by rail and road, and it provides transport