This place is at the south end of Nagapattinam Dist. and between the East Coast roads of Vedaranyam - Nagapattinam around 25 k.m. Radius. Vedaranyam (Thirumaraikadu) town falls under Panchayat.

Muslims and other religion people live in the nearby villages like Kodiyakkarai, Puspavanam, Kariyapattinam, Thathakudi, Saravakattalai, Thenambulam, Naluvathapathi, Akkaraikadu, Thalantheruvasal, Orniyampulam, Kuravapulam, Thirupoondi, and Karuppubulam. Around these places Thopputhurai has 95% of Muslims. Here Muslims, Hindus and other religious people live together and this place can be sited as an example of unity among people of different community.

Thopputhurai is a village near seashore. The name gives that, this place has lot of plantation and harbour. From this village a salt lake mixes with the after running a distance of 4 k.m. So in the early days people use to trade using catamarans to board their goods into steamers whereby they trade with Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka and other South East Asian countries. The people started calling them MARAKALAYAR and now they are called as MARAIKAYAR.  They started trading with the goods exchanged by way of barter system. This people take the goods in night by horseback and trade them in the markets in the daytime. This people are called TATHARKAL as the days passed they are now called as IRAVUTHARKAL. This name doesn’t relate to a religion they are called so because of their trade. They are no longer called by that name now.  Islam has no caste difference.    

50 years back there are 100 families and now there are 800 families in Thopputhurai. Nagai Street, Old Street (Elanthadi Rastha), New Street, is the three main streets in Thopputhurai.                  

Only few are now doing business, some has become agriculturist and majority people are working in foreign countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Dubai (UAE), Saudi and many other countries.

Thopputhurai has many Mosques & Dhargas.  Big Mosque, small mosque, Thopsha Mosque, Malacca Mosque, Padasahib Mosque, Labbai Appa Mosque, Akkarai Mosque, Olisa Mosque.  Among these Mosques four are for daily 5 times prayers, one of them is the Grand Mosque, (Big Mosque) which is century old and the Muslim mayaths are buried around the mosque.

The Thopputhurai People are getting medical assistants from Vedaranyam and nearby districts like Nagapattinam, Tanjore any many other places.                              

In the modern World now 95% of Houses are modern in Thopputhurai and has telephone connection and there will be getting Internet connection soon.

In Thopputhurai majority are Muslims and schools are multiracial

Many races are studying together in primary, secondary and higher  secondary schools. In between Thopputhurai & Vedaranyam main road there is a Girls school called “Kasthurba Gandhi Kanya Gurukulam” (A Charitable Rural Women’s Welfare Organization since 1946) which was founded by Freedom Fighter Sardar A. Vedaratnam & Padmasri V. Appakutti MJF. And its managed now by Managing Trustee Shri A. Vedaratnam. The school is a  “National and International Award” winner. It celebrates the “Milad Nabi” function every year without fail.

From the day one the males from Thopputhurai went for doing business and working for earn living to countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Burma, Saigon & Ceylon even today. Because of this Thopputhurai has progress from a village to a mini town today. Many of them are bringing their families to overseas now in the modern world to improve their life style.