rgurus
Active member
Cooum, once a holy river ( a century and a half back) has turned unholy today.
In South India, any spot where a river suddenly turns north is considered particularly holy. ( Kodumudi where cauvery turns its direction is one such holy place.) But the credit of making this holy river into an unholy one goes to the people of Madras, now Chennai. This no one can dispute.
A temple usually comes up at the bend of the river.( again example Kodumudi) .. Our polluted Cooum River is no different. After flowing placidly west to east, it takes a turn northwards at Egmore, forms an oxbow around Chintadripet and then flows east to the sea. The little hamlet that nestles in this bend is Komaleeswaranpet. The village takes its name from its Shiva temple where the Lord is Komaleeswarar and his consort, Komalambika.
There is also a theory that Cooum is a corruption of Komaleeswaram. This must have been a sylvan locality around 400 years ago, the river sending wafts of cool breeze. It became an urban settlement in the 1730s when Chintadripet on the opposite bank developed. The main thoroughfare of the village led from the temple and came to be known as Pagoda Street, after the British term for any Hindu place of worship.
This street, backing as it did on to the river, became the place of residence of the well-to-do. Chief among these was Dubash Pachayappa Mudaliar, who in a short lifespan of 40 years (1754 to 1794), earned an enormous fortune, most of which is today used for running educational institutions. Srinivasa Pillai, who wrote Mudaliar’s biography in the 1840s, has it that Pachayappa built his house “at the hermitage like Komaleeswaranpet which takes its name from Lord Shiva.”
Pachayappa’s neighbours on Pagoda Street were Muniappa Pillai, a wealthy businessman and Swami Naick, a Native Dresser in the Army. All three have streets commemorating them in Komaleeswaranpet. Swami Naick is also remembered in a small monument set within a triangular park. Pagoda Street is now Harris (Adithanar) Road, a broad thoroughfare.
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In South India, any spot where a river suddenly turns north is considered particularly holy. ( Kodumudi where cauvery turns its direction is one such holy place.) But the credit of making this holy river into an unholy one goes to the people of Madras, now Chennai. This no one can dispute.
A temple usually comes up at the bend of the river.( again example Kodumudi) .. Our polluted Cooum River is no different. After flowing placidly west to east, it takes a turn northwards at Egmore, forms an oxbow around Chintadripet and then flows east to the sea. The little hamlet that nestles in this bend is Komaleeswaranpet. The village takes its name from its Shiva temple where the Lord is Komaleeswarar and his consort, Komalambika.
There is also a theory that Cooum is a corruption of Komaleeswaram. This must have been a sylvan locality around 400 years ago, the river sending wafts of cool breeze. It became an urban settlement in the 1730s when Chintadripet on the opposite bank developed. The main thoroughfare of the village led from the temple and came to be known as Pagoda Street, after the British term for any Hindu place of worship.
This street, backing as it did on to the river, became the place of residence of the well-to-do. Chief among these was Dubash Pachayappa Mudaliar, who in a short lifespan of 40 years (1754 to 1794), earned an enormous fortune, most of which is today used for running educational institutions. Srinivasa Pillai, who wrote Mudaliar’s biography in the 1840s, has it that Pachayappa built his house “at the hermitage like Komaleeswaranpet which takes its name from Lord Shiva.”
Pachayappa’s neighbours on Pagoda Street were Muniappa Pillai, a wealthy businessman and Swami Naick, a Native Dresser in the Army. All three have streets commemorating them in Komaleeswaranpet. Swami Naick is also remembered in a small monument set within a triangular park. Pagoda Street is now Harris (Adithanar) Road, a broad thoroughfare.
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