தர்மம் மிகு சென்னை........

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When Madras went on the AIR (Excerpts from an article by S. Sankaranarayanan)

The first regular broadcasting station in the world is believed to have opened in Pittsburgh, USA, in 1920. In England, programmes were successfully broadcast by the Marconi Co. from Chelmsford on February 23, 1920. In November 1922, the BBC, with John Reith as its managing director, went on the air with regular programmes.

The Madras Presidency Radio Club was formed less than two years later, on May 16, 1924, by a group of dedicated amateurs led by C.V. Krishnaswamy Chetty. It broadcast daily programmes from July 31, 1924, using a 40 watt transmitter. It was later replaced by a 200 watt one, with which a 2½ hour programme of music and talks was broadcast every evening (with a special morning transmission on Sundays and holidays). The Club was located in Holloway’s Garden, Egmore.

When it had to close down in October 1927 due to financial difficulties, the transmitter was presented to the Madras Corporation which launched a regular service on April 1, 1930 from Ripon Building. The Corporation Radio Station broadcast entertainment programmes every day between 5.30 and 7.30 p.m. In addition, it also aired music lessons and stories from 4 to 4.30 p.m. for children on school days. ‘Gramophone music’ was broadcast from 10 to 11 a.m. on Sundays and holidays, and ‘European music’ on one Monday every month from 5.30 to 7.30 p.m.


Read more at: http://madrasmusings.com/Vol 22 No 6/when-madras-went-on-the-air.html

 

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[h=1]Memories of Madras - On the same wavelength[/h][h=1]By PRINCE FREDRICK[/h]

[h=2]Nostalgia: Gopal Madhavan on how people bonded over amateur radio and the role of hams during an emergency and in motor sports[/h]
In the early 1960s, hams from Bangalore played a supportive role in events organised by the Madras Motor Sports Club (MMSC). They made communication possible among stewards during a race or a rally. Strangers to motor sports, these hams had to be told what was going on before they could pass on any information. It was cumbersome; therefore, MMSC encouraged its members to get ham licences. It was a long time before any of us actually did!

It happened in the 1970s, when it was impossible to be ignorant of amateur radio, if you lived in Madras. People began to get involved in the hobby because of its communication potential. Amateur radio was a handy tool in sourcing life-saving drugs. A Madras ham broadcasting a need for such medicine on HF (high frequency) was common. Responding to a plea, someone would send the medicine on a flight to India. Madras hams were co-partners in crime control. A car parked at the Central railway station was traced at the Madras airport within hours of it getting stolen, because the owner had made an announcement on VHF (very high frequency).

When the new MMSC race track was being laid at Irungattukottai in the early 1980s, I met with an accident, on the way to the facility. Stuck in my car, I announced my situation on VHF. People at the AVM Studios sent a tow vehicle and a team to bail me out.


Read more at: http://www.thehindu.com/features/me...as-On-the-same-wavelength/article12079493.ece

 

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Forgotten George Town

By S,MUTHAIAH

An aerial view of George Town, Madras / Photo Credit: BIJOY GHOSH
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All this talk about banks in George Town during the past few weeks in this column should have made readers realise how important George Town was. With all these banks, under one name or another, still in George Town, it is obvious that this business district is still an important part of Madras. Yet it is the most neglected part of the city.

Government after government has drawn up plans for the city, ruling parties have issued manifestoes listing the needs of India, issued policy statements on making Tamil Nadu the leading State in the country, given promises of developing Madras as a beautiful and well-functioning metropolis. But not one of these utterances over the years has paid anything more than lip service to re-creating George Town as a modern financial and trading hub.

Madras was founded 375 years ago for trade and those beginnings in Fort St. George were dependent on what could be supplied by the first ‘Black Town’, where the High Court-Law College campus now is. After the French occupation and siege of Fort St. George, between 1746 and 1759 in two separate periods, this Black Town was razed and a new Black Town was developed north of Esplanade Road, now called N.S.C. Bose Road. This New Black Town continued to be the main supplier of goods to the merchants of the Fort, ‘White Town’, and, after being renamed George Town in 1911, a major importer of goods apart from prospering on exports. Till well after Independence, George Town remained the heart of business activities in South India — effectively the Madras Presidency — what The City is to London even today.

Read more at: http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/society/forgotten-george-town/article5764328.ece

 

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[h=1]A forgotten town: Georgetown holds many secrets behind their crumbling building’s facades[/h]George Town is full of dilapidated but historically relevant buildings and architecture

By Abinaya Kalyanasundaram
Express News Service

CHENNAI: The narrow, forgotten streets of Georgetown hold many secrets behind their crumbling building’s facades, which even the several layers of new paint can’t mask. Many of us know that Georgetown was previously known as Black Town, the settlement outside the fortifications of ‘White Town’, namely the Fort St George.

Black town was where our ancestors lived, traded, built, had cultural concerts. Today, all these valuable markers of heritage and culture are fading fast under the weight of politics, population and ignorance. This Sunday, led by a young group of final year architecture students from Davinci School of Design and Architecture, we unravel a few bits and pieces of forgotten history. Georgetown was the origin for a myriad of religions into Chennai, with churches, temples and was the site for the first synagogue as well, which no longer exists.

Armenian Church

First stop was the 18th century Armenian Church. Our entrance was marked by the ringing of the six heavy bells from the bell tower, the first structure we saw when we entered the gates. Each bell weighed over 150 kg, and was rung every morning and evening to signify opening and closing times, ever since the church was built in 1719.
Binny building

Read more at: http://www.newindianexpress.com/lif...heir-crumbling-buildings-facades-1668745.html

 

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[h=3]ARMENIAN CHURCH (CHENNAI - TAMIL NADU)[/h]

Long back when I was designing a tee depicting 6 different icons of Chennai, like expanding an abbreviation i.e 'MADRAS'. And to depict one of the 'A', I depicted Armenian Church. Sadly I've never been there, when I designed that. Recently when I got a chance to go there with some people who know very well about its history, how would I say no???????? So, here's more on the place.

Read more at: http://travel.bhushavali.com/2014/07/armenian-church-chennai-tamil-nadu.html

Courtesy: travel.bhushavali.com

 

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By George, let’s go back to the Town

By BISHWANATH GHOSH

As Chennai turns 375, celebrating its oldest modern neighbourhood, built along with Fort St. George

I can count on my fingers the number of times I have visited north Chennai — George Town to be precise — in the past, say, three years. Thrice to Gem Pens and Co. to add to my collection of fountain pens, and twice to Govindappa Naicken Street in search of old-fashioned table lamps.

At the same time, I know of Chennaiites who have never set foot in George Town and are unlikely to do so in the years to come. Why should they, when they have no friends living there, when their workplaces are in Tidel Park or in Sholinganallur, when all their needs are met in the other parts of Chennai that they live in?

George Town, after all, doesn’t boast of pubs or restaurants that offer fine dining or luxurious multiplexes. If anything, it always makes news for the wrong reasons: a murder at Mannadi, chain-snatching at Elephant Gate, a drunken brawl between two rowdies on Wall Tax Road.

But George Town boasts of something that the rest of Chennai can’t: a strong whiff of history. And with Chennai, or Madras, turning 375 years old this month, a pilgrimage may be in order so that you understand the city’s existence on India’s map—and your existence in the city—better.

Read more at: http://www.thehindu.com/features/me...e-lets-go-back-to-the-town/article6284044.ece

 

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[h=1]A slice of history: What a British city plan tells us about late 17th century Madras[/h][h=2]It was a rapidly expanding town owing to the influx of workers from nearby kingdoms.[/h]

[FONT=&quot]Fort St George, Madras Presidency | [/FONT]​

Wikimedia Commons
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The Prospect of Fort St George was commissioned by Thomas Pitt, governor of Madras from 1698 to 1709, but was only completed after his death in 1726. The sheet consists of both a prospect, a bird’s eye view sketch of the civic buildings, and an urban plan. The map represents west at the top rather than the left and is superbly detailed and very large, over a metre wide and two-thirds of a a metre high.

Read more at: https://scroll.in/article/867288/a-...-plan-tells-us-about-late-17th-century-madras

 

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The many charms of Government Museum, Egmore
[h=1]The dance of the bronzes[/h]By Deepa Alexander & Subha Rao

[h=1]Its walls whisper stories from across centuries, while its famed sculptures capture moments in cosmic time. The Government Museum has many secrets waiting to be discovered[/h]It was during the time of Emperor Augustus that sea-faring Romans first made landfall in the arid port cities of the Indian peninsula. As with the Greeks who came earlier for trade, and the European colonial powers that came later trundling their cannons eastwards, the peninsula’s status as the crossroads for both commerce and conquest resulted in a rich catalogue of culture, all of which left material evidence that holds a mirror to the times.

Within the red-brick colonnaded halls of Government Museum, Chennai, is showcased the largest collection of Roman antiquities outside of Europe. A work in progress, with archaeologists still adding to it when they stumble upon treasures from the era during excavations, the museum also has an enviable collection of over a thousand South Indian bronzes.
[h=2]The beginning[/h]Since 1851, the museum has stood in this tree-shaded campus, a charming mix of buildings of various purposes known as the Pantheon Complex, that went on to lend its name to the road outside.

Read more at: http://www.thehindu.com/society/his...-government-museum-egmore/article18465911.ece

 

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Glimpses of Indian history
By Sreemathy Mohan

A Buddha statue in the Government Museum, Egmore. PHOTO: R.RAVINDRAN
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Your guide to some of the interesting objets d’art at Government Museum, Egmore

So, you have just an hour to spend at the Government Museum at Egmore? The well-curated museum boasts rooms full of artefacts and history that have stories to tell. To make the most of your visit, we have picked 10 must-see attractions.

This multi-purpose museum is located on a sprawling 16.25 acres of land with six independent buildings that house 54 galleries.

The original proposal for a museum in Madras came from the Madras Literary Society, along with Sir Henry Pottinger, the then Governor, in 1846. The Court of Directors of the East India Company, sanctioned it. In 1851, Dr. Edward Balfour was appointed as the First Officer-in-charge of the Government Museum, and you can see his portrait as you enter Building 1, where they punch your entrance tickets.

Read more at: http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/Glimpses-of-Indian-history/article14238863.ece

 

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[h=1]On 150 years of archaeological finds at Egmore Museum[/h]

The Government Museum in Egmore is exhibiting artifacts from renowned geologist Robert Bruce Collection Photo: M.Vedhan
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At the centre of the centenary exhibition hall at the Government Museum in Egmore, lie two closely-guarded Palaeolithic tools — one a hand axe from Pallavaram and another, a cleaver from Attirampakkam.

On May 30, 1863, exactly 150 years ago, renowned geologist Robert Bruce Foote picked up the hand axe from the “debris on the Brigade Ground at Pallavaram near Madras”.

The museum, in collaboration with Sharma Centre for Heritage Education is commemorating the momentous discovery by organising a special exhibition of Foote’s collection of stone tools. R.B. Foote sold the tools to the museum in 1904 for Rs. 40,000, said R. Kannan, secretary, tourism, culture and religious endowments department.

Over 75 tools have been put on display, said, anthropology gallery curator, Thulasi Brinda. “They are from places such as Mysore and Baroda among others. This is also the first time we have displayed a painting of Robert Bruce Foote,” she said.


Read more at: http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities...cal-finds-at-egmore-museum/article4766918.ece

 

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Government Museum

The Government Museum, or Egmore Museum, is the second oldest museum in the country, after Kolkata’s famed Indian Museum. It houses the National Art Gallery, Children’s Museum and Contemporary Art Gallery, in addition to a few others, and due to its location in the Pantheon complex, it boasts different architectural styles. As for its collections, this museum has one of the world’s richest collections of bronze artefacts, most of which are the remnants of the 10th-12th-century Cholas. The museum also has some fascinating displays, including a sensor-enabled dinosaur, manuscripts, and paintings by Raja Ravi Varma.
Government Museum, Pantheon Road, Egmore, Chennai, India,



Source: https://theculturetrip.com/asia/ind...buildings-and-structures-to-visit-in-chennai/

 

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Chennai Egmore rly station is 110 years old

Chennai: It was in 1908 that No. 1 Boat Mail left Egmore railway station for its destination, Dhanushkodi. That was the first train said to be operated from the famed railway station about 110 years ago, after that there was no looking back.

Egmore railway station has moved forward with time adding various amenities to render better service to passengers. Presently, the station is 110 years old, as it celebrated its 110th birthday on 11 June.

The building of Egmore railway station was constructed in 1908, and it was on 11 June 1908 that the British authorities took over and began running trains, said a senior official at the station. A small extension work was taken up in 1930.

The major extension work was taken up in 1980 on the main building of Egmore station. The first floor holds passenger reservation counter, the ground floor holds a vegetarian refreshment stall and offices of station officials.

The main building had a width of 74 ft and a length of 300 ft in 1908. At present the main building has a length of 198.4 metres, breadth of 21 metres on the west end and 9.8 metres on the east end, said the official. Currently, the station handles about 55 trains per day on an average (both incoming and outgoing).

Presently, the station has a footfall of one-and-a-half lakh people in a day (both long distance and local train). The moment worth recalling was in 1997 - 1998, for that was the time when the tracks were converted into broad gauge for the mainline. It was only in 2004, that metre gauge became history for local trains.

The last metre gauge local train left Egmore after being flagged off by R Velu, the then Union Minister of State for Railways. Metre gauge local bid goodbye after a glorious service of 73 years. Minister Velu also flagged off the first broad gauge service on 1 November 2004.


Read more at: https://www.newstodaynet.com/chennai/chennai-egmore-rly-station-is-110-years-old-100719.html

 

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Chennai Landmark – The Egmore Station

The Egmore railway station is a historic landmark of our city.
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One of the most enduring and endearing landmarks of our city, the Egmore railway station, is 106 years old. It stands on a historic site, for this was where the East India Company converted a standing choultry into a fortified redoubt, early in the 18th Century. It later served as a sanatorium for soldiers and then in the 1800s as a Government Press. The Male and Female Orphan Asylums functioned from here when they moved out of Fort St George in the mid-18th Century. By the late 19th/early 20th Century, a part of this property was owned by Senjee Pulnee Andy (1831-1909). A graduate of the Madras Christian ­College, he became the first Indian to go abroad for a medical degree, qualifying at the University of St Andrew’s in 1860 and becoming a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons a year later. Returning to India, he was appointed Superintendent of Vaccinations, Government of Madras. He converted to Christianity in 1863 and established the Native/National Church of India, which proved to be short-lived. An avid Freemason, he helped establish the Lodge Carnatic in the city in 1883 of which he was the second Master.

Andy’s vast property in Egmore was eyed by the South Indian Railway Company (SIR) as a suitable location for its northern terminus. The SIR resulted from the amalgamation of three companies – the Great Southern Indian Railway Company (GSIRC) established in 1859, the Carnatic Railway Company (CRC) established in 1864, and the Pondicherry Railway Company Limited (PRC) established in the 1870s. The GSIRC operated in the Trichinopoly-Negapatam area while the CRC had its lines in the Conjeevaram-Arkonam region. The PRC was much smaller, limiting itself to eight miles near its headquarters. The SIR was founded in 1874 and took over all three lines.

Read more at: https://sriramv.wordpress.com/2014/11/25/chennai-landmark-the-egmore-station/

 

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Chennai Egmore railway station

Chennai Egmore (formerly known as Madras Egmore) is a railway station in Chennai, India. Situated in the neighborhood of Egmore, it is one of the two intercity railway terminals in the city. The station was built in 1906-08 as the terminus of the South Indian Railway Company.The building built in Gothic style is one of the prominent landmarks of Chennai. The main entrance to the station is situated on Gandhi-Irwin Road and the rear entrance on Poonamallee High Road.
The station was apparently constructed from 8679 on land purchased from Pulney Andy,[SUP][2][/SUP] The building is built in the Gothic style of architecture with imposing domes and corridors. It is one of the prominent landmarks of the city of Chennai. The recently opened northern entrance to this railway station is on the arterial Poonamalee High road in Chennai city.

[h=2]History[/h]
History says that the station was actually a fort, called the Egmore Redoubt, similar to Leith Castle, which is a part of Santhome. It is said that the station came up in a place that once used to store ammunition for the British.

The station building was constructed on a 2.5 acres (1.0 ha) land, for which 1.8 acres (0.73 ha) was acquired from Dr. Paul Andy who, in his letter to the 'Collector of Madras,' initially refused to sell his property owing to the difficulty with which he had purchased and developed the property. However, the South Indian Railway (SIR) Company, which was then operating train services to the south, persuaded him to sell the land, for which Andy claimed ₹1 lakh (US$1,500) as compensation. After acquiring the land, the SIR invited Henry Irwin, CIE (chief engineer), who did much of latter day Indo-Saracenic in Madras, and E. C. Bird, company architect, to design a building to suit the traffic need. After several alterations in the plan, the construction work began in September 1905 and was completed in 1908.[SUP][1][/SUP] It was constructed by contractor T. Samynada Pillai of Bangalore at a cost of ₹17 lakh (US$25,000). The station was officially opened on 11 June 1908.[SUP][4][5][/SUP]


There was initially a demand that the station be named after Clive, which was, however, strongly opposed by the public as they wanted to name it Egmore. When the station was opened there was no electricity connection and a generator was used.[SUP][1][/SUP] The station became the major meter-gauge terminal for Chennai after the formation of Southern Railway in 1951. Irwin and Bird worked on the design of the building, which was sympathetically added to in the 1930s and 1980s.[SUP][4][/SUP] In the 1990s it was converted into a major broad gauge terminal, a role in which it became operational in 1998.[SUP][6][/SUP]


Read more at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chennai_Egmore_railway_station

 

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[h=1]A temple and its builder[/h]By Sriram v

The age of the Thiruvetteswarar Temple in Triplicane is a mystery. Photo:S.R Raghunathan.
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The age of the Thiruvetteeswarar Temple in Triplicane is a mystery. A passing reference to a Vedicchuram in Appar’s Tevaram has been cited to show that the shrine was in existence even in the 7th century. However, several other temples in Tamil Nadu lay claim to the same line as proof of their antiquity.

The Shiva Linga here is probably much older than the temple, for it was discovered in the 18th century by Samudra Mudali, a ‘conicoply’ ( kanakkupillaior accountant) of the East India Company. It was in a sandy tract through which a small river (probably the Triplicane River that no longer exists) ran. The property was owned by the Nawab of the Carnatic and Samudra Mudali purchased it, building thereafter, “from his private resources a fine temple, with four streets around it, having houses for the temple servants.” This then was the origin of Thiruvateeswaranpettai, the colony that surrounds the shrine. Samudra Mudali later purchased lands in the Pudupakkam (now part of Royapettah) area from a Muslim noble and donated them to the temple.

A long-drawn case in the Madras High Court, concerning the lands belonging to the temple, gives further details. The East India Company confirmed the grants of the Pudupakkam lands in two documents dated November 1, 1734 and August 10, 1787. These were shrotrium endowments, meaning that the precinct was meant to house Brahmins who could recite the Vedas. In the last two centuries, the area has changed character considerably.

After serving as accountant at the Customs House, Samudra Mudali, whose name appears in Company records variously as Somadru, Sumadru, Sumadrue and Sumdrue, became dubash (translator) to Governor Francis Hastings. The latter is not to be confused with the illustrious Warren Hastings, later first Governor General of India. Francis Hastings had been Deputy Governor in Cuddalore and then became Governor of Madras in 1720. He did not get along with his council members, and one of the chief opponents, Nathaniel Elwick, got him dismissed in 1721. Hastings lingered for three months in Madras, dying in the process and thereby becoming the first Governor of Madras to be buried in St Mary’s Church in the Fort.

Read more at: http://www.thehindu.com/features/me...warar-temple-in-triplicane/article7796590.ece

 

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[h=1]ஸ்ரீநடராஜர் தரிசனம்! - திருவல்லிக்கேணி[/h]ஆயுள் பலம் தரும் அபிஷேக தீர்த்தம்!

திருமணத் தடை நீக்கும் சர்வதோஷ நிவர்த்தி தலம்; ஆனித் திருமஞ்சன விழாவை அமர்க்களமாக நடத்தும் ஆலயம்; குறிப்பாக, இந்து- முஸ்லிம் ஒற்றுமைக்கு எடுத்துக்காட்டாகத் திகழும் கோயில் எனப் பல பெருமைகள் உண்டு, சென்னை- திருவல்லிக்கேணியில் அமைந்துள்ள திருவேட்டீஸ்வரர் திருக்கோயிலுக்கு.

நவாபுகளின் காலத்தில் இந்தக் கோயிலுக்குத் திருப்பணிகள் செய்யப் பட்டுள்ளதாகப் பெருமையுடன் தெரிவிக்கின்றனர், பக்தர்கள். இங்கே காட்சி தரும் மூலவர் திருவேட்டீஸ்வரர் சுயம்புலிங்க மூர்த்தம். மேய்ச்சலுக்கு வந்த பசு, சிவலிங்கத் திருமேனி பூமிக்கடியில் இருப்பதை அறிந்து, பால் சொரிந்து சிவனாரை வழிபட்டதே இந்தத் தலத்திலும் ஸ்தல வரலாறாக அமைந்துள்ளது.
ஸ்ரீமகாவிஷ்ணுவை திருமணம் செய்துகொள்வதற்காக, ஸ்ரீமகாலட்சுமி கடும் தவம் புரிந்தாள். அப்படி அவள் தவம் செய்தது, இதோ... இந்தக் கோயில் இருக்கும் இடத்தில்தான்! இங்கே, ஸ்ரீமகாலட்சுமிக்கு சந்நிதி அமைந்துள்ளது. இங்கு வந்து ஸ்ரீமகாலட்சுமியை 11 அல்லது 21 வாரங்கள் தொடர்ந்து தரிசித்து வேண்டிக்கொண்டால், சகல தோஷங்களும் நீங்கும்; திருமணத் தடை அகலும்; சகல ஐஸ்வரியங்களுடன் இனிதே வாழலாம்.

Read more at: https://www.vikatan.com/sakthivikatan/2013-jun-25/special-story/33367.html

 

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The oldest book in India and continuing at the same location at Mount Road even today.

[h=1]Survivors of Time: Higginbothams[/h]

LONG SHELF LIFE Higginbothams on Anna Salai.
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[h=2]Anusha Parthasarathy flips through the history of Higginbothams, India's oldest-known bookstore which is still in business[/h]Here, the high white arches and wooden railings hold portraits of two men with beards and enigmatic smiles. Higginbothams, India's oldest-known bookstore, began as a religious bookstore in 1844. Every dog-eared page of its 167-year-old history has had booklovers thronging its aisles and taking back a lingering smell of printed paper.

Though it was started on a small scale by Abel Joshua Higginbotham, the shop no longer restricts itself to a particular genre, absorbing trends and keeping stocks up-to-date, while allowing the past to linger on in the original Italian marble chequered flooring, ornate stained glass decorations over the entrance door and windows and the white façade that is archaic and regal.

Nothing has changed at the bookshop, and business is as usual. A wooden door at the back leads to the offices, where K. Srinivasan, who has worked here since 1955, sits at the very end. He is quick to dole out trivia, “This flooring is as old as the bookstore,” he remarks, “and so are the stained glass frames over the windows and door. It's because they are from that time that they've lasted so long.”


Read more at: http://www.thehindu.com/features/fr...vors-of-time-higginbothams/article2630077.ece

 

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Source: Google Images

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[h=1]A reader's dream in white[/h]For years, a trip to Chennai for thousands of people, from across the country and abroad, wasn't complete without a trip to Higginbotham's. Once inside the magnificent white structure on Anna Sala (Mount Road), they would be lost -literally, among the rows and rows of books and rare manuscripts. The store still evokes that awe.

Started by Englishman Started by Englishman Abel Joshua Higginbotham in 1845, a librarian in the Wesleyan Book Depository in London, the book store was shifted to the present site, between Binny Road junction and Bharat Insurance Building, around 1904. Since then, it has remained, in some ways, the last word for books in English and Tamil in Chennai and even South India.

The building, which sprawls over 15,000sqft, came up in 1904 when Abel's son C H Higginbotham was managing director.

The book store has re mained there but branches have been set up at several railway stations in south India and airports.The highlight of the build ing is the very high wooden ceiling and a roof with Mangalore tiles. “Higginbotham's building can be called a mix of Indian and colonial styles. There are several such structures on Mount Road with high ceilings and window panes,“ says Indian National Trust For Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach) Chennai chapter convener S Suresh.

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Lending to keep the reading habit alive


Read more at: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/A-readers-dream-in-white/articleshow/44844482.cms

 

[swathi25]

Here is a message received thro' WhatsApp....


சென்னை சென்னை சென்னை


சென்னை இன்று மிகப்பெரிய மாநகரமாக விளங்க காரணம், பல சிறு சிறு கிராமங்களின் இணைவு தான். அப்படி இணைந்த கிராமங்களின் பெயர்கள் உருவானதின் பின்னணியை தெரிந்து கொள்ளுங்கள்


Ø 108 சக்தி ஸ்தலங்களில் 51வது ஊர் ஆகையால் ஐம்பத்து ஒன்றாம் ஊர் என்று அழைக்கப்பட்டு, பின்னாளில் இவ்வூர் அம்பத்தூர் என மாறியது.


Ø Armed Vehicles And Depot of India என்பதின் சுருக்கமே ஆவடி (AVADI)


Ø 1912ம் ஆண்டில் 25 ஏக்கர் பரப்பளவில் ஒரு ஆங்கிலேயரால் Chrome Leather Factory என்ற ஒரு தோல் பதனிடும் தொழிற்சாலையை தொடங்கியதால் அப்பகுதிக்கு குரோம்பேட்டை என்ற பெயர் உருவானது


Ø 17,18 ம் நுற்றாண்டுகளில் நவாப் ஒருவரின் கட்டுப்பாட்டில் இருந்தது இப்பகுதி. அவருடைய குதிரைகளின் பசியை போக்கும் நந்தவனமாக இது விளங்கியதால், கோடா பக் (பொருள் - Garden of horses) என்று உருது மொழியில் பெயர் வைத்தார். பின்னாளில் அதுவே கோடம்பாக்கம் ஆக மாறியது.


Ø தென்னை மரங்கள் நிரம்பிய பகுதி ஆகையால் தென்னம்பேட்டை என பெயர் வைத்தார்கள். பிற்பாடு அது தேனாம்பேட்டை ஆக மாறிப்போனது.


Ø சையத்ஷா என்ற இஸ்லாமிய முக்கிய பிரமுகர் வைத்திருந்த நிலப்பகுதியின் அடிப்படையில், சையத்ஷாபேட்டை என்றிருந்த பெயர், சைதாப்பேட்டை என்றாகியது.



Ø உருது வார்த்தையான சே பேக் (பொருள்- Six gardens) என்பதிலிருந்து உருவானது தான் சேப்பாக்கம்


Ø சௌந்தர பாண்டியன் பஜார் என்பதின் சுருக்கமே பாண்டி பஜார்


Ø கலைஞர் கருணாநிதி நகரை சுருக்கி கே.கே. நகர் என அழைக்கிறோம்.


Ø சிவபெருமானுக்கு உகந்த வில்வமரங்கள் அதிகம் இருந்ததால் மகாவில்வம் என அழைக்கப்பட்ட இப்பகுதி, பின்பு மாவில்வம் என்றாகி, காலப்போக்கில் எப்படியோ மாம்பலம் ஆகி விட்டது.


Ø பல்லவர்கள் ஆட்சி செய்ததால் பல்லவபுரம் என்றழைக்கப்பட்ட இடம் தான் பல்லாவரம்.


Ø சென்னை மாகாண முதல்வராக இருந்த பனகல் ராஜாவின் நினைவாக இவ்விடம் பனகல் பார்க் என அழைக்கப்படுகிறது.


Ø நீதி கட்சி தலைவர் சர். பி.டி.தியாகராஜன் செட்டியின் பெயராலேயே இப்பகுதி தி.நகர் (தியாகராய நகர்) என அழைக்கபடுகிறது


Ø கடற்கரைப்பகுதியான இங்கு புரசை மரங்கள் அதிகமாக இருந்ததால், இப்பகுதி புரசைவாக்கம் ஆனது.


Ø அதிக அளவில் மல்லிகை பூக்கள் பயிரிடப்பட்ட பகுதி இது. திருக்கச்சி நம்பி ஆழ்வார் தினமும் இங்கிருந்து பூக்களை பறித்துக்கொண்டு சென்று காஞ்சி வரதராஜபெருமாளை வழிபட்டுவந்தார். அதனால் இவ்விடம் சமஸ்கிருதத்தில் புஷ்பகவல்லி என்றும், தமிழில் பூவிருந்தவல்லி என்றும் அழைக்கப்படுகிறது. பின்னாளில் இது பூந்தமல்லி யாக மாறியது. வல்லி என்பது தெய்வத்தை குறிக்கும் ஒரு பெயர்.


Ø 17 ம் நூற்றாண்டில் இங்கு வாழ்ந்து வந்த ஒரு முஸ்லீம் துறவி ‘குணங்குடி மஸ்தான் சாகிப்’. இவரது சொந்த ஊர் ராமநாதபுரம் மாவட்டத்தில் உள்ள
தொண்டி. ஆகையால் அப்பகுதி மக்கள் அவரை தொண்டியார் என அழைத்தனர். அந்த ஏரியா தான் தற்போதைய தண்டயார்பேட்டை.


Ø முன்பு இப்பகுதி ஆடு மாடுகள் மேயும் திறந்தவெளியாக இருந்துள்ளது. அதனாலேயே மந்தைவெளி என்றழைக்கபடுகிறது.


Ø மயில் ஆர்ப்பரிக்கும் ஊர் என்பதே மயிலாப்பூர் என மாறிப்போனது.


Ø பல்லவர்கள் காலத்தில் போர்கள் நடத்த இவ்விடத்தையே பயன்படுத்தியதால், இப்பகுதி போரூர் எனப்படுகிறது.


Ø சில நூறு வருடங்களுக்கு முன்பு இப்பகுதி முழுவதும் மூங்கில் மரங்கள் இருந்தது. அதனாலேயே பெரம்பூர் எனப்படுகிறது.


Ø திரிசூல நாதர் ஆலயம் இருப்பதால் இந்த ஏரியா திரிசூலம் என்று அழைக்கப்படுகிறது.


Ø பார்த்தசாரதி கோவிலின் எதிர்ப்புறம் இருக்கும் குளத்தில் (கேணி) நிறைய அல்லிகள் பூக்கும். அதன் காரணமாக இப்பகுதிக்கு திருஅல்லிக்கேணி என பெயர் உருவாக்கி, பின்பு திருவல்லிக்கேணி யாகி, தற்போது Triplicane என மாற்றம் கண்டுள்ளது


Source: WhatsApp

P.S: Not sure about certain information.

 

[swathi25]

Chennai has progressed to 100th position from 235 of last year.

But, needs to go a long way in keeping the city clean

[h=1]'தூய்மை இந்தியா' பட்டியல் : சென்னை 100வது இடம்[/h][h=1]சென்னை: துாய்மை இந்தியாபட்டியலில், சென்னை மாநகராட்சி, 100வது இடம் பிடித்து முன்னேறி உள்ளது.[/h]
நாட்டு மக்களின் ஆரோக்கிய வாழ்வை மேம்படுத்தும் நோக்கில், துாய்மைக்கான நகரங்கள் மற்றும் கிராமங்களை ஊக்குவிக்க, 'துாய்மை இந்தியா' திட்டத்தை, பிரதமர் நரேந்திர மோடி செயல்படுத்தி வருகிறார். துாய்மைக்கான நடவடிக்கையை எடுத்து வரும் இந்திய நகரங்கள் குறித்து, இந்திய தர கவுன்சில் ஆய்வு நடத்தி, துாய்மை நகர பட்டியலை, ஆண்டுதோறும் வெளியிட்டு வருகிறது.இந்த ஆண்டுக்கான, துாய்மை இந்தியா பட்டியலை, மத்திய நகர்புற மேம்பாட்டு திட்ட அமைச்சகம், நேற்று வெளியிட்டது. இதில், கடந்தாண்டு, 235வது இடத்திலிருந்த சென்னை மாநகராட்சி, தற்போது, 100வது இடத்தை பிடித்துள்ளது.மேலும் திருச்சி, 13வது இடத்தையும், கோவை, 16வது இடத்தையும், ஈரோடு, 51வது இடத்தையும் பிடித்துள்ளது குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது.
[h=1]Source: http://www.dinamalar.com/news_detail.asp?id=2047676[/h]

 

[swathi25]

Ice House through the years

The Ice House has changed character through the years and today, as Vivekananda Illam, it plays an important role in cultural development.

THE VIVEKANANDAR Illam, built more than 150 years ago, was popularly known as the Ice House. This was the very place where ice was stored in those days. In 1833, it was Fredric Tudor, an ice merchant of Boston, USA, who brought ice to India in a ship named Clipper Tuscany. That was the first time ice was brought into India from abroad.

Tudor, the `Ice King', built three houses, one each in Bombay, Calcutta and Madras, to keep ice under proper insulation. The building in Madras still stands, but the others have "evaporated" into thin air.

After the invention of making ice by the stream process in India, Tudor's business collapsed and the building was purchased by Biligiri Iyengar, an advocate of the Madras High Court. He named it Castle Kernan and added circular verandahs to the old frame of the building to make fit for inhabitation. However, it did not succeed as residential quarters because of inadequate ventilation.

Swami Vivekananda returned to India via Madras after a triumphant tour of the West in February 1897. He was taken from the station to the Ice House in a grand procession. He stayed there from February 6 to 15 and delivered seven electrifying speeches.


Read more at: http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/mp/2003/01/02/stories/2003010200820300.htm

 

[swathi25]

[h=1]Lost Landmarks of Chennai – The Syrian Roof at Ice House[/h]
Author: sriramv

The Ice House is a familiar, and happily for us, living landmark of the city. Constructed in 1838 as a storehouse for ice being imported from the Tudor Ice Company of the United States, it later became a residence in which capacity it played host of Swami Vivekananda in the 1890s. It has since then been associated with his name. Forgotten now is the fact that the building also played an important role from 1917 to 1922 in the widows rehabilitation movement begun by Sister Subbalakshmi. It later became a hostel for the B Ed course students and in 1963 was named Vivekanandar Illam. In 1997, the Government gave the building on lease to the Ramakrishna Math, for a permanent exhibition to be set up on Swami Vivekananda. This lease was extended to 99 years in 2012.


Read more at: https://sriramv.wordpress.com/2017/05/03/lost-landmarks-of-chennai-the-syrian-roof-at-ice-house/

 

[swathi25]

Congratulations Praggnanandhaa for all your achievements.
[h=1]Chennai boy Praggnanandhaa is India's youngest GM[/h]

Chennai: India's R Praggnanandhaa has become the country's youngest and the world's second youngest Grand Master at the age of 12 years, 10 months and 13 days after reaching the final round of the ongoing Grendine Open in Italy.

The Chennai-based player was paired with Grand Master Prujjsers Roland in the final round, which ensured that he would achieve the feat. After beating GM Moroni Lica Jr in the eighth round, he needed to play an opponent above rating of 2482 in the next round to make his third GM norm.

Ukraine's Serget Karjakin remains the youngest ever GM, having achieved the feat at the age of 12 years and seven months in 2002.

In 2016, Praggnanandhaa became the youngest International Master at the age of 10 years, 10 months and 19 days. Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand, the country's first GM, congratulated Praggnanandhaa on his achievement. "Welcome to the club & congrats Praggnanandhaa!! See u soon in Chennai," he tweeted.

Read more at: https://www.newstodaynet.com/chennai/chennai-boy-praggnanandhaa-is-indias-youngest-gm-103738.html

 

[swathi25]

[h=1]Robert Chisholm – the Indo Saracenic Man[/h]Author: sriramv

If Paul Benfield gave the world its first example of the Indo-saracenic style of architecture with Chepauk Palace, it was Robert Fellowes Chisholm (1838-1915) who made it a complete form and the true architectural statement of the British Raj. Chisholm’s finest works survive in two cities in India – Madras (Chennai) and Baroda (Vadodara).

Not much is known of Chisholm’s early years, though it is certain that he was born in London. By the early 1860s he was in the employment of the Government of Bengal, being Executive Engineer, Puri Division, Bengal Department of Public Works. It was around this time that the Government of India was pressing ahead with the spread of education on Western lines. Universities had been set up in Bombay, Bengal and Madras and it was felt that buildings suitable to their stature ought to be constructed. In Madras, land for the Presidency College and a University Senate House was allotted by 1865. But two years prior to this, the Government of Madras had, for the first and only time in its history, announced an architectural competition for the design of these two buildings. With Rs 3000 being the prize money, it was a prestigious affair and by 1865, 17 designs had been received. The best of the lot, as per the committee that sat in judgement, were those of Chisholm.


Read more at: https://sriramv.wordpress.com/2012/03/09/robert-chisholm-the-indo-saracenic-man/

 

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[h=1]Madras Miscellany - The site of Senate House[/h]Author: S.Muthiah

A view of Senate House by the Marina Beach. Photo: S.Thanthoni
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A recent visit to the University of Madras's Chepauk campus had me once again looking at a locked-up Senate House being allowed to run to seed as inaction over its future continues to prevail. As I circled the building, my mind went back a few years when there was so much restoration activity going on, with all those involved determined to make it the finest space for events in Madras. I also remembered a search for its beginnings and recalled that it almost did not rise on the present site. In fact, those beginnings were 147 years ago almost to the day.

It was in a dispatch dated July 23, 1864 that the Secretary of State for India, referring to opinions expressed by the Senate of the University and the Governor in Council, agreed that it was “inexpedient” to “combine the buildings for the University and the Presidency College in one design” and approved the January 1864 suggestion that “the University shall be erected on the site adjoining Marshall's Road, which was recommended for the Presidency College by the Director of Public Instruction in his letter of August 12th, 1863, and the Presidency College on the site already fixed on at Chepauk.”

Could this Marshall's Road site suggested for Senate House have been where Rajaratnam Stadium now is? Be that as it may, the Secretary of State's letter to the Governor set the cat among the pigeons and a controversy on where to site Senate House erupted, delaying commencement of the work by more than three years.

Read more at: http://www.thehindu.com/features/me...y-the-site-of-senate-house/article2287653.ece