Once upon a time in Thyagaraya Nagar…

[Maha52]

Share:

Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp Email Share Link

The cherishing memories of T.Nagar......

Thyagaraya Nagar or more fondly known as T Nagar is one of the oldest parts of the city. Initially, a trading community, in the last half-century has grown in to arguably the biggest commercial hub of Chennai.

The panagal park where one can sit and enjoy the serene atmosphere on those days

And of course, Panagal Park too should have a history..... let us see...

Cannot forget the 'LIFCO Dictionary' ...the Little Flower Company... The first book I purchased when I visited Chennai during 70s

Once upon a time in Thyagaraya Nagar…


History depicts a peaceful and modern T. Nagar — a planned town and a sought after residential locality. One can hardly imagine a Ranganathan Street as agraharam or absorb the fact that T.Nagar's land value was as low as Rs. 500 per ground.

By R.Keerthana

Ironically, the article shapes up at a time, when the Tamil Nadu Urban Infrastructure Services Limited and international consultants are charting out T. Nagar re-development plans. In fact, Thyagaraya Nagar was the first ‘planned' town in Chennai.

Read more at: https://www.thehindu.com/features/downtown/once-upon-a-time-in-thyagaraya-nagar/article3436296.ece

 

[Maha52]

From township to trade, the history of T Nagar

Autho: sriramv

Incredible though it may sound today, there was no Chennai or Madras to the west of Mount Road till 1921. Land’s end was effectively the Gemini Studios, after which, all along the western side was a vast lake, known as the Long Tank of Mylapore. By 1921 however, there was a severe housing shortage in the city and it was decided that this lake be filled in and the space converted into a vast self-contained residential colony – Theyagaroya Nagar. This was the first instance of planned development in 20th century Madras. The draining of a water body would today raise concerns from environmentalists but then it was not thought to be of any importance.

The removal of a lake has led to some place names being meaningless but they have survived nevertheless. There is a Lake Area nearby as Lake View and Tank Bund Roads. All of these commemorate the vanished Long Tank. The entire area was once the village of Mambalam and when the lake on the eastern side became T Nagar, what was left became West Mambalam as it survives even now.

T Nagar, when it was planned in the 1920s, was conceived to be bounded by four roads – Mount Road, Mambalam High (now Usman) Road, Burkitt Road and Bazullah Road. This was the era when for the first time a Government by Indians was in power in the provinces. In Madras Presidency, the Justice Party was in power, with the Rajah of Panagal being the Prime Minister. This grand title did not amount to much for the real power was the British Governor. But nevertheless, T Nagar, developing as it did during the Justice Party’s tenure, was to see a number of that party’s leaders commemorated in its streets and parks. Several still survive – Panagal and C Natesa Mudaliar have parks named after them while O Thanikachalam Chetty, Sir Gopathy Narayanaswami Chetty, Dr TM Nair and Sir Mohammed Usman among others have roads remembering them.

Read more at: https://sriramv.wordpress.com/2012/02/02/from-township-to-trade-the-history-of-t-nagar/

Courtesy: MADRAS HERITAGE AND CARNATIC MUSIC

 

[Maha52]

T Nagar under a King’s rule

By Roshne Balasubramanian


Do you know how T Nagar and its lanes got their names? Govi Lenin, editor-in-charge, Nakheeran, has the answer.

Do you know how T Nagar and its lanes got their names? Govi Lenin, editor-in-charge, Nakheeran, has the answer. He will be curating a Justice Party heritage walk as part of Madras Week in this shopping hub.

CHENNAI: The name T Nagar paints a vivid picture in our mind — retail outlets, shop-hopping customers, street food joints, congested roads and recently, after a textile showroom caught fire — the lack of safety! But, not many know of the people who laid the foundation for the area that it is today — the leaders of the Justice Party. To give Chennaiites a whiff of erstwhile T Nagar and the names that are synonymous to the area, Govi Lenin, editor-in-charge, Nakheeran, will be curating a ‘Justice Party heritage walk’.

Read more at: http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/2017/aug/09/t-nagar-under-a-kings-rule-1640796.html

Courtesy: The New Indian Express

 

[Maha52]

A book for every shelf

The story of Lifco, the nearly 90-year-old publishing house in Chennai that made books affordable and accessible for everyone


During the late 1920s, Varadachary Krishnaswamy Sarma, a young man working with the defence accounts department of the British government in Chennai, was upset at the way English education was made inaccessible to most of his countrymen. Barely out of his teens, Sarma, fired up by the emerging nationalist sentiment in the country and a deep urge to help the poor and needy, decided to do what many thought was impossible — he rented a printing apparatus to produce content he thought would benefit his people .

Read more at: https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blink/know/lifco-a-book-for-every-shelf/article23987984.ece#

 

[Maha52]

This Deepavali, T Nagar bears a deserted look
Shopkeepers, who have made T Nagar like a home over the last 20-30 years, fear they may not stick around for next Deepavali due to dwindling sales.

If it is Deepavali and if you are in Chennai, you will be tempted to visit Ranganathan Street in Thyagaraya Nagar popularly known as T Nagar, a major shopping hub of the city. Every day, at least close to a lakh people visit this crowded market to pick their favourites which range from clothing to accessories, and home decor to local street food, it has it all.
Advertising

This year, there are policemen stationed every 10 meters in T Nagar and its adjacent shopping area Pondy Bazaar. The entire area is under CCTV surveillance, and close to 500 cops are equipped with body cameras. Round the clock patrolling is in place. All these precautionary measures are set up, but the shops are bereft of customers. Shopkeepers are in a spot of bother; they say they have never seen a festival this empty in the last 15-20 years.

Economic crisis, online shopping and the rains are some of the reasons attributed to the thin turnout. “This is not the T Nagar we know for the past 10 years, the stocks are lying unsold. The middle-class families who come in bus or train are out potential customers, they are not seen in large numbers this time because of economic crisis,” says Nagoor Khan, a footwear seller.

Chandru, who has run ‘Thangam Softee’, an ice cream shop near T Nagar railway station, for the past 25 years says this year has been the lowest point in business. “Look at that store (pointing towards a famous big shopping mall), have you seen that place without customers? Not even 50 people are inside that whole store now, that’s the current scenario. Customers won’t find a place to stand near my store, they will be pushed by the crowd, I won’t even remember how much change they give or I give them, we would be doing business at that level. But, the collection in this Diwali is lesser than the one we get during weekends,” he said.

………………………………

There are no barricades or ropes in place to manage the crowd, and there is no minute to minute announcements about safety or traffic on the speakers. This may be a good time for us to do a solid shopping without any tension, but that’s not the same case with shopkeepers. Some of them fear that for next Deepavali they won’t be seen in T Nagar which had been their home for the past 20-30 years.

Read more at: https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chennai/deepavali-t-nagar-shopping-chennai-diwali-6088841/

 

[Maha52]

The price that Chennai continues to pay for Long Tank and T Nagar

During summers, especially the severe ones like the one that the city is enduring now, it is a common sight to see residents waiting on the roads for water tankers. Sometimes, it is rather cruel an irony to read the name boards of these streets and areas where they wait upon: lake view road, tank bund road, lake area.

Statue of the Raja of Panagal and (right) Theagaraya Chetty
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chennai: Less than just a century ago, these spots were adjacent to one of the largest water bodies in the district.


In the early 1900s, a drive on the Mount Road would have been a pleasant experience, with a lake on one side for nearly two miles instead of the concrete monstrosities that dot the stretch now. Bent like a bow five miles in length and one mile across on an average,the Long Tank was a natural lake that ran along the Mount Road from Anna flyover to Saidapet, acting as the city’s western frontier. Its overflow was called the Mambalam canal which drained into the Adyar river.


Robert Bruce Foote, the man who discovered the Pallavaram axe and rewrote the Indian prehistory, found large quantities of marine shells close to the tank. This and the boomerang shape of the lake prompted Foote to posit that this lake could have been a saline lagoon in the distant past which later became a freshwater lake after the sea receded. In his memoir, Foote would call this ‘Mylapur tank’ (he would differentiate the Kapaleeshwarar temple tank as Pagoda Tank).


The Long Tank had two distinct sections - the Mylapore tank to the south and a feeder lake called Nungambakkam tank to the north. The rivers, Cooum and Adyar, ran very close to either edges of the lake.


The city and its suburbs made good use of the huge lake. It used to be filled up by the monsoon, but dried during the summer. But when the water lasted, even the Boat Club moved from the Adyar river to hold its Long Tank Regatta here.

Read more at: https://www.dtnext.in/News/City/201...t-Chennai-continues-to-pay-for-Long-Tank-.vpf

Source: DT NEXT

 

[Brahmanyan]

I am told all places with names ending "Pakkam or vakkam" were water bodies. Which may include Purasaivakkam (?), Adambakkam,Kodambakkam, Nungampakkam and Chemparampakkam etc.
My first visit to Madras 75 years ago I stayed in my relative's house in Subbaraya Mudali Street, Numgampakkam. There was an old temple with tank near this place, for 'Amanthava Murthy'. Incidentally the sevant working in the house was also called "Amundhu".
In those days there used to be a huge lake across the Lake bund road upto today's Mahaliga puram . Where now Valluvar Kottam is situated. We used to take a short walk in Arcot road and visit the new area under formation in Mambalam, called East Mambalam, an area known for musqitoes and a slushy terrain. Because it was a drained out lake (long lake) area. I could remember neatly laid out Streets, where few building coming up. I am told since not much of demand for the sites, Municipal Corporation had offered the sites at throw away price. Among the members of our family only one purchased a site at Burkitt Road. It is still kept by the member of that branch of the family. This area had become Theagaraya Nagar, commonly known as T. Nagar.
Old Madras was a historical place, each and every locality and building had a story to tell. The slow moving Electric trams, Town busses crisscrossing the City and hand drawn rickshaws looked after the needs of the commuter.
Madras was the cultural Capital of South, and still remains so.

Brahmanyan
Bangalore.

 

[Maha52]

My first visit to Madras 75 years ago I stayed in my relative's house in Subbaraya Mudali Street, Numgampakkam.
Madras was the cultural Capital of South, and still remains so.

Brahmanyan
Bangalore.

Sir,

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on Chennai.....

Of course most of Chennaities may not be aware of its history... natural water bodies that existed at different parts Chennai right from lake at Chetput and temple tanks, lakes, ponds etc besides the rivers viz Cooum and Buckingham Canal. Adyar River etc.

When I visited Chennai, I have seen and felt the glory of Buckingham Canal and ferrying people and cargo

Read somewhere that this Buckingham Canal which started off as an 11-km saltwater navigation channel in 1806 in the erstwhile Madras state was gradually extended up to Vijayawada till the Krishna river. The canal, which was in service up to the late 1970s, was damage by floods and gradually its usage dwindled.

Government of Dravidian Parties elected one after the other rule the State... but these water bodies were not paid sufficient attention and were not maintained properly. This canal is badly polluted from sewage and industrial effluents, and the silting up of the canal has left the water stagnant, creating an attractive habitat for malaria-spreading mosquitoes.

Will this waterway get back to its glory days?

 

[Maha52]

The vanishing waterbodies of Chennai
-K.Lakshmi

The area of the waterbodies in Chennai city and its suburbs has shrunk from nearly 12.6 sq. km. in 1893 to about 3.2 sq. km. in 2017, mainly due to urbanisation, a recent study has revealed

Names of places in Chennai are more than just geographical markers. They bring out what Chennai was not too long ago. Lake Area, Tank Bund Road and Eri Scheme are a few pointers that tell us how bountiful the city was in water resources.

Read more at: https://www.thehindu.com/news/citie...ng-waterbodies-of-chennai/article23404437.ece

 

[Maha52]

The making of Mambalam

By A.Srivathsan

Can you imagine that an acre of land in T. Nagar once cost a mere Rs. 910? This was the price fixed by the government of Madras when it decided to acquire about 540 acres of private land to create a new housing scheme in a place called Mambalam.

Read more at: https://www.thehindu.com/features/f...re/The-making-of-Mambalam/article12060898.ece

 

[Brahmanyan]

Sir,

Thanks for sharing you thoughts on Chennai.....

Of course most of Chennaities may not be aware of its history... natural water bodies that existed at different parts Chennai right from lake at Chetput and temple tanks, lakes, ponds etc besides the rivers viz Coovum and Buckingham Canal. Adyar River etc.

When I visited Chennai, I have seen and felt the glory of Buckingham Canal and ferrying peeple and cargo

Read somewhere that this Buckingham Canal which started off as an 11-km saltwater navigation channel in 1806 in the erstwhile Madras state was gradually extended up to Vijayawada till the Krishna river. The canal, which was in service up to the late 1970s, was damage by floods and gradually its usage dwindled.

Will the waterway get back to its glory days?

Dear friend,
The colonial history of Madras by itself is very interesting. Many of the present generation may not be aware that this City of Madras(Madras Patinam) was under the rule of Portuguese for about 230 years from 1515 to 1749 before the East India Company came here.. It is believed that the name Madras or Madras Pattinam is derived from the Portuguese word "Madre de Deus" meaning "Mother of God" a Church in San Thome consecrated by the the rich Portuguese family Madeiro's Family in 1575. The Portuguese colonised the settlement peacefully by bringing groups of "casados" (Married army men) from Portugal to live.The main settlement was the town of São Tomé de Meliapore (near today’s Mylapore in South Madras), where there was the grave of the apostle Saint Thomas. Unlike the English and Dutch, the intention of Portuguese was not Trade or Commercial supremacy, but conversion of the locals to Catholicism, i.e. baptism. By the time Portuguese evinced interest in the Coromandel coast, the Dutch were already there, well established in Paleacate (Pulicat,) a busy port about 40km north of Madras, from where they did a lucrative export of spices and slaves to their colonies in Java and South east Asia and South America.
Late S.Muthiah, (who would like to be called Chronicler instead of a Historian) who, in the last 42 years that he has lived in Chennai, has written, edited and ghosted nearly 30 books about the city. He was editing and bringing a tabloid dedicated to the heritage of the City under the name of "Madras Musings" for two decades,which still continues under new editor. A wonderful source of authentic history of Madras.
Regards,
Brahmanyan
Bangalore.

 

[Maha52]

Dear friend,
The colonial history of Madras by itself is very interesting. Many of the present generation may not be aware that this City of Madras(Madras Patinam) was under the rule of Portuguese for about 230 years from 1515 to 1749 before the East India Company came here.. .
Regards,
Brahmanyan
Bangalore.

Sir,

I just stumbled upon a thread under caption தர்மம் மிகு சென்னை........ where you have in fact contributed a detailed narration about Portuguese which reads as under:

Portuguese in Madras:

It is indeed a surprise our History books dismiss the presence of Portuguese in Madras just in a paragraph.
Madras (Madras Patinam) was under the rule of Portuguese for about 230 years from 1515 to 1749. It is believed that the name Madras or Madras Pattinam is derived from the Portuguese word "Madre de Deus" meaning "Mother of God" a Church in San Thome consecrated by the rich Portuguese family Madeiro's Family in 1575 ......

Source: https://www.tamilbrahmins.com/threads/தர்மம்-மிகு-சென்னை.38351/page-3

Thanks for your contributions that throws more light on the history of then Madras.

 

[Maha52]

Those were the days: When Gandhi rode a Madras bus

Throughout his sojourn in Madras, Gandhi harped on the need for a national language to achieve unity

Gandhi at a prayer session in Madras​

Chennai: It was January 1946, and almost exact to the date Gandhi last came to Madras, nine years ago, a special train decorated with tricolours and mango leaves was stopped in Ambattur. For some reason, the station where he alighted was kept secret and the police posted decoy teams in other stations like Ennore to divert the crowds.

The awful politics in the local Congress astonishingly wasn’t visible to the public in the station. Rajaji offered a helping hand for Mahatma to alight from the train whereas Kamaraj garlanded him. Gandhi was driven in a car (now owned by Mallaya) to T Nagar where he stayed in a bungalow adjacent to Hindi Prachar Sabha office. The huge crowd waiting for him was disappointed that Gandhi would not grant a darshan. A young khadi-clad supporter, who had travelled for 300 miles, got onto a raised concrete block and spoke eloquently. “We have come from afar to see Mahatma and remember we possess the same weapon as him — Sathyagraha.”

Relenting, at last, Gandhi walked up to the stage. As Pyarelal sang the favourite prayer song of Gandhi raghupathiraghava, the crowd joined the chorus. Mahatma was standing before them using his hand like a music conductor to mark the periods.

Read more at: https://www.dtnext.in/News/City/201...re-the-days-When-Gandhi-rode-a-Madras-bus.vpf

 

[Maha52]

In seventies I had been to West Mambalam which is one of the oldest localities of Chennai. I stayed at Kothadaramswamy Koil Street near Srinivasan Theatre.

If I remember right, one of the first flyovers of Chennai was built in the area way back in the 70’s which eases the traffic congestion. There is no much of a change in this area except more houses promoted as Apartments.

The area offers excellent connectivity and social infrastructure and these are reasons for its rapid growth. And there is no denying that West Mambalam is certainly one of the best places to live in Chennai, with temples, schools, market and connectivity to other prime areas.

It has a mixed population and is an assembly point for Brahmins.

I would like to share series of article published in Madras Musings......for the pleasure of reading..

Rambling in West Mambalam … with Janaki Venkataraman

Strait-laced, conservative, middle class

It is a day like any other in a street like any other in West Mambalam. In the lane close to Srinivasa Theatre (one of Chennai’s oldest cinema theatres), the houses are packed closely together. They are functional, rather ugly houses, stacked side by side and it is -obvious no one cares much for architectural aesthetics in this part of town.

After two days of wandering up and down these dusty streets (this is not really difficult, as West Mambalam is bisected by only two main roads, Lake View Road and Arya Gowda Road and all the streets lead off these two roads) I have concluded that West Mambalam is the most colourless area in Chennai.

It wasn’t like this a long time ago, when there was a huge grove of vilva trees here. So many vilva trees that the place came to be known as Maha Vilva Ambalam –the place of grand vilva trees, dear to Shiva. The name slowly changed to Maavilvam and, later, Mam-balam. You don’t see the vilva trees any more, of course, save the one in the 17th Century temple of Kashi Viswanathar on Easwaran Kovil Street. There was also a lake here, the Long Tank, that the British drained out in 1923. There were paddy fields where Srinivasa Theatre now is and Mambalam had all the scenic beauty of a village. It was then a part of Chingleput District and became a part of Chennai only in 1946.
......................................................

The only landmarks in the area are the Public Health Centre, a hospital run as a charity on Lake View Road and Ayodhya Mandapam, on Arya Gowda Road, a meeting place for pious Hindus (read Brahmins mostly) to chant mantra-s and listen to religious discourses and Carnatic kutcheri-s. No matter which way you looked at it, West Mambalam’s reputation for being the home of a strait-laced, conservative, middle class community, seemed solid. Why should anyone want to explore it?

Read more at: http://www.madrasmusings.com/vol-26-no-16/rambling-in-west-mambalam-with-janaki-venkataraman/

Courtesy: Madras Musings.

 

[Maha52]

Rambling in West Mambalam (3) … with Janaki Venkataraman

A harmonious life of co-existence

Outside Ravi’s house I meet ‘King’ Bala. Bala is probably thirty, is almost six feet tall, has a velvety black complexion and the largest eyes I have ever seen on a man- the whites of those thickly fringed eyes seem to stretch back to the Milky Way. After Ravi introduces us, I ask Bala, “Why are you called King?”

“Every thug needs a moniker, and since I am big and was generally lording it over everyone in my area, people began to call me ‘King’. It sounded nice. So I stuck with it.”

Chanting Vishnu Sahasranamam every evening at the Sri Ram Samaj in West Mambalam
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“So you are a proper rowdy?”

“Not any more,” Bala says hastily.”I used to be a tough in my teens. We lived in the Housing Board colony around here and I was sort of bossing over people there. When I turned eighteen I became an auto driver. One day Ravi saar got into my auto. He was arranging for a funeral and we had to go to a lot of places, arranging a lot of things. I was very impressed with the way he did things and the way he spoke. Then, on the trip back, he talked to me and suggested that I drive for him on a regular basis. It seemed a good idea and that is what I have been doing ever since. He made me see how I was wasting my life. So I gave up all the stuff I was doing earlier and found that I was perfectly happy without it! I make a lot of trips to get all the goods he needs from outside Chennai. But I’d be willing to do anything he asks me to. I see how he helps people. I never mind when I have to suddenly pitch in as a pallbearer at a funeral.”

A DMK fan, Bala says he has no interest in politics as such. “I used to love the way Kalaignar and all the other big orators spoke.”


Read more at: http://www.madrasmusings.com/vol-26-no-20/rambling-in-west-mambalam-3-with-janaki-venkataraman/

 

[Lotusinsanskrit]

Gandhi was driven in a car

I remember saying my grand mother during my childhood whenever gandhiji visited Madras my grand father(then car owner) only take him in his car and later after his sudden death and all the wards are young to take up the car business the cars are sold out then and afterwards nobody from my family even thought of the subsequent owners of the cars.

Thanks to recall my memory of events which was told by my grand ma.

 

[Maha52]

Rambling in West Mambalam (4) … with Janaki Venkataraman

Helping out, the local motto

For many years Ayodhya Mandapam used to be a meeting place for the priests of West Mambalam. They usually congregated here in the evenings exchanged notes, made appointments and traded priestly engagements for the next day. That has, however more or less stopped now, because of the advent of the mobile phone. Now priests make all their professional calls from home. Priesthood is a significant profession in West Mambalam. Priests from here are invited to perform poojas, homam-s and rites all over Chen-nai. Although, till the 1990s priests were not very well recompensed and were looked upon with a certain amount of pity (for having to live off the raw bananas, betel leaves and minor change that were usually given to them by their clients), things have become far more lucrative now. Take S.S. Manikandan for instance.

Fortyish, well dressed and with neatly cropped hair, Manikandan flashes his card to new clients. The card advertises that he is capable of organising all poojas and homam-s. He also has a cache of regular clients and the fees are no longer anything to sneer about. Manikandan drives a car and a two wheeler, has firm political views and is as savvy and with-it as any priest of these times can be. I ask him if other priests of his age and status are sending their sons to Veda patasalas in order to become priests. He replies carefully, “They do. Nowadays many Veda patasalas have CBSE schools attached to them. So the boys get the best of both kinds of education. They can later choose to take up a secular job, but the option of priesthood will always be there. Actually, many young men are opting for priesthood because of the lucrative fees and the increased interest in performing poojas and homam-s from all strata of society.”

Read more at: http://www.madrasmusings.com/vol-26-no-21/rambling-in-west-mambalam-4-with-janaki-venkataraman/

Courtesy: Madras Musings.

 

[kudandhai Srini]

Chennai resident recall memories of Panagal Park

Residents around the T Nagar park relive their childhoods under green canopies

“I have been coming to Panagal Park since I was nine years old. I used to study in Ramakrishna High School just opposite,” says LR Ananthanarayan, who is set to turn 73 this year. The retiree has been frequenting the park since 1955, so it’s not surprising, that when asked to recall a favorite memory of it, he and his 83-year-old friend Sethuraman take a moment before speaking.

Read more at: https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/e...-memories-of-panagal-park/article27116272.ece

 

[Maha52]

Rambling in West Mambalam (5) … with Janaki Venkataraman

Temples and a theatre – in a place with heart and soul

West Mambalam residents are a temple-visiting lot. There are scores of temples in the area but three are of some antiquity. The Kashi Vishwa-nathar temple is said to have been built by Nayak Kings in the 17th Century. On the stone -ceilings of the temple you can see the fish emblems, the signature of the Nayak dynasty. The temple stands on land that was once covered by vilva trees. The lingam is swayambu (found, not made) and it is said Shiva -appeared in the dream of the Nayak king and ordered him to build the temple.

Abutting one wall of the temple is the Mambalam wing of the Kanchi Kamakoti Mutt. There is a shrine for the Goddess Kamakshi here and a lot of poojas and homam-s are performed every day. Sanskrit scholars meet here to discuss the Vedas. On a more secular level, there is provision for collecting and exchanging community-wise horoscopes to arrange weddings. Perhaps the most interesting part of the Mutt is the Goshala (cow shelter)in the backyard. At least a 100 cows reside here, mostly donated as calves by various devotees. The cow sheds have also been donated by philanthropists and the cows are obviously well looked after. On the day I visited it, it was Dwadasi, the twelfth day of the lunar fortnight, and visitors were feeding the cows bundles of agathi keerai. The cows here don’t grab the food, they take a casual, almost elegant, mouthful, and chew thoughtfully. If you are born a cow in Chennai this is probably a good place to be. Mambalam, in fact, has a number of Hindu religious mutts including the Sringeri Mutt, off Arya Gowda Road, and the Raghavendra Mutt that is -actually off Gopathi Narayana-swami Chetti Road, close to Panagal Park.

The Kothanda Ramar Tem-ple, just a stone’s throw away from the Kashi Vishwa-natha temple, is said to be at least 150 years old and is peaceful and well-maintained. So also is the Adi Kesava Perumal Temple on Govindan Street. Perhaps the most unusual of West Mam-balam temples is the Kali Bari in Umapathy Extension Street. -Inaugurated in 1981 by the Bengali community in Chennai, the small temple is a miniature of the Kalighat Temple in Kolkata. Around the temple have grown various welfare activities like free medical camps, professional training courses for women, volunteering for relief work during natural calamities, and poor feeding. The Kali Bari’s Puja celebration is huge and attracts devotees from all over Chennai. The annada-nam during Puja has a huge fan following for its sheer variety and taste.

Read more at: http://www.madrasmusings.com/vol-26-no-22/rambling-in-west-mambalam-5-with-janaki-venkataraman/

 

[kudandhai Srini]

The culture and heritage of the then West Mambalam

Did you know that the old name of T Nagar was Pudhu Mambalam Or that Mambalam was an agricultural village?

Well, every year, as part of the Madras Week, there are several walks conducted at different places in the city.


Read more at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...ofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

 

[Maha52]

I love T. NAGAR


Much of Chennai's charm comes from T. Nagar, its shopping capital. Most things can be bought without having to go on a long search. For me, everything worth buying is just a short walk away. Connectivity through public transport is another plus. I enjoy the buzz that accompanying the festive season. I might not celebrate all the festivals. But by living here, I get to witness the excitement generated by all of them. Also, the area is home to many good schools and parks. Another important factor is that the rentals are also less when compared to other areas. I have lived in Ashok Nagar (closer to T. Nagar) since 1994. After my wedding, I moved into an apartment in Mahalingapuram and I could not have been happier.



Read more at: https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/chen-downtown/i-love-t-nagar/article4748231.ece

 

[Maha52]

Smart makeover: Pedestrian Plaza at Chennai's T Nagar inaugurated

Pondy Bazaar road sports a new look after it was relaid ahead of pedestrian plaza’s inauguration | P Jawahar
--------------------------------------------------------------

Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami opened the project executed under the Smart City mission at a cost of Rs 39.86 crore.

CHENNAI: Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami opened the pedestrian plaza, under smart city mission, in T Nagar on Wednesday.Flanked by cabinet colleagues, including Municipal Administration Minister SP Velumani, he checked various features of the pedestrian plaza- a 700-m stretch at Pondy Bazaar built at a cost of Rs 39.86 crore. He also opened the 23 streets, including Kannadasan street, Raman street and Ramanujam street, redesigned at a cost of Rs 19.11 crore in Kodambakkam zone.

With Greater Chennai Corporation officials, including Commissioner G Prakash and Deputy Commissioner (Works) M Govinda Rao, CM, in a battery-operated car, witnessed several shows organised as part of the inauguration. The shows included a laser show, firework display, hip hop and puppetry. The stretch was lit up in the evening and a few hundred people lined up to get a glimpse.

Read more at: https://www.newindianexpress.com/ci...-at-chennais-t-nagar-inaugurated-2061452.html

 

[Maha52]

Wide pavements, Live music,Glittering Lights welcome Chennaiites As Pedestrian Plaza Open: Focus now on Maintenance.

City gets right of way and a plaza it can call its own

CHENNAI: The trees glittered with serial lights. The hawkers with their wares had disappeared from the pavement that was now double in width. The road looked like an endless slab of slate that had been wiped clean. As chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami left the newly-inaugurated pedestrian plaza, shop owners and their families, evening walkers, shoppers and residents from the neighbourhood poured out on Pondy Bazaar to savour the change.


Read more at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...ofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

 

[Maha52]

An iconic school in West Mambalam

By N. VENKATESWARAN

A landmark institution in West Mambalam is the Ahobila Mutt Oriental Higher Secondary School that started functioning in 1953 at Kothandaramar Koil Street. This was a dream project of N. Srinivasachari who had been a teacher par excellence and had retired as Headmaster of Ramakrishna Mission High School (North Branch).

N.Srininivaschariar was the adopted son of Sri Vasudevachariar, popularly known as Maharishi Vasudevachariar, founder of the Ramakrishna Mission High School (Main), the one opposite Panagal Park, T’Nagar (started in 1932) and various other educational institutions in the T’Nagar area. Srinivasachariar joined the Ramakrishna Mission High School soon after it started and later taught English with great proficiency. When the North Branch of the High School started functioning at Bazullah Road, T’Nagar, he took over as Headmaster of the School.

During his stint as English teacher at the Main School and, subsequently as Headmaster of North Branch, he was responsible in moulding the careers of several students who later went in to occupy high positions in life. The list is long but I mention just a few. Former Indian Army Chief Sundarji, B.S. Raghavan I.A.S, (former Chief Secretary, Tripura, and Director, Political and Security Policy Planning, Union Home Ministry, and Secretary, National Integration Council), Narayan Vaghul, former Chairman of ICICI Bank, R. Rajamani I.A.S, who served as Jt. Secretary in the Secretariat of three Prime Ministers, Krishnamoorthy Santhanam, former Chief of DRDL, and M.R. Sivaraman I.A.S. former Chairman, Board of Revenue, Government of India.


Read more at: http://www.madrasmusings.com/vol-27-no-24/an-iconic-school-in-west-mambalam/

Courtesy: madrasmusings.com

 

[Maha52]

Once upon a time in Thyagaraya Nagar…
By R. Keerthana

History depicts a peaceful and modern T. Nagar — a planned town and a sought after residential locality. One can hardly imagine a Ranganathan Street as agraharam or absorb the fact that T.Nagar's land value was as low as Rs. 500 per ground.

Ironically, the article shapes up at a time, when the Tamil Nadu Urban Infrastructure Services Limited and international consultants are charting out T. Nagar re-development plans. In fact, Thyagaraya Nagar was the first ‘planned' town in Chennai.

Once upon a time in Thyagaraya Nagar…

History depicts a peaceful and modern T. Nagar — a planned town and a sought after residential locality. One can hardly imagine a Ranganathan Street as agraharam or absorb the fact that T.Nagar's land value was as low as Rs. 500 per ground.

www.thehindu.com