Nostalgia

  Historic hub: Many notable jewellery brands had humble beginnings on NSC Bose Road Gold has always been an integral part of this old city, and holds a sentimental value among the people. The glitter of the yellow metal continues to draw people despite the changing era and sky-rocketing prices. In the early 1900s, the pincode 600001, for Sowcarpet or George Town, was the hub for the gold market. It is one of the few trades that continues to be a family business for generations. rows of gold shops during 1940s and 1950s were spread over hardly 200-300 sq. ft. and dealt with only gold bars. Nearly 80% of the jewellery were made on orders, recalled jewellers. The city is still home to several brands, including Mehta Jewellery, Vummidi Bangaru Jewellers (VBJ) and LKS Gold House, that had their humble beginning on NSC Bose Road or at George Town almost a century ago.  “The speciality then was exclusive designs and the personal attention provided to customers. Each jeweller could b...

  The Kapaleeswarar Temple's original site was built by the Pallava Dynasty in the 7th century, later destroyed by the Portuguese in the 16th century, and then rebuilt in the 17th century by the Vijayanagara kings near a different location.  The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva as Kapaleeshwarar and Goddess Karpagambal, and its name means "Lord of the Skull".  Located in Mylapore, a historic area mentioned in ancient literature, the temple is a prime example of Dravidian architecture with intricate carvings and stucco work . 

  1890 tiru alli keni  1851

  Linghi Chetty – Mint Master and not Dubash It is common practice today to refer to them all as dubashes (translators) but that is not correct. Many were into specialised crafts and one among these was Linghi Chetty who was Mint Master. I got some further details on him while researching for a long article on the history of mints in the city. He is first mentioned in connection with the Chintadripet mint which was established in 1743 in that newly founded weavers’ village and Linghi Chetty was assigned the post of ‘Mint Undertaker.’ He was given the job at the instance of Vennala Audiappa Naick who, together with Chinnatambi Mudaliar was assigned the task of designing and establishing Chintadripet. And Linghi Chetty got the job in the teeth of much opposition.  Linghi Chetty’s Mint For one, he was considered a rank outsider by the gold and silver smiths at the mint. Secondly, the post of Mint Shroff and Manager had till then been assigned to Brahmins (the Mint Brahminees as t...

  Chintadripet was originally called ‘Chinna tari pettai,’ which translates to ‘ a village of small looms,’ the latter being what it was known for decades ago. This weaver’s village had large agricultural fields before the transformation of the place.  In the 1730s, the East India Company sought the help of a sect of people called Dubashes, who were basically the interpreters for the East India Company, to revive the slump-hit cloth trade.  With their help and of a few others, the Company started developing this area and  building infrastructure to help trade flourish.  Chintadripet was one of the few localities in those days where streets were not demarcated on the basis of caste. Iyya Mudali Street in Chintadripet is home to families who make temple umbrellas. The business is run by the Saurashtrian community that came to Chintadripet as weavers. By the beginning of the 19th century, the handloom industry here had started to see signs of decline. The growth o...

  Saidapet Saidapet    is an important neighbourhood in Chennai (Madras), India.  The Saidapet Court, the only other court of judicature in Chennai city apart from the Madras High Court and the Saidapet bus depot are located here. Prior to its incorporation in Madras city, Saidapet functioned as the administrative headquarters of Chingleput district. Saidapet was founded by the Nawab of the Carnatic in the 18th century AD and was named Sayyid Khan Pettah after Sayyid Khan, the army commander of the Nawab's forces. When the kingdom began to decline, Saidapet was occupied by the British East India Company and was made the administrative headquarters of Chingleput district. Saidapet is named after Sayyid Shah (Sayyid Musalman Sahib), a high-ranking 18th-century official of the court of the Nawab of Arcot. The then Nawab of Arcot gifted these parts to Sayyid Shah in 1730. However, Saidapet at that time also included Kotturpuram and Nandanam. The Maraimalai Adigal Bridge ...

  NSC Bose Road Aka China Bazaar road. 1850s After Fort St. George was built in 1640, a new township for the servants of the inmates of the fort, known as the Black Town, came up outside the fort to the northern side.  In 1773, the English erected 13 pillars along the flattened area of the Black Town, banning all construction activities between the pillars and the fort as it might block the view of possible invaders.  Soon a new Black Town was formed beyond these pillars, with the old Black Town giving way to the Madras High Court. A thoroughfare was formed along the stretch between the pillars and the high court, which eventually became known as China Bazaar Road.  Till the 19th century, the road was occupied by a large number of tiled houses.  In 1787, Thomas Parry, a Welsh businessman, bought the land with a garden house lying across the High Court buildings at the junction of NSC Bose Road and Rajaji Salai and developed it as a commercial complex housing the...

 

  George Town & Parry’s British Era Madras, 1885 George Town was originally called Black Town - and it meant exactly that. The blacks (Indians) stayed there while the English stayed in their Fort St. George -a little to the south.  The town must have come up to supply goods and services to the Fort. The old streets and layout are still the same except that old buildings are being demolished.  The harbour pier was constructed in 1861, and slowly, commercial offices and banks came up. The First Line Beach Road had magnificent buildings.  A few are still there.  The harbour was the first priority for trade and it was set up quickly.  Madras did not have a natural harbour.  Soon the railways came and a beautiful station was built as a terminus. With the harbour and the railways, the British had their lines of communication and transport. George Town was originally called Black Town - and it meant exactly that. The blacks (Indians) stayed there while th...

  Vintage mannady Mannady at present Mannady's history is rooted in a geographical transformation in the 1770s when a mound near the site of present-day Chennai Central Station was flattened, and its soil was used to fill a ditch in the George Town area. This newly developed, soil-rammed (mann adi) area became known as Mannady, giving it a name derived from its formation as real estate. The area remains a part of George Town and is a busy commercial hub today Main page

Masula boats Harbour, 1885.  Until 1815, the harbour was an open roadstead and sandy beach, and ships had to anchor over 1 km offshore. Masula boats, which were simple, flat-bottomed and high-sided wooden boats that could handle surf conditions well, were used to ferry passengers and goods from ships to the shore. Work on the new harbour started in 1910  It was not until the 1850s that work began on a pier to berth ships. Port The port's official operations began in 1881, although maritime trade in the region dates back to 1639 with the foundation of the city.  The foundation stone for the Madras Harbour Works was laid on 15th December 1875 by Edward VII, the Prince of Wales, and the artificial harbor commenced operations in 1881 Main page

  High court Dare House..EID Parry Parry's Corner is a prominent locality and business hub situated in George Town, Chennai, India, near the Chennai Port at the intersection of North Beach Road and NSC Bose Road.  It is named after Thomas Parry, a Welsh merchant who established the EID Parry Company in 1787, with its corporate headquarters located on the corner.  The landmark Parry Building, which stands on the corner, is a key identifier of the locality. The name "Parry's Corner" is derived from the EID Parry company, which originated from the partnership firm "Parry and Dare" established in 1819 by Thomas Parry and John William Dare.  The company, founded in 1788, is one of the oldest surviving mercantile names in Chennai and the Indian subcontinent, with a history spanning over 200 years.  It was taken over by the Murugappa Group in 1981. Parry's Corner is part of the larger George Town neighborhood, historically known as Muthialpet, which served as ...

  Greenways Road is named after Mr. Greenway, who was the Chief Secretary to the Government of Madras in the Nineteen Hundreds The Hindu says, "It was the road connecting two garden houses belonging to one Edward Croft Greenway, a judge in the 1800s." PONDY BAZAAR In 1933 Mr. PONDICHERY. CHOKKALINGA MUDHALIAR built 10 shops and named it as PONDY BAZAAR to glorify his native Pondichery. That’s how the name was coined , the name of the bazaar “PONDY” was derived from Pondichery where he was Born and he came to Madras to be a businessman . Cenotaph Road   got its name because there used to be a cenotaph for Lord Cornwallis near the junction at Mount Road. Cornwallis was Governor-General of India twice in his career. He died in Ghazipore, so the then Sheriff of Madras decided to build a cenotaph to commemorate Cornwallis. The cenotaph was shifted to First Line Beach in 1880s and later to then Supreme Court of Madras, which was later demolished to make way for the Chennai Collec...

  Along  with  with Mylapore and the surrounding regions, Triplicane is historically much older than the city of Chennai itself, with a mention in records as early as the Pallava period. One of the four "Old Towns" in the city, the neighbourhood was the first village obtained by the English to expand the new city of Madras beyond its "White Town" neighbourhood within the Fort St.George. Primarily a residential region, it is home to some of the tourist attractions of the city, such as the marina beach,parthasarathy temple and several commercial establishments. Triplicane is also known for its traditional culture, which is prominent in and around the streets (known as  mada veedhi  in Tamil) of Parthasarthy Temple. Thirumangai Alvar, described Thiruvallikeni as a densely canopied forest with peacocks and koels, where the sun's rays could not penetrate. Another poet, Peyalwar, describes Thiruvallikeni as, "by the tossing sea... where corals and pearls washed a...

East tank Streets Kapali Temple Mylapore is an ancient settlement.  with written records of early settlements going back to the first century BCE. Thiruvalluvar, the Tamil poet-philosopher, is believed to have been born here in 31 BCE. It was known for its ancient port with a flourishing trade with the Roman Empire, receiving gold in exchange for its products like pepper and fine cloth.  Ptolemy had recorded in the second century CE that the port of Mylapore was known to the Greeks and the Romans.  The Saivite Saints of the seventh century, Saint Sambandar and Saint Appar, have sung about the shrine in their hymns.  Mention has been made of the early settlement of Santhome (currently known) by Arab travelers and merchants of the ninth and tenth centuries. Marco Polo visited the place in the late 13th century and left a detailed description of the land, the people along with their customs and religion and also visited the tomb of Saint Thomas the Apostle in Mylapore (...

  Main page 1895 Chepauk Palace View From The River Cooum Madras, 1880 Muhammad Ali, 8th Nawab of the Carnatic (from 1749 to 1795) built the Chepauk Palace.  The Palace included two blocks arranged in the form of “L”,The south wing was double-storied and was known as the Kalasa Mahal or Treasury It contained the Dewan Khana, a magnificent audience chamber.   The property originally belonged to Mahfuz Khan, brother of the Nawab.  The latter acquired it in 1767. Three years later he obtained a further grant of land from the Governor of Fort St George. Whereupon he enclosed the entire site of 117 acres with a boundary wall. Extending southward from the bar of the Cooum River, and along its banks.  The thirteenth and the last Nawab of Carnatic, Ghulam Mohammed Ghaus Khan, was childless. The British Government took over the palace upon his death. The canal is a branch of the famous Cooum in Chennai. Unfortunately, this  is almost dead today.  In 1859, ...

  Pycroft's road triplicane 1899  named after Sir Thomas Pycroft.  has been renamed to Bharathi Salai now. Sir Thomas Pycroft wa jis a British administrator and civil servant who served as a member of the Madras Legislative Council from 1862 to 1867. On completion of his education, he was offered a "writership" by the East India Company . Pycroft arrived in Madras in August 1829 and served, initially, as writer and then, in the revenue and judicial departments in South Arcot from 1829 to 1839 when he returned to the United Kingdom.  In 1843, Pycroft came back to India after a three-year hiatus and was transferred to the Madras secretariat. Pycroft became  Secretary of the Revenue Department in 1845  Chief Secretary  from 1855 till 1862,  and  as a member of the council from 1862 to 1867. In 1866, Pycroft was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of India . The street in which he lived was named Pycroft's Road in his honour. Pycrof...

Mowbray’s Road In Adyar Madras,  A beautiful naturally arched tree-lined road that gives a surreal appearance. The road was once said to be as the most beautiful in Madras. Earlier to that it was a bullock cart track until it was acquired by, George Mowbray, who arrived in Madras in 1771. Mowbray was just an accountant originally in Fort St George. Later he became the Accountant General through sheer hard work and dedication.  In 1780 he acquired 100 acres of land in the neighborhood and built a house that came to be known as the Mowbray’s Cupola. the Adyar club  later acquired the land and the house, after his demise for the expansion of the club.  After 1947 the road was renamed “TTK road” it is now part of Alwarpet in Chennai Mowbray's road 1885  1902 Main page

The original Spencer Plaza – Madras (Chennai) – 1863 Spencer Plaza was built in 1863–1864, established by Charles Durant and J. W. Spencer in Anna Salai, then known as Mount Road, in the  Madras Presidency . The property originally belonged to Spencer & Co Ltd.  Spencer & Co opened the first department store in the  Indian subcontinent  in 1895. It had over 80 individual departments. After a few years, Eugene Oakshott, owner of Spencer's, shifted the department store to a new building, which was an example of  Indo-Saracenic  style of  architecture . The building was designed by W. N. Pogson.  In 1983, the original building was  destroyed in a fire. The present Spencer Plaza was constructed on the same site, measuring about 10 acres, and was  opened in 1991 Main page

  Main page A little less than a kilometre north from Higginbotham’s along the Mount Road, another Chisholm masterpiece greets the wanderer. Inaugurated by King George V and Queen Mary in 1879 and home to watchmakers P. Orr & Sons, a three-faced clocktower, quite suitably dominates the façade of this building constructed in the Byzantine style of architecture.  Scotsman Peter Orr reached the shores of the quaint little sea town of Madras in 1843 with his brother, Alexander Orr. They eventually joined George Gordon & Co. in the watchmaking business, ultimately taking over in 1849 after Gordon’s retirement and even earning the monicker ‘the timekeepers of Madras.’ P. Orr & Sons ventured into a variety of business that included everything from crockery, clothing and cycles to even arms, ammunition and airplane metres, their most successful diversification was into gold, diamonds and silverware.  They popularized micro-repoussé jewellery based on Hindu mythologica...

 "Mount Road, now called Anna Salai, is an ancient, roughly 400-year-old thoroughfare in Chennai, originally a dusty path linking the British East India Company's Fort St. George to St. Thomas Mount."   The road's current structure and layout were significantly developed during the governorship of Charles Macartney, who played a key role in shaping it into the artery it is today.   Following the defeat of Tipu Sultan in 1799, British officials began building garden bungalows along the road, marking its emergence as a developed area.  In the 1700s, the road was lined with garden houses and large colonial mansions with balconies and verandas set amidst lush gardens.[6] By the 1800s, Mount Road has become the traders' area of the city of Madras while First Line Beach in Georgetown remained the seat of processing, shipping and manufacturing businesses. However, the business activities of Mount Road was responsible for the city's economic growth. Several giant firm...

  "Broadway (officially known as Prakasam Salai, after the freedom fighter T. Prakasam) is one of the historical thoroughfares of the commercial centre of George Town in chennai.  The road runs north–south connecting China Bazaar Road in the south with Ibrahim Sahib Street (Old Jail Road) in the north. The road divides George Town into Muthialpet and Peddanaickenpet"    until the 16th century, the road and the surrounding region, being near the coast, had many sand ridges. As the sea level rose, it inundated these regions when the sea withdrew several lagoons and ridges were left behind The sandy ridges which rose up to about 12 feet in height remained places of safety, where settlements were established.  Several valleys ran around the ridges. Some of these valleys served as drainage channels. Until the late 18th century, the area on which the present day's road lies remained one such unwanted drainage channel,  known then as Atta Pallam.  Much of th...