Madras Port &Harbour

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

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Parry's Corner

 

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 the foundation for the expansion of Madras city from the 1640s onwards.

 The area is also known by other names such as Broadway, named after a main thoroughfare, and is located near significant landmarks like Fort St. George, the Madras High Court, and the Anderson Church, one of the oldest and most prominent churches in the region.

 The area has a rich cultural and religious diversity, with temples, mosques, churches, and a synagogue historically present.

The locality is also notable for its historical significance, including the survival of one of the 13 pillars erected in 1773 to mark a cleared area for military defense, which now stands within the compound of the Parry Building.

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Roads and names

 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 Collectorate.

Ashar gana (near Kathipara junction, Guindy)

 the Britishers used Mount road to visit St. Thomas Mount. 

They used horses and horse-driven carriages as primary means of transport; and . As with any metal, horseshoes wear out over time; being in the vicinity of the then frequented St. Thomas Mount, the spot near Kathipara became famous for horseshoe sales and repairs; workshops delving in horse shoe business mushroomed around the locality.

 Gradually the place grew up to be called 'Horse Shoe Corner'. the locals, with their limited knowledge of English, localized the name to their suiting. Hence, what was 'Horseshoe Corner' got corrupted over 300 years to Horshhoe Corner -> Horshsha Conner -> Haasha-Conna -> Assha-caanna -> and today, Ashargana. 

Chromepet

 got its name from Chrome Leathers, a British company which had its factory in the locality. 

 the area came to be called Chrome-pettai (pettai is Tamil for area, zone, etc).

Pallavaram

It's officially called Pallavapuram (Tamil for City of Pallavas), and is considered one of the oldest inhabited areas in South India.

 this town was set up during the period of the Mahendravarma Pallava, 

  Manimangalam, the town where the Pallavas fought off the Chalukyas (covered vividly in Kalki's Sivagamiyin Sabadham) is quite close to Pallavaram.

Thousand Lights is Named after The Thousand Lights Mosque built in 1810 hu

The site of the mosque was previously occupied by an assembly hall. There was a tradition of lighting thousand oil lamps to illuminate the assembly hall. The mosque thus got its name from this tradition.

Patullo's Road in Chennai ko connects Whites Road with Mount Road near Spencer Mall, is named after Captain Archibald Erskine Patullo, who served as the commandant of the Governor’s Bodyguard in the Madras Cavalry and died in 1824.

Kolaikaranpettai Royapetta

According to 85-year-old resident Parvathiammal, the street has gone from Kulasekaran street when she was young to Kolkaran street before it changed to Kolaikaranpettai.

“This used to be a hub for kolattam (dance form), even (former chief minister) MG Ramachandran used to learn the art form here. In fact, that was how it came to be called Kolkaranpettai,” she said

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