Brodie’s road end of r k mutt road mylapore
Brodie’s Castle, along the Adyar, is said to have brought ill luck on several of its residents
Brodie’s Castle on the banks of the Adyar is one of the historic homes of Chennai. James Brodie of the firm of Jarvis and Brodie, built it in 1796. The nearest settlement was Mylapore and the road to it became Brodie’s Castle Road. Lack of awareness and official apathy have led to its misrepresentation as Bradis Kesil Road. Credit: Special Arrangement
Bradis Kesil Road, says a signboard towards the end of R.K. Mutt Road. This is what lack of awareness and official apathy have done to one of the most intriguing places in the city.
Brodie’s Castle on the banks of the Adyar is one of the historic homes of Chennai. It is said to have brought ill luck on several of its residents. James Brodie, of the firm of Jarvis and Brodie, built it in 1796. Perhaps inspired by an eponymous castle in Scotland, he designed it with sloping outer walls and two castellated turrets. The nearest settlement was Mylapore and the road leading there became Brodie’s Castle Road. Today most of it is R.K. Mutt Road, with the last short stretch alone retaining the old name.
FOR CHENNAI CITY PAGES -- SRIRAM V. COLUMN)
China Bazaar Road
NSC Bose Road, officially known as Netaji Subash Chandra Bose Road, is called China Bazaar Road due to its historical association with trade and commerce, particularly with goods from China. The name "China Bazar" reflects the street's origins as a marketplace where Chinese goods were traded, a practice that thrived during the British colonial era when merchant ships operated between Calcutta and China's Canton province.
Although the street's name is now primarily a historical reference, it was originally linked to the trade of Chinese wares, which contributed to its identity as a bustling commercial hub.
The name has persisted even as the area evolved, serving as a reminder of its colonial-era significance in regional trade networks.
Fort St George
Corner of Fort St. George showing the spire of St Mary's Church, where in 1753 Robert Clive married Margaret Maskelyne, the younger sister of the Astronomer Royal, Nevil Maskelyne.
Photo c. 1905.
moore market burning
1905Moore Market was originally built to house the hawkers in the Broadway area of Madras. Its foundation stone was laid by Sir George Moore, president of the Madras Corporation in 1898.
The building was designed in the Indo-Saracenic style by R. E. Ellis and was constructed by A. Subramania Aiyar. The market, which consisted of a series of shops around a central quadrangle was finally completed in 1900, and had sections for meat, flowers and food items, but was particularly popular for curios including antiques, art, books and pets.
Over the years, it gradually took the status of a flea market where one could buy rare and second-hand items for a bargain.
The Indian Railways, needing land to expand the congested M.G.R Chennai Central station, tried unsuccessfully to take over the market.
On 30 May 1985, the market building was destroyed due to a fire whose cause remains a mystery.
The structure was later razed to make way for the new Chennai Suburban Railway terminus and reservation centre. This multi-storey building also houses the offices of various departments of the railways. The demolition of the market and People's Park is considered to mark the beginning of heritage activism in the city
Rehabilitation
The government later built a new commercial complex named Lily Pond Complex to rehabilitate the traders of Moore Market, further west of the original site. Built in 1986 at a cost of ₹ 66 million, the shopping complex lies mostly vacant due to poor patronage. The majority of the traders continue to live on the streets to this day, hawking used mechanical and electronic goods
central-station expansion
central station
Expansion
In the 1980s, the Southern Railway required land for expansion of the terminus and was looking for the erstwhile Moore Market building located next to the terminus. In 1985, when the market building caught fire and was destroyed, the structure was transferred to the Railways by the government, and the Railways built a 13-storied complex to house the suburban terminus and railway reservation counter. The land in front of the building was made into a car park.[20] Following the renaming of the city of Madras in 1996, the station became known as Chennai Central. Due to increasing passenger movement, the main building was extended in 1998 with the addition of a new building on the western side with a similar architecture to the original. After this duplication of the main building, the station had 12 platforms.[7] Capacity at the station was further augmented when the multi-storeyed Moore Market Complex was made a dedicated terminus with three separate platforms for the Chennai Suburban Railway system. In the 1990s, when the IRCTC was formed, modular stalls came up and food plazas were set up
central-station history
Madras Central was part of South Indian Railway Company during the British rule. The company was established in 1890 and was initially headquartered in Trichinopoly. Egmore railway station was made its northern terminus in 1908.[15] It was then shifted to Madurai and later to Madras Central. With the opening of the Egmore railway station, plans were first made of linking Madras Central and Egmore, which was later dropped.
The company operated a suburban electric train service for Madras city from May 1931 onwards in the Madras Beach–Tambaram section.
In 1959, additional changes were made to the station.
Electrification of the lines at the station began in 1979, when the section up to Gummidipoondi was electrified on 13 April 1979.
The lines up to Tiruvallur were electrified on 29 November 1979 while the tracks along Platforms 1 to 7 were electrified on 29 December 1979.
Beginnings of chennapatnam
Although the settlement of Madras did not form until after the mid-17th century, the region surrounding the present-day port remained an important center for military, administrative, and economic activities since the 1st century CE under various South Indian dynasties, namely, the Pallava, the Pandya, the Chola and the Vijayanagara empires.
Chief among them was the Pallava dynasty, which reigned from the 6th to 9th centuries CE.
The ancient town of Mylapore, known to Roman traders as "Meliapor", was an important port of the Pallavas and is now part of Chennai.
————
Chennai Port, formerly known as Madras Port, is the second largest container port of India, behind Mumbai's Jawaharlal Nehru Port also known as Nhava Sheva. The port is the largest one in the Bay of Bengal. It is the third-oldest port among the 12 major ports of India with official port operations beginning in 1881, although maritime trade started much earlier in 1639 on the undeveloped shore.
An established port of trade of British India since the 1600s, the port remains a primary reason for the economic growth of Tamilnadu especially for the manufacturing boom and has contributed greatly to the development of the city
———- ———
The region also attracted many distant civilisations, with the Christian St.Thomas believed to have preached in the area between 52 and 70 CE.
In 1522, the Portuguese built the São Tomé harbour, named after St. Thomas, on the site of today's port and the São Tomé church on the grave of Saint
Later other Europeans, arrived namely, the Dutch at Pulicat in 1613 and the British in 1639.
In 1639,British East India Company bought a three-mile long strip of land lying along the coast between the Cooum delta and the Egmore River (an area of about five square kilometres ) from the Vijayanagara King Peda Venkata Rayalui
The region was under the control of the Damerla Venkatadri Nayakudu, a Nayak of kalahasti and vandavasi. He was son of Dameria Chennappa Nayakadu.
The city originally called "Chennapatnam" was named after him.
This is widely regarded at the founding event of the formation of the Chennai (Madras) Metropolis and 22nd August is celebrated as Madras Day.
in 1640, the British expanded the occupation by building the Fort St. George and established a colony on the site of the future port of Madras.
Sowkar pet jewellers
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 be identified by the quality of ornaments and we had our own batch of goldsmiths who used to make jewels out of gold bars given to them. They were either paid in cash or gold bars,”
said L.K.S. Syed Ahmed, chairman, LKS Gold House, and chief adviser, Tamil Nadu Gold Jewellery Federation. Though the brand was started in 1925, LKS Gold House had its first city branch at Rattan Bazaar in 1945.
NSC Bose Road housed both gold shops and goldsmiths in the same hub. The concept of retail jewellery business and ready-made ornaments became popular during the early 1970s with jewellers adapting themselves to the changing mindset of people and the growing demand.
While Sowcarpet still retains the traditional flavour of the gold market, a new breed of wholesalers invaded the Madras market in the 1980s and brought in designs and machine-cut ornaments from places, including Mumbai and Kolkata.
“Wholesalers flourished after the government provided relaxations in the Gold (Control) Act (which was repealed in 1990), and they provided ornaments on credit to jewellers. But some jewellers like us employ goldsmiths even now to manufacture exclusive designs,” said Mr. Ahmed.
With Sowcarpet becoming congested, many jewellers began eyeing T. Nagar as a potential retail hub with parking space as most of the customer base was in south Chennai. “The jewellery business in Madras from a century ago until now is known for its affinity to quality and ethics,” said Amarendran Vummidi, Managing Partner, VBJ.
Mr. Vummidi recalls that his family had purchased 6 grounds then and had the foresight to earmark 4 grounds for parking space.
In 1890, P. Orr & Sons, which was also a renowned jewellery-maker then, circulated an illustrated catalogue carrying details of 400 items it had for sale — including jewellery, watches, clocks and cutlery.
Until the early 1970s, goldsmiths dominated the gold market. Each family had its own ‘achari’, who made ornaments for special occasions.
Edapalayam, off NSC Bose Road,remains a goldsmiths’ hub
M. Mannivannan, a second-generation goldsmith at Sowcarpet, recalled how his father used to make gold bangles enough to fill a few bamboo baskets
Kabali mylai
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
.
Linghi chetty Street
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 they were known) and it was at Audiappa’s recommendation that Governor Benyon gave Linghi Chetty the task. But having taken it up, he soon no doubt learnt quickly. He seems to have been faithful to the English even when the French occupied Madras between 1746 and 1749. On their return, the English consulted Linghi Chetty on the condition of the gold and silver mints at Fort St George and solicited his views on their repair. He thereafter presumably continued operating the Chintadripet Mint.
Linghi Chetty & Devaperumal – Father, Son & Co
Linghi Chetty passed away in 1754, and his son Devaperumal, referred to as Tepperumal and Chiperumal in Company records, became the Mint Shroff. By then all three mints (the two inside the Fort and the one in Chintadripet) were under a common Assay Master, Edward Edwards who was trained in England. Tepperumal was his assistant, and his writ ran across all the mints in the city. Unlike his father, he had a tenuous relationship with the goldsmiths who filed complaints against him.
Father and son were prominent figures in the cultural scene as well. Both were dharmakartas or trustees of the Tiruvottriyur temple. Linghi Chetty finds mention in the Sanskrit work Sarva Deva Vilasa. Tepperumal is praised in a verse by Arunachala Kavi, the composer of the Rama Natakam. In it he is mentioned as the son of Linghi Chetty.
It is likely that Linghi Chetty had his residence in the street that took his name. It is remarkable that the name has survived from the 1750s.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)