Pattinam Twin Temples Tank, Sowcarpet (Waterbodies of Chennai - 12)

It is the unknown tank of the lesser-known twin temples of Chennai. These temples might be lesser known today. But, as per a theory, the city was perhaps named after this temple. The twin temples, Chenna Kesava Perumal and Chenna Malleeswarar, were built in the 1760s. This tank is as old as this temple. Interestingly, it is unique to find both these Shiva and Vishnu temples share this same tank. Even those who are from this area (Sowcarpet) do not know about this tank, as till two years ago, all the sides of the tank were covered with so many flower shops.

To learn more about the history of the temples, please visit this link.

The huge tank, which occupies an area of about 0.25 acres, has so many steps on all four sides. If the tank was full of water, it would have been a splendid sight. Unfortunately, no one who is alive seems to have seen this tank with water ever.

I could only hope that some magic would bring back the life of the tank again.

Happy travelling.

Note: As per a report, there were about 650+ waterbodies in the Chennai region till the 1980s. Today, only a fraction of them exist. And most of those surviving waterbodies hardly have water, and even some of them that have water have been poorly shrunk. In Chennai, there are tank roads without tanks nearby and lake-view roads without lakes. There is a high possibility that even the few waterbodies we have today might vanish soon. I decided to visit the currently surviving waterbodies of Chennai and its suburbs and write about them in my blog as a series.

Visit my site, krishnakumartk.com, to know more about the travel guides and other books that I have written.