Ice House (Vivekananda House)

By -
Vivekananda House, located on Marina Beach Road of Chennai, is a popular tourist site and a historic place.

In 1833 CE, ice was imported for the first time in India. A merchant named Fredric Tudor from Boston, USA brought ice to India. He built houses in  Chennai, Calcutta and Mumbai, to keep ice under proper insulation. This article is about the Chennai house. 

This Ice House in Chennai was built in the Victorian architectural style. It was used for the purpose of storing ice, and hence people called it 'Ice House.' Later, a Chennai based lawyer named Biligiri Iyengar bought this house.

"Arise, awake; and stop not till the goal is reached" - the inspirational quote is from one of India's most influential persons in the 19th century, Swami Vivekananda. He was considered as the one who spread Hinduism, Vedanta and Yoga to European countries and the USA. A lot of national leaders of India in the 20th century got inspired by his speech. He was the major force in modern India for the revival of the Hinduism religion. In 1893 CE, he addressed the audience gathered at Parliament of World's Religions in Chicago, USA, as "brothers and sisters" and introduced Hinduism to the international community. His speech brought him great fame.

After the successful tour of the West, Swami Vivekanda returned to India via Chennai in 1897 CE. He stayed in Ice House between February 6, 1897, and February 15, 1897. During these ten days, he delivered seven inspirational speeches. 

In February 1997, a hundred years after Swami's visit to Chennai, the government gave this structure to Ramakrishna Math on lease. Since then, this building became a museum on life of Swami Vivekananda.

The memorial houses a gallery of around 150 rare photographs of the life of Vivekanda. It also houses a section on India's cultural heritage and on the history of the building itself. The place is a must-visit for Vivekananda's devotees and those who are interested in heritage and history. 

Happy travelling.



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






Location: Marina Beach

Comments

  1. Charles RinehartWednesday, August 19, 2009

    A first class blog. I enjoyed. I am returning the favor for you commenting on my blog. You are a class act. All the best.

    ReplyDelete
  2. mannabWednesday, August 19, 2009

    No doubt, Swami Vivekanand stayed in Ice House in Chennai, but he melted the ice collected on our feelings towards Hindu religion and nationality. I am grateful to you to explore this unique place in Chennai. I have noted this for my visit in future.
    Mangesh Nabar

    ReplyDelete
  3. BadriFriday, November 19, 2010

    I lived in this area for 19 years. Your blog brought back unforgotten and pleasant memories.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Tallest Murugan of Chennai

By -
Image
Consecrated in March 2021, the 40 feet high Bala Murugan icon at Saveetha Medical College campus is the tallest image of Murugan in Chennai. Malaysia has 140 feet tall Murugan. In April 2022, the 146 feet tall image of Murugan was consecrated near Salem in Tamil Nadu. However, they are all stucco images. But, the one that we find on the college campus is a monolithic granite icon. Thus, it is the tallest stone icon of Murugan in the entire world. A stone weighing 320 tonnes was brought from Siruvambur near Wallajah, and it was carved to 140 tonnes to get this beautiful and gigantic sculpture. The entire temple complex is designed in the shape of the Devanagiri letter "Om", which can be appreciated in the aerial view.  The west-facing gigantic sculpture is located atop the star-shaped pedestal. It dominates the entire landscape. A large meditation hall is situated below the pedestal. On the open corridor in front of the presiding deity, smaller shrines are found. They enshrine...
Read more

Little known Nimishamba Temple of Chennai

By -
Image
Site Name:  Nimishamba Temple Site Type:  Hindu Temple Location:   Kasi Chetty Street, Sowcarpet, Chennai city, Tamil Nadu state, India Highlights:   A rare temple of Nimishamba in Chennai city Nearest Railway Station:   Chennai - well connected from the cities/towns all over India Nearest Airport:   Chennai has both national and international airports How to reach:   Easily reachable by road as this is centrally located in the city Hotel:  Many star hotels, luxury hotels/resorts, and budget hotels are available in Chennai Restaurants:  All options - vegetarian, non-vegetarian, Chinese, South Indian, Gujarati, North Indian, Punjabi,....- you can find everything in Chennai city Chennai is considered as the gateway to South India. The capital city of Tamil Nadu state of India has hundreds of tourist sites which include museum, British period monuments, temples, beach, etc. Let us explore a little known temple called Nimisham...
Read more

Hastinapuram Navapashanam Murugan Temple

By -
Image
Navapashanam is an amalgam of nine poisonous herbs. It is said to act as a remedy for all types of diseases. It is believed that the Siddhas knew the secret formula to prepare this medicinal potion.  The sculpture of Murugan from the famous Palani is claimed to be made of Navapashanam. Similarly, there is a lesser-known temple near Chennai, which has a Navapashanam Murugan. In Hastinapuram near Chrompet in the southern outskirts of Chennai, in a congested lane called Masjid Street, this tiny temple of Bala Murugan is situated. Murugan, made of Navapashanam, is the presiding deity.  Jalakandeeswara Linga, Meenakshi, and the Siddha who found this temple are the other Murtis found in the temple. Happy travelling.
Read more