Indian Columbus

Like Anna Square, MGR Square is a site in  Chennai  that is visited by hundreds of people every day. Its proximity to  Marina beach  and  Anna Square  is an advantage. MGR Square is the memorial, which houses the tomb of the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu state, M.G.Ramachandran, affectionately called "MGR" by people of Tamil Nadu. He started his career as a drama artist and then moved to Tamil cinema. He was the emperor of Tamil cinema till he retired. He was a disciple of C.N.Annadurai and was a part of the DMK party. He later started a new party named AIADMK and won the election. He repeatedly won the elections and became Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu continuously for three terms. The small tomb at MGR Square has a pillar-like structure along with an eternal flame. Happy travelling. Visit my site,  krishnakumartk.com , to know more about the travel guides and other books that I have written.

Anna Square - it's a well-known landmark of Chennai, which attracts hundreds of visitors every day. Its proximity to  Marina  beach is an advantage. Anna Square is the memorial, which houses the tomb of the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu state C.N.Annadurai, affectionately called "Anna" by people of Tamil Nadu. He was the one who brought an end to Congress party rule in the state, and he was the first non-Congress Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. All the Dravidian parties of Tamil Nadu (AIADMK, DMK, MDMK, etc.) consider him as their God Father. The entrance structure resembles an elephant's tusks, and there are statues of two great Tamil Poets, Kambar and Ilango, at the entrance. The memorial is vast in area and has a well-maintained lavish park. It also houses a hall, where all the photographs related to Anna are displayed. You can also find some materials such as pens, spectacles, etc., which Anna used in this exhibition. The small tomb at Anna Square has a pilla

  T.Nagar is the poor man's shopping paradise in  Chennai . Any shopping in the city is not considered complete without visiting T.Nagar's South Usman Road and Ranganathan Street.  You can buy anything, literally anything, right from a small safety pin to a diamond necklace worth lakh rupees in T.Nagar. The only problem is that the locality is always highly crowded. You will find it difficult even to walk. T.Nagar's South Usman Road and the narrow Ranganathan Street have lots of pavement shops and retail outlets and showrooms. The proximity to the Mambalam Railway Station and T.Nagar bus stand has also made this area a preferred shopping spot. You can buy anything from a small plastic mug to a fridge and washing machine in the stores such as Saravana Stores and Saravana Selvaratnam. You can purchase all varieties of stainless steel materials in the shops like Ratna Stores and Saravana Stores. Hotel Saravana Bhavan and Murugan Idli are there for good food items. Pothys, Kuma

It is not an ancient temple. It is neither a large one. Still, it is one of the most famous temples of Chennai. Thanks to its prime location in South Usman Road in T.Nagar, literally everyone in the city would know this. Yes! I am talking about the Shiva-Vishnu temple, located amidst the busy and congested hotspot.  Vishnu is known as Srinivasa Perumal here. His sanctum is surrounded by sub-shrines of other Vaishnaivite deities such as Mahalakshmi, Rama-Sita-Lakshmana-Hanuman and Anjaneya. Garuda is found facing towards the sanctum.  Parallel to this, the sanctum of Shiva called Kedareeswara, surrounded by the sub-shrines of Parvati, Nataraja-Sivakami, Ganesha-Siddhi-Buddhi and Subramanya-Valli-Devasena are located.  Another important shrine of the temple is Vara Siddhi Vinayaka. The small entrance out of two east-facing temple entrances would lead us directly to this shrine.  As the temple has three sanctums, many Koshta (niche) icons are found across the prakaras (cicumabulations).

As per the traditional belief, Adi Shankara established mutts (monasteries) in five cities across India. Among those five mutts, Sringeri and Kanchi mutts are famous even now. Compared to Kanchi mutt, Sringeri mutt has more branches in various places across the country. There is one such branch in Venkata Narayana Road in T. Nagar locality in Chennai. The T.Nagar mutt, popularly known as Sringeri Sharda Peeetham Temple, is administered directly by Sringeri Math. The presiding deity of the temple is Sharda Devi. Besides, the temple also enshrines Shiva Linga and Adi Shankara. The temple is a serene locality amidst a busy metropolis. Happy travelling. Visit my site,  krishnakumartk.com , to know more about the travel guides and other books that I have written.

Traditionally, a few Indian cities such as Delhi and Bangalore have many parks. But, that is not the case with Chennai. Perhaps, that is the reason why almost all parks in the city become landmarks. Dr. Natesan Park, located in Venkata Narayana Road in T.Nagar locality, is one of such most popular parks. Covering a vast area of around 4 acres, it is the popular spot for hundreds of morning walkers. Besides different varieties of trees and ornamental plants, there are artificial fountains and separate children's play areas. Happy travelling.  Visit my site,  krishnakumartk.com , to know more about the travel guides and other books that I have written.

For those people from Chennai, who could not travel to Tirupati but to get blessings of Tirupati Balaji, this is a must-visit temple. Administered by Tirumala Tirupati Balaji Temple Trust, this temple is located in T.Nagar locality. It enshrines the replica icons of Venkatachalapati and Alarmel Mangai. Besides, there is a shrine of Ranganatha, where Vishnu is found in the reclining posture. It is one of the temples in the city that is regularly visited by many devotees. Happy travelling. Visit my site,  krishnakumartk.com , to know more about the travel guides and other books that I have written.

There are quite a few Iyappan temples in Chennai, built in the 20th century CE. Among them, the temple located on the 2nd Avenue in Anna Nagar is famous. The 25 years old temple, designed in Kerala architectural style, has Lord Iyappan as the presiding deity. Besides, it has many sub-shrines for various deities such as Ganesha, Subramanya, Durga, Hanuman, Navagraha and Nagaraja. It is a serene site located amidst the busy city. Happy travelling. Visit my site,  krishnakumartk.com , to know more about the travel guides and other books that I have written.

Vada Palani Andavan temple in Vadapalani is one of the most famous temples of Chennai city.  There are six most important temples for Lord Murugan, which are known as Arupadai Veedu. One of those temples is located in a small town named Palani. As Chennai is located to the north of Palani, this temple to Palani Andavan is called 'Vada Palani Andvan temple'. (The word 'Vada' means north in the Tamil language.) There lived a devotee of Murugan named Annaswami Tambiran. In a small hut, he had kept a picture of Murugan and used to meditate. One day, he experienced a sort of divine power entering into his body. Since then, he started getting into a trance and uttering wise words (called Arul Vakku in Tamil). Many believed that his words healed their problems. After his demise, his disciple Ramaswamy uttered Arul Vakku. During his time in the early 20th century CE, this place was developed as a temple, with the aid of public collected funds). Even today, we can find the same

In my last post, I wrote about  the Kurungaleeswarar temple  in the Koyambedu area in  Chennai . Adjacent to that Shiva temple, there is a temple for Vishnu, known as Vaikunthavasa Perumal Temple. Both Kurungaleeswarar temple and Vaikunthavasa Perumal temple are together called "Twin Temples of Koyambedu".  Like Kurungaleeswarar temple, Vaikunthavasa Perumal temple is also believed to have been built by Kulotunga Chola III during the 12th century CE.  As per the legend, Valmiki's Ashram was located in the present Koyambedu locality. During her exile, Sita lived here. She gave birth to Lava and Kusha here. It is believed that the sage Valmiki, Lava and Kusha worshiped the presiding deity of this temple. This temple without a Raga Gopuram is small in size. The east-facing sanctum enshrines Vaikuntha Perumal with his consorts, Sri Devi and Bhoo Devi. All three of them are found in the standing posture.  Kanakavalli and Andal are found in two separate shrines in the prakara.

Koyambedu - the congested area of  Chennai  is famous for its bus terminus and the wholesale market. Only a few know that Koyambedu is not known only for them, but it has two ancient temples belonging to the 12th century CE. Kurungaleeswarar Temple is one of the twin temples of Koyambedu. It is a Shiva temple. He is known as Kurungaleeswarar in this site. The legend states that Kusha and Lava, the sons of Lord Rama, worshiped the Shiva Linga in this site. Hence, the place was called Kushalavapuri in the olden days. Later, the name got corrupted to Koyambedu. The legend further records that this locality was originally the hermitage of the sage Valmiki. After Sita was exiled, she, along with her two sons, lived in his place. Besides, Kurungaleeswara Shiv Linga in the east-facing sanctum, the temple enshrines Dharmasamvardhini, the Goddess, in a separate south-facing shrine.  Dakshinamurti, Brahma and Durga are found as the Koshta idols. Chandikeshwarar is found in his usual location ne