One of the biggest and oldest malls of South Asia - Spencer Plaza

By -
Spencer Plaza is one of the most famous landmarks of Chennai city. It is located at the heart of the town in Anna Salai (Mount Road). At the time of writing this article, it remains one of South India's biggest malls.






When India was ruled by the Britishers, the first departmental store in India was started by Charles Durant and J. W. Spencer in 1864 CE in Chennai. Within few years, the store was shifted to the current site, where Spencer Plaza is located. It remained a departmental store/shopping mall and one of the big hangouts for Chennai people for several years. You should note that this site remained a shopping mall even before the modern day's word "mall" became popular in India or when there was no mall anywhere else in the entire country. In 1985 CE, the building was completely destroyed in the fire, and a new shopping mall was constructed on the same site. Over the years, the mall got extended, and it has three phases now – Phase 1, Phase 2, and Phase 3.

The Spencer Plaza mall has a lot of shops and eateries, including international brands and local shops. Some of the famous shops with popular brands are Swatch, Cookie Man, Nike, Color Plus, Van Heusen, Pantaloons, First Flight, West Side, Arrow, Navigator, Music World, Bata, Adidas, Timex, Land Mark, Vummudi Bangaru Chetty, Food World, etc.

Happy shopping and happy travelling.


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



Location: Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

Comments

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