Indian Columbus

It's a beautiful pond surrounded by shady trees and an ancient temple. The villagers have used this pond for many years for drinking and bathing. Alas! The city's expansion and the aftermath of urbanization lead the trees to vanish and have high-rise buildings in their place. Now, the pond is no more scenic beauty than it used to be 10-15 years ago. The villagers rarely use this pond nowadays. We can only hope that the real estate gang would not take control of this pond too and destroy the remaining beauty of the village. This pond belongs to Muruganatheeswara temple. It's a later Pandya period temple in Mambakkam village. Mambakkam is a quiet village located 20 km from Tambaram on the southern outskirts of Chennai city. 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 wate...

Ponmar is a village around 15 km from Tambaram, the southern suburb of Chennai. It was a quiet and remote village till the first decade of the 21st century. Thanks to expanding the city's borders, it is no longer a calm village. The village, which had hillocks, paddy fields, water bodies and ancient temples, is dotted with educational institutes and high-rise buildings today. There is a lake in this village, which is vanishing very fast. Even many of the village's residents are unaware of this lake. Of course, the migrated population outnumbered the original villagers. The lake lies hidden behind a college and a few residential flats. There is no proper access to the lake; it only contains water during the rainy season. I am sure this lake must have been beautiful, and many migratory birds would have regularly visited the lake a few years ago. Unfortunately, urbanization has badly impacted the lake, and has become a neglected site. A few educational institutes and real est...

I thought of visiting the currently surviving waterbodies of Chennai and its suburbs and writing about them in my blog as a series. 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 any lake nearby. There is a high possibility that even the few waterbodies we have today might vanish soon. Mambakkam is a small village located at a distance of around 14 km from Tambaram. Till 2010 or so, this was a quiet and remote village with limited access from the city. The village was surrounded by paddy fields and water bodies. Thanks to urbanization, the village has already lost its paddy fields, replaced by high-rise buildings, flats, and educational institutes. Kulam, a broad and vast tank located at the junction of...

The Tondai Mandalam Tuluva Velalar's Higher Secondary School is one of the oldest surviving schools in Madras (Chennai) city. It is located on Mint Street in George Town locality. It was started in 1854 CE. The famous Tamil scholar Maha Vidwan Tiru Mylai Shanmugam Pillai, the first to publish "Manimegalai," was a teacher at this school. As per the historian Mr. V. Sriram, the Bhagavat Katha Prasanga Sabha used to meet regularly in this school, and hence it was also called Tondai Mandalam Sabha. Its secretary C. Muniswami Naidu was the first to attempt selling concert tickets. He sold tickets for a concert in the late 1880s in this school, which was not very successful though. Happy travelling.

In Madras, there were many Bhajanai Koodams (a.k.a. Bhajanai Kovils) where the Bhajan sessions were conducted regularly till the 1960s. Some Bhajan temples even had these regular sessions till the 1970s. These temples were unique, with the sanctum enshrining the presiding deity, sub-shrines, sculptures, and other standard features. They were meant for conducting the Bhajans; hence, they would have one hall with few images/paintings of deities such as Ram or Krishna. The bhajans would be conducted in front of those pictures in the hall. There are a few exceptions where the idols of Krishna-Radha-Rukmini are found along with the paintings. The tradition of bhajans in these temples is almost lost in Madras. Even not all those old temples still exist. Some exist in the outskirts of South Chennai and a few in North Chennai areas. Two such Bhajanai temples are found in George Town locality. One Bhajanai temple was converted into a proper Ram temple in the 20th century itself. Another B...

Madras has expanded multi-fold in the past 350+ years. Today, there are many schools and colleges in every nook and corner of the city. Obviously, not many of the citizens of the current generation would have the opportunity to know about this historic school called  The Hindu Theological School , which is located in the "original" Madras. This article focuses on this forgotten school, which  Swami Vivekananda and Mahatma Gandhi visited. The Hindu Theological School is located in Mint Street in Sowcarpet locality. It was founded by  Sivasankara Pandyaji  on  14th January 1889 CE . The objective was to educate the students on Indian culture. Sivasankar Pandyaji Shri Sivasankara Pandyaji belonged to  the Gujarati Khedawal Brahmin  community, which had migrated to Tamil Nadu a few centuries ago. He graduated from Pachaiappan college and briefly worked as a professor in the same college. Then, he pursued his higher studies in the legal field and briefly p...

"Free Ayurvedic treatment for all irrespective of their caste and creed" - that's what the 90 years old Sree Venkatesa Oushadalaya announces in its name board. This Ayurvedic hospital is one of the oldest Ayurvedic dispensaries in Chennai. It was founded in 1926 CE. The structure where the hospital runs today was constructed in 1935 CE. For the past 90 years, this hospital has provided free medical services to people regardless of race. The hospital was founded and run by the Marwari Charitable Trust. It is located on Mint Street in the Sowcarpet area in Chennai. It is known as Marwari Hospital in this locality. Until the late 1980s, the poor people of this locality mainly depended on this hospital. Happy travelling.

The Nava Shakti Vinayaka Temple stands as a prominent place of worship in Chennai's vibrant Mylapore neighborhood. While it may not boast ancient origins, its prime location at Luz Corner within Mylapore draws a steady stream of devoted visitors. Within the temple's sacred sanctum, Lord Ganesh is revered, casting his benevolent presence over all who enter. Gracing the entrance are two petite idols, one of Ganesha and the other of Lakshmi. Happy travelling.

It is rare to find a temple for Gayatri in South India. In Selaiyur, near Tambaram, the southern outskirts of Chennai, there is a small temple for Gayatri. Gayatri is usually depicted with five heads and ten arms. However, she is shown with a single head and two arms in this temple. She holds Vedas in her left arm and kamandalu in her right arm. She is seated on a white swan. It's a small temple managed by a trust from Haridwar. It is called Gayatri Shakti Peetham. It is located near Air Force Quarters in Varadarajan Nagar of Selaiyur. The temple maintains a calm atmosphere. Happy travelling.

"You cannot claim to have visited Chennai if you have never been to Mylapore." This is what I told you about a friend from Pune who has come to Chennai more than ten times but has yet to visit Mylapore. Mylapore is known for many things - heritage, Navaratri, temples, music and traditional restaurants called "Mess". Karpagambal Mess is one of those famous messes in Mylapore which Chennaites love. It was established in 1953 CE in East Mada Street by Ramadas Iyer. Originally, it was started as a small eatery and could serve only 50 people maximum. Now, it has expanded as a multi floor air-conditioned restaurant. Until the 1980s, when the bus was the leading transportation service in Chennai, people from far away localities who visited Kapaaleeswarar would never miss having lunch or dinner at Mami's Mess or Karpagambal Mess. Both of them are located near the temple. Filter Coffee, Keera Vadai and Badam Halwa are some sought-after dishes. Even today, old framed ...

Rose Milk - the pink-colored, flavored milk with rose syrup, was one of the most favorite drinks in Tamil Nadu till the 1980s. Finding this tasty beverage in restaurants and shops today has become challenging. Nevertheless, there is one place in Chennai city where people throng in large numbers for rose milk even nowadays. Do you know where you can get the best rose milk in Chennai? For more than six decades, this shop has remained the Number 1 in Chennai regarding this drink. This is not a restaurant, hotel or provisional store. It's a small newspaper mark meant to sell newspapers and magazines. Kalathi Newspaper Mart in East Mada Street in Mylapore is a tiny shop. However, anyone in this area would easily direct you to this place. It has been so famous in this locality for many decades. In 1927 CE, Kalathi Mudaliar started this shop as there was no other shop in this area to sell the daily essentials. It was taken over by Shri. Kannan in 1951 CE. He introduced rose milk in 1...

Navaratri is celebrated for ten days (including Dussera) all over India. In every state, it is celebrated in a unique way. It is famous as Durga Pooja celebrations in Bengal. Gujaratis celebrate Navaratri with dandiya and garba. In Tamil Nadu, Kolu is the highlight of Navaratri celebrations. Kolu (usually misspelled as Golu) is an interesting and artistic way of displaying dolls during the Navaratri times. The dolls are placed on odd-numbered steps. This tradition of Kolu has been followed for hundreds of years in houses and, nowadays, even in temples. During the Navaratri times, all over the state, the dolls are sold in temporary roadside shops. Although the dolls are sold in every nook and corner of the state during the festival, when it comes to Chennai city, people would most like to buy them from Mylapore locality. The heritage-rich area would have hundreds of roadside shops selling thousands of dolls during the festivals. The Mada Streets around the famous Kapaleeswarar templ...

Mannivakkam  is a village located 9 km from Tambaram on the southern outskirts of Chennai. There is an ancient temple for Shiva called  Manneeswarar  situated in this village. It is said that this temple was built by  Kulotunga Chola I  towards the end of the 11th century CE. It is believed that he made 108 Shiva temples in Thondai Mandalam. Some of the other temples he built include the temples of Manimangalam, Somamangalam, and Tirumazhisai. I personally could not find any historical record or reference that this temple is a Chola-period temple. Except for the idol of Dwara Murugan, which appears to be from the Chola period, everything else in the temple seems to be from a later period. The temple has an inscription on the outer wall of the sanctum, which belongs to the Nayaka kings in the beginning of the  16th century CE . A small kalyana mandap within the temple has an inscription dating  to 1818 CE . The mandap was built by Pachai Ammal, the w...

Not always, history books, travel guides or even Google Maps would help you to find or explore a lesser-known site. Sometimes, only a local can help you with this. Being a local of the Sowcarpet area of Chennai city, let me introduce you to a 120-year-old temple and its history. This is getting documented in detail for the first time. No other print media or electronic media has ever mentioned this temple. There is no tower or vimana. It is an old two-storied building with a narrow entrance on the busy NSC Bose Road. You might either miss this or mistake this building for an old independent house. The stucco images of Radha Krishna and a few other Vaishnava deities on the facade of the first floor are the only clue to connect this place with a religious site. It is the 120-year-old Radha Krishna Temple. This temple has a fascinating history. Shri Ram Prasanna Swamiji In 1905 CE, a holy man, Ram Prapanna by name, from Mirzapur of Uttar Pradesh state, came down to Madras. He belon...