Body Guard Mosque

Those who know about the famous Body Guard Muneeswaran Temple of Chennai might not know about the mosque, which shares the same name, Body Guard Mosque.

The BodyGuard Mosque is located in a slum area right on the banks of the Cooum River. The BodyGuard line is diagonally opposite the famous Gymkhana Club in Anna Salai. The nearest well-known location is Periyar Bridge. 

The site where the Government Hospital is located today had a heritage building earlier. The British purchased the original building from the Madra family sometime in the 1750s. Since then, it served as the residence of the Governor till 1947 CE. (Later, it became MLA Hostel.)

The Governor stayed in this massive residence on the other side of the Cooum River. His bodyguards lived in a lane on the banks of the river. Most of the bodyguards were Muslims. They constructed a mosque in their locality in the late 1800s. Thus, the mosque has been called the Bodyguard Mosque. The current structure of the mosque was renovated in the early 1900s.

Happy travelling.