Indian Columbus

Victoria Memorial Hall - once, it was the most beautiful structure in Madras Museum Complex in Pantheon Road. Poor maintenance in the 1980s and 1990s and the so-called restoration work for the last two decades cordoned off this fascinating building forever.  Though it remains neglected today, it has a long and exciting history. To commemorate the 50th year rule of the British Queen Victoria in 1887 CE, in Madras, it was planned to set up the Victoria Public Hall and the Victoria Technical Institute (VTI). VTI was a body to promote local arts and crafts.  (Note The Victoria Public Hall mentioned in the above paragraph is located near the Central Railway Station. This article is about Victoria Memorial Hall. Both are different. Generally, people easily get confused between the two.) VTI never had a permanent exhibition hall for many years. On 24th January 1906 CE, the Prince of Wales (later King George V) laid the foundation stone for the Victoria Memorial Hall inside the Egmore...

Raghavendra Temple, located in a lane in Sithalapakkam, the southern outskirts of Chennai, is lesser-known. Though it is a new temple, it has many unique features. Hence, I wanted to write about this site in my blog. Unlike other typical Raghavendra temples that are associated with Pejawar or other Madhwa mutts, this one is a private temple. The sanctum enshrines Mrithika Brindavana and a big icon of Sri Raghavendra. The five feet high gigantic image of Raghavendra has Rama in the chest and Narasimha above the head. Usually, in Raghavendra temples, only the Brindavana is found and not the icon of Raghavendra (Nijarupa Raghavendra).  (For the benefit of beginners...Mrithika is a mixture of sand and clay from the Main Mantralaya Temple. The Brindavans that are built in other regions with this sanctified mrithika are called Mrithika Brindavans. Brindavan is a holy resting place of Madhwa saints.) On the narrow circumambulation (prakara) around the sanctum, Lakshmi Hayagreeva, Santhana...

This is arguably the most beautiful water body of Chennai. But, not many of the citizens might have visited the site. How does the Theosophical Society maintain its greenery? It's a well-kept secret. Inside the vast complex of Society, there are so many fascinating structures. The Buddhist Shrine is one such elegant building, stands amidst the coconut grove in a serene environment.  A beautiful lily pond faces the shrine, which was built in 1925 CE.  This lovely water body enhances the sense of calmness and peace that we gain due to this serene environment and stunning temple. It's bliss to find one water body that is not polluted or encroached. 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. Most of those surviving waterbodies hardly have water, and even some of them that have water had been shrunk badly. In Chennai, there are tank roads without tanks nearby, and...

There are many temples for different forms of Goddess. However, it is not very common to find a temple dedicated to Gayatri Devi, a personified form of the popular Gayatri Mantra. In Padmavathy Nagar in Madampakkam, the southern outskirts of Chennai, there is a temple for Gayatri. Though it is a small temple and has no historical significance, it is interesting to find one dedicated to Gayatri. The sanctum enshrines the stone icon of Gayatri. She has five heads and ten arms. Ganesha, Subramanya-Valli-Devasena and Dakshinamurti are the other deities found in this small temple, which is always crowded with the devotees. Interestingly, the only other temple dedicated to Gayatri is also located in Madampakkm. (Outside Chennai and its suburbs, there are a few Gayatri temples.) Happy travelling.

Perumbakkam locality in Chennai is a marshland with so many water bodies in the past. However, there are only a few that still exist. There is one such beautiful pond that remains hidden. It spreads over 0.6 acres, and it belongs to Pazhandi Amman and Perumbakkeswarar Temples. This is definitely one of the most beautiful water bodies in the locality. There was a plan to construct a shrine by destroying a part of the pond. Fortunately, the plan was dropped, and thus the pond has been protected. 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. Most of those surviving waterbodies hardly have water, and even some of them that have water had been shrunk badly. In Chennai, there are tank roads without tanks nearby, and lake view roads without any lake in the vicinity. There is a high possibility that even the few water bodies that we have today might vanish in the near future. I thought...

Most of us from Chennai know Perumbakkam as a fast-developing IT corridor or as a fast-dying marshland. Only a handful of us might know about the ancient inscriptions that talk about Perumbakkam village. An inscription that belongs to 10th/11th century CE starting with the meikeerthi, "Tirumagal pola" of Rajaraja Chola I , was discovered near the Perumbakkam lake (Reference- A.R. No. 210 of 1961-62).  A later period inscription (A.R. No. 211 of 1961-62) mentions the village as Perumbakkam. In the 1960s, there was a dilapidated temple located in Perumbakkam. As per the inscription of Rajendra Chola III (1255/56 CE) found on this temple, we understand that the presiding deity was named Tiruvagateeswaramudaiyan Nayanar . We also understand that Perumbakkam was located in Puliyur Kottam alias Kulotunga Chola Valanadu in Jayankonda Chola Mandalam. (Reference - A.R. No. 207 of 1961-62). Two more inscriptions were discovered from the same temple. They belonged to Vijaya Ganda Gopa...