Indian Columbus

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...

In my opinion, Mint Street in Sowcarpet is the best place in Chennai for a pakka food trail. For every ten steps, you will find a unique option here. Especially if you want to taste Gujarati or North Indian snacks, Sowcarpet is unarguably the best option in the city. Kakada Ramprasad sweet shop is among the few popular Gujarati/Rajasthani/North Indian shops. Ramprasad Kakda from Rajasthan started a sweet shop on Mint Street in 1958 CE. He apparently served only jalebis and moti paks initially. Today, hundreds of varieties of sweets and chat items are available in this shop. Also, a restaurant has come up on the top floor in recent years. The shop has also opened its branches in other localities of the city. This is arguably the best place to have badam milk in the entire city. Apart from badam milk, the shop is known for aloo tikki and hot jalebis too. If you go to Sowcarpet, take advantage of this 60-year-old shop. Happy travelling.