The Heritage Walk Around Georgetown—With V.Sriram Historian
March 10th Sunday was not one of those typical Sundays that one would spend –getting up late and having a light day . 36 Southerners ( Rotarians , Ann’s and and Annette ) were at the parking lot outside the High Court precincts at 6 AM . With them was Rotarian and Historian V. Sriram all set to give them a guided tour of the Georgetown area for a good 150 minutes .
I was very glad to join in although it was a Sunday and starting point was the High Court premises at 6AM. I have been amazed at the way the Old Town is constructed and functions. Narrow lanes , narrower gullies, plenty of shops , plenty of people.Traffic can be most horrifying but people and vehicles always find a way to get past each other amidst swearing of who came in the wrong way or not( to me every one is wrong but there are local rules ). I enjoy the walk through these narrow lanes ( not on an rainy day though ) . Little upset that the old vegetable market was moved off from this area to the Koyambedu market. I had enjoyed buying vegetables ( bulk ) for several weddings in the family. Even today for bulk purchase of innovative items , the old town is the place to go. They have a way of doing business and you need hardbargaining skills. Area has a mixed population of several states. My father’s family used to reside at old town and I still have fond memories of visiting his family members at the Coral Merchant Street.
Here is a summary of the wonderful walk – You will be glad to know that Chennai has its own history rather than the Marina Beach alone and there are people like V.Sriram who know so much .
The tour started with how the place where the Madras High Court is today , was born,- the land parcel being sold to East India Company more than once by different set of so called “owners” to the land ( do not be surprised – all land dealings seemed to have only one way to go- multiple owners – does not matter which Century we refer to ) ---,the light house inside the High Court premises ( I have never noticed this before ) that used to illuminate brightly with aid of Kerosene and Coconut oil , the Smith Stocking Company ( which is a century old business that completed 100 years of existence in 2012)—this set the tone for the tour.
We got in to three vans and alighted near the Dare House where we were able to see one of the thirteen pillars that used to be the boundary between the High Court and the George town still intact and preserved by Parry and Co. We understood the divide between the White town and Black town through this row of pillars . The history of the Armenian Church was fascinating . We discovered as to why the name of Parry’s Corner came about—it was the last building before the sea took over . Over the years the sea had receded. We moved on to the Indian bank buildings, GPO , Arbuthnot and Company (where it existed , its glory and its descent leading to its bankruptcy ) , the Madras Chamber led by Parry , Arbuthnot and the trading block that operated out of Mount Road that had the Higginbotham’s , Simpson and so on ..
The lead up to see the wall that was being constructed to protect the city saw us pass through Gordon Woodruff , Clive Battery companies. The wall is part of a six km-long fortification built by the British to protect the residents of Black Town. Work on construction of the wall began in 1770 and was completed in 1772. It went from the present day North Beach Royapuram flyover to Chennai Central Station. The park that exists on the remains of the wall is Royapuram’s pride and called Madi Poonga (Hanging Gardens). The Wall Tax Road near the Central Station was the place where local merchants had to pay a tax to take their goods inside the fortification and though the wall no longer exists, the name Wall Tax road still remains. In the 19th century after the British had conquered most of India they no longer felt the need for a fortification and brought it down. Only a portion of the wall was left and that became the Maadi Poonga.
We moved to get a quick understanding of the Stanley Hospital -- the fact that the area was called Kanji thotti area. Monegar Choultry was called `Kanji Thotti' (thotti is a vessel into which rice gruel was poured and given to the poor — Stanley Hospital used to be known in the area as `Rayapuram Kanji Thotti Aaspathri'. We moved on to the Broadway Street ( now called Prakasam street ) and the history of the street as to why it was called Broadway. Broadway is neither ‘broad’ nor does it have much ‘way’ about it, . But in its time, it was a fine road which divided George Town into Muthialpet and Peddanaickenpet. Prior to the road, it was an unwanted ditch. Much of the area, called Atta Pallam, was owned by Stephen Popham, a former British MP and later the advocate general in Calcutta.
He moved to Madras in 1778 and is credited with the creation of the Broadway street. The area where the General Hospital, Madras United Club and the Park Town post office stand today, was then a hill called Narimedu (mound of foxes) in Tamil and Hoggs Hill by the British. This was construed as a security threat to Fort St. George and it was decided to level the area. Popham negotiated with the government to fill it with the earth removed from Hoggs Hill. The thoroughfare that came up there was named Popham’s Broadway. We also looked at the Old Jail which today hosts the Bharthi Women’s College
We reached the Flower Bazzar Police station and had quick glimpse of the Chennakesava Perumal Temple, Chennai which was constructed in 1646. Also quickly picked up nuances of the King George Statue, the Pachiappa’s building and our final destination— The Diamond , showroom of the famed jewelers, Surajmal's. building which now hosts Hotel Saravana Bhavan.Some of the best-known names in Carnatic music came to this building, including M.S. Subbulakshmi. The company remained in the jewellery business in Madras till 1965 and the Mumbai branch continues till date. When Surajmal's lease ended in the 1990s, Shankar's Building became the Saravana Bhavan branch.
It was a great Heritage walk—Sriram had so much to share—lots of information , with his wealth of knowledge , usual witty style , facts , little masala at times to keep all of us engaged through the walk, The timing was perfect . We ended up three minutes late. The fact was no one looked up at the time .. The download of information was so interesting that it kept everyone on the walk interested.
A quick breakfast at the Saravana Bhavan and it was time to get back.
(I have missed out coverage of Elihu Yale governor of Madras ( Yes , Yale University ) and the formation of the Madras Port).
I was very glad to join in although it was a Sunday and starting point was the High Court premises at 6AM. I have been amazed at the way the Old Town is constructed and functions. Narrow lanes , narrower gullies, plenty of shops , plenty of people.Traffic can be most horrifying but people and vehicles always find a way to get past each other amidst swearing of who came in the wrong way or not( to me every one is wrong but there are local rules ). I enjoy the walk through these narrow lanes ( not on an rainy day though ) . Little upset that the old vegetable market was moved off from this area to the Koyambedu market. I had enjoyed buying vegetables ( bulk ) for several weddings in the family. Even today for bulk purchase of innovative items , the old town is the place to go. They have a way of doing business and you need hardbargaining skills. Area has a mixed population of several states. My father’s family used to reside at old town and I still have fond memories of visiting his family members at the Coral Merchant Street.
Here is a summary of the wonderful walk – You will be glad to know that Chennai has its own history rather than the Marina Beach alone and there are people like V.Sriram who know so much .
The tour started with how the place where the Madras High Court is today , was born,- the land parcel being sold to East India Company more than once by different set of so called “owners” to the land ( do not be surprised – all land dealings seemed to have only one way to go- multiple owners – does not matter which Century we refer to ) ---,the light house inside the High Court premises ( I have never noticed this before ) that used to illuminate brightly with aid of Kerosene and Coconut oil , the Smith Stocking Company ( which is a century old business that completed 100 years of existence in 2012)—this set the tone for the tour.
We got in to three vans and alighted near the Dare House where we were able to see one of the thirteen pillars that used to be the boundary between the High Court and the George town still intact and preserved by Parry and Co. We understood the divide between the White town and Black town through this row of pillars . The history of the Armenian Church was fascinating . We discovered as to why the name of Parry’s Corner came about—it was the last building before the sea took over . Over the years the sea had receded. We moved on to the Indian bank buildings, GPO , Arbuthnot and Company (where it existed , its glory and its descent leading to its bankruptcy ) , the Madras Chamber led by Parry , Arbuthnot and the trading block that operated out of Mount Road that had the Higginbotham’s , Simpson and so on ..
The lead up to see the wall that was being constructed to protect the city saw us pass through Gordon Woodruff , Clive Battery companies. The wall is part of a six km-long fortification built by the British to protect the residents of Black Town. Work on construction of the wall began in 1770 and was completed in 1772. It went from the present day North Beach Royapuram flyover to Chennai Central Station. The park that exists on the remains of the wall is Royapuram’s pride and called Madi Poonga (Hanging Gardens). The Wall Tax Road near the Central Station was the place where local merchants had to pay a tax to take their goods inside the fortification and though the wall no longer exists, the name Wall Tax road still remains. In the 19th century after the British had conquered most of India they no longer felt the need for a fortification and brought it down. Only a portion of the wall was left and that became the Maadi Poonga.
We moved to get a quick understanding of the Stanley Hospital -- the fact that the area was called Kanji thotti area. Monegar Choultry was called `Kanji Thotti' (thotti is a vessel into which rice gruel was poured and given to the poor — Stanley Hospital used to be known in the area as `Rayapuram Kanji Thotti Aaspathri'. We moved on to the Broadway Street ( now called Prakasam street ) and the history of the street as to why it was called Broadway. Broadway is neither ‘broad’ nor does it have much ‘way’ about it, . But in its time, it was a fine road which divided George Town into Muthialpet and Peddanaickenpet. Prior to the road, it was an unwanted ditch. Much of the area, called Atta Pallam, was owned by Stephen Popham, a former British MP and later the advocate general in Calcutta.
He moved to Madras in 1778 and is credited with the creation of the Broadway street. The area where the General Hospital, Madras United Club and the Park Town post office stand today, was then a hill called Narimedu (mound of foxes) in Tamil and Hoggs Hill by the British. This was construed as a security threat to Fort St. George and it was decided to level the area. Popham negotiated with the government to fill it with the earth removed from Hoggs Hill. The thoroughfare that came up there was named Popham’s Broadway. We also looked at the Old Jail which today hosts the Bharthi Women’s College
We reached the Flower Bazzar Police station and had quick glimpse of the Chennakesava Perumal Temple, Chennai which was constructed in 1646. Also quickly picked up nuances of the King George Statue, the Pachiappa’s building and our final destination— The Diamond , showroom of the famed jewelers, Surajmal's. building which now hosts Hotel Saravana Bhavan.Some of the best-known names in Carnatic music came to this building, including M.S. Subbulakshmi. The company remained in the jewellery business in Madras till 1965 and the Mumbai branch continues till date. When Surajmal's lease ended in the 1990s, Shankar's Building became the Saravana Bhavan branch.
It was a great Heritage walk—Sriram had so much to share—lots of information , with his wealth of knowledge , usual witty style , facts , little masala at times to keep all of us engaged through the walk, The timing was perfect . We ended up three minutes late. The fact was no one looked up at the time .. The download of information was so interesting that it kept everyone on the walk interested.
A quick breakfast at the Saravana Bhavan and it was time to get back.
(I have missed out coverage of Elihu Yale governor of Madras ( Yes , Yale University ) and the formation of the Madras Port).
Comments
We have planned a separate session for all those lanes adjacent to Broadway...
Interesting!!