Madras - Chennai

Emergence of Chennai as a City

MadrasChennai formerly known as Madras, is the capital of the state of Tamil Nadu and is India's fourth largest city.

It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal.

With an estimated population of 7.60 million , the 400-year-old city is the 31st largest metropolitan area in the world.

Chennappapatnam There was a view which had been prevalent ever since Walter Hamilton published his

valuable account of India in 1820 that, at the time of the foundation of Madras, Sriranga

Raya insisted that the settlement should be named after him as Srirangarayapatnam, but that

his purpose was defeated by the local Nayak who managed to get it called after his own father,

Chennappa.

However, Sriranga succeeded to the throne only in 1642, fully three years after the

foundation of the settlement.

The grant of the name of Srirangarayapatnam was probably intended by the Raya as a

special mark of his royal favour to the factors of Madras.

Also, about the time of this grant, Damarla Venkatapathi Nayak, son of Chennappa, was in

disgrace; and this might have had a share in making Siring alter in his grant the name

Chennappapatnam to Srirangarayapatnam.

The name of Chennapatnam is due to the fact that Damarla Origin of the Ayyappa Nayak,

when writing to Francis Day name at Armagon in 1639, expressed a desire to found a town in

the name of his father, Chennappa Nayak and offered the English liberal privileges if they

would come and settle in it.

The name Chennapatnam was applied

from the beginning to the Indian town that

grew up to the north of the English Fort

which was built on the site of

Madraspatnam, according to the first grant.

The new town that quickly grew up in

and round the Fort. To this new town, the

name Chennapatnam was given.

Thus we may say that the village of

Madraspatnam had existed under that name

even prior to the English settlement of

1639-40; and the site of Chennapatnam was

that of modern Fort St. George.

The English preferred to call the

two united towns by the name of

Madraspatnam, with which they

had been familiar from the first,

while the Indians chose to give it

the name of Chennapatnam.

In course of time, the exact original

locations of Madraspatnam and

Chennapatnam came to be confused

and even reversed as it was done by

W. Hamilton. Madraspatnam was

regarded as the site of the Fort and

Chennapatnam as the Indian town

to the north. W. Hamilton

Story of Madras

What is in the NAME?The British agent Francis Day agreed to name the town Chennapattnam as

Venkatappa Naik requested, and did call it so in Tamil. But there was an inside joke

among the British. They thought that Venkatappa Naik was mad (stupid) giving away the

land for free just to be named after his father. So they called the town in English "MAD

RASA PATTNAM". In fact, it is called Medrassapatam in the 1639 deed of sale. It

would seem that Medrassapatam is the British way of spelling Madrasapattinam .

According to another explanation, the land was given to Francis Day by a man

named Madarasen, head of a fishermen's slum, and the town was named after him. This

explanation, however, has a hole in it. The 1639 deed of sale clearly states that

Venkatappa Naik gave the land to Francis Day. Some conjecture that Medrassapatam and

Chennapattnam were nearby areas and that Francis Day acquired the former first from

Madarasen and the latter then from Venkatappa Naik; the name Medrassapatam was

mentioned in the deed of sales as a reference point. Another point to note is that Madras

was widely used in English (among the British at that time and then by everyone who

learned the language) and Chennai was used in Tamil. Whatever the origins of the names,

Madras is now for the history books and Chennai is here to stay.

City of Madras, 1909 Map of Madras City, 1921

Map of Madras City, 1955

Architectural Developments of MadrasArchitectural developments of Madras during British rule comprised building exquisite churches,

Classical in approach developments of Madras under British dominion were primarily in the sector of

religious constructions, when magnificent churches were being built, keeping in mind their London

counterpart. Although, mansions for governmental staff were also looked into by the British East India

Company, when it came to rebuilding Madras into a colonial whole.

Early 19th century saw a tremendous rise of such constructions, when the Company had already

gained a firm foothold in this port city.

In the 1800s, Lord Edward Clive (1754-1839), later Earl of Powls, as Governor of Madras took

the existing Triplicane Garden House and improved it greatly. The original structure dated from 1746, when

it belonged to a Portuguese merchant. In 1753, Governor Thomas Saunders (d. 1755) bought it for the

British East India Company to serve as the Governor`s mansion. Clive turned the house over to his

architect, John Goldingham who extended it from 130 to 205 feet in breadth, moved the main entrance from

the west to the east side, built a two-story verandah and generally re-modelled the interior. The house was

surrounded by a seventy-five-acre parkland.

Architectural developments of Madras were further promoted by British rulers, when on 7th

October 1802, adjacent to the re-modeled Governor`s mansion; John Goldingham designed the Banqueting

Hall for the use of official functions.

It carried the appearance of a neo-classical temple with an exterior of a sixteenth-

century manner, possessing Tuscan-Doric columns. The hall contained a number of military

decorations celebrating British victories at Plassey and Seringapatam, in addition to a series of

portraits of military leaders to include: Coote, Cornwallis and Medows.

The Banqueting Hall was inaugurated on this date in celebration of the declaration

of the Peace of Amiens. On 16th January 1816, Bishop Reginald Heber (1783- 1826)

consecrated the new St. George`s Church in Madras. Thomas de Havilland (1775-1866) erected

the church using a plan drawn by Captain James Caldwell (1770-1863) of the Madras

Engineers.

Caldwell drew his inspiration from James Gibbs` plans for St. Martin-in-the-Fields,

London. As a design it possessed a mixture of Classical and Gothic elements. The exterior was

purely Indian with its white polished chunam-finishing surface. In 1833, it became St.

George`s Cathedral. Within the extensive period of 1818 to 1820, architectural developments

of Madras under British rule witnessed an upsurge of colonial constructions. Thomas de

Havilland also erected St. Andrews Church of the Scottish Kirk in Madras. Although it bears

some of the characteristics of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, it varies in its curvilinear plan with a

diameter of eight-one and a half feet and its massive Ionic columns.

The city of Chennai had its roots in a humble fishing village.

It would have stayed so, if not for August 22nd 1639:

the day the British bought a strip of land on the Coromandel

coast and set about building Fort St. George.

Madraspattinam was the sleepy fishing village which lent the colonials a name for the place;

Chennapattanam, the name the locals gave to the town. Lazy pronunciation shortened them to

the catchier “Madras” and “Chennai”. The city soon became a thriving naval port and after

independence, the capital of the newly formed state of Tamil Nadu.

Going from strength to strength, the city was and still is one of India’s most thriving

metropolises. Lets trail the city’s climb from its humble beginnings to its modern avatar – in

pictures.

In a nutshell

Marina Beach - 1890

Marina Beach - 2014

Napier Bridge - 1895

Napier Bridge - 2014

Parry’s Corner - 1897

Parry’s Corner - 2014

Central Railway Station - 1897

Central Railway Station - 2014

Rippon Building -2014

Rippon Building - 1909

Chennai High Court -1862

Chennai High Court -2014

Fort St. George - 1644

Fort St. George - 2014

Spencers Plaza- 1863

Spencers Plaza- 2014

Egmore Railway Station, then

Egmore Railway Station, now

Chennai Craze…….

Chennai is famous for this beach. Best time is to visit in the evening. This is a serene place one come alone or with friends/family. Get cool breeze and immerse yourselves into this sea of thoughts, forgetting your worries at least for some time.

#1 MARINA BEACH

Elliot's Beach is one of the beautiful and cleanest beaches in the city of Chennai . It is popularly known as "Besant Nagar Beach". There are many restaurants and very good parking near the beach.

#2 ELLIOT’S BEACH

#3 THE BREATHTAKING VIEW FROM

THALANKUPPAM PIERThalankuppam is a small fishing hamlet, at Ennore, the extreme north of Chennai city. The Thalankuppam River, also called as the Kourtaliayaar, Mogathwaram, meets the sea this place.During high tide, as the ocean gushes under your feet and throws up a few specs of salt on your face, you can clutch all that you have (including your heart and feet) to step forward and come face-to-face with peace.

#4 PHOENIX MARKET CITY

Planning to go shopping for Festival seasons??

Take a look at the new Phoenix Market City here at velachery

Still don’t know where to shop? eat? see movie? planning to hangout with friends in weekend???The best place is Express avenue.

#5 EXPRESS AVENUE

Mahabalipuram is one of the beautiful places in south India. It has dream world of Tamil arts and exhibit..The monuments are mostly "rock-cut" and "monolithic" .Best spot for PHOTOGRAPHY..

#6 MAHABALIPURAM

#7 IDLY SAMBHAR AND VADAI

FROM RATHNA CAFÉ.

#8 CHETTINAD PALACE

Chettinad Palace is a well known place for its Architecture, Local Crafts, temples and food too, A nice place for hanging out with friends & family.

#9 WATCH A MOVIE AT SATHYAM

CINEMASSathyam is Chennai’s hottest entertainment destination for people from all walks of life, across a wide age group and user profile. It was the first exhibitor in India to introduce digital projection technology with its brand RDX and the first to convert all of its screens to digital. It went one step further and introduced digital 3D in RDX and continues to push the boundaries of entertainment technology. Sathyam Cinemas strives to be at the forefront of media technology and continues to bring new entertainment technology to customers first.

Don’t believe in ghosts? Think again.. A number of places in Chennai are testimony to this fact: they’ve acquired the ‘haunted’ tag! In the serene suburb of Thiruvanmiyur, the apartment No F-2 on 3, Seward Road in Valmiki Nagar, stands out.This house is said to be haunted by the ghost of the woman who committed suicide there. There are no permanent dwellers due to the presence of this spirit in the house.Want to go there ? .. Go at your Own RISK !

#10 HAUNTED HOUSE, VALMIKI NAGAR

30 Crazy things to do in CHENNAI!!!• Take a walk on the beach from Marina to Elliot's Beach

• Capture the Sunrise at Broken Bridge

• Haggle over trinkets at Pondy Bazaar

• Scourge for a long forgotten book at Moor Market... trust me you'll get it...

• Click the Moon on Full moon day at Thiruvanmiyur Beach

• Have a quaint cup of coffee at Rathna Café

• Enjoy the peace at Kapaleeshwarar Temple, Mylapore.

• Squeeze through the crowd to get vegetables at Koyambedu

• "Enjoy" the pulling and pushing at Ranganathan Street

• Pay over Rs.200 for a ten minute Autoride

• Catch a movie at Broadway Talkies.. scoot over multiplexes...

• Read some ancient literature at Connemaara Library

• Attend a Music concert at TTK Salai

• Pray along the waves at the Sea shore Sai Temple, Injambakkam

• · Party on a hired boat at Muttukaadu Lake

• Look out for an ancient yet sturdy buildings at Mint Street

• Climb the Lighthouse at Marina

• Pick up a handicraft doll at Alwarpet

• Wait in queue to get a plate of hot Puliyothare at Grand Sweets & Snacks

• Refrain from feeding the baby crocs at the Crocodile Park

• Ape the monkeys at Guindy Children's Park

• Try finding the Adyar Banyan Tree.. No Google is allowed

• Spot a Sandalwood Tree at Vandalur Zoo

• Try gaining an entry into the Guindy National park.. a Reserve forest right at the

heart of the city, where else can u find it...

• Handle the snakes at 3 pm daily at the Snake Park

• Munch on a Vada, fresh off the Vada-mala of the 32 feet tall Anjaneyar Statue at

Nanganallur

• Attend a marriage at any of the chthrams at Vadapalani

• Attend the Vinayak Visarjan at Sowcarpet...

• Relish a plate of Biriyani at Samco, TTK road

• Take the MRTS from Velachery to Beach