NUNGAMBAKKAM TANK 1909

Lost Lake of Madras-2

The original extent of the tank is not clearly recorded, but from the old maps it is possible to guess that it was roughly bounded by the present Tank Bund, Valluvar Kottam, Kodambakkam High and Mahalingapuram Main roads. Once a vast waterbody serving the needs of the Nungambakkam village, but the years it had shrunk, and now there is no tank, only a congested clutter of buildings just as what you’ll see where the other important tanks of the city were none of them exist in today’s concrete jungle.

A part of the reclaimed land came to house the first Corporation High School, inaugurated in 1926. In 1958, a part of the lake land was allotted to Bala Bhavan, a school founded by the Nungambakkam Ladies Recreation Club. In 1963, the school renamed itself the Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan and became the nucleus of the PSBB chain. At the westernmost end of the Tank, 54 acres were reclaimed earlier for the Loyola College campus and in 1974 what was left of the Tank was reclaimed to give the city the Valluvar Kottam campus alongside Tank Bund Road. 😱

Source: V.Sriram | The Hindu | DSAL | S.Muthiah

Pilot Theatre

There is simply too much nostalgia to recount as the era of pilot theatre comes to an end😢. The theatre which was closed a few years back for renovation is now permanently demolished. Interestingly it has a relation to the popular yesteryear brand of pilot ink pens. The Pilot Pen Co ✒️ (India) Pvt Limited, founded by Paranjothi Arockiasami Sanjivi, a local entrepreneur, was established in 1952. Legend has it that the first factory for the Pilot Pens, when it was more an assembly operation, stood at the site of the Pilot Theatre in Royapettah.
The company decided to get into cinema screening 🎟️ and put up the Pilot Theatre. Completed in 1968, it was India’s second screening facility with Cinerama technology, the first being Bangalore’s Kapali. This was a short-lived innovation, wherein three projectors simultaneously ran three strips of the film 🎞️, all of which synchronised on a giant arced screen thereby making for an awesome visual effect.

The first screening was on November 15, 1968, the film being The Ballad of Cable Hogue👫. After being a facility where only the best of English films were shown, it slowly settled down to vernacular films and later re-runs. Its vast compound was however a great attraction for film shoots. It was also a popular venue for film festivals.

Tangled in inheritance issues the theatre was closed down in 2014 and the theatre is no more today. A little trinket of history is completely wiped off 🍃 the map. The only reminder happens to be the lane adjacent to the theatre which is also named after it.

Source: Sriram.V

Dasaprakash Hotel

Much before Café Coffee Day and Saravana Bhavan established the concept of chain restaurants or franchisees. K. Seetharama Rao in early 1930s was the first to build a chain of hotels by the name of Dasaprakash in Chennai, Mysore, Udagamandalam and elsewhere in south India.
He gave up a lowly Government job in 1921 to join his brothers in running a restaurant in Mysore. He later established others in Madras and Ootacamund, and the chain moved to North India in the 1970s and, thereafter, to the USA.
Dasaprakash hotel built in the Art Deco style on the Poonamallee High Road went on to become one of the most iconic landmarks of the city when it was inaugurated in 1954. The hotel was known for its good Udipi fare, ice creams and comfortable rooms. Many leaders such as Nehru, Kamaraj, Annadurai and former US Ambassador to India John Kenneth Galbraith have dined at the hotel and appreciated its quality.

When the hotel industry in India was trying to adapt itself to Western traditions, Rao made his hotels follow contemporary Indian style. But like many of its counterparts in the city, Dasaprakash hotel too crumbled in the changing economy and was demolished to give way for highrises But old timers will fondly remember their favorite ice cream joint.

Source: Sriram.V

Bentinck Building, 1793

Lord William Bentinck who served as the Governor- General of India brought revolutionary reforms such as the Abolition of Sati making sure that the country would remember him for a long time. And a little piece of his fame also remains in Madras where he first served as Governor from 1803-1807. The Bentinck’s Building on First Line Beach is a stunning example of the classical architecture built at the site of the Old Marine yard. The three story building comprised of a total area of 27000 square feet complete with teak rafters, cut stone work and heavy iron windows at a cost of Rs. 3,60,000. It was inaugurated in 1793 by Lord William Bentick himself as the the office of the Board of Trade to offer offices to some of the merchants of Madras who had had to leave the Fort when Governor Edward Clive decided that the Fort Exchange should be for the military and not for the merchants. In 1817, it became the home of the Supreme Court and housed that venerable institution till it was abolished in 1862. The High Court then became occupants till it moved to its handsome own buildings in 1892. Bentinck’s Building then became the Madras Collectorate. The building was demolished in early 1980’s and a new collectorate building was built in its place which was named as Singaravelar Maaligai in memory of M.Singaravelu Chettiar a lawyer turned congressman. The only that remains from that glorious buildings is the largest of the Cornwallis Cupolas which has now been slotted into the collectorates’s new wall.

Source: The Hindu | Madras Musing

Madras Exchange Lighthouse, 1796

In 1795, the Madras Presidency encompassed much of south India and also Ceylon. As its capital, Madras was the nerve centre of the sea trade controlled by the British East India Company. However, ships approaching Madras after nightfall faced the risk of running aground on the shoals of Kovalam in south. In the north, the sand-banks of Armagon and Pulicat were a menace.

In February 1795, maritime officials petitioned the government to build a lighthouse in Fort St. George that would serve as a navigational aid. The government approved the request and the steeple of St. Mary’s Church was considered as the site for the new lighthouse. However, the proposal did not materialise due to opposition from the chaplains. The first lighthouse of madras was constructed on the roof of the exchange building which is currently the Fort Museum using wooden frame in 1796. The tower was 99 metres high with a beam from 12 coconut oil lamps. This helped in signalling merchant ships as far as 17 miles from the shore. Since then the shining beacon has been passed on to many lighthouses and this building remains only in the memories of historians.

There is no photograph or drawings of the first lighthouse of madras and this sketch was drawn with the help of the description available in the archives.

Source: Madras Exchange Light House, Book by Hemchandra Rao. / S.Muthiah