Parthsarathy Temple

The wafting smell of Puliodharai ( tamarind rice) 😍 is something that is unique to the Parthasarathy temple at triplicane .It is an iconic landmark to not just triplicane but to entire madras. It is one of the oldest temples in the city built by the Pallavas in the 8th century, subsequently expanded by Cholas and later by the Vijayanagara kings in the 15th century. Pallava king Dantivarman built the present temple in the eighth century. The gopuram was also built by a Pallava king – Tondaiman Chakravarthy. There are inscriptions that record the contributions of the Chola kings Raja Raja and Kulottunga III, Pandya King Maravarman and many rulers of the Vijayanagar dynasty including Ramaraja Venkatapathiraja and Vira Venkatapathy.👑
It is one of the very few shrines in the country dedicated to Krishna as Parthasarathy, charioteer of Arjuna. Because of the association of the temple with Krishna, Tiruvallikeni came to be regarded as the Southern Vrindavanam.

Interestingly at this vaishnavite temple the official bearers of the Lord’s idol during processions used to be the fishermen who were native to triplicane. During the temple festivities, they carry the festival idol in their sturdy shoulders in an atmosphere of wine and toddy shops. They bargained for additional rights in the temple in 1928, which eventually ended their ties with the temple.

The communities of madras have lived in complete harmony since times immemorial, to rock this foundation of communal harmony is to rock the entire basis of madras. Madras has always been a culmination of cultures and Chennai should follow the way of history.
SOURCE: Wikipedia. 💻

 

Subramaniya Bharathiyar

நாமிருக்கு நாடுநம தென்பறிந்தோம். இது நமக்கே யுரிமையா மென்பறிந்தோம். இந்தப் பூமியி லெவர்க்குமினி அடிமைசெய்யோம் – பரி பூரணனுக் கேயடிமை செய்துவாழ்வோம்..!! (சுதந்திரப் பள்ளு)

Bharathi like the name suggests, Subramaniya Bharathiyar (1897-1921) was a staunch nationalist and patriot. His songs reeked of Freedom of all sorts. Freedom for the country, women, slaves, abolisment of caste system, religion, inequality and what not?

Bharathi was the voice of Tamilnadu. His poems were filled with not just revolutionary thoughts but immense creativity and an innate sensitivity with which he approached everything in life. His love for nature, animals , birds and his most beloved wife and children have all been expressed in his innumerous poems that are a delight to read. Every great visionary in time has had to face poverty and Bharathi’s family also suffered from the cruel hand of poverty. His untimely demise in 1921 may have denied him from seeing the independent India he longed for but who else could have celebrated an independent India decades before it actually happened?
He did.

ஆடுவோமே பள்ளு பாடுவோமே ஆனந்த சுதந்திரம் அடைந்து விட்டோம் என்று.!!

All his works were nationalised through the efforts of the state government in the year 1949. He deserves the fame of being the first poet in the world to have his works nationalised. Classifying Bharathiyar as just a freedom struggle poet would be a great injustice to him. He is visionary for the generations to come!

Wallajah Mosque

The Nawab of Arcots had a huge role in making madras the way it was. The Wallajah Mosque, also known as the Big Mosque is one of their monumental architectural achievement. It was built in 1795 off what is now Triplicane High Road, with aid from the Nawab Wallajah’s family. Built of grey granite, with no wood or steel used, it is considered one of the most beautiful mosques in South India. The mosque can comfortably seat a few thousand worshippers. In it is a chronogram engraved in stone and unique because it is perhaps the only work by a Hindu to be found in a mosque; the words in Persian are by Rajah Makhan Lal Khirat, Private Secretary to Nawab Wallajah and a scholar in Persian and Arabic.

The mosque, set in vast grounds, cannot be seen from Triplicane High Road today, hidden as it is by much new construction, all of it tasteless. But enter through the almost hidden gate and the open space before you enables the visitor to enjoy unhindered the splendour of the mosque.
Madras’s multifaceted culture is something to be celebrated especially in this day and age where we face a rise in the one country- one culture attitude. Chennai will continue to be the cultural yet progressive and modern city it always has been.

Source: The Hindu |S.Muthiah

Zam Bazzar

A marketplace is usually the pinnacle of any civilisation. The whiff of spices, the chaos of bargaining and the wide range of colourful things are the soul of any city and it was no different for Madras. Some of Chennai’s old markets still retain vestiges of this, though they are very much on the exit lane of time . Apart from Moore market and Kotwal chavadii which are well known there are others located in the heart of the city such as the Zam bazaar in Triplicane. The Municipal Administration report published in 1880 lists about 30 private markets in the city. Building and running such markets were economically attractive and entrepreneurs such as Phiroz Muncherji Clubwala, `a well respected merchant of Madras’ invested in them. Mr. Clubwala owned the Zam Bazaar till his death in 1927. It is a huge single-storied building with stalls for various shops. Owned by a Trust, it sells a variety of items from kumkum to siddha medicine and every cut of fish and meat. Zam bazaar is quite the culmination of contrasting cultures. It now houses over 800 shops that deal in vegetables, meat, fish, rice and banana leaves. Most of the markets in the city are facing space issues due to the population and rampant construction. Many old markets have been demolished or remain unused. Cutting across various markets, traders and users think that simple measures will help. The construction of public toilets, better parking arrangement and building cold storage facilities can restore the nostalgic old markets which we walked to with yellow cloth bags.

SOURCE: THE HINDU / S.MUTHIAH.