Less explored places in Chennai! Know the unknowns
Posted on: 03/Jan/2016 11:30:41 AM
With beaches, tall buildings, age old colleges, hot temperature, twinkling lights, heavy traffic, pollution, and sleepless nights for the night workers, the city is an interesting place to discover. Here are few unknown or less known facts about Chennai for you to cherish the city even more.
The name Chennai was given in 1996. Till then, the city had been called Madras which came from Madrasapattinam, a fishing village of fort St. George. There is an interesting explanation for this name. It is said that this could have been a name derived out of Madrasan, a fisherman. All south Indians are even today, named as Madrasis which is a name out derived from Madras.
Chennai houses several manufacturers like Ford, Hyundai, BMW, Mitsubishi, Renault Nissan, Daimler, and many more. All these have made the city an automobile hub. Automobile industries are invited to the city with a number of sea ports, infrastructure development, flexible industrial and government policies, and more. These have made the city suitable for them to set up their manufacturing units here.
Being in Chennai, you cannot really miss out on shopping. There is a lot to explore in Pondy Bazaar which is among the busiest streets in India. This is also called Soundarapandia Bazaar. It has acquired the name after Justice party politician W.P.A. Soundarapandian Nadar. There will be a bronze statue here. If you have noticed this at the entrance, for your information, it is that of Soundarapandian Nadar. Each of the streets in and around the locality is named after Justice Party Leaders. The Lifco Books shop which is functioning today has been here for several years. This was launched on the street when there were hardly three streets here.
The World Bank Chennai Office located at Taramani is now known to many. This is LEED silver building certified. It is spread across 3.5 acres of land. By 2012, the building had 500 staff and contained permanent back office in Chennai. Jim Kim, the president of World Bank group visited the office for the first time recently. He did not fail to appreciate the incredible improvements made in the automobile industry.
Among the oldest libraries functioning is the Connemara public library at Egmore. It holds the pride of being one among the four national depository libraries that get copies of all books, periodicals and newspapers that are published in India. This library at Egmore is also a depository library of the United Nations.
Ever since the year 1951, Buhari Hotels have been present in the city, expanding their chain of hotels. Chicken 65 is believed to have been introduced by its founder A.M. Buhari. There were other dishes like chicken 78, chicken 82 and chicken 90 introduced by him too. A.N. Buhari grew as the Sheriff of Madras is 1973-74. Such a history of your favorite dish must be really new to you.
Do you know that therere is a historic banyan tree inside Adyar Theosophical Society? The age of this tree is whooping 450! Yes, it is one of the oldest banyan trees in the world. Earlier, the tree occupied 40,000 square feet. But following a cyclone in 1989, the main trunk of the historic tree got uprooted, leaving just a part of it now. The tree is known for having been acquainted with renowned personalities like Annie Besant, Maria Montessori, etc who have addressed people from under the tree. The theosophical society is open for visitors between 2pm and 4 pm. This is a calm and serene place located in the middle of the city.
The Madras boat club
The madras boat club ages 140 years. Founded by English men in 1867 at the backwaters of Ennore, it was then moved to the banks of Adyar River. This has now received latest boats and oars from the USA and all these are fully equipped.
If you need cotton clothes in vibrant colors, the cotton street in the pantheon road is the best destination. The better you bargain, the lesser time will you spend here. This will be open between 2 pm and 8 pm. It is definitely a worthy place to visit in Chennai.
The backwaters of Alampari fort is a very less known place on the outskirts of Chennai. The fort is nearly dilapidated. The must see attractions here are the sandy beach and scenic backwaters. This is also a favorite shooting location for Tamil filmmakers. You may also grab some sea shells and crabs alongside the shore!
The city we live in definitely needs some deeper attention! It is after all our homeland! Explore more places in the city and share your experiences as comments below.
