Triplicane - WikiHQ

Thiruvallikeni, also known as Triplicane, is one of the oldest neighbourhoods of Chennai, India. It is situated on the Bay of Bengal coast and about from Fort St George. The average elevation of the neighbourhood is 14 metres above sea level. It is the location of Marina Beach and Parthasarathy Temple.

Etymology

The name Triplicane is the anglicized version of Thiruvallikeni, which derives from Thiru-Alli-Keni ('Sacred Lily Pond' in Tamil), denoting the pond in front of the Parthasarathy temple, which was amidst a big Tulasi forest. The place is also referred as Brindaranyam in Brahmanda Purana, owing to the presence of the tulasi (brinda) plants in the area.

thumb|Triplicane pond

History

Literary mention

The early records of the town are rooted to epic rather than history. The city's original name, Thiruvallikeni, finds various mentions in the Nalayira Divya Prabandham, which are a collection of hymns by earlier poets that were compiled in the ninth century. One such poet, Thirumangai Alvar, described Thiruvallikeni as a densely canopied forest with peacocks and koels, where the sun's rays could not penetrate.

Medieval era

The evidence from stone inscriptions indicates that Parthasarathy temple was built in the eighth century by a Pallava King. The temple was later expanded under the Pallavas, Cholas, Vijayanagara rulers. It has been recorded that a rivulet, Kaivareni, ran across Triplicane and Mylapore. The legend has it that the rivulet connected two water bodies: the temple tank of Parthasarathy temple and a sacred well, Mani Kairavani, in the flower garden of Adi Kesava Perumal temple of Mylapore. To commemorate this, the idol of Peyalwar in Mylapore is brought, as a procession, to Parthasarathy temple every year in the month of September. The Peyalwar Temple was built in the 13th century.

British era

thumb|left|Bazzar in Triplicane. Illustration in 1855

thumb|left|Triplicane Pycrofts Road in 1906

In the 1600s, Triplicane was a separate village from Madras. After about a century, the British found Triplicane to be a good area for settlement and a large number of people moved there. In 1668, Triplicane was annexed to the Madras City, making it the first neighbourhood to be annexed to the city. It was obtained from the Sultan of Golconda on rent in 1676. In addition, the presence of the Nawab of Arcot increased the economic prosperity of the area, and many Muslims settled in Triplicane. In 1795, the Wallajah Mosque was built. During this period, Chepauk Palace and Amir Mahal were also built. and Presidency College in 1864–65. In 1870, the college was moved to its present location on Beach Road. In 1884, Marina Beach promenade was built. In 1896, Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha (SPSS), the oldest sabha in Chennai, was founded and operated from the Hindu Higher Secondary School in Big Street

The building which used to serve as the Triplicane Police Station was built around 1891 to guard Madrasapatnam. This building was the city's oldest operating police station before it was moved to a newly built station across the road.

In 1904, Triplicane Urban Co-Operative Society (TUCS) was started. The consumer cooperative society predates even the first Cooperative Credit Societies Act of 1904, which officially ushered in the cooperative movement into India. It runs a super market, self-service department stores, sells automobile fuel and cooking gas, and operates more than 200 rations shops for the Public Distribution System.

In 1925, Mahatma Gandhi visited Triplicane to address a huge gathering. In 1933, he revisited the neighbourhood. In 1934, the first cricket match was played at the Chepauk Stadium.

In the early 20th century, Triplicane became one of the major residential areas of Madras.

Post-Independence

In 1963, Ice house was renamed as Vivekananda House. In 1993, Bharathiyar Illam was converted into a memorial.

Triplicane was one of the neighborhoods hit by the Indian Ocean tsunami on 26 December 2004.

Location

Triplicane lies on the banks of the Buckingham Canal which bisects the neighbourhood along the north–south direction. The neighbourhood is bordered by Marina Beach on the east on the shore of the Bay of Bengal, Chepauk on the north, Royapettah on the west and northwest, Mylapore on the south and southwest.

Geography

The neighbourhood is classified as a tropical dry forest bio-zone. Being an old neighbourhood of the city, it is congested with narrow lanes and streets.

Housing

Known as 'Bachelor's Paradise', Triplicane is home to about 200 boarding houses out of the 700 odd ones in the city, Soon after independence, boarding houses began to appear in the area to cater to the needs of the individual migrants from various parts of the country. The first four boarding houses, were built in the 1950s by farmers from the southern parts of Tamil Nadu after successive droughts had threatened their livelihood. They gave out rooms on rent to traders who came to the city from other parts of the state. These are owned today by their progeny, without much change in their structures. Notable people who have at one time or another lived in the bachelor pads of Triplicane include political figures Periyar, C. N. Annadurai and M. Karunanidhi. Recently, these boarding houses have started attracting a more gentrified crowd. Zam Bazaar is one of the oldest bazaars in the city and was set up in the pre-Independence era. The western end of the market is bordered by Amir Mahal, the palace of the Nawab of Arcot two centuries ago. The building is currently being renovated by the government.

The neighbourhood, however, suffers from drainage issues and other civic problems.

Education

thumb|left|190px|Triplicane campus of the University of Madras

thumb|left|190px|State Council for Higher Secondary Education at the Lady Wellingdon College campus

Colleges in the locality include Queen Mary's College, Presidency College and Madras University on the Beach Road.

The popular schools in this area include Hindu Senior Secondary School, the Kellett higher secondary school, NKT, Rex, Hindu Higher Secondary School, Lady Wellington school, etc. Some of these schools, such as the latter two, date back to the British Era. and one on Big street. The Kasturi Srinivasan library is more than 50 years old.

Culture

Triplicane has a rich culture. The culture associated with Parthasarathy temple and its mada veethis is old and traditional. Rooted in tradition, Triplicane is also known for its fine artistic taste in music, dance and arts. An annual community event known as the Thiruvallikeni Thiruvizha (literally 'Triplicane Festival') is celebrated in January. Other festivals include Triplicane Music Festival and Marghazhi (winter) festival. Triplicane is known for many of the traditional cuisines of Chennai.

Architecture

thumb|210px|[[Dr. Annie Besant Park, Chennai|Annie Besant Park]]

thumb|210px|Fishermen statue at Annie Besant Park

Triplicane, similar to few other areas in the city such as Mylapore and West Mambalam, is known for its traditional row houses, known as . Typically, these can be seen where an entire street is occupied by Brahmins, particularly surrounding a temple. The architecture is distinctive with Madras terraces, country tile roofing, Burma teak rafters and lime plastering. The longish homes consisted of the (receiving quarters), (living quarters), (kitchen and backyard) and so on. Most houses had an open to sky space in the centre called the , large platforms lining the outside of the house called the and a private well in the backyard. The floors were often coated with red oxide and sometimes the roofs had glass tiles to let in light. The quadrangle seen in Triplicane is around the Parthasarathy Temple and its tank.

Religion

Although Parthasarathy Temple remains the most important temple of Triplicane, there exists several other temples in the neighbourhood, including Ellai Amman Temple, Ettampadai Murugan Temple, Peyalwar Temple built on the 13th century.

The Wallajah Mosque, also known as the Big Mosque, is a historical mosque in the city. Built in 1795 in remembrance of Nawab Wallajah, the mosque was constructed with grey granite, without the use of wood or steel.

Vaikunta Ekadesi Vrata is observed on Dhanur Masa Shukla Paksha Ekadasi, or on the 11th day of bright fortnight during Dhanur Masam. This festival is celebrated with much devotion in many Vaishnavaite temples, including Parthasarathy temple in South India. Vaikunta Dwara lies in the north side of the temple. Vaikunta Ekadesi is also observed as Mukkoti Ekadesi.

The streets of Triplicane are full of people as early as 2:00 a.m. on Vaikunta Ekadesi. Women adorned in the traditional nine yards or a silk sari hurry towards the Parthasarathy Temple to find a place in the long winding queues.

The busy crowds move slowly towards the shrine, crossing the Paramapadavaasal along with the presiding deity. More than one hundred thousand devotees visit the temple who are helped by volunteers, temple authorities and police personnel to move around the prakarams. Police are stationed around the temple and atop watchtowers at the junction of the Mada Streets to maintain strict vigil.

Carnatic music

Triplicane was also once the seat of Carnatic music. Triplicane was not only known for weekend visits by several musicians, but also for resident legends such as G. N. Balasubramaniam (GNB) and M. S. Subbulakshmi (M.S.). The right atmosphere for music and dance permeated Triplicane. A proliferation of sabhas – Triplicane Arts Academy, Thiruvateeswarar Sabha, N.K.T. Muthu Sabha and Parthasarathy Swami Sabha – drew these heavyweights in the classical arts to the locality.

Musicians used to talk of how they had sung at the Hindu High School or heard GNB at some other Triplicane venue. It was said that Triplicane was where vidwans would spend afternoons discussing music over hot rava pongal at the Krishna Iyer Hotel. The 1965s and 1970s saw music and dance pervade the area in various sabhas. The neighbourhood has hosted leading artists from M.S. and GNB to Manakkal Rangarajan, from the stage plays of M.G. Ramachandran and Sivaji Ganesan to actor Sivakumar's debut play. Thus Triplicane was the central locality where all the cultural happenings of the city took place.

Politics

thumb|right|100px|Chennai assembly Chepauk-Triplicane constituency

Triplicane is a part of Chepauk-Triplicane assembly constituency which in turn a part of Central Chennai Constituency. The MLA Hostel is located on Wallajah Road. Rajaji Hall in the same campus, which was built between 1800 and 1802, used to have a role in state administration. At present, it houses the offices of the Tamil Nadu State Raffle.

Public transport

Being situated in the central region of the city, Triplicane is well connected to various places in Chennai. The MTC operates bus termini such as Ice House and Triplicane (located at Pycrofts Road). The Triplicane bus terminus, one of the oldest bus termini in the city, is not functional now. The MTC has moved all services which were originating from Triplicane to the near-by Anna square terminus and some services are extended to Broadway. The MRTS has two stations Thiruvallikeni and Light House railway station on the Chennai Beach–Velachery elevated rail corridor serving the neighbourhood. In addition, the neighbourhood is served by private auto rickshaws.

Government Estate Metro Station serves the area. The Station operates on the Blue Line.

Notable people

Triplicane has been home to a number of personalities over the years. Mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan, Writer Sujatha, and cricketers M.J. Gopalan, Krish Srikkanth and W.V. Raman all hailed from Triplicane. Nobel Prize winner Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar did his schooling in the Hindu High School (1922–1925) in Triplicane. Subramania Bharati, a freedom fighter and poet, lived his last years in the house opposite the Parthasarathy temple's western entrance; the house has since been bought and renovated by the Government of Tamil Nadu in 1993, and it was named Bharathiyar Illam (Home of Bharathiyar).

References

External links

GeoHack - Triplicane