Triplicane

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.[6] Another poet, Peyalwar, describes Thiruvallikeni as, "by the tossing sea... where corals and pearls washed ashore liken the evening sky and the lamps they light of dusk."[9]

The evidence from stone inscriptions indicates that Parthasarathy temple was built in the eighth century by a Pallava King.[10][11][12] The temple was later expanded by the Pallavas, Cholas, Vijayanagara rulers.[8][11][13] It has been recorded that a rivulet, Kaivareni, ran across Triplicane and Mylapore.[14] 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.[14] It is believed that Peyalvar, one of the 12 alvars, was born on a lily flower in this well and that he sailed through the rivulet to worship Lord Krishna in the Parthasarathy temple.[15][16][17] To commemorate this, the idol of Peyalwar in Mylapore is brought, as a procession, to Parthasarathy temple every year in the month of September.[18] Peyalwar temple was built in the 13th century.[19]

Bazzar in Triplicane. Illustration in 1855

Triplicane Pycrofts Road in 1906

In the 1600s, Triplicane was a separate village. 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.[4][20] It was obtained from the Sultan of Golconda on rent in 1676.[4] From that time, Triplicane grew in importance, second only to George Town.[21] 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.[22] During this period, Chepauk Palace and Amir Mahal were also built.[20]

In 1841, Ice House was built to store the ice bars imported from America through ships. Ice bars were imported to provide the English temporary relief from the blistering heat.[11] This building was renamed Vivekananda house after Swami Vivekananda stayed in the building for a brief while.

In the mid-19th century, numerous educational institutions were formed in the area. Hindu Higher Secondary School was started in 1853[23] 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.[24][25] In 1896, Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha (SPSS), the oldest sabha in chennai, was founded and operated from the Hindu High School on Big Street[26]

The building which currently serves as the Triplicane police station was built around 1891 to guard Madrasapatnam.[27] This building is the city's oldest police station.[27] Triplicane High Road is one of the roads that had a tram line running through it during the British reign.[28][29][30]

In 1904, Triplicane Urban Co-Operative Society (TUCS) was started.[31] The consumer cooperative society predates even the first Cooperative Credit Societies Act of 1904,[32] 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.[32]

In 1916, Star Theatre was built on Triplicane High Road. This age old theatre has been set for demolition in March 2012.[33]

In 1925, Mahatma Gandhi visited Triplicane to address a huge gathering.[34][35][36] In 1933, he revisited the neighbourhood. In 1934, the first cricket match was played at the Chepauk Stadium[37]

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

In 1963, Ice house was renamed as Vivekananda House.[20][38] In 1993, Bharathiyar Illam was converted into a memorial.[38]

In October 1997, the first train ran through the Thiruvallikeni MRTS Railway Station. The train was between Chennai Beach and Thirumayilai[39][40][41][42][43]

On 26 December 2004, Indian Ocean tsunami hit Triplicane.[44]

Libraries in this area include Kasthuri Srinivasan Library on Besant Road, one on Peyalwar Koil street, Muhammadan Public Library[56] and one on Big street. The Kasturi Srinivasan library is more than 50 years old.[57]

Annie Besant Park

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 agraharams.[66] 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 mudhal kattu (receiving quarters), irandaam kattu (living quarters), moondram kattu (kitchen and backyard) and so on. Most houses had an open to sky space in the centre called the mitham, large platforms lining the outside of the house called the thinnai 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 agraharam quadrangle seen in Triplicane is around the Parthasarathy Temple and its tank.[67]

About 50 families continue to live in the agraharams in Triplicane.[66] However, many of these houses are being replaced with modern multi-storied apartments, resulting in a reduction in their numbers.[67]

Although Parthasarathy Temple remains the most important temple of Triplicane, there exists indeed several other temples in the neighbourhood, including Ellai Amman Temple, Ettampadai Murugan Temple, Peyalwar Temple built on the 13th century.[19] and Thiruveteeswarar Temple. The thevaram has a reference of Thiruvateeswarar temple, which suggests its existence since the seventh century.

Mutts in the region include Uttradi Mutt on Singrachari Street, Ahobila Mutt Vanamamalai Mutt on East Tank Square Street,[68]

The Wallajah Mosque, also known as the Big Mosque, is a historical mosque in the city.[69] Built in 1795 in remembrance of Nawab Wallajah, the mosque was constructed with grey granite, without the use of wood or steel.[22]

Vaikunta Ekadesi Festival is held in this temple and huge crowds gather on the day of the festival.[70][71][72] 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.[73][74]

Triplicane was also once the seat of Carnatic music.[75] 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.[76] 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.[77]