Memorials, Campuses, Churches
Some people say there is never enough to do and see in Chennai, but I'm finding lately that there are plenty of sites, loads of history, and a number of unique spots in Chennai to visit; they just aren't listed in neatly organized guidebooks or user-friendly website. Today's selected route took us from memorial halls to several college campuses, and finally to a number of historic churches [click here for photos].
Although the memorials carved out of the north side of Chennai's urban forest reserve, Guindy Park, are more substantial than the statues along Marina Drive, they still are lacking in any interpretive information for visitors, and, unfortunately for us, everything is in Tamil. Still, it's impressive that more than one of the memorial halls to Gandhi, Kamaraj, and Rajaji contained not just portraits of a single superstar of India's Freedom Struggle, but instead had rows and rows of portraits of those who, presumably, were instrumental in India's long road to independence.
Just across Sarder Patel Road is the engineering campus of Anna University, one of the first engineering schools in South Asia. Wandering around the courtyards of the traditional red-colored main building, We noticed a lot of students' drafting homework was still done in pencil, not in CAD. Like many cities in the world before the prevalence of cars, Chennai until the latter half of the 20th century was a port city sprinkled with historical garden estates. Though most of those colonial gardens have yielded their lush greenery to more lucrative apartments, some of the original structures and grounds have survived as institutions, such as the main building at the Women's Christian College, which until the 1920s was better known as Doveton House, after the British lieutenant who had made it his home. Another green oasis in the center of the city is the well-groomed campus of Chennai's Jesuit institution, Loyola College, complete with flowering bushes and orchards.
Chennai's cityscape is dotted with churches, most of them part of the legacy of Portuguese, Armenian, Dutch, and British visitors through the last 500 years. One shrine that doesn't fit that mold is Little Mount, the rock that the Apostle St. Thomas supposedly took refuge under when he was attacked. We also stopped to hear the organist practicing at St. Andrew's "Kirk," built in the 1800s on marshy soil using ancient Indian building techniques.
*Once again, the background information, and the impetus to visit these sites in the first place, are drawn liberally from S. Muthiah's books and lectures.
Although the memorials carved out of the north side of Chennai's urban forest reserve, Guindy Park, are more substantial than the statues along Marina Drive, they still are lacking in any interpretive information for visitors, and, unfortunately for us, everything is in Tamil. Still, it's impressive that more than one of the memorial halls to Gandhi, Kamaraj, and Rajaji contained not just portraits of a single superstar of India's Freedom Struggle, but instead had rows and rows of portraits of those who, presumably, were instrumental in India's long road to independence.
Just across Sarder Patel Road is the engineering campus of Anna University, one of the first engineering schools in South Asia. Wandering around the courtyards of the traditional red-colored main building, We noticed a lot of students' drafting homework was still done in pencil, not in CAD. Like many cities in the world before the prevalence of cars, Chennai until the latter half of the 20th century was a port city sprinkled with historical garden estates. Though most of those colonial gardens have yielded their lush greenery to more lucrative apartments, some of the original structures and grounds have survived as institutions, such as the main building at the Women's Christian College, which until the 1920s was better known as Doveton House, after the British lieutenant who had made it his home. Another green oasis in the center of the city is the well-groomed campus of Chennai's Jesuit institution, Loyola College, complete with flowering bushes and orchards.
Chennai's cityscape is dotted with churches, most of them part of the legacy of Portuguese, Armenian, Dutch, and British visitors through the last 500 years. One shrine that doesn't fit that mold is Little Mount, the rock that the Apostle St. Thomas supposedly took refuge under when he was attacked. We also stopped to hear the organist practicing at St. Andrew's "Kirk," built in the 1800s on marshy soil using ancient Indian building techniques.
*Once again, the background information, and the impetus to visit these sites in the first place, are drawn liberally from S. Muthiah's books and lectures.
posted by John at 01:46
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