T. Nagar

Coordinates: 13°02′30″N 80°14′03″E / 13.041800°N 80.234100°E / 13.041800; 80.234100
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Thyagaraya Nagar
T. Nagar
Thiyagaraya Nagar

Thyagaraya Nagar, commonly known as T. Nagar, and historically known as East Mambalam,

Raja of Panagal as a part of town planning activities initiated according to the Madras Town Planning Act of 1920. The town was named after P. Thyagaraya Chetty
. The streets, parks and localities in the new neighbourhood were named after important officials in the provincial government.

T. Nagar is believed to be the first planned urban neighborhood in Chennai created in 1920, conceived in a European style, with the

Arc De Triomphe and the Pondy Bazaar resembling the Champs-Élysées in Paris.[2]
Initially built as a residential neighbourhood, it is now considered the
Parry's Corner, the centre of the city. Pondy Bazaar
serves as a satellite commercial hub for T. Nagar, located around the Thyagaraya Road.

Location and geography

Map of T. Nagar

T. Nagar is located about 10 km from

West Mambalam to the west, Kodambakkam to the northwest, Nandanam to the south, Nungambakkam to the north, and Teynampet to the east. T. Nagar is usually associated with Mambalam, a common name for the entire area of Thyagaraya Nagar, West Mambalam, C.I.T. Nagar and Pondy Bazaar. Panagal Park
is located at the centre of the neighbourhood connecting five vein-roads of the neighbourhood: North Usman Road, South Usman Road, G.N. Chetty Road, Thyagaraya Road and Venkatanarayana Road.

History

Thyagaraya Nagar social club

Until the turn of the 19th century, the villages to the west of

Sir P.T. Thyagaraya Chetty was carved out of the southern part of the erstwhile Mambalam zamindari. A park was developed at the centre of this new locality and was named in honour of the then Chief Minister, as Panagal Park. Soon afterwards, Pondy Bazaar began to make its appearance. According to historian S. Muthiah, it was initially known as 'Soundarapandia Bazaar' after Justice Party politician W. P. A. Soundarapandian Nadar.[5]
A well-planned residential area was created. Most of the streets in the new locality were named after provincial cabinet ministers, Justice Party bosses or officials in the administration.

The laying of suburban railway line from

Second World War, the city was evacuated due to the fear of Japanese bombing. All the shops were closed and the economic activity was halted for a few days that followed.[5]

The reason behind the naming of Pondy Bazaar still remains controversial.

Pondicherry opened 10 shops on Sir Thyagaraya Road and started calling it Pondy Bazaar. Madras historian S. Muthiah, in his book Madras Rediscovered, claims that the area was originally known as Soundarapandia Bazaar, which the government retained without change. Save for two of the streets, which were named after two workmen, Nagamani and Govindan, who died while digging trenches for the new drainage system in the locality, all the tree-lined streets were named after the stalwarts of the then ruling Justice Party.[5]

Star-rated hotels started appearing in the locality with the opening of a three-star hotel named Residency in 1991. As of 2006, there were seven hotels with over 80 per cent occupancy rates. Some of the well established and popular restaurants are Hotel Saravana Bhavan,[7] Adyar Ananda Bhavan,[8] Mansuk, etc., With the increase in retail activities in the neighbourhood, several famous theatres such as Sun, Nagesh, and Rajakumari have given way to commercial complexes.[5]

From its early days, Thiyagaraya Nagar remained one of the most preferred residential localities in the city. The population grew exponentially during the 1930s. In its early days, film artists such as M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar, T. R. Rajakumari, N. S. Krishnan, Vyjayanthimala, N. T. Rama Rao, Thangavelu, Manorama, Savitri, Sivaji Ganesan and T. S. Balaiah set up their residences here.[9]

Demographics

T.Nagar's bazaars are frequented by a number of shoppers. On a typical weekend, the number of people who move about on Pondy Bazaar, the locality's principal commercial area, might soar up to 500,000. During festival season, because of the discounts and reductions offered by dealers of silk sarees and jewellers, this number might reach 2 million.[10] Even on a lean day, about 200,000 pedestrians traverse the roads around Panagal Park, the central part of the neighbourhood.[3]

Economy

Pondy bazaar
A flyover in T. Nagar

Thyagaraya Nagar is one of the busiest shopping districts of Chennai. The neighbourhood is considered to be the biggest shopping district in India by revenue.

Naidu Hall and Instore are based in Theagarya Nagar. Other important wardrobe stores such as Pothys, The Chennai Silks, RmKV Silks and Kumaran Silks and also have their showrooms in Theagarya Nagar. Retail giant Saravana Stores has a wardrobe showroom and an utensils showroom in Thiyagaraya Nagar. Ranganathan Street
is one of the most crowded roads for pedestrian traffic during day time. The road is full of big name establishments side-by-side smaller and petty shops that sell all sorts of household goods and garments.

It also houses one of the biggest private lending libraries in the city, 'Raviraj Lending Library' on Usman Road.[13][14][15]

Culture

T.Nagar offers a variety of entertainment options. It has grown to become a major hub for the Carnatic music festival-season, with a number of sabhas (such as Krishna Gana Sabha, Vani Mahal and Bharath Kalachar) hosting famous performers.

It also has a number of parks, cricket grounds, and other recreational facilities. The RKM Cricket Ground adjoining GN Chetty Road hosts division IV and V city-league games.

Society

T. Nagar residents are an unusual mix of the traditional and the modern and this is reflected in the way the neighbourhood has been growing. Several new eateries have come up while at the same time, traditional restaurants are also packed. With the city extending its bed-time more every year, the locality has acquired a reputation of always being in the fast lane. The grand textile showrooms close very late at night, and their hoarding boards constantly illuminate the roads.

Early in the morning, joggers and walkers take full advantage of the empty roads, with the fresh air that's so hard to come by in this area at all other times of the day. Panagal Park, Natesan Park and Jeeva Park all have their regular crowd and their walkers' associations are extremely active. T. Nagar is also a place of musical intellects. A lot of sabhas are very active during the month of December.

Religion

Hinduism

Christmas celebration in Chennai
Temple in T nagar

Below is a list of some of the well-known Hindu temples located in T. Nagar:[16]

Jainism

Shantinath Jain temple on G. N. Chetty Road is one of the most important

Swetambar
Jain temples in Chennai.

Christianity

In the

Protestant churches like CSI
Kingdom of God's church, Canaan Evangelical Church et.c

Islam

Some of the notable mosques include the Anjuman Mosque.

Parks

Panagal Park
Dr.Natesan Park
M G R Memorial house T Nagar

Being one of the centrally located neighbourhoods with both residential and commercial activities, T. Nagar has several parks and greeneries, many of which are maintained by the

Corporation of Chennai. The 8-acre Panagal Park is the most prominent park in the locality with all the six arterial streets of the neighbourhood, namely, North Usman Road, South Usman Road, G. N. Chetty Road, Sir Thyagaraya Road (Pondy Bazaar), Venkatanarayana Road, and Doraiswamy Road, converging into it. The 4-acre Dr. Natesan Park, opened in 1950, is another well-known park located on Venkatanarayana Road. It is the only corporation-maintained park that has a separate tennis court for coaching children. Jeeva Park
is another well-maintained park in the neighbourhood. These parks are popular spots for morning walks for the local residents.

Neighbourhood newspapers

Transport

Bus

Buses at The T.Nagar Bus Terminus

T. Nagar is easily accessible from most parts of the city by bus. The T. Nagar bus terminus off Usman Road is a hub for services operating via the commercial district, including routes to Thiruverkadu, Mylapore, Kodambakkam, Avadi, Nungambakkam, Parry's Corner, Ennore, Manali, Tambaram, Poonamallee, Thiruvanmiyur, Ambattur, Pattabiram, Annanagar and Tiruvallur. There are also routes to various places in neighbouring Kanchipuram and Thiruvallur districts.

The T. Nagar bus terminus is spread around 1.95 acres[24] and is located on South Usman road. On a daily basis 58 buses are operated from the terminus, besides 238 buses from other areas that pass through the terminus every day. The average frequency of buses at the terminus is 7 buses per minute.[25]

Other important bus stops in T.Nagar are Panagal Park, Pondy Bazaar, Power House, and Vani Mahal.

Education

T. Nagar is home to

  • CDN Thyagaraya Nagar Higher Secondary School (founded 1933)
  • Ramakrishna Mission
  • Sir Mutha Venkatasubba Rao School
  • Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan Senior Secondary school (T.P.Road Branch - From Pre-KG to 8th grade)
  • Holy Angels higher secondary school for girls
  • Sri Sankara Bala Vidyalaya Hr. Sec. School
  • T.Nagar High School
  • Shrine Vailankanni Sr. Sec. School
  • Vidyodaya Schools
  • Karnataka Sangha school
  • MCN School

There are a number of private libraries with vast collections of books.

Personalities associated with localities in T. Nagar

Most of the streets, landmarks and bazaars in T. Nagar have been named after administrators and politicians of the Justice Party.

Politics

T. Nagar vote
by alliance in assembly elections
Year All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)
2006
 		48.6% 74,131 37.8% 57,654
2001
 		46.5% 55,376 48.6% 57,875
1996
 		24.1% 27,463 67.2% 76,461
1991
 		61.2% 64,460 31.5% 33,147
1989*
 		21.5% 24,920 43.0% 49,772
1984
 		49.3% 49,038 40.3% 40,154
1980
 		50.6% 42,566 42.9% 36,100
1977
 		29.6% 22,316 30.9% 23,346

State assembly politics

Main article:
Thiyagaraya Nagar (State Assembly Constituency)

T. Nagar is known for voting against the trend, voting against the winning party, on 5 separate occasions, since

J.Jayalalithaa
government from 2001 to 2006, due to significant development that took place in that time period in the T. Nagar area.

Lok Sabha politics

Chennai South (Lok Sabha constituency).[26]

Pedestrian plaza

A ₹ 338-million pedestrian plaza was planned in 2013 by the city corporation. It involves provision of a pedestrian-friendly footpath on the 1.45 kilometre-long stretch of the Theyagaraya Road between Panagal Park and Anna Salai.[27] It will cover 1,450 metres of Thyagaraya Road from Bashyam Road near Panagal Park to Anna Salai. The plaza will be divided into three stretches with different identities. A 12-metre wide pedestrian space will be developed in the 730-metre stretch from Panagal Park to the Thanikachalam Road junction.[28]

Upon completion, only city buses and motorcycles will be permitted in this area in a 7-metre carriageway. All types of vehicles will be allowed on the 370-m stretch from Thanikachalam Road to the Boag Road junction, where the pedestrian plaza will be only 3.5  metres wide and carriageway will be comparatively wider measuring 15  metres. All vehicles will be permitted on the 350-metre stretch between the Boag Road junction to the Anna Salai junction.[28]

The proposal for a cycle track has been replaced with a plan to introduce battery-operated cars. A multi-level car parking lot has also been planned. Other facilities in the plaza include seating, public toilet and a children's play area.[28]

Future

In 2013, to address the traffic concerns of the neighbourhood,

Chennai Corporation tied up with real estate advisory firm Jones Lang LaSalle to exercise a proposal to redevelop the area, especially the shopping centres.[3] T. Nagar will also be the site for the Smart City Mission in Chennai as per the Government data.[29]

See also

Location in context

References

  1. ^ Srivathsan, A. (19 August 2010). "The making of Mambalam". The Hindu. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  2. ^ "As T. Nagar nears 100, a look at its history". The Hindu. Chennai: Kasturi & Sons. 8 December 2019. p. 5. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Malviya, Sagar; Sangeetha Kandavel (7 February 2013). "India's biggest shopping district Theagaraya Nagar in Chennai to get a retail makeover". The Economic Times. Chennai: The Times Group. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  4. ^ Madras Rediscovered by S.Muthiah
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Varghese, Nina (29 August 2006). "T.Nagar: Shop till you drop, and then shop some more". Business Line. Chennai: The Hindu. Archived from the original on 26 September 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  6. ISSN 0971-751X
    . Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  7. ^ "Saravanaa Bhavan - Home". www.saravanabhavan.com. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  8. ^ "Adyar Ananda Bhavan Sweets and Snacks | Tamil Nadu | Karnataka". www.aabsweets.in. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  9. ^ Prince Frederick (22 April 2009). "Memories of Madras: Of shady avenues and street poets". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 25 April 2009.
  10. ^ "Weekend before Deepavali, T Nagar crowd touches 10 lakh". The Times of India. Chennai. 1 November 2010. Archived from the original on 3 January 2013. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
  11. ^ a b Srivathsan, A. (12 May 2006). "Usman Road costliest stretch in Chennai". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 5 December 2006.
  12. ^ "Panagal Park". The Hindu. 24 April 2014.
  13. ^ Kannan, Uma (23 June 2012). "4-decade-old library with 10,000 books in trouble". Asian Age.
  14. ^ S, Venkadesan (14 June 2011). "Just Rs 750 rent for this 48-year old shop". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  15. ^ S, Venkadesan (14 June 2011). "Just Rs 750 rent for this 48-year old shop". IBNLive. Archived from the original on 10 August 2013.
  16. ^ "Temples of Chennai - T - Awaken the Devotion Within". www.greenmesg.org. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  17. ^ "Sringeri Sarada Peetam Temple, T. Nagar, Chennai". www.greenmesg.org. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  18. ^ "Sringeri Bharati Vidyashram - Sringeri Sharada Peetham". Sringeri Sharada Peetham. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  19. ^ "Shiva Vishnu Temple, T. Nagar, Chennai". www.greenmesg.org. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  20. ^ "Holy Cross Church – Churchnagar". catholic churches.in. 19 December 2008. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  21. ^ "T Nagar Times | Mambalam Newspaper".
  22. ^ "T.Nagar | Local Newspapers Chennai". Local Newspapers Chennai. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  23. ^ newspaper, local. "Chennai News". www.localnewspaper.in. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  24. ^ "T. Nagar bus terminus to be modernised". The Hindu. Chennai: Kasturi & Sons. 3 July 2019. p. 2. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  25. ^ Narayanan, Vivek (12 December 2019). "T.Nagar bus terminus in urgent need of expansion". The Hindu. Chennai: Kasturi & Sons. p. 2. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  26. ^ "List of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies" (PDF). Tamil Nadu. Election Commission of India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 May 2006. Retrieved 8 October 2008.
  27. ^ Kumar, Pradeep (7 May 2018). "Chennai Corporation begins work on T Nagar pedestrian plaza". The Times of India. Chennai: The Times Group. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  28. ^ a b c "Work on T. Nagar pedestrian plaza begins". The Hindu. Chennai. 8 May 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  29. ^ "T NAGAR will be Chennai's test site for smart city plan". Retrieved 17 December 2015.
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