The other day, travelling
on Walltax road – saw this old building – which looked like a religious place
at first sight – it is not to be – and the whole area once was a beehive of
activity was later understood.
Wall Tax Road
renamed after Kappal Ottiya Thamizhan (VO Chidambaram Pillai)
and now VOC Salai, runs adjacent to the big landmark – the Central Railway
station bordering the Sowcarpet / erstwhile Georgetown area. The road was named
after the wall built as a protective measure by the British in 1772–1773, which
still remains partially. It is stated that when the road was completed, the government decided to
impose the cost of the newly laid road on the public in the form of tax; the
subjects refused and it was never paid, though it gave the road the name. So clearly this is centuries old road – part
of a long colonial history. The French
occupied the Madras city for a brief while, taken back by the British, which
strategically strengthened the city – the wall here once was known as black
town wall. Reportedly, the wall ran from
Cochrane Canal on north to Poonamalle High Road- Central Station junction on
the south. One of its gates was Elephant Gate locally known as Yaanai
Kauni. In the vicinity was the Mint,
Salt cotaurs, Govt printing press and more.
There are many bamboo vendors on the road who have been in business here
for decades.
Buses from Tamilnadu to
Andhra (especially Thirumala Tirupathi) have been running successfully for
long. While TN State Corporation buses
used to start from MUC / Terminus opp to Esplanade (High Court) and Broadway,
the Andhra Pradesh bus stand (APSRTC) used to operate from this road – before
CMBT changed the traffic flow of the
city.
In Kakinada, there was the Cinema road, which housed so many cinema
theatres. In the city of Madras too,
cinema industry was deep rooted and the city had so much to do with
Cinema. There were many production
houses, Cine studios, theatres and many distributors besides associations for
artistes. After the World wondered the
moving images of Lumiere Brothers, something known as kinemascope came to
Chennai. The older ones would include
Crown Talkies,Murugan Talkies etc.,
Gaiety, Casino, Chtira, Paragon, Wellington, New Elphinstone, Minerva,
Star were some of the older ones. In mid
1970s – the ones dotted the Mount road include : Santhi, Devi complex, Alankar,
Wellington, Plaza, Alankar, Midlands, Anand, Saffire and more – most of which
have been razed down with commercial complexes standing in their place.
The structure seen in the
photo is that of Padmanabha Theatre, which was known as ‘Regal Talkies’ in
early days. Not sure when this was
closed, though it is clear by its very looks, it remains used at least for 2 /
3 years.
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar.
14th Oct 2o14.
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