(I am including this article on Egmore because that was where I was born and bred –a srt of nostalgic trip, down memory lane–Author unknown)) Ezhhumoor/Egmore/Ezhumboor
The second phase of Chola rule in the Madras region was under the imperial Cholas, from around A.D. 900 (Aditya Chola) until the end of the Chola empire in A.D. 1285. Akin to Mylapore, Egmore (Ezhumur) has an interesting history of about 1,000 years. Two inscriptions in the Parthasarathy temple at Triplicane mention “Ezhumur”, said Nagaswamy. The earlier one, dated A.D. 1309, belongs to the Pandya king Kulasekhara Pandya. It talked about “Ezhumur nadu” which fell under “Puliyur kottam” (divison) of “Jayamkonda Chola mandalam”. It mentioned how “Ayanpuram kizhavan” (the chief of the Ayanpuram village, which is the present-day Aynavaram) sold land to raise funds to provide for offerings to the deity of the Parthasarathy temple. The second inscription, belonging to the Vijayanagara period of the 16th century, also spoke about how Ezhumur came under “Puliyur kottam” which, in turn, fell under “Jayamkonda Chola mandalam”.
An ancient lineage
The history of Madras, however, is not limited to just 375 years. It has an ancient history going back to the beginning of the historic period, that is, the Tamil Sangam age (the first century B.C. to the third century A.D.). Sangam works refer to Mylapore. In his book The Early History of the Madras Region, K.V. Raman says: “Mylapore was a port. It has been mentioned by Roman geographer Ptolemy as Mylafa. In the first century A.D., Mylapore was an important commercial centre, attracting foreign traders.” Tamil Sangam literature has mentioned Mylapore as Mylarpil. “Triplicane came under Mylapore. Importantly, it was not merely called Triplicane but Mylapore-Triplicane,” Raman said. Mylapore and Triplicane are noted for their Kapalisvara and Parthasarathy Swamy temples.
R. Nagaswamy, former Director, Tamil Nadu Archaeology Department, attested to the importance of Mylapore in the Madras region. “During the period of the Pallava ruler Nandivarman III [regnal years A.D. 844-866], Mylapore was a port town. The Tamil work, Nandikalambagam, composed anonymously in praise of him, calls Mylapore a port town. Nandivarman was in fact called ‘Mylai kaavalar’, that is, the ruler of Mylai,” Nagaswamy said.
After the first phase of the Sangam Cholas’ rule in the Madras region in the first century A.D., first under Karikala Chola and later by Tondaiman Ilam Tirayan, Madras was under the Pallavas from the fourth century A.D. to the 9th century A,D. “The earliest inscription to be found in Madras is at Pallavaram. It belongs to the Pallava ruler Mahendravarman I [regnal years A.D. 600-630],” said Nagaswamy. Mahendravarman I inscribed 67 titles or cognomens or birudas that he assumed in a Siva temple that he carved out of rock at Pallavaram. The inscription is in the Pallava-Grantha script. The language of the inscription is mostly Telugu and some titles are in Sanskrit and Tamil. The inscription commences by mentioning his name, “Sri Mahendravikrama”. Some of his colourful titles that were inscribed are Mattavilasah, Chetrakari, Vichitra Chittah, Kalahapriya and Lalitankura. The Siva temple in the rock-cut cave is now a dargah.
The second phase of Chola rule in the Madras region was under the imperial Cholas, from around A.D. 900 (Aditya Chola) until the end of the Chola empire in A.D. 1285. Akin to Mylapore, Egmore (Ezhumur) has an interesting history of about 1,000 years. Two inscriptions in the Parthasarathy temple at Triplicane mention “Ezhumur”, said Nagaswamy. The earlier one, dated A.D. 1309, belongs to the Pandya king Kulasekhara Pandya. It talked about “Ezhumur nadu” which fell under “Puliyur kottam” (divison) of “Jayamkonda Chola mandalam”. It mentioned how “Ayanpuram kizhavan” (the chief of the Ayanpuram village, which is the present-day Aynavaram) sold land to raise funds to provide for offerings to the deity of the Parthasarathy temple. The second inscription, belonging to the Vijayanagara period of the 16th century, also spoke about how Ezhumur came under “Puliyur kottam” which, in turn, fell under “Jayamkonda Chola mandalam”.
But Egmore’s 18th century history, after it came under the Company’s control, is not so sedate. “Square mile for square mile, Egmore is the part of Madras which has seen more war and contention than any other,” says N.S. Ramaswami in his article “Fighting Egmore”, in his column “Coral Strand” that appeared in Indian Expresson June 20, 1983. “Among its unwelcome visitors, sword in hand, were the French, the Dutch and the Mysore troops of Hyder Ali. It has been plundered, farmed out, fought for and [it] overenjoyed the doubtful joys of a ‘metta’ or a toll station.”
Indeed, Egmore was both a seat of war and a health resort with a “fine air”. The Company built a minor fort, called a redoubt, in Egmore. The redoubt had a unit for making gunpowder. A choultry, built earlier, had a guardhouse added to it. This choultry was to be a health resort for the sepoys of the Company—it was to provide “a great relief to the poor soldiers when sick and contribute to saving their lives”.
Soon, the British built a Pantheon, or public assembly rooms, in Egmore. Many garden houses came up. Nagaswamy said “the most important point is that the British had a vision” when they systematically developed the infrastructure required for Madras. For instance, “the British built a railway station, a museum, a library, a theatre, a zoo and a record office, all at Egmore”. The small zoo at Egmore featured two tigers. While Dr Edward Balfour was the founder of the Government Museum in Egmore, Dr F.H. Gravely gave it a proper shape.
Fort and away
With flourishing trade and a strong army, Madras boomed. The Englishmen left the Fort to build for themselves bungalows away from the sea, on Mount Road and Poonamalee High Road, and at Egmore, Mylapore, Adyar and Guindy. Egmore was the favourite. Wealthy Indians lived in Luz. These bungalows, known as garden houses, had “high colonnades, projecting open porticos, open corridors and triangular pediments in front”. As William Hodges, who visited Madras in 1781, observed: “The English town, rising from within Fort St. George has, from the sea, a rich and beautiful appearance…. The buildings consist of long colonnades with open porticos and flat roofs and offer to the eye an appearance similar to what he may conceive of a Grecian city.”
Madras had castles too: Brodie’s Castle and Leith Castle. Brodie’s Castle was built by James Brodie, an “outstanding civil servant” of the Company, on 11 acres assigned to him in 1796. It is a beautiful bungalow, built on the banks of the Adyar river, on Greenways Road. It is now home to the Tamil Nadu Music and Fine Arts University. Leith Castle, situated in San Thome, was built by James Leith, another civil servant of the Company. It is a private residential house now.
This is how Steen Bille found Madras when he visited it in 1845:
“One can drive and ride as one will. The roads are excellent, one flies one’s way; the air we breathe is balmic and invigorating. We can drive past one villa after another and all are situated in beautifully laid-out and well-kept parks and gardens.”