Mylapore of Yore!
I become nostalgic when I remember the good old Mylapore, where I entered as a young newly married bride, decades ago, – now, the same place has changed into a blend of tradition and modern!
Life, for Mylaporeans, was centred around this temple years back and still this temple stands tall, a witness to the passage of time. The small shops that lined the two sides of the famous Sannadhi Street, selling bommais, ceramic dolls, flowers and sarees , old jewellers then called Thattaans, messes and cafes created a truly Mylapore effect, an aromatic mix of jasmine flowers, coffee and vadai-pakoda.
Giri Traders which was housed in a 10 by 10 ft small space used to be my most favourite shop to buy cassettes. The now famous T S Ranganathan was a young teenager then. He used to sing beautifully all the bhajans from the cassettes in the shop and I would end up buying them, tempted by his rendering. His business knack, as young boy, was incomparable!
The Mada veedhi has changed very much. But even years back, jewellery shops were aplenty. Sadly the famous D K Murthy shop is no more. He was famous as a "rasiana (lucky) thattan" to make diamond earrings. He was a charmer with a way for pleasant words. Then the speciality in his shop was the Nagerkovil jewellery called Temple jewellery which could be easily mistaken for antique jewellery.
I am sad Sampurnam Silks has also vanished. That shop always prided on the "azutham" of their sarees, which was their special trademark. The combinations were always traditional and their "Bhavaans" border was a speciality, unsurpassable in grandeur combined with elegance. I had a "mayilkazuthu" colour silk saree with bhaavaans border, which was my most prided possession. Most of my silk sarees which I wear till today were bought there.
Radha Silks was ruling high even then and they had the more fashionable combinations in silk sarees. That many V I Ps were their regular customers, was a feather on their cap.
Shukras though a comparatively late starter had silverware, which was not available in other shops. As far as I know (I am likely to be wrong as well!), they were the first to introduce silver flowers, silver arukampul etc for archanais.
Leo Coffee on the South Mada veedhi was and is still famous. They continue to have their faithful clientele (like me!) who swear that Mylapore Leo stocks the best coffee powder than their branches in other parts of the city. That is because we think, we, Mylaporeans are connoisseurs of the best coffee !
Now after shopping clothes etc, let us have a coffee-break, now !
A landmark opposite Radha Silks is the famous Karpakambal Mess. The "tiffin room" atmosphere is still maintained, the snacks being served on banana leaves. Their idlis, adai-avial, keerai vadai and badham halwa make mouth water ! The heady aroma of Kapi, the pure filter degree coffee fills the air. The way the coffee is cooled, from tumbler to davara and then the full tumbler is upturned into the davara with not a drop falling down, is an art which we cannot copy easily. They give no savvy advertisements. The mess has survived only by word of mouth.
Rayar's Café, yet another landmark has shifted from Kutchery road to one of the inner streets of Mylapore. People still wait patiently for a table early every morning to enjoy their fantastic idlis. Most of their clients are the V I Ps of Chennai ! Similarly the Kalathi Kadai on the East Mada Street near Chithrakulam corner has been serving standard rose milk to thirsty school going children from the early 1940's.
Now, let me stop drooling over food and move on !
The houses around the Srinivasa Perumal kovil had the old world charm and Vaishnava character. The typical scenes were kolams outside houses, the old mami taking a quick look at her Perumal through the collapsible gate of her house, the mama in his panchakcham with a bright namam carrying a kudam of water in his shoulder !
After all the eating we do in Mylapore, does not our stomach rumble a little? Do not worry, we can move on to Dabba Chetty Kadai, another landmark, The shop has been selling herbal medicinal drugs as well as puja items, for many years and is called nattu marundu kadai. It was and still is a wayside shop and they pack their medicines in small pottalams.The quality of medicines has been maintained and the prices are reasonable. Medicines for post-natal care and Deepavali legiyam are their specialities. Ladies may deliver their babies abroad, but stick to the post-natal legiyams taken from here!
How can I not write about Srividya Upasaka Nilayam on the Mada veedhi? It was originally started to supply manjal-kumkumam to all major temples and mutts of India. In those days, no kumkumam other than the Srividya kumkumam was used by women, as a safe bet. They also stocked pure sandalwood powder, agarbathis, rose water etc. The shop was not big, but as you approached near, the strong smell of kasthuri manjal and kumkumam tickled the nostrils. The feeling, rather aroma was just divine.
Dear old Mylapore is a land of eternal mysticism, of infinite smells, sounds and sights with temples and the typical old fashioned food flavour. Mylapore, one of Chennai's oldest pockets, a quintessential representation of the spirit of Chennai is a mix of tradition and modernity. No part of Chennai is older or deserves greater recognition than Mylapore, as evident from the following verse by Saint Thirugnanasambandhar.
Mylai – beautiful and surrounded by sweet-smelling punnai trees was chosen as his seat by Lord Kapalishwar.
Love,
Chithra.
Life, for Mylaporeans, was centred around this temple years back and still this temple stands tall, a witness to the passage of time. The small shops that lined the two sides of the famous Sannadhi Street, selling bommais, ceramic dolls, flowers and sarees , old jewellers then called Thattaans, messes and cafes created a truly Mylapore effect, an aromatic mix of jasmine flowers, coffee and vadai-pakoda.
Giri Traders which was housed in a 10 by 10 ft small space used to be my most favourite shop to buy cassettes. The now famous T S Ranganathan was a young teenager then. He used to sing beautifully all the bhajans from the cassettes in the shop and I would end up buying them, tempted by his rendering. His business knack, as young boy, was incomparable!
The Mada veedhi has changed very much. But even years back, jewellery shops were aplenty. Sadly the famous D K Murthy shop is no more. He was famous as a "rasiana (lucky) thattan" to make diamond earrings. He was a charmer with a way for pleasant words. Then the speciality in his shop was the Nagerkovil jewellery called Temple jewellery which could be easily mistaken for antique jewellery.
I am sad Sampurnam Silks has also vanished. That shop always prided on the "azutham" of their sarees, which was their special trademark. The combinations were always traditional and their "Bhavaans" border was a speciality, unsurpassable in grandeur combined with elegance. I had a "mayilkazuthu" colour silk saree with bhaavaans border, which was my most prided possession. Most of my silk sarees which I wear till today were bought there.
Radha Silks was ruling high even then and they had the more fashionable combinations in silk sarees. That many V I Ps were their regular customers, was a feather on their cap.
Shukras though a comparatively late starter had silverware, which was not available in other shops. As far as I know (I am likely to be wrong as well!), they were the first to introduce silver flowers, silver arukampul etc for archanais.
Leo Coffee on the South Mada veedhi was and is still famous. They continue to have their faithful clientele (like me!) who swear that Mylapore Leo stocks the best coffee powder than their branches in other parts of the city. That is because we think, we, Mylaporeans are connoisseurs of the best coffee !
Now after shopping clothes etc, let us have a coffee-break, now !
A landmark opposite Radha Silks is the famous Karpakambal Mess. The "tiffin room" atmosphere is still maintained, the snacks being served on banana leaves. Their idlis, adai-avial, keerai vadai and badham halwa make mouth water ! The heady aroma of Kapi, the pure filter degree coffee fills the air. The way the coffee is cooled, from tumbler to davara and then the full tumbler is upturned into the davara with not a drop falling down, is an art which we cannot copy easily. They give no savvy advertisements. The mess has survived only by word of mouth.
Rayar's Café, yet another landmark has shifted from Kutchery road to one of the inner streets of Mylapore. People still wait patiently for a table early every morning to enjoy their fantastic idlis. Most of their clients are the V I Ps of Chennai ! Similarly the Kalathi Kadai on the East Mada Street near Chithrakulam corner has been serving standard rose milk to thirsty school going children from the early 1940's.
Now, let me stop drooling over food and move on !
The houses around the Srinivasa Perumal kovil had the old world charm and Vaishnava character. The typical scenes were kolams outside houses, the old mami taking a quick look at her Perumal through the collapsible gate of her house, the mama in his panchakcham with a bright namam carrying a kudam of water in his shoulder !
After all the eating we do in Mylapore, does not our stomach rumble a little? Do not worry, we can move on to Dabba Chetty Kadai, another landmark, The shop has been selling herbal medicinal drugs as well as puja items, for many years and is called nattu marundu kadai. It was and still is a wayside shop and they pack their medicines in small pottalams.The quality of medicines has been maintained and the prices are reasonable. Medicines for post-natal care and Deepavali legiyam are their specialities. Ladies may deliver their babies abroad, but stick to the post-natal legiyams taken from here!
How can I not write about Srividya Upasaka Nilayam on the Mada veedhi? It was originally started to supply manjal-kumkumam to all major temples and mutts of India. In those days, no kumkumam other than the Srividya kumkumam was used by women, as a safe bet. They also stocked pure sandalwood powder, agarbathis, rose water etc. The shop was not big, but as you approached near, the strong smell of kasthuri manjal and kumkumam tickled the nostrils. The feeling, rather aroma was just divine.
Dear old Mylapore is a land of eternal mysticism, of infinite smells, sounds and sights with temples and the typical old fashioned food flavour. Mylapore, one of Chennai's oldest pockets, a quintessential representation of the spirit of Chennai is a mix of tradition and modernity. No part of Chennai is older or deserves greater recognition than Mylapore, as evident from the following verse by Saint Thirugnanasambandhar.
Mylai – beautiful and surrounded by sweet-smelling punnai trees was chosen as his seat by Lord Kapalishwar.
Love,
Chithra.
Total Comments 32
Comments
 |  Giri Trading Company is my favorite shop..and recently my parents told me its five storeys now and even air conditioned..Oh No..I feel I lost an old friend.. I only used to buy books and really have so many many from them.. to me they had a wonderful collection of spiritual books..Rayars cafe was my fathers favorite haunt in those days..wish I was there now or maybe its time to book the ticket. thanks for writing on this ever green topic.. |
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| |  Come back to M'pore.....at the earliest & we will paint the town red ! Giri's now stocks such lovely things, right from small gifts, idols, CDs, statues, varieties of brass puja things........etc. My favourite jaunt for window shopping is Giri's, besides Chennai City Centre, which is also in M'pore. The "antique still modern" look of M'pore has no match ! Love, Chithra. |
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| |  Dear Chitvish, Mylapore.... Oh my God!!!.... My father, whenever he gets in the mood for telling stories, will start off with mylapore... That is the place, first he landed.... When he came to Chennai.... My Mom was born and brought up in Mylapore.... My father got married to my mom with all the formalities etc in Mylapore... So, from our childhood we have heard so much about that... My mothers uncles, used to live there... One Mr.MK Murthy, AIR drama artist lived in the Mada Vedhi.... Whenever we used to visit them... all stories... I studied in Viveka.... So roamed around mylapore.... But today, when I visited.... the total Mylapore has changed dramatically.... I couldnt recognise..... You have left out the famous Shirdi Sai Temple and the Anchaneya temple.... |
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| | Veda, Mylapore cannot be...."contained" in one post ! I stricty kept, to the area around the Kapali temple. I did want to mention about R K mutt also. Anyway, I know you must be proud to call yourself a Vivekananda student ! I love the name Thirumayilapuri much more than Mylapore ! Love, Chithra. |
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| |  Dear Chithra, You have given a total -Virtual seeing effect from ur post!I'm proud to say that my Paternal grandparents lived in mylapore until 1986!I love the kutti shops near the kapali kovil..Karpagambal mess -..how can i forget it...My family still uses the manjal n kukumams from srividya's only.. I feel that the entire Mylapore are is very divine and charming! |
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| | Thanks, Aishu Baby....for joining us here ! If you have lived in M'pore for a few years, you can never get it out of your system (read thoughts!). The charm is everlasting. 13 yrs back, when we shifted from an independent house to the present flat, V's only condition was that he will not shift out of Mylapore. Of late M'pore is self-contained with big malls as well as old-fashioned shops ! I have no hassel in calling myself a M'pore mami because that is what I am ! Love, Chithra. |
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| | Dear Chithra, Although I was not a resident of Mylai, my favorite place in Chennai is Mylapore. I love the small shops that dot the Mada streets. I generally like to roam around these shops after sunset when you can see hurricane lights glowing and when the sea breeze sets in to make strolling around enjoyable. No mega mall can give me the same pleasure as shopping on the Mada Street and in Luz corner. If I happen to be in Chennai during the Arupathu moovar, I do not miss the festive air and the migrant craftsmen. The Theppam is a sight to behold. I got my first kitchen play set (wooden choppu) from a shop there. I find it is still sold in the same form - inside a palm leaf box. Another prized possession is a foldable palm leaf hand-fan that was hand-painted. Another is a wooden Palankuzhi (also known as Mancala in the US). The vegatable market is another of my favorites. My husband is from neighbouring Alwarpet. We used to go vege shopping around 8.00 pm when the prices begin to fall. The smell of fresh coriander leaves on one side, jasmine on the other....a young cow with is new horns gladly munching at an unaware vendors vegatables. Oh Chithra - you make me yearn for the sights and sounds of Thirumylai. In a fast changing cityscape, Mylapore is one of those few places where we can still see the village style homes with their red tiled roofs and pillared verandahs. |
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| | I forgot to mention the gypsies (korathis) and their beads! |
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| | Nivedi, we Mylaporeans....still maintain our "old world" charm & we enjoy it that way ! The gypsies ( one of them is Lata, now my very good friend!), now sell such lovely fashionable beads in myriad colours. My daughter, DIL & GDs buy "cheaper by the dozen", to match all dresses including pattu pudavai. That was my "vethilai pakku" gift for Navarathri this season. I will reserve the best for you as a gift when we meet ! Love, Chithra. |
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| |  Dear Chithu, Lovely description of Mylapore. I join the gang of your daughter & GD when it comes to buying from kurathis and being a Mylaporean all my life. Though not many I love to buy from them. I am a regular at Dubba Chetty and the kovil kadais also.Rasiyyai marak mudiyuma, there are a name to reckon with, not to forget the mess, Rayar's and Karpagam. There used to be a mami selling kozhukattais and thavalai vadais at Pichu pillai koil street. Have u been there??? |
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| | Dear Chitvish, The famous second hand book shops??? around the tank.....??? which used to be.... what happened to them... We used to get some of the rare books also from them.... Are there still any of them around????? |
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| | Janani, thanks....Unlike me who has shifted from Madurai to Mylapore, you are a "born Mylaporean" ! So, I can understand your strong loyalty. I think Kozakkatai mami still continues? But the jannal kadai vadais in Ponnambala vadyar steet next to temple, are positively bad now. Perhaps with Saravanas in Mada veedhi, the takers are less now ! Love, Chithra. |
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| | The shops now are just "naam ke vaste", Veda !The old glory of Pazaya pusthaka kadai is not there ! May be with the internet, reading has gone down ? Love, Chithra. |
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| |  Could actually see the Old mylapore from your words. I used visit that pullaiyar temple at Luz signal and Pavithra tailors regularly. It is still a great place to live right. One can actaully feel tradition and meaning of staying in agraharam. Wonderful usage of words. With some pictures and music, this can be made into a narration like the ones which come on discovery's travel channel. |
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| |  Hi ma'am Superb article about good ole chennai.when iam in chennai i spend lot of time in giri trading.I always forget time when iam there..their new building is very good and comfy for shopping. could u please tell me where exactly naatu marundhu shop 'dabba chetty kadai"and Srividya Upasaka Nilayam are located.appreciate yr help. one more thing..u are superb in whatever field u trod upon be it recipes ,sloka or hindu rituals. Hats off to u. take care. Happy New Year. Regards latha |
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| | Meenloch, your post pleased me no end !Luz Navasakthi Pillayar Kovil came only in early 70 ! It was not there, initially. Those days, the famous shops were PMP Corner Shop (later Crores & Crores), Fashion silk House, Chitra Agencies etc ! Infact I did not mention about the famous Thannithurai Market because already my post was too long !! The Luz corner where there is Vivek now, used to ba a dark place with trees ! - is it not unbelievable ? Love, Chithra. |
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| | Latha, your first post to me is just "honey" !Thanks for the very nice words. Dabba Chetti kadai is half way through Kutcheri Road, just before the intersection with Bazaar Road. There are quite a few Nattu marundu kadais there. Srividya is diagonally opposite Ambika Appalam, on North Mada Veedi.It is the corner shop halfway through, just before you turn left to go to Kutcheri Road. Yesterday I went window shopping to Giri's & ended up buying a whole lot of books !! Love, Chithra. |
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| | Hi ma''am Please write more articles on these lines.it made me nostalgic for my beautiful hometown. u made my day when i read yr article.thanks a million.take care. happy writing!!!!! |
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| |  Hello Mylapore mami, You are creating ripples through your blogs and creating milestones through your recipies and spiritual forum! " Mylapore of yore" plunged me into deep thoughts. A song, " Mylapore Vakkilathu Mattu peNNaven, Vaikasi Aani matham KuTRRalam poven." the name of the picture I forgot, but was a hilarious one.If I am not wrong, I think this song was written by Kothamangalam Subbu. In those days Mylapore was the abode of most of the Chennai vakils. Though my b-i-l was also a vakil he resided at China Bazar, the present NSC Bose Road and he used to go to Ercaud every summer. I enjoyed your blog very much. Love, Pushpavalli |
| Updated 10th January 2008 at 08:18 PM by Pushpavalli Srinivasan |
| | Hello to Jamshedpur Didi from Mylapore Mami !Yes, k subbu's song created ripples in those days ! Like typical old timers (that we are, as well!), we can reminisce about the good old days' songs. Cheeniya once mentioned that, this song was a pun on his cousin who became a "mayilapore vakilathu mattupon" and K Subbu was their close family friend ! It is a nice feeling to get a pat on the bak from a senior, PS ! Love, Chithra. |
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Recent Blog Entries by Chitvish
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