Thursday, June 28, 2007

The Old Highway

From what i remember out of some casual reading thro' Madras Miscellany of The Hindu, by Historian S Muthaiah, i am to believe that one of the old highways of the Madras Presidency is the road which went all the way from the entrance of the Government Estate, (which was called the Governor's retreat then) towards south, thus connecting Triplicane and further down, to the Santhome Palace and the Basilica and to Mylapore. (Triplicane and Mylapore were the first sub-urbs of Chennai-pattanam - They are in the heart of Greater Chennai now)

This road still exists, though far from being a high way.

The road as such begins as the Triplicane High Road and then continues thro' Triplicane as Dr. Natesan Road, to reach Mylapore, where it is called Bazaar road.

The road is rather narrow for today's city space and has changed enough to have no remains of those early days of its existance. It must have been the path for every other Britisher to go to the Santhome Basilica and also for all those people who lived in sub urban parts to go to the city.

Now, why am i worried about this road? I use some parts of this road, to reach IIT campus from home, on most days. Every time i travel on it, i m reminded of its historical importance...

Comments:
Where did this head? Pondicherry aaa?

Roads calling themselves 'old highway' in a couple of other cities I've been in seem still fairly big and traffic-ed, da(you've been on one of them, havent you?:-), so sli surprise this one's dissolved into a town-street.
 
well, this highway is so old that it led only to the suburban parts which were triplicane and mylapore... prolly led till adyar, which was then a battle field...
 
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