The Tamil region has been settled for millennia and this is also true of the Chennai area. Robert Bruce Foote, the British geologist, unearthed a hand axe dating back over 2.6 million years. Later, Iron Age tools and implements were also found and as historian and archaeologist KV Raman has documented, burial urns and a small sarcophagus have been found within the current city’s precincts. While there is no documented continuity of human presence after the Palaeolithic Age, a few million years later, Roman coins and painted earthenware were found in areas of the city, indicating a brisk trade with West Asia.
Yathees Kumar, the archaeologist, suggests that even though the continuity of human settlement in the area is not recorded, the ongoing excavations across the regions of Tamil Nadu, including in the Chennai area, may throw up more evidence in terms of buried objects and human remains that indicate a kind of continuity of human presence in the region. The numerous neighbouring villages that were woven into the city like the strands of a necklace became an integral part of Chennai but were initially independent villages. The pakkams and oorus, each with their own distinct identity and history, were a repository of Tamil culture and tradition.
Certain areas of the city are older than others. Mylapore was referred to in the writing of Ptolemy the Greek geographer as Mylarphon, even in the second century of the Common Era. St Thomas, as we know, came to these shores in the early Christian decades and preached the Word of Christ on the beach. The Portuguese settlement of San Thome grew around this sandy terrain and is now a central part of Chennai. Marco Polo, the Venetian merchant and explorer, records that the body of “Messer Saint Thomas the Apostle lies in this town…having no great population. It is a place where few traders go…. Both Christians and Saracens frequent it in pilgrimage.” When the Portuguese who came to trade in the sixteenth century settled here, it became a small town that dominated the region.
Over the next few centuries, San Thome grew and with a population of 5,000 was a White Town like the one in Fort St George, while adjacent Mylapore served as its Black Town. Even today, the sense of San Thome as a separate town, of an ooru, exists, and some of its streets and buildings still carry a hint of the old Portuguese heritage. Other oorus, the small villages and semi-urban agglomerations, which were pulled into Chennai/ Madras include Nungambakkam, Mambalam, Egmore (originally Ezhumbur), Poonamallee, Padi, Manali, Madambakkam, Adambakkam, Tiruvottriyur, etc., and further south, Tiruvanmaiyur, Neelankarai, and other villages. Chithra Madhavan, the historian, says, “Many of these villages including the interior ones with their ancient temples, which are part of today’s Chennai easily date back to the Chola and Pallava times.”
Muthiah documented the fact that most Chennai families, even if they have been in the city for many generations, come from other places in Tamil Nadu, migrating to the newly aggregated city from villages near and far. He was also of the view that despite residency in the city, a favourite line of inquiry among Tamilians was the inexplicable desire to know which ooru a person was from. Many families maintain links to their places of origin, especially the Chettiar community, which works hard at preserving a unique and distinct heritage.
Tirumangai Azhwar, one of the Vaishnavite poet-saints of the eighth century, in his poetic compositions speaks of both Mylapore and Tiruvellikeni villages with their ancient temples. The Parthasarathy Swamy temple in Triplicane (anglicized from Tiruvellikeni) is a standout symbol of the Pallava period. Keni means sacred tank, alli refers to the lilies which grew in the midst of the tank, surrounded by groves of tulasi, the holy basil. Another Vaishnavite poet, Pey Azhwar, describes in evocative verse how pearl and coral deposits from the sea that wash ashore on the beach illuminate the entire village of Tiruvellikeni. These temples, in all likelihood, were originally built in the late fifth or sixth centuries CE. Incidentally, Triplicane was the first village to be added to Madras on an annual rent of Rs175 from the sultan of Golconda in 1676. In 1720, after the Golconda dynasty ended, Triplicane was fully annexed into British territory.
Many of the temples were built and rebuilt a few times over the centuries. The Kapalishwar temple in Mylapore has been mentioned in the Thevaram. Buddhists and Jains also lived near this temple before the persecution of Jains began around the ninth century. Centuries later, the temple’s tank was built on land gifted by the nawab of Arcot. Even now Muslims use the tank on Muharram day. The simple amity between communities symbolised by these spaces and the use of them is a hallmark of Chennai’s syncretic culture.
The nawabs of Arcot were under the overlordship of the Mughal emperor, many of them tried to keep their territory intact, but were outplayed by the British in the end, either through political manoeuvrings or finally disenfranchised by the infamous Doctrine of Lapse, whereby their areas were ceded to the British. Mention must be made of Nawab Muhammed Ali Wallajah who built the lovely Wallajah Mosque in Triplicane in 1749 and whose generosity again epitomized a high level of inter-faith harmony at the time. Apart from donating land for the Kapalishwar temple tank, he gave elephants to numerous temples and commissioned a painting of The Last Supper which he gifted to St Mary’s Church in Fort St. George.
In the Sangam poems, there is a reference to Tondaimandalam, indicating the area around Chennai ruled later by the Pallava kings. The Pallava rulers held sway over the region until about the ninth century, then with the Imperial Cholas dominating Tamilakam, their rule and influence prevailed. After the Chola decline, the Pandyas who surfaced again from Madurai extended their control up to Tondaimandalam. When the Vijayanagar kings controlled this part of Tamilakam, the Nayaks were their regents, and it was from the Nayak of Wandiwash, Damarla Venkatadri, that the land grant was made to Francis Day. The great poet-philosopher Thiruvalluvar, legends suggest, was born in the region that later became Chennai around the late fourth century. As a much-revered Tamil icon, his ethical and moral values have permeated much of the Tamil psyche.
Subramania Bharati, the most luminous of poets of the 20th century, who was born in Tirunelveli district in 1882, spent prolonged periods in Chennai, and also died here. More than anyone else in the twentieth century, Bharati stirred the imagination of the Tamil people particularly as the freedom movement was gaining momentum. Patriotism, a love for the beauty of the land, and a freedom beyond mere political freedom, were ideas he expressed lyrically and movingly. Fearlessness, love, and a humanism that embraced all living creatures, were the themes of his poetry. Bharati was also a journalist, activist, and a passionate votary for the emancipation of women, and spoke out against social orthodoxies. Many young Tamil men and women, even those who were not involved in the freedom struggle, were drawn to his poetry.
We must now come to the English who were the founders of the city of Madras. Muthiah (who incidentally was a vociferous voice against the renaming of Madras to Chennai) says that, originally, Fort St George, named after the patron saint of England, was only a warehouse for the traders with a couple of security guards posted to take care of the goods of trade. However, over the years, this site began to develop. Within the compound, there is the beautiful St Mary’s Church built in 1680, with its gorgeous wooden fretwork and simple balustrades, the oldest Protestant Church in India. Robert Clive and Elihu Yale married here and Job Charnock, the founder of Calcutta, donated the font at the front of the church. Here lie many Company men, both the well-known and unknown buried together – these men believed firmly that their mission was to serve and glorify their queen (Queen Victoria) and country.
Several buildings were constructed here and are now under the maintenance of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and house the offices of government including the State Legislative Assembly. The original Exchange Building (now the Fort Museum), the King’s Barracks, and Admiralty House are among the handsome edifices that still remain. The streets had names like Charles Street, James Street, and Gloucester Street. The Indo-Saracenic style of architecture, with its nod to an Indian aesthetic, is still visible in many buildings in Chennai. As the company that came for trade metamorphosed into the Crown that ruled, Madras metamorphosed too, and not just in terms of architecture.
The local population had no choice but to help construct the empire regardless of the racism and exploitation embedded in the practice of the new overlords. Local rulers turned a blind eye to the steady and stealthy expansion tactics of the British. Even before the Crown took over, the Company obtained minting rights and, in 1640, coins with images of English royals were minted and in circulation despite the fact that the Mughal emperor’s permission was not obtained for this exercise. The list of agents of the Company who made small fortunes through dubious means runs long; Edward Winter, George Foxcroft, and others engaged in corruption and even created small rebellions. Muthiah records an instance when Foxcroft who became governor was asked to dispense justice in the murder of a slave girl called Chequa by her mistress, Mrs Ascentia Dawes. Enquiries were made in England on how to deal with the issue. The English instruction was for Foxcroft to organize a trial by jury – this was the first time ever that British justice was implemented in Madras. Needless to say, the white lady who “murthered” was declared “not guilty”.
In 1688, the Madras Corporation was established, the first ever in British India. The Tamil Nadu Archives (called the Madras Records Office then) was established in 1672 in Madras and is the oldest such facility in the world. The third oldest railway station in the country, the first in South India, the Royapuram Railway Station, was established here in 1856, and the Indian Army’s oldest regiment is the Madras Regiment which was first set up in 1758. Various other ‘firsts’ have been ascribed to Madras. The first industrial enterprise, a tannery in San Thome, the first technical institute, now Guindy Engineering College, and the first component manufacturer, India Pistons, all began here. The oldest organized trade union in India was the Madras Trade Union founded in 1918.
Many people from around the world and elsewhere in India fetched up in Madras and all of them have left their mark on the city, not just the Tamils. Beginning with the Armenians and the Parsis and Jews who came here to trade but stayed to make the city their home, Chennai has always made space for other communities including Gujaratis, Sindhis, Marwaris, not to mention the Telugu-speaking Komati Chetties, Beri Chetties, and other linguistic groups like Kannada speakers, Malayalam speakers, and Hindi speakers. As people settled in the city some spaces were oriented community-wise and profession-wise, although much of it was not of deliberate intent; just like other cities people tended to find spaces and build homes wherever was most affordable and most conducive to them, although often there was little choice in the matter. This was particularly true of the early migrants who came to the city.
There is also outward migration – apart from the younger generation moving out to seek greener pastures in terms of jobs and education, Madras has seen communities like the Parsis and the Anglo-Indians dwindling. The Anglo-Indian community in old Madras had settled in areas like Perambur and Royapuram, near the railway lines where many of them had jobs. Their population in these traditional spaces has decreased because many of the younger generation have moved to countries like Australia and those that have remained have also moved out of their traditional homes to newer areas on East Coast Road, and other parts of South Chennai. During the Raj, although the British did not really give them a hand up socially or economically, the Anglo-Indians brought much to the essence of Madras. Behind the quaint, lace-curtained windows of their homes, the tinkle of piano keys and lilting Scottish tunes were frequently heard. Their soft chatter was accompanied by cake and Earl Grey tea. They carried on traditions of their mixed heritage with choirs and Western classical music, fox trots, and waltzes, but now the metropolis with its ruthless urbanisation seems to have swallowed them up.
Excerpted with permission from The Tamils: A Portrait of a Community, Nirmala Lakshman, Aleph Book Company.
