Independent houses have become a passed in this temple town. What was once a pastoral haven has been reduced to a concrete jungle.

People from neighbouring areas, the city like Mambalam and Mylapore shifted to this place as it had thick vegetation. It used to resemble a forest with verdant landscape. It used to be dotted with water bodies, which enriched the soil, thereby making the area fertile.

I remember the huge water body in the Fourth Main Road. The main artery of the area presented an enchanting scene as there was a huge 'Kulam' adjacent to the temple. There were many reasons for many people settling down in this area.

The huge palatial houses surrounded by alluring garden, made it look like a farm house. There used to be a coconut grove in practically almost every street.Though there were skeleton bus services (even now it is the same) the area widended multifold. Water scarcity was unheard of. Nanganallur used to present a green picture.

With the urbanization, independent houses slowly vanished. The realtors capitalized on it and enticed the house owners with fancy prices.Many of them yielded to the temptation as they were unable to maintain their large houses.

Slowly the houses one by one started vanishing. Where one family lived there were hundreds of them. Flats and three storeyed apartments became a common sight. It was really very sad to see the felling of coconut and mango trees. Even the scented plants could not thrive in the flats. The green cover is a thing of the past and it is disheartening to witness the continuous construction of apartments which strikes a death knell to eco tourism as well.

Usharaja