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 Adyar
- it was on the banks of this river that a handful of French-trained
troops stopped the Nawab's army, thus demonstrating the strength of
the Raj. In those days, fishermen and row boats were a common enough
site.
But
the present day Adyar river has nothing in common with the fast
flowing river of the olden days. Gone are the birds, the fish and
the row boats. Though an occasional boat from the Boat Club can
still be seen, fishing has stopped completely.
 Across
the river is the Huddlestone mansion. This mansion belonged to a
civilian named John Huddlestone in the days of the British Raj. The
mansion, with its extended gardens, used to occupy a large area
around the river.
Later,
a part of this garden
was given to the Theosophical Society, founded by Madame Blavatsky
and Colonel Olcott in 1875. The headquarters of the society is now
spread over 100 acres in the green leafy garden. In 1879, Madame
Blavatsky visited Chennai and the headquarters was set up here. The
library of the Theosophical Society has a splendid collection of
over 15,000 manuscripts. The 200- year-old Banyan tree, with its
limbs spread over 40,000 sq. ft is a major attraction of the
Society.
The
Theosophical Society stretches to Elliot's Beach on the Coromandel
shore. |
The beach was once an exclusive beach open to the sahibs of
colonial period.Now
it is the favourite meeting place of the City’s young and the old
alike. Beyond the beach lies the shore temple of Ashtalakshmi,
dedicated to goddess Mahalakshmi.
Another
landmark in the area is the  Madras Club. The club is housed at
Mowbray's Cupola built in 1771. This was the home of George Mowbray,
the Government Accountant. It later became the Adyar Club and still
later, the Madras Club. It was at the Madras Club that the British
created their version of Tamil pepper soup: mulligatawny (milagu
thanni or literally, pepper water).
What
is called Raj Bhavan today was once known as the Guindy Lodge.
Before the construction of Guindy Lodge, the Governors resided
closer to the Fort at the Government Estate on Mount Road.
Eventually they were moved to Guindy. The lodge, which was a part of
the Guindy forest, became the Raj Bhavan, the official residence of
the Governor of Tamil Nadu.
The
Guindy National Park nearby is the only urban jungle-cum-park within
city limits anywhere in the world. The forest spills into the campus
of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and the Raj Bhavan.
Black bucks, chitals and monkeys abound here.
Further
down the road, in Guindy, there’s a racecourse at Guindy, where
races are held between late October and March.
Anupama
Shekar, ark Commercials
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| Adyar |