George Town evokes the Raj, still draws tourists
George Town continues to be a major tourist attraction
Update: 2014-08-19 04:19 GMT
Chennai: Traffic snarls, honking of vehicles, jostling crowds, vanishing pavements, roadside eateries, noisy markets, the names of streets that still summon up the past, temples and churches, these are some of the images by which one remembers George Town. While the British East India Company built the first settlement for the whites at Fort St George, the Indian settlement that came up in the vicinity of Fort St George was then named ‘Black Town’. Despite all the hustle and bustle of life and busy trading activity here, and in spite of the city fast expanding at the peripheries, George Town continues to be a major tourist attraction.
“During the second siege of Madras by the French (in 1758-’59), the British faced enormous difficulties as the French forces shielded themselves from the bullets and shells fired by the British army by hiding behind the tombstones. After they regained the fort, the British removed the tombstones and placed them around St. Mary’s Church inside the Fort,” says K. Moortheeshwari, deputy superintending archaeologist of the Fort Museum.
“The fort and the entire town were, in 1911, named after King George V when he visited the town along with Queen Mary, in his honour,” says Neeti Anil Kumar, an Archaeological Survey of India official.
Like the town, the names of the streets too have become historic and synonymous with various trades. For instance, the Mannadi Street houses shops for textiles, imported goods, eateries while Moore Street is known for cereals and pulses. Burma Bazaar is known for its grey market for electronic goods while Linghi Chetty Street for steel and hardware. Anyone who has been in the stationery business anywhere in TN could not have missed Anderson and Bunder Streets.
Many migrants have also settled in this commercial hub and in Sowcarpet, Marwari families have adopted the neighbourhood as their home. Much visited temples, such as the Kalikambal temple and those of Chenna Kesava and Chenna Malleswara, Anderson Church and the Madras high court continue to draw visitors. Old Madras remains a major tourist attraction.