People think Mylapore is only Kapaleeshwarar temple and its tank. It was well beyond that in the then Madras. The topography extended from TTK Road up to the beach and RK Salai one side and Mandaveli up to Raja Annamalaipuram on the other side. Though Brahmins majorly occupied it, we had a Jain temple in Kutchery Road and a mosque in South Mada Street and the famous church in Santhome. That way there were also Muslims, Christians and Jains living in Mylapore.
A lot of people from Thanjavur, Tirunelveli and Arcot migrated to Mylapore and all famous doctors, advocates and charted accountants lived there. Yet another specialty is 90% of them are vegetarians. The streets were narrow and not motorable. However traffic was minimal and cycles and hand rickshaws were the modes of transport. The advocates used to cycle all the way to courts in Parry's corner. It was sort of an exercise for them. Today, with the chocking traffic, and too many vehicles plying in the area, one cannot even see the Kapaleeshwarar temple gopuram while walking.
There were titled houses with traditional architecture. And there was a time when we used to walk barefoot through all four Mada Veethis. That was the kind of sanctity the place had. The aura and the smell of santhanam and sambrani is now replaced with perfumes.
It is common knowledge that Mylapore is famous for filter coffee. We get fresh milk from cows, which would be brought by milkmen who would milk them in front of you just outside your home even before sunrise. People who migrated from Kumbakonam introduced "Degree Coffee". There used to be a meter which would ensure that the milk procured is 100 percent pure without water added in it.
Mylapore was the hub for Carnatic musicians. Most of the top musicians of the city were born and brought up there. Kutcheris were held on main roads with sound blaring from cone shaped mikes. People used to sit on the road and enjoy the music. Even rickshawallas admired Carnatic music.
It was never a place for gold or diamond merchandise. Now North Mada Street is full of jewellery shops. Some of the popular silk saree shops include Sampoornam Silks. You can still find the Madisars and Panchakatchams, a distinctive style statement of Tamil Brahmins in Mylapore.
Those days, Mylapore was in the centre of the city, which still had the charm of a village and even if the children who had moved out of the city made it a point to come back once in a year to the thattha-paatti's house for a break. Once a Mylaporean is always a Mylaporean and never would want to shift to any other area. I am a proud Mylaporean!
