Finding the hidden tales of Mylapore

A pond, A tank, via a canal - Mylapore’s Lesser known Tales’, a walk organised as part of the Mylapore Festival will explore the hidden history of the locality. R Venketesh, historian-novelist, who will lead the walk, talks about the lesser-known tales that will come to light.

The water bodies are just one aspect of the whole walk. The idea is to show how the place has metamorphosed over the years. Unlike Egmore, Mylapore has lost a number of its old buildings. 

There are very few old buildings left behind like the Kapaleeswarar Temple, Luz Church which is in its 500th year, Luz House, Kamadhenu Theatre and the Mylapore Telephone Exchange. The walk will also take people through Ranade Library, Amrutanjan where the Sribagh agreement was signed in 1937 for division of a separate state for Andhra from Madras Presidency and the house where Travancore sisters— Lalitha, Padmini and Ragini stayed. We will also find out stories behind why Muslims have a hereditary right to bathe in the pond in Kapaleeswarar Temple. There are other stories related to Vidya Mandir and the MRTS, which was first ideated in the late 19th Century. 

Of course there will be a number of old people in the group. But today, there are also a number of youngsters who are interested in local history. History is no longer just about the Mughals. Anyone who lives here or anyone who is planning to live here will be keen on knowing more about the place.