Recent Recce to Royapuram

"It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of the country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle" 

- Ernest Hemingway

The recent few recce to Royapuram along with my cyclist friends in connection with the Madras Day Heritage Ride brought new insights on the way I had perceived our city over the years first being a pity that I lacked total awareness about this Northern part of Chennai and secondly I came to know how strategically important this region was in the making of the present day Chennai. Our recce rides always began from the Gandhi Statue at Marina Beach and we crisscrossed through the landmark sites located all along the beach notable being Ice House (Vivekananda House), Chepauk Palace, Madras University, Napier Bridge and Fort St George. Pedaling onto the Rajaji Salai subway at RBI possibly the oldest in the city only to resurface near the entrance gate for the Honorable Judges of the Madras High Court and standing beside the plaque just adjutant which mentions about the bombardment of Madras by German cruiser 'Emden' on the night of 22nd September 1914, my mind conjures with this region and its surroundings which are replete with history. On my left stands the George Town earlier called Black Town which housed the first settlements of Madras and the Port of Madras to the other side of the road, briefly looking into the history of the Madras Port which is possibly the second largest in India and nearly 130 years old, it was simply an open road stead and sandy coast swept by storms and occasional monsoon. This man made port had its first constructional activities from 1861, in the year 1881 it faced the wrath of a storm the worst in Madras History, to reputed historian S. Muthiah it was Sir Francis Spring who during his tenure between 1904-1919 as Chairman of the Port committed himself to the meeting the challenge flaunted by nature in creating the Madras Harbor, it was also him who nurtured the talent of Mathematical genius Srinivasa Ramanujan who worked in the Port for some years. Riding through Parry's Corner junction we now come across a series of Heritage buildings located on this part of Rajaji Salai earlier called First Line Beach, a few notable being SBI, the GPO, the erstwhile Bentinck's Building where now stands the Chennai Collectors Office, Customs House and HSBC, the opposite side contained the Beach Station and eastern entrance to the Port, to historian V.Sriram the road meant "in its time it was the most important road of the city" riding further across and with a mini climb over the bridge we reach our destination Royapuram. This part of Chennai could have perhaps got its name from Rayyar the Tamil equivalent for Peter in whose name exist the church built in 1829 called St.Peters Church which is inseparably connected with the Christian Boat owners and men who worked for the East India company during 18th century. Royapuram also houses the Parsi Fire Temple Dar-e-Mehar constructed in 1910 and after a visit to these places our last stop was the one and only Royapuram Railway Station, this station came into beginning on 1st July 1856 and is the oldest operational station in this part of the world, leaving rest of its story to history we concluded the nearly 15 km recce inclusive of the return with some awesome breakfast at a famous eatery in Triplicane. Till next time ...

At Royapuram Railway Station