Fort St. George
The first bastion of British power in India now houses
the Tamilnadu Legislative assembly and council and offices
of the State's secretariat. The fort was first completed
in 1654 but owes its present shape to the remodelling
work that was undertaken in 1749. The 6m high walls
of the fort have withstood several fierce sieges. The
fort was attacked by Daud Khan, general of Emperor Aurangzeb,
in 1701, by the Marathas in 1741 and by Hyder Ali on
several occasions in the late 18th century.
In 1746, the British lost possession of their fort
for two year period when they surrendered the keys to
the victorious French admiral, La Bourdonnais. The keys
were restored only in 1749, under the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle.
Fort St. George's towering flagstaff is, even today,
the tallest in India. Glimpses of early Chennai are
preserved in Clive Corner, Wellesley House, Fort Museum
and St. Mary's church.
Doveton House
The building that houses the Principal, Registrar and
Bursar's office is celebrating its 200th year this year.
The Doveton House was constructed in the year 1798 -
the period when Wordsworth and Coleridge published their
"Lyrical Ballads". A renowned architect Benjamin
Roebeck, who built the house in the fashion of the day,
built Doveton House. The colonial pillars in the front
and the half moon steps at the back of the house resemble
another famous building of the same period - the White
House. It mainly served as a residential place for the
English officers. The building was called after Lt.
General John Doveton acquired it in the year 1837 (he
arrived in Madras in 1783 and died in 1847). Lt. General
Doveton was the soldier-in-charge for looking after
Tippu Sultan's sons when Cornwallis held them as hostages
in Madras.
Doveton House seems to have served as a place for
keeping prisoners in custody. For, before Lt. General
Doveton, Gaekwad of Baroda was kept here for trying
to kill a British resident in his state. Many famous
people continued to live, but the name Doveton House
stuck on. The last person to live here was Sir Ralph
Benson, a Madras High Court Judge, who left Madras in
1913. It was then in 1916 that the Women's Christian
College moved into Doveton House, a 20-acre campus.
It was quite famous in those days with parties being
held often. The most admired was the "placid and
silvery Cooum".
Kanchipuram
Kanchipuram is a small rural town about 75 kilometres
from Chennai (Madras) in the state of Tamilnadu. It
also serves as the district head quarters for the Chengalpattu
district. Its economy is entirely dependent on tourism
and the well established handloom industry. Silk sarees
manufactured here are one of the best in the entire
world.
Interesting tourist places include Kamakshi Amman Temple,
Varadharaja Perumal Temple, Vaikunda Perumal Temple,
Kailasanathar Temple, Ekambaranathar Temple, Ulagalandha
Perumal Temple, Yathoktakari Perumal Temple, Deepaprakasa,
Perumal Temple, Kandakottam Subramanya Swami Temple,
Kachapeswarar Temple, Sankupani Vinayakar Temple, Pandava
Thoodha Perumal Temple, Vijayaraghava Perumal Temple
at Tirupputkuzhi, and Jain Temples at Tirupparuthikkundram
Valluvar Kottam
The Valluvar Kottam, on the corner of Kodambakkam
High road and Village Road, honours the acclaimed Tamil
Poet, Thiruvalluvar, whose classic work, the Kural,
is reputed to be about 2000 years old. Established in
1976, Valluvar Kottam replicates ancient Tamil architecture
with the 1330 verse Kural inscribed on panels. The Valluvar
Kottam open daily 8 am to 6 pm.
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