Madras Then, Chennai Now by Sriram V
Walk through the lanes of British-era Chennai with historian Sriram V and rare photographs from the Sarmaya collection
Madras Presidency
‘From Madras to Chennai, a City’s Journey’ by Sriram V
As a Chennai-based heritage activist and historian, Sriram V knows the city better than most and shares his delightful insights in this lecture
Memories of the Water Bearer
To a weary traveller or parched soldier in 19th-century India, there was perhaps no sight as welcome as the approach of a bhishti. A quick untwisting of the mouth of the mashaq slung over his shoulder, and cool clear water would splash into a grateful cupped palm.
Madras Harbour
This photograph, by Francis Frith (1822-1898) & Co, is of the Madras Harbour. This vista of commercial facilities and warehouses on the Mardas beachfront illustrates Britain’s extensive commerce with the world. In 1639, a British trading corporation was granted permission to establish a factory on a three-mile-long stretch of the shore on the Coromandel. The Nayakas,… Read more »
Mowbray Road, Madras
This photograph, from the late 19th century, is of the Mowbray Road in Madras (Chennai), Tamil Nadu. The long avenue lined with trees on either side got its name after a house built by George Moubray, the Moubray’s Cupola (presently, the Madras Club). George Moubray served the EIC (East India Company) and was the first… Read more »
Madras
This coloured lithograph showing a boat nearing the rough shores of Madras was drawn by Leighton and later engraved by William Frederick Measom (active. 1840-1876) in the 19th century. In 1639, a British trading corporation was granted permission to establish a factory on a three-mile-long stretch of the shore on the Coromandel. The Nayakas, feudatory… Read more »
Entrance to the temple of Kumbakonam
Kumbakonam, a temple town in Tanjore district of Tamil Nadu, was an important centre in the Chola kingdom from the 9th through 13th centuries. It is home to twelve major temples dedicated to various Hindu deities, each functioning as a primary centre of ritual throughout the year. Many of the early Chola temples here are… Read more »
Gopuram at Trinpatty (Tirupati), Madras
Located in the Chittoor District of Andhra Pradesh, the Govindaraja temple in Tirupati is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. It is one of the earliest temples, dating back to the 12th century AD. Photographed here is the eastern gopura, also known as the Rajagopuram. Straight ahead through the seven-storey structure the photograph also captures much smaller gopura… Read more »
Madras Talkies – Reading List
Titles from the Sarmaya library that will draw you further into the heart of Tamil Nadu’s culture through music, architecture, photography and art
Reeling them in – How Tamil cinema shaped politics
For over a hundred years, Tamil cinema has had its finger on the pulse of the region’s cultural and political life. Find out how this love story began and the chief protagonists who directed its course
Thanjavur – Country of Gods & Kings
Between the 16th and 18th centuries, Thanjavur welcomed large communities of Telugu and Marathi speakers as a consequence of Nayaka and Maratha conquests in Cholamandalam. The result was a slow mingling and simmering of cultural influences, resulting in the unique artistic heritage of this temple town
Postcards from Madras
Postcards began at the end of the 19th century as a new kind of crossover between photography and the popular print market. In a collaboration with Picture Postcard Empire, we bring you a virtual exhibition of intriguing postcards from the city of Madras
Pondicherry Dreaming – Inside French India
How native Tamil and colonial French influences come together in the charming melting pot of Puducherry
The Curious Case of Chennai’s Elleesan & the Dravidian proof
A story about Francis Whyte Ellis, a British linguist whose study of law, land and language in the 1800s would influence the Dravidian politics of the 1900s
Madras Talkies
In 1639, a British trading company got permission from the local rulers to set up a factory on a thin strip of the Coromandel coast. Measuring about three square miles and lashed by the fury of the Bay of Bengal, Madraspatnam gave no early signs of the historic metropolis it would soon morph into
Madras Chic: Textiles and jewels of Tamil Nadu
Temple jewellery, Kanjeevaram silks, pure cotton lace and the ever-chic Madras check—come with us on a style journey through the Madras Presidency
Remembering Cholamandalam – The cultural legacy of the Cholas
The imperial Cholas patronised all manner of visual, literary, architectural and textile arts, in essence imprinting their larger-than-life personalities on every realm that they touched
Divine Doorways – Gopurams of South India
Exploring the towering gopurams of south India through rare photographs of temples across Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala
The Making of Madras
The history of the Madras Presidency is also the history of an embryonic nation finding its identity under colonial rule. We take you through some key moments, movements and personalities that shaped Madras and what would in time become India
Family Album of John Sinclair, 1st Baron Pentland, the Governor of Madras from 1912 to 1919
This album is a part of a set of three personal albums chronicling the life and times of John Sinclair, the first Lord Pentland, and the Governor of Madras, India, between 1912-1919. His tenure saw some significant developments in the region, such as the construction and opening of the sea bridge linking the mainland and… Read more »