Charity house

At the northwestern corner of Ekambareswarar Agraharam stands this building, smaller than any of its neighbours. Continuing the contrast, it also appears to be the only building on the street that remains in its original form. In a locality where space is at a premium, with all buildings along a line sharing common walls, it is quite surprising that a building remains stagnant across generations.

And this one has seen a few generations. Constructed in 1932, it was never meant to be a regular residence. Or commercial space. Called 'Govardhana Bhavan', it was built by the Gocooladoss Jumnadoss Charities as a kind of multi-purpose facility. The Charities was established by one of the early Gujarati settlers in Madras, Gocooladoss Jumnadoss (different spellings of his name exist, with fewer 'o's and a 'k' as well). 

Govardhana Bhavan opens up as you get inside. It has rooms for travellers to stay in, a large kitchen, multiple dining spaces and separate quarters for ladies. It must have functioned as a choultry or guest house earlier; I was told that it is used to conduct weddings and get togethers also, these days!

Demand

He is suffering because of the government's misplaced taxation policies. Why doesn't his government listen to him?

And yes, I agree with him!

What's new?

It is not fair to expect a 'Tea House' to be open in the morning, which is when this picture was taken. The Novelty Tea House is not a pretentious newcomer to the world of eating out in Chennai; it is an establishment that is being run by the third generation in the business currently. 

Chandrakant Moolchand Shah was probably frustrated trying to find some north Indian snacks in the early '50s. He channeled that frustration into setting up a stall. There seem to have been no grand plans initially; it was just a 'tea stall', but clearly, the desire was to be different, hence 'Novelty'. Sowcarpet, where the first stall was, welcomed it. Over 50 years, the stall grew into a 'House', but remained within the north Madras area. It was only over the last 4 or 5 years that they have opened out to other parts of the city.

This one on Radhakrishnan Salai is, I believe, the most recent of the three locations. When open, it is usually chock-a-block with those itching to have a dahi-poori or four with their cuppa tea, or maybe a faluda. Once inside, it is easy to imagine you are away from Chennai - there is so much of Hindi in the air that English and Tamizh sound intrusive. But that is only to be expected at an establishment which claims to have introduced the pav-bhaji to Madras!

Temple in the crowd

As NSC Bose Road winds down through Sowcarpet, it gets ever more narrow until you wonder how two vehicles can ever pass each other by. Suddenly, you sense space. The road opens out just a bit and there you see this wall, the red-and-white stripes identifying it as part of a temple. From the peacock placed on the wall, you would guess the temple has to do with Subramanya - and you would be correct.

It is not a large temple, but considering the bustle of the area around it, the space is more than ample. The main deity is seen with his consorts, Valli and Devasena, the former's idol showing four arms - a rather unique representation of this Goddess. 

This temple is probably between 200 and 300 years old, going by the local stories. However, there are also stories that tell of Agastyar - whose image is also somewhere on the temple walls - having prayed to Subramanya in this temple. Well, you can choose what to believe!

Temple time

There is a story around how this temple was built by a Pakistani. How true is that story? I haven't heard it from any authentic source, if only because this temple predates the Pakistan nation by a couple of hundred years. Apparently there was someone from Lahore who was the man behind the construction of this temple, but the legend goes that the temple is about 200 years old.

The Bairagi Mutt is itself probably only slightly older. Although there are many shrines inside this complex, but the most prominent one is that of Lord Venkateswara and hence the name. As with quite a few other temples, while it is commonly called Bairagi Mutt, the full name of this temple is "Arulmigu Thiruvengadamudayan Venkatesa Perumal Thirukkoil". 

Bairagi Mutt will do, I guess!

Light on marble

The Jain Temple on Mint Street, Sowcarpet. More details in a while...

Break time

The dining area of Agarwal Bhavan in Sowcarpet is too far away - by a few streets - from this doorway for this to be a backdoor entry. The only other explanation is that this is the main storehouse for provisions needed by the eatery, which accounts for the milk can and the boxes.

Quite likely that it is also the rest area - maybe even the living quarters - for staff of Agarwal Bhavan, who seem to be enjoying their break. Once they go to the restaurant, there is little chance of them enjoying free time until the crowd thins out!