Elliot's
Beach or Besant Nagar beach
Until not so long ago, the City's bathing
beach it is now another `lung' of Madras,
popular with a crowd less in love with the
water. Pleasant, safe for swimming, ideal
for lazy lounging and picnicking. A stone
memorial to a Danish sailor, Karl Schmidt,
who lost his life rescuing a drowning swimmer,
is a landmark.
About a kilometer to the north of the Elliot's
beach is a nice, clean and quiet stretch
of the beach, behind the Theosophical Society
headquarters. Here, the river Adyar meets
the sea. This place can be of interest to
bird-watchers - a variety of birds like egrets,
pond-herons and flamingoes are seen here.
To the south are the new shrines of the
City, the Ashtalakshmi Temple -
the country's newest shore temple to the
eight forms of the goddess Lakshmi - a Ganesh
Temple and the Velankanni Church said
to have the same miraculous attributes as
the mother shrine in the south
Marina
Beach
Marina Beach Stretching two miles, from the mouth of the Cooum River south
of the Fort, till the northern boundaries of the 16th centurey Portuguese town
of San Thome, is this magnificent beach drive and promenade. To the east of
the road is the promenade, well-kept gardens and a wide beach with claims to
being the world's second largest. At the north end of the beach is Anna Square,
the serene resting place of Dr C N Annadurai, who founded a populist party
that ushered in anew the ancient glory of Tamil and the Tamils. His Samadhi
is marked by a beautiful park, a striking memorial sculpture and daily crowds
paying homage. At the other end of the beach is the new lighthouse. In between,
sentinels on the promenade, are several statues of Tamil scholars and two splendid
bits of sculpture - the Victory of Labour and Mahatma Gandhi. Madras's Aquarium
is also on this beach. Across the road are several important buildings of Madras.
The University campus has Indo-Saracenic of the 1930s blending with perhaps
one of the country's finest buildings in this hybrid style, Senate House, built
by one of the founders of the modern version of this school of architecture.
R F Chisholm, in mid-19th century. Chrisholm's PWD buildings front striking
Chepauk Palace, once the home of the Nawabs of the Carnatic, but now government
offices whose exteriors still reflect Nawabi splendour. Presidency College,
another Chisholm masterpiece, was the nucleus of the 125-year-old University
of Madras. Vivekananda House, now a hostel, was once a storehouse for imported
ice, then home of Swami Vivekananda when he visited Madras. The long and impressive
Office of the Director-general of Police, another 19th century construction,
was built as the City's first Masonic hall.
