Aavin Parlour Park still latching on to its essence

CMRL work has taken away a good portion of this park in Adyar Circle

Dr Muthulakshmi Road Park — better known as ‘Aavin Parlour Park’ — in Adyar Circle has enjoyed patronage from people on the move. People are known to have a power nap, even a quick team meeting. The user experience for these people has irrevocably changed ever since Chennai Metro Rail Limited took over a part of the park for work pertaining to its Phase 2 Corridor 3 Project.

Recently, The Hindu Downtown visited this park to witness and record what the changes have done to the park, and if it holds on to its essential character.

Giant machines were at work on one section of the park. Mounds of earth were piled up on another section. On this patch, greenery was totally missing. There is still a section that remains accessible to the general public. In fact, that section is all that is left of the park. A team from Airtel had just concluded their meeting at the park, after which a few of them were seen taking a nap. That was a heartening sight.

“This is our go-to place for team meetings as it is centrally located and easily accessible to all of us,” said Mahendran M., sounding a tad disappointed that a part of the park has been lost on account of infrastructure work.

The Aavin parlour also gives the park its character. The staff at the Aavin parlour noted that there have been hints that the parlour would be moved, but there has been no official confirmation from CMRL about this.

A board at the entrance of the park mentions the name of Saivenkateshwara Contractors overseeing maintenance of the park for the period July 2023 to July 2024. A staff from the contract company noted the major chunk of the work they did in the park came to a standstill a few months ago when Metro Rail parked its machinery there.

Walk a little further and there is a plaque paying tribute to Dr. Muthulakshmi, the first woman to hold a medical degree in India and the founder of Avvai Home. The park is named after her. It also says that she fought for the abolition of devadasi system.

The park has also been an integral part of the neighbourhood. V. Anandi, a resident of the locality for five decades, recalls that the park was much larger and got reduced in its dimensions on account of road expansion work.

According to The Hindu Archives, the park is spread across an area of 16,800 sq. ft. and was renovated in 2008 to host new amenities including a cascade fountain.