Once the retail textile capital of the city, Monegar Choultry Road (M.C. Road) in Washermenpet might have lost out to T. Nagar, but as far as residents of north Chennai are concerned, it is still their go-to place. The M.C. Road textile market is believed to be the forerunner of the massive textile showrooms in T. Nagar.
The road famous for wholesale-cum-retail textile shops has always remained a shopping paradise for shoppers of Royapuram, Old Washermenpet, Tiruvottiyur, and other places. While the road may not be as famous for branded or high-end textile showrooms and the varieties that are on offer in T. Nagar, shoppers still patronise the shops on M.C. Road known for offering clothes at economical rates.
M. Mohammed Basheer, proprietor of a textile showroom on M.C. Road, said unlike the textile shops in T. Nagar and Purasawalkam that advertise of huge discounts during Aadi, shops here mainly depended on old-time residents of north Chennai, many of whom had a personal rapport with the shop owners. “They demand and get good discounts,” he said.
R. Ambika, a resident of Royapuram, said M.C. Road had just the right balance of textile shops and roadside hawkers. “People come here all the way from Kannagi Nagar in Thoraipakkam since they are used to shopping for clothes in north Chennai,” she said.
Shoppers patronise outlets on M.C. Road for the economical rates on offer
