The Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation (TTDC) on Sunday launched an Ancient Madras trail for bicycle enthusiasts. This 40-km trail covers the Vadivudaiamman temple at Tiruvottiyur, Sri Parthasarathy Perumal temple in Triplicane and Kapaleeswarar temple and Valluvar temple in Mylapore. Around 40 persons took part in the cycling tour that began and ended at the TTDC’s Island Grounds restaurant.
Ramanujar Moulana, founder, Cycling Yogis, who curated the trail for TTDC, said these locations had enough proof to show that they predated British Madras. There are plenty of inscriptions and literature, including the Pasurams of the Alwars and Thirumurai of Appar, to show their age, he added.
“We explained a bit about each of these temples and locations since we did not have much time. The idea was to give an introduction to these spots,” he said. Cycling Yogis are a group of heritage enthusiasts who love to cycle and have been going on curated trails for 12 years now.
TTDC Managing Director Sandeep Nanduri, who launched the trail and took part in cycling, said the tourism corporation was also looking to introduce such bicycle trails in other cities like Madurai and Coimbatore. “We are currently looking for good partners to conduct such trails,” he said. The TTDC had launched bicycle trails in Chennai city a few months ago.
