Have you read Thankappan Nair’s A History of Calcutta’s Streets? It is a landmark book in the history of that city. Browsing through my copy of it, I have recently embarked on a series on social media where I trace the history of Chennai streets.
And that is when I realised that there are at least four thoroughfares that commemorate the Armenians and one more that is likely of the same variety.
The most famous is, of course, Armenian Street of George Town, with its beautiful church constructed by the Armenians and now maintained by the diaspora.
Though the pediment bears the year 1772, a church came up here as early as in 1712, which probably dates when the Armenians lived around this locality.
The Tamil name of this street, Aranmanaikaran Teru, is but a corruption of Armenian and there are no records of any palace or palace attendants in this place.
Coral Merchant Street
To the rear of Armenian Street is Coral Merchant Street, known as Pavazhakaran Teru in Tamil and which probably gives rise to the Telugu name of the locality — Pagadalu Petta.
While Armenian Christians lived on Armenian Street, their Jewish counterparts, many of them into the precious stone trade, lived on Coral Merchant Street. Elihu Yale’s housekeeper-cum-mistress Heironima probably lived here when her husband Jacques de Paiva was alive. He was buried at the Jewish cemetery on the nearby Mint Street.
I have been unable to trace as to whom Arathoon Road at Royapuram commemorates. But that this was once a prosperous family of Madras is clear from the writings of Mr. S. Muthiah.
In his Madras Miscellany column dated January 9, 2010 in The Hindu, he writes of descendants of the family calling in search of their roots. As many as three Arathoons died in the city, but their burial place is unknown.
Giri Gori Street is a narrow thoroughfare at the northern end of George Town, very close to Old Jail Road and the Seven Wells Area. This was till not long ago Gregory Street and has since been mangled. But, in reality, it remembers Coja Gregorios Agapperi, who was an 18th Century Armenian resident of the area and who owned much property there. Interestingly, Chamier’s Road has nothing to do with Aga Shawmier, a rich 19th Century Armenian merchant, but commemorates a family of Madras-based British civilians, many of whom rose to high positions in the government.
Moore’s Road
That completes my list of four certainties. I now add my fifth, subject to debate — Moore’s Road at Nungambakkam.
The name exists in records much before such famed government servants such as PL Moore and Sir George Moore appeared on the scene. Not far from here was Moorat’s Gardens, which commemorated Aga Shameer Moorad (Shawmier Moorat in English records), which covered much of what is now the Directorate of Public Instructions and its surroundings. His son Edward Samuel Moorat is said to have run through his estate necessitating its sale and subsequent carving up. It is not clear as to how Mary Ann Carr, the ‘common law’ wife of Thomas Parry, was related to this family, but one of the sons born to her was named Edward Moorat.
Is it likely that what was once Moorat’s Road over a period of time became Moore’s Road? This, of course, has nothing to do with Moor’s Road in the George Town area, which seems to take its name from there having been a sizeable Muslim population in that area. Moor was a common term for members of the community, especially if they were Turkish in origin.
(V. Sriram is a writer and historian.)
