Nalli Kuppuswami Chetti’s mind works like a map.
He has just finished multiple meetings with suppliers at his popular textile store, but when you mention the word ‘T Nagar’, his eyes close and his hands form an imaginary rectangle. “The North end was Burkit Road, the South, was Bazullah Road. East led to Mount Road, while the west led to the railway track.”
Kuppuswami is not talking about the T Nagar of today — one that is full of bustling traffic, shopping chaos and Metro Rail construction, but of the area that once was — filled with trees, silence and peace. “I often describe it as a village that had tar roads. T Nagar was peaceful in the past. As a six-year-old, I have walked from my home on 10, Thyagaraya Road, to our store in Usman Road,” recalls the 82-year-old.
It was his time at Ramakrishna Mission school in T Nagar, which shaped him to become the retail baron that he is today. “Every Thursday morning, there used to be a moral instruction class that I used to love. Anna Subramaniam, my headmaster, was a learned man and I owe a lot to him. The first rank in my class used to be bagged by a guy called Nagarajan, second rank by Subramaniam and I used to stand third. This was the sequence in all my grades till SSLC,” says Kuppuswami, recalling incidents and people from several decades ago like it was just yesterday.
Business matters
In 1928, when Nalli was established, only one jewellery shop – belonging to K Ramachandra Iyer – existed on Usman Road, he reveals. “Ranganathan Street was like an agraharam and had one shop: Kumbakonam vessel shop. If you were planning a wedding and needed clothes, jewellery and provision, you would have to go to shops in NSC Bose Road.” Slowly, business establishments came up in T Nagar, resulting in it becoming the busy commercial area it is today.
Back then, buses would stop outside the Siva Vishnu temple. “No. 9 and No. 10 went to Egmore, while No. 11 and No. 12 went to Parrys Corner and Mylapore respectively. But there would be far and few between; if we missed a bus, we needed to wait almost half hour.”
Kuppuswami not only has memories of the buses of those days, but also the popular hangouts in T Nagar; Udipi Cafe, Parklands Hotel and Nathan Cafe were the only hotels there. “There also used to be Bharath Cafe that served great tiffin and coffee, and was frequented by film stars such as NT Rama Rao,” adds Kuppuswami, who has also written a book titled Thyagaraya Nagar Andrum Indrum.
A unique activity in T Nagar that he remembers fondly is the 7.15pm radio news, which used to be broadcast at Panagal Park. “We usually get news updates reading The Hindu in the morning and The Mail in the evening. After that, we would have to wait till the next day to get updates. To solve this, an arrangement was made: Tamil Cheithigal from AIR Delhi, read out by Saroj Narayanaswamy, whose pronunciation used to be perfect. This used to be aired in Panagal Park, where people from all across Madras would gather, and then would disperse.”
A view of Ranganathan Street, in T Nagar, Madras | Photo Credit: The Hindu Archives
In 2023, T Nagar completes a century – it is 100 years since the first ‘planned’ town in Chennai, came into existence. Kuppuswami dreams of a T Nagar in future with more trees and lesser traffic. “Due to construction of flyovers, a lot of trees are being felled. It fills me with sadness when I see that. I hope T Nagar becomes greener and more peaceful in the future.”
