Which got here first – Madras or Chennai?

Like Most Others within the Metropolis, I Had a really obscure thought of ​​the chronology of the names Madras and Chennai, and this yr, throughout August Decided that I’d get a transparent grip on the sequence within the sequence. On the finish of it, I need to say I’m Older, and Wiser. And so, right here goes.

Madraspatnam is the title that first seems. That is in venkatadri nayak’s land grant of 1639. The English translation of this doc, reproduced in hd love’s vestige of previous Madras, information the arrowish on the british at “our port of medrapatam,” That there was a village/settlement of that title predating 1639 and what was extra, it was a port. Patnam itself is a suffix used just for Seaside Cities Anyway.

In 1645, the grant for a similar land was obtained from the Ruler – Raja sriranga raya who has had his capital at chandragiri and whose consultant the nayak actually was. This claims the british has arrowed at “zera renga rayapatam, my towne” and there Constructed a Fort. This appears to suggest that AlongSide Madraspatnam, A New Fort Was Constructed (Fort St. George), which the poor deluded raja appears to have imagined was named after Him. As well as, the grant assigns to the British the bottom in regards to the village in regards to the village of Madraspatam and as well as a spot known as the jackal’s floor which has been translated as slender and allied Assigned to land the place the final hospital and the previous mmc campus stand.

To date, there is no such thing as a point out of chennapatnam. HD love surmies that this was the title of the land on which fort st. George got here to bee bu from. We do know that madras was to the north of this, and it was in 1673 outlined as “The Indian City with Flat homes,” which means the previous black city that stood to the north of the fort. To date so good – Chennapatnam was the fort, and madraspatnam the village to its north.

The confusion begins with 1646 when the gunpowder maker nagabattan makes a donation to the chennakesava perumal temple, which he says is in Chennapattanam. The temple was in previous Black City, North of the Fort, The place the Excessive Court docket Now Stands. A Subsequent Donation, In 1648, by Beri Thimmappa, The Dubash additionally has it that the temple was in chennapattanam. He ought to have identified, for it was he who constructed it.

By 1672, A Recent Grant was wanted, this time from the brand new energy, particularly Golconda.

Neknam khan’s grant was on condition that yr and it clearly demarcated the “Fort and city of chinapatam” and distigenuished it from the “place known as madrassapatam”. We will see that even right here, the fort was thought of to be in chennapatnam, with now now black ton added to it.

In 1802 cv boria, the epigraphist to col. Colin Mackenzie Unerthed a Maratha Manuscript that Stood Lots of the Early Theories on his head. As per this, The City Had 4 Distinct Components – Madras Coopom on which the British Constructed their Fort, Chennaik Coopom on which stand the Villages of Muthialpet and Pagdalpet (New Black or George has been deliberate) Stated to be the place the cooum meets the ocean and maleput, laater stunned to be close to salt cotaus.

In brief, by 1802, a marathi manuscript revered historical past. The Fort consider Madras and the City Chennai. And that is stil fathy trotted out – Madras was English whereas Chennai BECAME TAMIL (it may have wel been telugu) and it turned a handy purpose to rename the Metropolis.

V. Sriram is a written