Thyagaraya Nagar, commonly known as T. Nagar, and historically known as East Mambalam, is a very affluent commercial and residential neighbourhood in

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

, India. It is surrounded by

Nungambakkam Nungambakkam is a locality in downtown Chennai, India. The neighborhood abounds with multinational commercial establishments, important government offices, foreign consulates, educational institutions, shopping malls, sporting facilities, tou ...

in the North,

Teynampet Teynampet, also Teynampettai, is one of the busiest commercial localities in the city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Part of the city's central business district, it is surrounded by Gopalapuram, Chennai, Gopalapuram in the north, Mylapore in th ...

in the East,

Nandanam Nandanam is a neighborhood in Chennai, India. It is located on the northern banks of Adyar River, on the other side of Kotturpuram, and is bound by Saidapet, T. Nagar and Teynampet. In addition to a number of institutions and companies, Nanda ...

in the South-East, C.I.T. Nagar (a part of Greater Nandanam region) in the South and

West Mambalam West Mambalam is a residential and commercial area in Chennai, India. It is known for its shops, bazaars and Hindu temples. It is bounded by Kodambakkam to the north and Saidapet to the south. T. Nagar and Nandanam stretch along its entire eas ...

and

Kodambakkam Kodambakkam (also known as K-Town or Kollywood) is a business and residential neighbourhood in Central Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. The neighbourhood is served by Kodambakkam railway station of the Chennai Suburban Railway Network. Kodambakkam h ...

in the West. The stretch between Duraiswamy Road and T. Nagar Bus Stand has some of the costliest real estates in Chennai. It was constructed in 1923-1925 by the Madras Presidency government of the

Raja of Panagal Raja Sir Panaganti Ramarayaningar KCIE (9 July 1866 – 16 December 1928), also known as the Raja of Panagal, was a ''zamindar'' of Kalahasti, a Justice Party leader and the First Minister of Madras Presidency from 11 July 1921 to 3 Dece ...

as a part of town planning activities initiated according to the Madras Town Planning Act of 1920. The town was named after P. Thyagaraya Chettiar. The streets, parks and localities in the new neighbourhood were named after important officials in the provincial government. T. Nagar is believed to be the first planned urban neighborhood in Chennai created in 1920, conceived in a European style, with the Panagal Park resembling the

Arc De Triomphe The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile, often called simply the Arc de Triomphe, is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, France, standing at the western end of the Champs-Élysées at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly named Plac ...

and the

Pondy Bazaar Pondy Bazaar, officially called Soundarapandianar Angadi, is a Market (place), market and neighborhood located in T. Nagar, Chennai, India. It is one of the principal shopping districts of Chennai. Etymology The market Soundarapandianar Bazaar ...

resembling the

Champs-Élysées The Avenue des Champs-Élysées (, ; ) is an Avenue (landscape), avenue in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, long and wide, running between the Place de la Concorde in the east and the Place Charles de Gaulle in the west, where the Arc ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. Initially built as a residential neighbourhood, it is now considered the largest shopping district in India by revenue. It is known for its plethora of saree and jewellery retailers, including

Pothys Pothys is a chain of textile showrooms in South India. Originally they exclusively sold silk sarees, but today all types of garments are sold. The flagship store in Chennai is called Pothys' Palace. History Pothys (stylised as POTHYS) was ...

, Nalli Silks and

Saravana Stores Saravana Stores, founded in 1969, is a chain of retail stores in India. It is the largest family owned business retail chain in India. It is the first store to introduce Aadi Thallupadi sale concept. Locations Saravana Stores operates seven ...

. The neighbourhood is served by

Mambalam railway station Mambalam Railway Station (station code: MBM) is an NSG–3 category Indian railway station in Chennai railway division of Southern Railway zone. It is one of the railway stations in Chennai, India, on the Chennai Beach– Chengelpet section of ...

of the

Chennai Suburban Railway Network The Chennai Suburban Railway is a commuter rail system in the city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, operated by the Southern Railways branch of Indian Railways. It is India's second largest suburban rail network in terms of route length and the ...

. T. Nagar is considered one of the city's major

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

s, the other being

Parry's Corner George Town, also known as Muthialpet and Parry's corner, is a neighbourhood in Chennai (Madras), Tamil Nadu, India. It is near the Fort Saint George. It is an historical area of Madras city from where its expansion began in the 1640s. It ext ...

, the centre of the city.

serves as a satellite commercial hub for T. Nagar, located around the Thyagaraya Road.

Location and geography

T. Nagar is located about 10 km from

Chennai Airport Chennai International Airport is an international airport serving the city of Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu, India. It is located in Tirusulam in Chengalpattu district, in the Greater Chennai Metropolitan Area around southwest of the ...

and about 8 km from

Chennai Central Chennai Central (officially Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M.G. Ramachandran Central Railway Station, formerly Madras Central) (station code: MAS), is an NSG–1 category Indian railway station in Chennai railway division of Southern Railway zone ...

railway station. It lies to the west of the arterial

Anna Salai Anna Salai (), named for C. N. Annadurai, formerly known as St. Thomas Mount Road or simply Mount Road, is an arterial road in Chennai, India. It starts at the Cooum Creek, south of Fort St George, leading in a south-westerly direction towa ...

(Mount Road) and is loosely bordered by

Saidapet Saidapet, also known as Saidai, is a neighbourhood in Chennai, India, situated in the northern banks of the Adyar River and serves as an entry point to Central Chennai. It is surrounded by West Mambalam in the North, C.I.T Nagar in the North-Ea ...

to the south and southwest,

to the west,

to the northwest,

to the south,

to the north, and

to the east. T. Nagar is usually associated with

Mambalam West Mambalam is a residential and commercial area in Chennai, India. It is known for its shops, bazaars and Hindu temples. It is bounded by Kodambakkam to the north and Saidapet to the south. T. Nagar and Nandanam stretch along its entire eas ...

, a common name for the entire area of Thyagaraya Nagar, West Mambalam, C.I.T. Nagar and Pondy Bazaar. Panagal Park is located at the centre of the neighbourhood connecting five vein-roads of the neighbourhood: North Usman Road, South Usman Road, G.N. Chetty Road, Thyagaraya Road and Venkatanarayana Road.

History

Until the turn of the 19th century, the villages to the west of

Mount Road Anna Salai (), named for C. N. Annadurai, formerly known as St. Thomas Mount Road or simply Mount Road, is an arterial road in Chennai, India. It starts at the Cooum Creek, south of Fort St George, leading in a south-westerly direction towa ...

formed a part of Chingleput District. The Long Tank, which formed the western frontier of the city, was drained out in 1923. That very same year, the administration of the Mambalam zamindari, situated to the west of the Long Tank, was relinquished by its hereditary chief. The region had several paddy fields. During 1923–25, the township of "Thiyagaraya Nagar" named after Sir P.T. Thyagaraya Chettiar was carved out of the southern part of the erstwhile Mambalam zamindari. A park was developed at the centre of this new locality and was named in honour of the then Chief Minister, as Panagal Park. Soon afterwards,

began to make its appearance. According to historian S. Muthiah, it was initially known as 'Soundarapandia Bazaar' after Justice Party politician

W. P. A. Soundarapandian Nadar Woothampatti Punnaivana Ayya Soundarapandian (15 September 1893 – 22 February 1953) was a leading figure in Nadar Mahajana Sangam who became the first Nadar (caste), Nadar member of the Madras Legislative Council upon a recommendation by P ...

. A well-planned residential area was created. Most of the streets in the new locality were named after provincial cabinet ministers, Justice Party bosses or officials in the administration. The laying of suburban railway line from

Egmore Egmore is a neighbourhood of Chennai, India. Situated on the northern banks of the Coovum River, Egmore is an important residential area as well as a commercial and transportation hub. The Egmore Railway Station was the main terminus of the ...

Kancheepuram Kanchipuram (IAST: '; ), also known as Kanjeevaram, is a stand alone city corporation, satellite nodal city of Chennai in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu in the Tondaimandalam region, from Chennaithe capital of Tamil Nadu. Known as the ''Ci ...

in 1911 resulted in a station at Mambalam. The first bank of the locality was opened in 1935, followed by a second one, the

Indian Bank Indian Bank is an Indian public sector bank, established in 1907 and headquartered in Chennai. It serves over 100 million customers with 40,002 employees, 5,901 branches with 5,268 ATMs and Cash deposit machines. Total business of the bank has ...

, in 1937. Retail industry started proliferating in the region with the establishment of Nalli Chinnasami Chetty's textile showroom in 1928, which was upgraded as the first Kancheepuram silk sari shop of the area in 1935. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the city was evacuated due to the fear of Japanese bombing. All the shops were closed and the economic activity was halted for a few days that followed. The reason behind the naming of Pondy Bazaar still remains controversial. According to one version, Devaraj Mudaliar of

Pondicherry Pondicherry, officially known as Puducherry, is the Capital city, capital and most populous city of the Puducherry (union territory), Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the southeast coast of Indi ...

opened 10 shops on Sir Thyagaraya Road and started calling it Pondy Bazaar. Madras historian S. Muthiah, in his book ''Madras Rediscovered'', claims that the area was originally known as Soundarapandia Bazaar, which the government retained without change. Save for two of the streets, which were named after two workmen, Nagamani and Govindan, who died while digging trenches for the new drainage system in the locality, all the tree-lined streets were named after the stalwarts of the then ruling Justice Party. Star-rated hotels started appearing in the locality with the opening of a three-star hotel named Residency in 1991. As of 2006, there were seven hotels with over 80 per cent occupancy rates. With the increase in retail activities in the neighbourhood, several famous theatres such as Sun, Nagesh, and Rajakumari have given way to commercial complexes. From its early days, Thiyagaraya Nagar remained one of the most preferred residential localities in the city. The population grew exponentially during the 1930s. In its early days, film artists such as

M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar Mayavaram Krishnasamy Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar (1 March 1910 – 1 November 1959), also known by his initials as M. K. T. was an Indian actor and carnatic singer. Critics and film historians acknowledge Bhagavathar as the "First superstar of Ta ...

, T. R. Rajakumari, N. S. Krishnan,

Vyjayanthimala Vyjayanthimala Bali ( Raman; born 13 August 1933), known mononymously as Vyjayanthimala, is an Indian parliamentarian, dancer and former actress. Regarded as one of Hindi cinema's greatest actresses and dancers, she is the recipient of sever ...

N. T. Rama Rao Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (28 May 1923 – 18 January 1996), often referred to by his initials NTR, was an Indian actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter, film editor, philanthropist, and politician who served as the Chief Minister o ...

, Thangavelu, Manorama,

Savitri Savitri or Savithri may refer to: In Hinduism * Savitri, with all vowels short, a Roman-phonetic spelling of the Rigvedic solar deity Savitr *Sāvitrī, a name of the ''Gayatri Mantra'' dedicated to Savitṛ *Savitri (goddess), the consort of Br ...

Sivaji Ganesan Villupuram. Chinnaiya Manrayar Ganesamoorthy (1 October 1928 – 21 July 2001), better known by his stage name Sivaji Ganesan, was an Indian actor and film producer. He was mainly active in Tamil cinema during the latter half of the 20th centur ...

and T. S. Balaiah set up their residences here.

Demographics

T.Nagar's

bazaar A bazaar or souk is a marketplace consisting of multiple small Market stall, stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, Central Asia, North Africa and South Asia. They are traditionally located in vaulted or covered streets th ...

s are frequented by a number of shoppers. On a typical weekend, the number of people who move about on Pondy Bazaar, the locality's principal commercial area, might soar up to 500,000. During festival season, because of the discounts and reductions offered by dealers of silk sarees and jewellers, this number might reach 2 million. Even on a lean day, about 200,000 pedestrians traverse the roads around Panagal Park, the central part of the neighbourhood.

Economy

Thyagaraya Nagar is one of the busiest shopping districts of Chennai. The neighbourhood is considered to be the biggest shopping district in India by revenue. There are a number of

apparel Clothing (also known as clothes, garments, dress, apparel, or attire) is any item worn on a human human body, body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin s ...

, jewellery and utensil stores based in Thiyagaraya Nagar. By some estimates, the shops in the neighbourhood together accounts for revenues of nearly 20,000 crores annually. However, official estimates put it much lower at over 10,000 crores, which is still double that of New Delhi's Connaught Place and

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

's Linking Road which account for about 4,000 to 6,000 crores annually. The neighbourhood accounts for about 70 to 80% of the gold sold in Chennai, the most important gold market in

South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

Usman Road Usman may refer to: People *Usman (name), a name of Arabic origin *Hadiza Bala Usman (born 1976), Nigerian activist and politician *Kamaru Usman, a mixed martial artist in the Ultimate Fighting Championship *Usman Janatin, an Indonesian marine exe ...

is the costliest commercial stretch in Chennai. The area around Panagal Park is known for its high-end textile shops, chiefly dealing with silk sarees, and jewellery stores. As of 2006, the real estate prices were 11,500 per sq.ft. Ranganathan Street is one of the most crowded roads for pedestrian traffic during day time. The road is full of big name establishments side-by-side smaller and petty shops that sell all sorts of household goods and garments. It also houses one of the biggest private lending libraries in the city, 'Raviraj Lending Library' on Usman Road.

Culture

T.Nagar offers a variety of entertainment options. It has grown to become a major hub for the Carnatic music festival-season, with a number of '' sabhas'' (such as Krishna Gana Sabha, Vani Mahal and Bharath Kalachar) hosting famous performers. It also has a number of parks, cricket grounds, and other recreational facilities. The RKM Cricket Ground adjoining GN Chetty Road hosts ''division IV ''and ''V'' city-league games.

Society

T. Nagar residents are an unusual mix of the traditional and the modern and this is reflected in the way the neighbourhood has been growing. Several new eateries have come up while at the same time, traditional restaurants are also packed. With the city extending its bed-time more every year, the locality has acquired a reputation of always being in the fast lane. The grand textile showrooms close very late at night, and their hoarding boards constantly illuminate the roads. Early in the morning, joggers and walkers take full advantage of the empty roads, with the fresh air that's so hard to come by in this area at all other times of the day. Panagal Park, Natesan Park and Jeeva Park all have their regular crowd and their walkers' associations are extremely active. T. Nagar is also a place of musical intellects. A lot of sabhas are very active during the month of December.

Religion

Hinduism

Below is a list of some of the well-known Hindu temples located in T. Nagar: * Sri Balaji Temple: This temple, located at Venkatanarayana Road, is run by the

Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) is an independent government trust in India managed by the Government of Andhra Pradesh. The trust primarily oversees the operations and finances of the richest and the most visited religious center Venkatesw ...

. It has a replica of Lord Venkateswara of

Tirupati Tirupati () is a city in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Andhra Pradesh and serves as the administrative headquarters of Tirupati district. It is known for its significant religious and cultural heritage, being home to th ...

. Devotees planning to visit

may avail the services of the temple office to make arrangements/booking for

darshan Darshan, a Sanskrit word meaning "sight" or "viewing", may refer to: Ceremony and religion * Darshan (Indian religions), the auspicious sight of a divine image or holy person; also a school of Hindu philosophy * Darshan (Judaism), a Scriptural ...

and (special worship rituals) at

Tirumala Tirumala is a Hindu religious temple town in Tirupati district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is one of the neighbourhoods of the Tirupati city. The town is a part of Tirupati Urban Development Authority and located in Tirupat ...

* T. Nagar Sringeri Saradha Peetam Temple: This temple, located at Venkatanarayana Road, is managed by the Sringeri Sharada Peetham Mutt. The temple has a large prayer and meditation hall * Krishnan Koil (meaning "Krishna temple" in Tamil): A temple dedicated to

Lord Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is wi ...

, located at South West Boag Road * Sri Sakthi

Vinayagar Ganesha or Ganesh (, , ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in the Ganapatya sect. His depictions are found throughout India. Hind ...

Temple, located at South Dhandapani Street *

Agastiyar Agastya was a revered Indian sage of Hinduism. In the Indian tradition, he is a noted recluse and an influential scholar in diverse languages of the Indian subcontinent. He is regarded in some traditions to be a Chiranjivi. He and his wife Lo ...

temple, located at Raja Street * Shiva-Vishnu temple, located near T. Nagar bus depot * Krishna Raghavendra Mutt: Run by Udipi Pejawar Mutt, and located at Raghaviah Road * Muppathamman temple: An

Amman Amman ( , ; , ) is the capital and the largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of four million as of 2021, Amman is Jordan's primate city and is the largest city in the Levant ...

temple located at Maharajapuram Santhanam Salai

Jainism

Shantinath Jain temple on G. N. Chetty Road is one of the most important Swetambar Jain temples in Chennai.

Christianity

In the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, T. Nagar constitutes a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

, headed by the Holy Cross Church located in South Boag Road (now, Chevalier Shivaji Ganesan Road) under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Madras-Mylapore. There is a

Missionaries of Charity The Missionaries of Charity () is a Catholic centralised religious institute of consecrated life of Pontifical Right for women established in 1950 by Mother Teresa, now known in the Catholic Church as Saint Teresa of Calcutta. , it consisted o ...

convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

named Shishu Bhavan situated opposite to the church. The convent was inaugurated by

Mother Teresa Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu (born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, ; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), better known as Mother Teresa or Saint Mother Teresa, was an Albanian-Indian Catholic Church, Roman Catholic nun, founder of the Missionaries of ...

herself. Located on Thyagaraya Road in Pondy Bazaar, is the FMM Convent of the Holy Angels. This convent houses Our Lady's Nursery and

Holy Angels Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School Holy Angels Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School or Holy Angels' AI Hr. Sec School is an all-girls Roman Catholic, private, convent school located in Chennai, India, which offers education from nursery level to higher secondary (XII) level. The ...

. T. Nagar also has

Protestant churches Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes justification of sinners through faith alone, the teaching that salvation comes by unmerited divine grace, the priesthood of all believers, and the Bible as the sole infallible sourc ...

like CSI Kingdom of God's church, Canaan Evangelical Church et.c

Islam

Some of the notable mosques include the Anjuman Mosque.

Parks

Being one of the centrally located neighbourhoods with both residential and commercial activities, T. Nagar has several parks and greeneries, many of which are maintained by the

Corporation of Chennai Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) is a local government for the City of Chennai in the Chennai Metropolitan Area of Tamil Nadu, India. Inaugurated on 29 September 1688, under a royal charter issued by King James II of England on 30 December ...

. The 8-acre Panagal Park is the most prominent park in the locality with all the six arterial streets of the neighbourhood, namely, North Usman Road, South Usman Road, G. N. Chetty Road, Sir Thyagaraya Road (Pondy Bazaar), Venkatanarayana Road, and Doraiswamy Road, converging into it. The 4-acre Dr. Natesan Park, opened in 1950, is another well-known park located on Venkatanarayana Road. It is the only corporation-maintained park that has a separate tennis court for coaching children. Jeeva Park is another well-maintained park in the neighbourhood. These parks are popular spots for morning walks for the local residents.

Neighbourhood newspapers

*T.Nagar Times – Covers local news from T. Nagar and surrounding localities, and is circulated free of cost every Sunday

Transport

Bus

T. Nagar is easily accessible from most parts of the city by bus. The T. Nagar bus terminus off Usman Road is a hub for services operating via the commercial district, including routes to Thiruverkadu, Mylapore, Kodambakkam, Avadi, Nungambakkam, Parry's Corner, Ennore, Manali, Tambaram, Poonamallee, Thiruvanmiyur, Ambattur, Pattabiram, Annanagar and Tiruvallur. There are also routes to various places in neighbouring Kanchipuram and Thiruvallur districts. The T. Nagar bus terminus is spread around 1.95 acres and is located on South Usman road. On a daily basis 58 buses are operated from the terminus, besides 238 buses from other areas that pass through the terminus every day. The average frequency of buses at the terminus is 7 buses per minute. Other important bus stops in T.Nagar are Panagal Park,

Power House Powerhouse or power house may refer to: * Power station, a facility (or former facility) for the generation of electric power Businesses * Powerhouse Animation Studios, an animation studio * powerHouse Books, a Brooklyn-based publisher of high-e ...

, and Vani Mahal.

Education

Schools

T. Nagar is home to the following schools: *CDN Thyagaraya Nagar Higher Secondary School (founded 1933) *Ramakrishna Mission *Sir Mutha Venkatasubba Rao School *Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan Senior Secondary school (T.P.Road Branch – From Pre-KG to 8th grade) *Holy Angels higher secondary school for girls *Sri Sankara Bala Vidyalaya Hr. Sec. School *T.Nagar High School *Shrine Vailankanni Sr. Sec. School *Vidyodaya Schools *Karnataka Sangha school *MCN School

Colleges

*Shri Shankarlal Sundarbai Shasun jain college for women There are a number of private libraries with vast collections of books.

Government Exam Coaching

T. Nagar, a bustling shopping hub in Tamil Nadu, is also home to numerous aspirants preparing for government competitive exams like '
UPSCBankingSSC
Railways
TNPSC (Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission)
CA
TNTETTRBGATENEET
JEE and all other important exams. Several prominent coaching institutes in T. Nagar specialize in government exam preparation, attracting students from nearby districts across Tamil Nadu. Some of the prominent Government Exam Coaching Centers are
Veranda Race Learning Solutions
* Appolo Study Centre
Manidhaneyam IAS Academy
* KS Academy * Chennai School of Banking

Personalities associated with localities in T. Nagar

Most of the streets, landmarks and bazaars in T. Nagar have been named after administrators and politicians of the Justice Party. * Thyagaraya Nagar, Sir Thyagaraya Road – named after Sir P.T. Thyagaraya Chettiar * Dr. Nair Road – named after Dr. T. M. Nair * Panagal Park – named after the

* Natesan Park – named after

C. Natesa Mudaliar Dr. C. Natesa Mudaliar (1875–1937), also known as Natesan, was an Indian politician and activist of the Dravidian Movement from what is now the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. He was one of the founders of the Justice Party, along with P. Theag ...

* Arcot Street – named after Twin brothers of Arcot – Arcot Ramaswamy Mudaliar & Arcot Lakshmanaswami Mudaliar. * Thanikachalam Road – named after O. Thanikachalam Chetti * Sivagnanam Road – named after T. N. Sivagnanam Pillai * North and South Usman Road – named after

Sir Mohammad Usman Khan Bahadur Sir Mohammad Usman (1884 – 1 February 1960) was an Indian politician, hakim and socialite who served as the Minister of Home for the Madras Presidency in the Justice Party government of the Raja of Bobbili and as the firs ...

* North and South Boag Road – named after G. T. Boag. * Habibullah Road – named after Sir

Muhammad Habibullah Khan Bahadur Sir Muhammad Habibullah KCSI KCIE (22 September 1869 – 16 May 1948) was an Indian politician and administrator who served as the Diwan of Travancore from 1934 to 1936. Personal life Habibullah was born in Madras (now Chen ...

. * G. N. Chetty Road – named after Gopathi Narayanaswami Chetty. * Pondy Bazaar – Named after

. * Burkit Road – Named after H. H. Burkitt. * Raghavaiah Road – named after

T. Raghavaiah Diwan Bahadur Thodla Raghavaiah CSI was an Indian administrator who served as the Diwan of Travancore from 1920 to 1925. He was a favourite of the Maharaja Moolam Thirunal. His refusal to allow low-caste to enter Hindu temples is believed ...

. * Bazullah Road – named after Muhammad Bazullah * Mellony Road (originally Molony Road) – named after J. C. Molony * Venkatanarayana Road – named after J. Venkatanarayana Naidu * Basudev Road – named after C. Basudev * Vijayaraghava Road – named after T. Vijayaraghavacharya

Politics

State assembly politics

T. Nagar is known for voting against the trend, voting against the winning party, on 5 separate occasions, since 1962 assembly elections. It has also become a critical swing constituency since it has become increasingly closer in recent years. It is worth noting that in the 2006 election, AIADMK was able to significantly increase their vote share, winning with a margin of 10.8%. This is mostly due to the high satisfaction of the J.Jayalalithaa government from 2001 to 2006, due to significant development that took place in that time period in the T. Nagar area. * Note: In 1989, AIADMK was split between Janaki faction and Jayalalithaa faction, and only the Jayalalithaa faction is reported in the AIADMK column since they were the highest vote-gainers from the divided faction. The Janaki faction got 8,268, which is about 7.2% of the voters.

Lok Sabha politics

T. Nagar assembly constituency is part of

Chennai South (Lok Sabha constituency) The Lok Sabha constituency Chennai South is one of three constituencies in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Its Tamil Nadu Parliamentary Constituency number is 3 of 39. It was formerly known as Madras South. It was created in 1957 through bifurcation of Che ...

Pedestrian plaza

A 338-million pedestrian plaza was planned in 2013 by the city corporation. It involves provision of a pedestrian-friendly footpath on the 1.45 kilometre-long stretch of the Theyagaraya Road between Panagal Park and Anna Salai. It will cover 1,450 metres of Thyagaraya Road from Bashyam Road near Panagal Park to

. The plaza will be divided into three stretches with different identities. A 12-metre wide pedestrian space will be developed in the 730-metre stretch from Panagal Park to the Thanikachalam Road junction. Upon completion, only city buses and motorcycles will be permitted in this area in a 7-metre carriageway. All types of vehicles will be allowed on the 370-m stretch from Thanikachalam Road to the Boag Road junction, where the pedestrian plaza will be only 3.5 metres wide and carriageway will be comparatively wider measuring 15 metres. All vehicles will be permitted on the 350-metre stretch between the Boag Road junction to the Anna Salai junction. The proposal for a cycle track has been replaced with a plan to introduce battery-operated cars. A multi-level car parking lot has also been planned. Other facilities in the plaza include seating, public toilet and a children's play area.

Future

In 2013, to address the traffic concerns of the neighbourhood,

Chennai Corporation Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) is a local government for the City of Chennai in the Chennai Metropolitan Area of Tamil Nadu, India. Inaugurated on 29 September 1688, under a royal charter issued by King James II of England on 30 December ...

tied up with real estate advisory firm

Jones Lang LaSalle Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated (JLL) is a global real estate services company, founded in the United Kingdom with offices in 80 countries. The company also provides investment management services worldwide, including services to institutional an ...

to exercise a proposal to redevelop the area, especially the shopping centres. T. Nagar will also be the site for the Smart City Mission in Chennai as per the Government data.

Location in context

References

{{Chennai district Neighbourhoods in Chennai Shopping districts and streets in India Retailing in Chennai