Kodambakkam

Kodambakkam
கோடம்பாக்கம்
neighbourhood

Rail over - bridge at Kodambakkam
Kodambakkam
Coordinates: 13°02′53″N 80°13′17″E / 13.0481°N 80.2214°E / 13.0481; 80.2214Coordinates: 13°02′53″N 80°13′17″E / 13.0481°N 80.2214°E / 13.0481; 80.2214
Country India
State Tamil Nadu
District Chennai District
Metro Chennai
Zone ZONE 10 - Kodambakkam Zone
Ward Ward No. 127,130,131,133,134
Talukas Mambalam Taluk
Government
 • Body Chennai Corporation
Languages
 • Official Tamil
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN 600024
Lok Sabha constituency Chennai South
Vidhan Sabha constituency Theagarayanagar (T Nagar)
Planning agency CMDA
Civic agency Chennai Corporation
Website www.chennai.tn.nic.in

Kodambakkam is a residential neighbourhood in the city of Chennai in Tamil Nadu, India. It is famed as the centre of the Tamil film industry, known as Kollywood. The neighbourhood is served by Kodambakkam railway station of the Chennai Suburban Railway Network.

Location

Kodambakkam is situated at 13.0481 N latitude and 80.2214 E longitude. It is one of the westerly located neighbourhoods of Chennai city. It is bounded by the neighbourhoods of Nungambakkam to the east and West Mambalam and T. Nagar to the south. It is bounded by Vadapalani to the west and K. K. Nagar and Ashok Nagar to the south-west.

Kodambakkam is located at a distance of 8 kilometres from Fort St. George.

History

The neighbourhood of Kodambakkam has a history going back to about 2,000 years. During the period of the Pallavas and the Later Cholas, the western part of Kodambakkam formed a portion of the historically important temple town of Vadapalani. One of the oldest temples in Kodambakkam is the Bharthukesavar temple which is over 500 years old.

Present-day Kodambakkam originated in the 17th and 18th centuries AD, when it supposedly served as source for the horses of the stable of the Nawab of the Carnatic. It is believed that the name "Kodambakkam" itself might have been derived from the Urdu word Ghoda Bagh meaning "garden of horses". Another version says that "Kodambakkam" derives its name from "Karkodagan Pakkam". Karkodagan is the name of a famous snake in Hindu mythology. It is said that the snake worshiped Lord Shiva here. There is still a temple for Lord Shiva by the name Vengeeshwarar in Kodambakkam. Several sculptures and images of the snake Karkodagan can be seen in the temple, even today.

Under the British, Kodambakkam was administered as a municipality in Chingleput district till the draining of the Long Tank in 1921, when Kodambakkam was incorporated into the Madras city and formed the Kodambakkam-Saligrammam-Puliyur district of Greater Madras along with other localities to the west of the now extinct Long Tank, with a population of 497 people in 1939. Kodambakkam also played an important role in the Anti-Hindi agitations of 1938 when Maraimalai Adigal presided over a conference denouncing the imposition of Hindi in the Madras Presidency on June 3, 1938.[1]

The first movie studio was established by Avichi Meiyappa Chettiar in 1948. Since then, a number of other movie studios have been established, notable among them being L. V. Prasad Studios and Vijaya Vauhini studios. Liberty theater which was the oldest movie theater in Chennai was based here too, it was the place to be seen in the 1950s for movie premieres. However, the theater been demolished in the year 2010 and been replaced by a hotel and condos.

Infrastructure

The neighbourhood got one of the city's first flyovers in 1967.[2] It is 623 m long and 12.8 m wide and connects the localities of K. K. Nagar, Vadapalani, and Ashok Nagar.

Kollywood

Kodambakkam is the centre of the Tamil film industry known as Kollywood, a portmanteau of Kodambakkam and Hollywood. A. V. M. Studios established by Avichi Meiyappa Chettiar was the first movie studio to be established in Vadapalani-Kodambakkam. The Vijaya Vauhini Studios was established a little later followed by Prasad Labs in 1974. Today, many Tamil movie studios are located in and around Kodambakkam.

Residences of many film and television stars are located in and around Kodambakkam due to proximity to the movie studios. A film directors' colony situated in Kodambakkam is the home of many Tamil film directors and producers.

Indian music director A.R.Rahman's house and his AM Studios is located in the same street, as is the KM Music Conservatory, the music conservatory founded by him.

Localities

Some of the important localities of Kodambakkam include:

Location in Context

Areas of Chennai
MMDA Colony Choolaimedu Nungambakkam
Vadapalani T.Nagar
   Kodambakkam  
K. K. Nagar Ashok Nagar West Mambalam

Photo gallery

Notes

  1. ↑ "A Chronology of Anti-Hindi Agitations in Tamil Nadu, India". Tamil Tribune.
  2. ↑ Hemalatha, Karthikeyan (5 July 2013). "OMR, Alandur: Alandur is worst yet has brightest future". The Times of India (Chennai: The Times Group). Retrieved 6 Jul 2013.

External links

Neighbourhood Newspaper in kodambakkam http://arcotroadtalk.in

Entertainment for kids in kodambakkam http://riyatoyslibrary.com

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