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MEMORIES OF BESANT NAGAR & ADYAR


In the fifties making occasional short visit to Elliots Beach as known then, (and not as Besant Nagar beach) was only a forsaken jungle with bushes and thorny plants in haphazard manner and with no habitants only a few foreigners used to visit in cars, once a week or so for seabath. There was few masonry huts neaner the shore, for them to freshen up. Even they go away from the beach by sun set those days. 

            Thanks to TNHB, flats were built in 1970 and EBFO Colony came into being. Being the very first allottee and occupant of a flat on 16.4.1970, suffered several teething troubles. EBFO colony is a compact one with 260 flats. It has 3rd and 4th Main Roads as its south and north border and Beach Road and 24th Cross Street as its east and west border with 4 cross streets in between, viz 25th to 28th all leading to beach.

            There were no wall or fence between flats and safety was less. Also, there were no streetlights anywhere in Besant Nagar & lack of transport facility made lesser takers for the flats for quite some time. Upto August 1970, there was only one Telephone available and that was in my house and so, it functioned as a P.C.O for not only to make calls but also to receive messages and pass it on to respective persons. 

            A few of the early settlers put in their best efforts and EBFO cooperative housing society was formed and registered in 1970 itself. Besant Nagar was deprived of a Bank, a Post Office, shopping complex etc and within months, we were able to bring the first Bank, I.O.B in one of our flats, as also a sub post office too in the same block. Later, IOB got land allotted in 3rd Main Road, and built their own Branch there. Today Besant Nagar has 8 or 9 Banks and equal number of ATM outlets. Transport problem was solved first with more frequency, thus buses to start and end here and now, with well built bus station, just opposite the water tank with services (starting & culminative here) to all part in the city.

Today one may wonder to hear that the present Pillayar Koil was too small and functioning in a no man’s land where St.John’s School now exists. Today V.V.Koil is in vantage point next to water tank, with pucca buildings and a big mandapam for discourses, cultural events etc and with more saninidhies, readily blessing all those in Besant Nagar and all over. Similarly, Ratnagireeswarar Temple was enshrined within cane sheets (perambuthatti) and facing east with entry for devotees from the main road, the 2nd Avenue. Only later, it was grown to this size, with entry made from Sixth Cross Street, and the deity facing west. By 1974, Ashtalakshmi Temple was built, over looking seacoast so also Velankanni Church in a small way, nearer to the temple. Both are very popular now and grown tenfold, attracting people from all over the city and outside.

The special structural battern of Ashtalakshmi Temple is unique with eight sannithis on a three tier system, the only one of its kind in the world. Besant Nagar is blessed with too many places of worship, especially after Aarupadai Veedu Temple in one campus also took shape, on the seashore, little away from Ashtalakshmi Temple thanks to a few N.R.I groups, one can now have darshan of all the six murugas at one place. Kalakshetra Colony, southern part of Besant Nagar, has wider roads, several classic buildings constructed by reputed builders and a cross section of elite people live there happily.

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