Aminjikarai, originally Amaindakarai, is one of the oldest neighbourhoods in

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is 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 India ...

, India. The arterial

Poonamallee High Road EVR Periyar Salai (EVR High Road), earlier known as Poonamallee High Road (NH 48) and originally the Grand Western Trunk Road, is an arterial road in Chennai, India. It is the longest road in Chennai. Running from east to west, the road start ...

( NH 4) runs through it. Aminjikarai was annexed to Madras District in the year 1946, and

Arumbakkam Arumbakkam is a residential locality in Chennai. The locality Arumbakkam is notable for D G Vaishnav College. The Chennai Bottling Company (popularly known as the Gold Spot Company) was located here, which has now been converted into a car d ...

and

Anna Nagar Anna Nagar (formerly known as Naduvakkarai), is a neighbourhood in the metropolitan city of Chennai, India. Named after former chief minister of Tamil Nadu C. N. Annadurai, it is located in the north-western part of Chennai and forms a part of ...

were carved out of Aminjikarai in the 1950s and 1970s. The Nelson Manickam Road that traverses through Aminjikarai is an important commercial road in Chennai city.

History

A delta formed from the deposition of the sediment carried by the river

Cooum The Cooum river, or simply Koovam, is one of the shortest classified rivers draining into the Bay of Bengal. This river is about in length, flowing in the city of Chennai (urban part) and the rest in rural part. The river is highly polluted ...

towards its journey to the Bay of Bengal is called Amainda Karai ''(which means shaped/formed/created banks / land in Tamil)'' and later on Aminjikarai colloquially. According to another version, the name derived from the word ''amanjutal'', which means 'free community service'. Probably, at some stage, the banks of Cooum at this point (at Amanjikarai) should have broken, and the local people should have offered free community service in rebuilding the banks (karai) of the river.Rao Sahib C S Srinivasachari. (1939). History of the City of Madras In the early days, it was known as a suburb after the tollgate (near Pachaiyappa's College). Now, it is a central part of Chennai which links the residential Anna Nagar to the central business district of Chennai. It comprises Mehta Nagar, Gill Nagar, Railway Colony, Collectorate Colony and Ayyavoo Naidu Colony. Mehta Nagar is connected by a small pedestrian bridge and it is almost like a peninsula. Thiru-vi-ka park is a well known park that is close by Aminijikarai.

Culture

Aminjikarai hosts Sri Ekambareshwara Kamakshi Amma temple and very close to this is Sri Varadaraja temple. Because of these two temples in very close vicinity some people refer to Aminjikarai as mini Kancheepuram. The Mangali Amma temple (Ellai Amma) is also located in between Toll-gate and Aminjikarai. Ekambareshwara and Varadaraja temple's Brahmotsavam is a famous festival held between March and May of every year. Pradosham is also a famous event at the Ekambareshwara temple. Near that ekhambareswarer temple, there is vinayagar temple called " Varasidhi Vinayagar temple". It is well popular for vinayagar chathurthi festival. Aminjikarai also has a mosque and burial ground on Poonamallee high road. The name of the mosque is Jammia Masjid. There is another masjid in Nelson Manickam road called Fathima Islamic cultural society There are also numerous churches.

Infrastructure

Aminjikarai offers shopping facilities for people of all classes. and famous photo studio called my memories event management.The Aminjikarai Market hosts very fresh vegetables, some roadside makeshift vegetable shops offer very fresh vegetables at nominal rates. There is a huge shopping mall -

Ampa Skywalk Ampa Skywalk is a shopping mall in Chennai, India. With three floors of retail space, it has outlets for major clothing and apparel brands, a seven-screen multiplex, a games zone and a food court. Location The mall is located at Aminjikarai on ...

at the intersection of Nelson Manickam Road and Poonamallee High Road. The mall has 7 multiplex cinemas, spacious hypermarket, food court, restaurants and branded retail outlets. The nearest suburban railway station is Nungambakkam railway station, which is just from Aminjikarai. The proximity to the Chennai Metropolitan Bus Terminus (CMBT) has made Aminjikarai one of the most accessible routes in

. Aminjikarai has many hospitals, including Billroth Hospitals which is a fully fledged multispeciality hospital. MR hospital a dedicated Renal (kidney) Transplant centre is located on the Govindan street.

In popular culture

Aminjikarai is usually referenced in

Tamil film Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood is a part of Indian Cinema; primarily engaged in production of motion pictures in the Tamil language. Based out of the Kodambakkam neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, it is popularly called ''Kollywood' ...

comedy scenes. The name is usually compared with

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

as a

play on words Word play or wordplay (also: play-on-words) is a literary technique and a form of wit in which words used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement. Examples of word play include puns, phone ...

to contrast someone locally from Aminjikarai with someone from a

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

society.

References

External links