Burma Bazaar is a market run by
Burmese refugees 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 ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. It is located at
Parrys Corner
George Town is a neighbourhood in Chennai (formerly Madras), Tamil Nadu, India. It is near the Fort Saint George, Chennai. It is also known as Muthialpet and Parry's corner. It is an historical area of Chennai city from where its expansion bega ...
and is one of the several unorganized or grey market shopping hubs of Chennai. The bazaar was set up in 1969 by the
Government of Tamil Nadu
Government of Tamil Nadu is the subnational government for the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is seated at Fort St George, Chennai. The legislature of Tamil Nadu was bicameral until 1986, when it was replaced by a unicameral legislature, lik ...
. It is located just outside the
Chennai Beach railway station
Chennai Beach (formerly known as Madras Beach) (station code: MSB) is a railway terminus of the Southern Railway network in Parry's Corner, Chennai, India. Built on reclaimed land, the station serves the suburban services of the Chennai Subur ...
, in the old financial district of the city at
George Town. It is a row of about 200 shops that line either side of the road for about a kilometre.
History
Burma Bazaar was established by Burmese immigrants, who were
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
refugees who fled
Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...
during the early 1960s. The government set aside land for the Tamil refugees returning from Burma during the 1960s. The bazaar is run by the
Burma Tamizhar Marumalarchi Sangam, an association that has been set up to look after the interests of the traders since 1966.
The bazaar
The bazaar extends to about a kilometre along the Chennai Beach railway station. There are an estimated 200 shops in the bazaar. With several passengers coming out of the station every few minutes, the market appears busy all the time. It is estimated that over 100,000 people pass through this corridor every week.
Per 2017 estimates, there are over 600 shops in the bazaar employing over 5,000 people.
It had been listed as a
notorious market A notorious market is a website or physical market where, according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), large-scale intellectual property infringement takes place. Officially termed Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting a ...
between 2009 and 2017 by the
USTR
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is an agency of the United States federal government responsible for developing and promoting American trade policy. Part of the Executive Office of the President, it is headed by the ...
for selling various counterfeit goods and pirated media and software.
Movie references
''
Ayan'', a 2009 Tamil movie, shows the operations of selling CDs, software, electronics, perfumes, and other goods in great detail. A movie named
Vattaram
''Vattaram'' is a 2006 Indian Tamil-language action gangster film written, produced, and directed by Saran. The film stars Arya, Napoleon, and Kirat Bhattal. The film's score and soundtrack are composed by Bharathwaj. The film released on 21 ...
has references as well.also references made in Tamil movie kacheri arambam.
See also
References
External links
Burma Bazaar's `win-win' proposal for Kollywood
{{Chennai Topics
Bazaars
Bazaars in India
Electronics districts
Retailing in Chennai
Burmese diaspora in Asia
India–Myanmar relations
Notorious markets