Kodambakkam (also known as K-Town or Kollywood) is a business and residential neighbourhood in Central
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. The neighbourhood is served by
Kodambakkam railway station
Kodambakkam Railway Station is a railway station on the Chennai Beach–Chengalpattu section of the Chennai Suburban Railway Network. It serves the neighbourhood of Kodambakkam, Vadapalani, and Ashok Nagar. The railway station was already in ex ...
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 ...
. Kodambakkam has a high concentration of film studios and has been known for its status as the hub of the
Tamil film industry
Tamil cinema is the segment of cinema of India, Indian cinema dedicated to the production of Film, motion pictures in the Tamil language, the main spoken language in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is nicknamed Kollywood, a portmanteau of the nam ...
, lending its name to the industry's monicker
Kollywood
Tamil cinema is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Tamil language, the main spoken language in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is nicknamed Kollywood, a portmanteau of the names Kodambakkam, a Chenn ...
, a
portmanteau
In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together. of Kodambakkam and
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood ...
.
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
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 ...
to the east,
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
T. Nagar to the south,
Vadapalani
Vadapalani is a neighbourhood in the city of Chennai in Tamil Nadu, India. It is known for its film studios, the Vadapalani Andavar Temple, and Vengeeswarar Temples which are important pilgrimage centres for Hindus. Situated in the western par ...
to the west,
Choolaimedu
Choolaimedu is a large residential and commercial locality in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It borders Kodambakkam, Vadapalani, M.M.D.A. Colony, Aminjikarai, Mahalingapuram and Nungambakkam. Previously a part of Puliyur village, Kodambakkam, Choo ...
to the north and
K. K. Nagar and
Ashok Nagar
Ashoknagar (also Ashok Nagar) is a city and a municipality council in Ashoknagar District in Madhya Pradesh state of central India. It is the administrative headquarters of Ashoknagar District. Earlier it was part of Guna district. Ashoknagar ...
to the south-west.
Kodambakkam is located at a distance of 8 kilometres from
Fort St. George
Fort St. George (or historically, White Town) is a fortress at the coastal city of Chennai, India. Founded in 1639, it was the first English (later British) fortress in India. The construction of the fort provided the impetus for further ...
.
Etymology
It is believed that the name "Kodambakkam" itself might have been derived from the
Urdu
Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...
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
Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...
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. There is another etymology for this name from
Soundarya Lahari
The ''Saundarya Lahari'' () is a famous literary work in Sanskrit attributed to Pushpadanta as well as Adi Shankara. Some believe the first part "Ananda Lahari" was etched on mount Meru by Ganesha himself (or by Pushpadanta). Sage Gaudapada, t ...
according to Sudha Seshayyan. "Kodu-am-bakkam" Kodu means hill, am – denotes arrow. The place is associated with lord Shiva using the meru mountain as bow for destroying Tripura.
History
The neighbourhood of Kodambakkam has a history going back to about 2,000 years. During the period of the
Pallavas
The Pallava dynasty existed from 275 CE to 897 CE, ruling a significant portion of the Deccan, also known as Tondaimandalam. The Pallavas played a crucial role in shaping in particular southern Indian history and heritage. The dynasty ros ...
and the
Later Cholas
The Chola Empire, which is often referred to as the Imperial Cholas, was a medieval thalassocratic empire based in southern India that was ruled by the Chola dynasty, and comprised overseas dominions, protectorates and spheres of influence ...
, 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 CE, when it supposedly served as source for the
horse
The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...
s of the stable of the
Nawab of the Carnatic
The Carnatic Sultanate ( Persian: ; Tamil: ; Urdu: ) also known as Carnatic State or Arcot State was a kingdom in southern India between about 1690 and 1855, ruled by a Muslim nawab under the legal purview of the Nizam of Hyderabad, until thei ...
.
Under the British, Kodambakkam was administered as a
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''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
Maraimalai Adigal (15 July 1876 – 15 September 1950) was a Tamil Saivite writer, orator and father of the Tanittamil Iyakkam movement. He authored more than 100 books, including works on original poems and dramas and notable research works o ...
presided over a conference denouncing the
imposition of Hindi
Hindi imposition is a form of linguistic imperialism in which the use of Modern Standard Hindi is preferred in Indian states that do not use or desire to use Hindi as a regional language. The term is rooted in the anti-Hindi agitations of Tamil ...
in the
Madras Presidency
The Madras Presidency or Madras Province, officially called the Presidency of Fort St. George until 1937, was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India and later the Dominion of India. At its greatest extent, the presidency i ...
on 3 June 1938.
The first movie studio was established by
Avichi Meiyappa Chettiar
Avichi Meiyappa Chettiar (28 July 1907 – 12 August 1979), also known as A. V. Meiyappan, A. V. Meiyappa Chettiar or AVM, was an Indian film producer, film director and screenwriter who established AVM Productions in Vadapalani, Chennai. ...
in 1948. Since then, a number of other movie studios have been established, notable among them being
L. V. Prasad
Akkineni Laxmi Vara Prasada Rao (17 January 1907 – 22 June 1994), known professionally as L. V. Prasad, was an Indian film director, producer, actor, and businessman. He was one of the pioneers of Indian cinema and is the recipient of the Da ...
Studios and Vijaya Vauhini studios. Liberty theatre 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.
It is 623 m long and 12.8 m wide and connects the localities of
K. K. Nagar,
Vadapalani
Vadapalani is a neighbourhood in the city of Chennai in Tamil Nadu, India. It is known for its film studios, the Vadapalani Andavar Temple, and Vengeeswarar Temples which are important pilgrimage centres for Hindus. Situated in the western par ...
, and
Ashok Nagar
Ashoknagar (also Ashok Nagar) is a city and a municipality council in Ashoknagar District in Madhya Pradesh state of central India. It is the administrative headquarters of Ashoknagar District. Earlier it was part of Guna district. Ashoknagar ...
. The district is also home to the
Meenakshi Sundararajan Engineering College, which is affiliated to
Anna University
Anna University is a public state university located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. The main campus is in Guindy. It was originally established on 4 September 1978 and is named after C. N. Annadurai, former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
Histor ...
.
Religion
There are old temples dedicated to Lord Shiva namely Vengeeswarar Temple and Bharadvajeswarar (Valeswarar) Temple belonging to 13th Century built during Chola Period. One of the oldest
mosque
A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard.
Originally, mosques were si ...
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 ...
named Puliyur Juma Masjid is situated here.
Film industry
Kodambakkam is the centre of the
Tamil film industry
Tamil cinema is the segment of cinema of India, Indian cinema dedicated to the production of Film, motion pictures in the Tamil language, the main spoken language in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is nicknamed Kollywood, a portmanteau of the nam ...
known as
Kollywood
Tamil cinema is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Tamil language, the main spoken language in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is nicknamed Kollywood, a portmanteau of the names Kodambakkam, a Chenn ...
, a
portmanteau
In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together. of Kodambakkam and
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood ...
.
A. V. M. Studios established by
Avichi Meiyappa Chettiar
Avichi Meiyappa Chettiar (28 July 1907 – 12 August 1979), also known as A. V. Meiyappan, A. V. Meiyappa Chettiar or AVM, was an Indian film producer, film director and screenwriter who established AVM Productions in Vadapalani, Chennai. ...
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 Composer
Ilaiyaraaja
Ilaiyaraaja (born R. Gnanathesikan) is an Indian musician, composer, arranger, conductor, orchestrator, multi-instrumentalist, lyricist and playback singer popular for his works in Indian cinema, predominately in Tamil cinema, Tamil in addition ...
's self-owned Musical Studio "ILAIYARAAJA Studios" is located at Kodambakkam High Road.
Indian music director
A. R. Rahman's house and his office
Panchathan Record Inn and AM Studios
Panchathan Record Inn and AM Studios is composer/music director A. R. Rahman's studio on his street at Kodambakkam, Chennai in Tamil Nadu.
History
The Inn was established in 1989, attached to Rahman's backyard, and developed into one of the ...
is located in the same street.
Localities
Some of the localities of Kodambakkam include:
* Rangarajapuram
*
Trustpuram
Trustpuram is a residential area in Kodambakkam, in the city of Chennai, India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area ...
*
United India Colony
* Vishwanthapuram
* Ganga Nagar
* Dhanakodiammal Street
* Power House
References
External links
* Neighbourhood Newspaper in kodambakkam http://arcotroadtalk.in
* Entertainment for kids in kodambakkam http://riyatoyslibrary.com
{{Chennai Topics
Neighbourhoods in Chennai