Pondy Bazaar, officially called Soundarapandianar Angadi, is a

market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market Geography *Märket, an ...

and neighborhood located in

T. Nagar Thyagaraya Nagar, commonly known as T. Nagar, and historically known as East Mambalam, is a very affluent commercial and residential neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is surrounded by Nungambakkam in the North, Teynampet in the ...

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 ...

. It is one of the principal

shopping district A shopping street or shopping district is a designated road or quarter of a city/town that is composed of individual retail establishments (such as stores, boutiques, restaurants, and shopping complexes). Such areas will typically be pedest ...

s of Chennai.

Etymology

The market ‘Soundarapandianar Bazaar' was named after Justice Party politician

W. P. A. Soundarapandian Nadar Woothampatti Punnaivana Ayya Soundarapandian (15 September 1893 – 22 February 1953) was a leading figure in Nadar Mahajana Sangam and became the first Nadar (caste), Nadar member of the Madras Legislative Council upon a recommendation by P ...

whose statue is situated in the square. The police station in that area is officially called 'Soundarapandiyanar Angadi Kaval Nilayam'.

Transport

Theyagaraya Road, which is the arterial road of Pondy Bazaar, suffers from slow-moving traffic. To ease the traffic, the

Metropolitan Transport Corporation (Chennai) The Metropolitan Transport Corporation (Chennai) Ltd. - (MTC), is the agency that operates the public bus service in Chennai, India. In 2022 the MTC has a total fleet of 3,448 buses with 3,233 scheduled services, with on average 2.832 million ...

has diverted buses going to the T. Nagar bus terminus that used to go via Pondy Bazaar. They now travel via the Thanikachalam Road-Burkit Road route. For some routes, such as the 47s and 11s, the buses occasionally go via Pondy Bazaar and occasionally via the diversion. Private vehicles headed for the T. Nagar bus terminus or for

Anna Salai Anna Salai (), formerly known as St. Thomas Mount Road or simply Mount Road, is an arterial road in Chennai, India. It starts at the Cooum Creek, south of Fort St George, leading in a south-westerly direction towards St. Thomas Mount, and end ...

(Saidapet and beyond) are strongly encouraged to either use the Thanikachalam Road route or Boag Road, rather than the Pondy Bazaar route, especially during rush hour.

Shopping district

Clothes, footwear, and mobiles accessories

Pondy Bazaar has a wide variety of clothing, accessories and footwear stores in all price ranges within a two or 3 km radius. It is a one stop destination for the multi-brand retail. Along with independent retailers there are name brand stores such as Indian Terrain, Arrow Woodland, Bata, Fastrack, Titan,

Mochi is a Japanese rice cake made of , a short-grain japonica glutinous rice, and sometimes other ingredients such as water, sugar, and cornstarch. The rice is pounded into paste and molded into the desired shape. In Japan, it is traditionally ma ...

Globus Globus is Latin for ''sphere'' or ''globe''. It may also refer to: Business * Globus Medical, a medical device company in Audubon, PA * Globus (clothing retailer), an Indian clothing retail store * Globus (company), a Swiss department store chai ...

Raymond Group Raymond Group is an Indian branded fabric and fashion retailer, incorporated in 1925. It produces suiting fabric, with a capacity of producing 31 million meters of wool and wool-blended fabrics. The group owns apparel brands like Raymond, Ra ...

Reebok Reebok International Limited () is an American fitness footwear and clothing manufacturer that is a part of Authentic Brands Group. It was established in England in 1958 as a companion company to J.W. Foster and Sons, a sporting goods company ...

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...

, Lee, Wrangler, Levi Strauss & Co. Health & Glow and Colour Plus along with cheaper outlets like

Big Bazaar Big Bazaar was an Indian retail chain of hypermarkets, discount department stores, and grocery stores. The retail chain was founded by Kishore Biyani under his parent organisation Future Group, which is known for having a significant prominen ...

and Sri Krishna Collections. Popular clothing independent retailers include Instore, Naidu Hall and MilanJyothi, amongst others. Mobile store chains Univercell and Poorvika are also present in Pondy Bazaar.

Commodities

Saravana Stores Saravana Stores, founded in 1969, is a chain of retail stores in India. It is the largest family owned business retail chain in India. According to Kishore Biyani of Big Bazaar, it is India's No. 1 retail store in one locality. Locations Sara ...

is one of the biggest commercial stores in Chennai. Commodities from safety pins to gold and diamond jewellery are available here.

Rathna Stores Rathna may refer to: * ''Rathna'' (film), a 1998 Tamil language film * Rathna (actress) Rathna is an Indian actress who predominantly works in Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada film industries. Personal life Rathna is the niece of actre ...

has a big branch in Pondy Bazaar, where commodities ranging from umbrellas to cooking utensils are available at low prices. The shop has five floors.

Ponni Stores Ponni may refer to: *Ponni, another name for the Kaveri River in southern India ** Ponni rice, a variety of rice cultivated in India * ''Ponni'' (novel), a 1967 Malayalam-language novel by Indian writer Malayattoor ** ''Ponni'' (1976 film), an Ind ...

Rathna Fan House Rathna may refer to: * ''Rathna'' (film), a 1998 Tamil language film * Rathna (actress) Rathna is an Indian actress who predominantly works in Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada film industries. Personal life Rathna is the niece of actre ...

(not to be confused with Rathna Stores) is a place for electrical accessories such as fans, air conditioners, and refrigerators. Formerly specialised in lingerie,

Naidu Hall Naidu Hall from 1939 is an Indian retailer of Men, women and children's wear and wardrobe store based in the city of Tamil Nadu. History In 1939, a pioneer from a humble, hardworking background had a visionary dream of empowering Indian woman ...

now offers garments of all types. Pondy Bazaar 01

Roadside vendors

Many commodities such as used books, buckets, ropes, soap cases, hair bands, bangles, bags, and other accessories are available from roadside vendors at Pondy Bazaar. These roadside shops form the chief attraction of Pondy bazaar. Most of the commodities in the roadside shops have no fixed price and so the customers and vendors can often be seen bargaining. On weekends the pavements on either side of which the shops are located are crowded. The roadside shops bring in the new fashions of Chennai accessories. e4

Restaurants

Some of the popular restaurants in and around Pondy Bazaar are Saravana Bhavan, Balaajee Bhavan, Geetha's Cafe, Hot Chips, Adyar Anandha bhavan, Hotel woodlands, Anjjapar & Bombay Halwa House, (Veg. Punjabi food). Ambica Apppalam Depot which stocks wide varieties of Masalas and Appalams (Papads) is also located in a street perpendicular to Pondy Bazaar.

Hotels

At the eastern edge of Pondy Bazaar, two major star hotels are located: Grand Chennai by GRT Hotels and Residency Towers.

Temples

Tirumala Tirupati Devastanam, located near Venkatnaraya Road (T. Nagar), is a temple of Lord Balaji. Mupathamman Temple, located near Duraiswamy Bridge, is a temple for Mariamman.

Schools

Ramakrishan Mission School and a hostel are opposite Panagal Park and near the T. Nagar bus stand and Habibullah Road. Holy Angels Girls School is nearby. Shrine Vailankanni Senior Secondary School is a school on Dhandapani Street, with classes from lkg to eleventh standard.

References

{{Chennai Topics Bazaars Bazaars in India Retail markets in Chennai Retailing in Chennai Shopping districts and streets in India