Virugambakkam is a residential neighbourhood of
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
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 an important residential area of and is famous for its schools, market, residential colonies and residences of film artists. Virugambakkam had some of Chennai's oldest film studios.
Virugambakkam is one of the important localities of Chennai and owes its growth to the expansion of the city in the post-independence period. Prior to the establishment of residential colonies, Virugambakkam was a village covered by paddy fields, mango orchards and casuarina trees. Virugambakkam was first included within the Chennai city limits in 1977 along with other villages like
Saligramam
Saligramam (சாலிகிராமம்) is a residential locality situated in the western part of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Saligramam is surrounded by Vadapalani in the east, Virugambakkam in the west, KK Nagar in the south and Koyambe ...
.
Virugambakkam is well-connected with the heart of Chennai city through roads. Buses running through
Arcot Road
Arcot Road (also known as N. S. Krishnan Salai) ( SH-113) is one of the main arterial roads of the city of Chennai in Tamil Nadu, India. It runs for 12 kilometres and connects Nungambakkam with Porur. The road was constructed during the early 194 ...
link Virugambakkam with the more inner suburbs of Chennai city.
Location
Virugambakkam is situated at a distance of 14.6 kilometres from
Fort St George
Fort St. George (or historically, White Town) is a fortress in 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 s ...
and 12.5 kilometres from
Poonamallee
Poonamallee is suburb of Chennai, India under the Chennai Metropolitan Area. It was historically called ''Pushpagirimangalam'', later renamed in Tamil as ''Poovirundhavalli'' (), and now colloquially called as ''Poondhamalli''. It is a town in ...
. It is bound by Saligramam in the east,
Koyambedu
Koyambedu is a neighbourhood in Chennai, India. Situated in the western part of Chennai city, the Koyambedu area has become a major hub of activity in Chennai City after the inauguration of the Koyambedu market in 1996 and the Chennai Mofussi ...
to the north and
Alwarthirunagar to the west and south-west and
K.K. Nagar
K.K. Nagar (shortened from Kalaignar Karunanidhi Nagar) is a neighbourhood located in the southern part of Chennai, India. This is situated west of Ashok Nagar and the Chennai Airport is around 10 km southwest of this place. K.K. Nagar ...
and
Ramavaram, Tamil Nadu to the south-east. Its frontier with Alwarthirunagar forms the western limits of the Corporation of Chennai.
History
The growth of Virugambakkam accompanied the expansion of Madras city during the years preceding independence. Virugambakkam was one of the many localities which cropped up during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. At that time, it was a part of the Kodambakkam-Saligramam-Puliyur residential district of Greater Madras.
During the 1940s, Arcot Road was constructed connecting Nungambakkam with the Mount-Poonamallee Road. In 1948, the first movie studios made their appearance when
Avichi Meiyappa Chettiar shifted his base from
Karaikudi
Karaikudi is a Greater municipality in Sivaganga district, Sivagangai district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu. It is the 21st largest urban agglomeration of Tamil Nadu based on 2011 census data. It is part of t ...
.
The locality has since become a haven for movie producers and cine artists.
Muthiah
Deshabandu Muttiah Muralitharan ( si, මුත්තයියා මුරලිදරන්, ta, முத்தையா முரளிதரன், also spelt Muralidaran; born 1972) is a Sri Lankan cricket coach, former professional ...
, Pg 397Muthiah
Deshabandu Muttiah Muralitharan ( si, මුත්තයියා මුරලිදරන්, ta, முத்தையா முரளிதரன், also spelt Muralidaran; born 1972) is a Sri Lankan cricket coach, former professional ...
, Pg 398
Virugambakkam was one of the important places connected with the Anti-Hindi agitations of 1965. Aranganathan, a 32-year-old employee with the Indian Postal Service immolated himself in protest against the imposition of Hindi.
The
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (; DMK) is a political party based in the state of Tamil Nadu where it is currently the ruling party having a comfortable majority without coalition support and the union territory of Puducherry where it is curre ...
vigorously campaigned in the Virugambakkam region during the 1967 elections.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam has done a first state level meeting it has been organised by V.P Akilan. the meeting has been held in front of Arignar Anna, Karunanithi, M.G Ramachandran and some leaders in Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
Until the 1970s, Virugambakkam was little more than an insignificant village. It formed a part of Saidapet taluk of Chengleput district. Apart from a few movie studios, there were only a few sparsely populated settlements. The interior area which makes up the middle-class residential colonies were covered by paddy fields. The town had a population of 8,013 in 1971. During those times, the outlying suburbs of the city alongside Arcot Road had a reputation for insecurity and as the haunt of sex.
Until the early 1970s, the suburb of Kodambakkam formed the western frontier of Madras city. Virugambakkam was included in Madras city in 1973 along with
Saligrammam
Saligramam (சாலிகிராமம்) is a residential locality situated in the western part of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Saligramam is surrounded by Vadapalani in the east, Virugambakkam in the west, KK Nagar in the south and Koyambe ...
. Since then, growth has accelerated, peaking in the 1980s and 1990s.
The good quality of ground water available in the Arcot Road suburbs was an important reason for the region's growth.
Geography
The soil is fertile and productive as is evident from the fact that paddy fields once covered the area. However, paddy fields have completely disappeared. Natural gas was discovered near Virugambakkam in 1966.
To date, Virugambakkam is the only known source of natural gas in Chennai city apart from
Avadi
Avadi () is a suburb of Chennai within Chennai Metropolitan Area limit, located in the Thiruvallur district of Tamil Nadu, India. It is a municipal corporation west of Chennai, about from Chennai Central Railway Station. It is surrounded by majo ...
.
Once Virugambakkam had a big lake which was maintained by Madras Water Supplies and Sewage Board (now called CMWSSB) and drew water for drinking with several pump houses around the lake until 1976, and several small ponds. After that the lake was encroached by antisocial elements with help of all party politicians and converted it into a habitat. The road around that lake turned habitat is called as Erikarai Street. The ponds have also been encroached and turned into habitat.
The Virugambakkam Canal separates Virugambakkam from suburbs such as
Koyambedu
Koyambedu is a neighbourhood in Chennai, India. Situated in the western part of Chennai city, the Koyambedu area has become a major hub of activity in Chennai City after the inauguration of the Koyambedu market in 1996 and the Chennai Mofussi ...
, which lie towards the interior.
The canal runs for about 6 kilometres through the suburbs of
Choolaimedu
Choolaimedu is a large residential and commercial locality in Chennai, Tamilnadu, India. It borders Kodambakkam, Vadapalani, M.M.D.A. Colony, Aminjikarai, Mahalingapuram and Nungambakkam. Previously a part of Puliyur village, Kodambakkam, Choo ...
,
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 Vadapalani before entering Virugambakkam.
This canal originally served the purpose of irrigating farm lands.
However, with the transformation of farmlands into residential localities, the canal has been converted into a drain.
During the
monsoon
A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...
s, the canal frequently overflows creating havoc for the residents of the nearby areas.
In 2003, desilting work was carried out to deal with the situation.
Localities
Virugambakkam extends for about 2 kilometres from Avichi Higher Sec. School in Arcot Road to Valasarawakkam. Virugambakkam extends alongside Arcot Road adjacent to Saligrammam in the east, Valasaravakkam in the west, Koyambedu in the north and KK Nagar in the south. State Bank Colony and Baskar Colony are some of the important residential areas in the neighbourhood. Kaaliamman Koil Street which connects Virugambakkam and Koyambedu, Arcot Road are the main arterial roads.
Important landmarks
![Balalok school](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Balalok_school.jpg)
Virugambakkam is known for its movie studios and schools. It is also the home to a large number of film actors, music composers and other artists. The Virugambakkam market which lies to the west is a source for fresh vegetables. Some important temples are Vembuliamman Koil, Kaliamman Koil and Raghavendra temple, Sankarashramam-Sri Raja Rajeswari Temple, Hari Hara Temple, Siva Vishnu Temple. There is also a mosque and numerous churches. Virugambakkam also has a number of hospitals which along with the schools and departmental stores cater to the needs of the residential colonies. Virugambakkam RTO Office located at Chinmayanagar on Kaliamman Koil Street. There are also more number of Nationalised & Private Banks.
Shopping malls
Chandra Metro Mall is a shopping mall located in Virugambakkam. The mall has a built up area of 1.43 lakh sq.ft and was opened on 9 April 2011. The mall has a five screen multiplex with a capacity of 1,300 seats called INOX-National operated by INOX Leisure. It has Food Bazaar, E-Zone, Pantaloons as its major anchors. The food court is spread over an area of 10,000 sq. ft. The mall was built after demolishing the National Theatre. The mall's ground floor to floor below the theatre,
D-mart
Avenue Supermarts Limited, d/b/a DMart, is an Indian retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets in India. It was founded by Radhakishan Damani in 2002, with its first branch in Powai's Hiranandani Gardens. It has 302 stores in 10 ...
is situated.
Educational institutions
Schools
*St. Johns Matriculation Higher Secondary School
*Vani Vidyalaya Senior Secondary & Junior College (near Meenakshi Engineering College)
*Vani International (near Vani Vidyalaya Senior Secondary & Junior College)
*Avichi Higher Secondary School
*Chinmaya Vidyalaya Senior Secondary School
*A. V. M. Matriculation Higher Secondary School
*A.V.M Rajeswari Matriculation Higher Secondary School
*Balalok Matriculation Higher Secondary School
*Clarence Matriculation
*Little Millennium (Educomp) for pre-schoolers
*Jaigopal Garodia Girls Higher Secondary School
*Padma Sarangapani Matriculation Higher Secondary School
Colleges
Avichi College of Arts and Science
*Meenakshi Engineering College (near Vani Vidyalaya Senior Secondary & Junior College)
*Meenakshi Dental College
Transport and communication
Virugambakkam is well-connected with the heart of Chennai city as it lies on the
Arcot Road
Arcot Road (also known as N. S. Krishnan Salai) ( SH-113) is one of the main arterial roads of the city of Chennai in Tamil Nadu, India. It runs for 12 kilometres and connects Nungambakkam with Porur. The road was constructed during the early 194 ...
, which is considered to be one of Chennai's arterial roads.
Virugambakkam lies on the Poonamallee-Vadapalani-Broadway bus route.
The nearest bus terminuses are Saligrammam, Chennai Moffusil Bus Terminus (CMBT) and Vadapalani. The nearest suburban railway station is at Kodambakkam, 4 kilometres from Virugambakkam. The nearest metro station is at Vadapalani.
Notes
References
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{{Chennai Topics
Neighbourhoods in Chennai
Suburbs of Chennai