What do buildings tell you about a city? Quite a lot, if you only lent a ear to their stories.
The British left behind a rich legacy – their language, their bureaucracy, their education system and their buildings.
And these monuments are a window into Chennai’s past. Join Storytrails and take a peek into colonial Madras, where Hindu Gods sit under Muslim domes, where stained glass reflects Kerala-style roofs, and majestic Greek columns stand next to sleek Art Deco edifices. Look more closely at these structures and you will find stories of grand ambitions and unexpected revolutions, determined idealists and rascally traders. Each building is a time capsule which reveals the hopes, fears, and ideas of its creators, as well as the history of this ever-vibrant city.
Why does this hot city have the cool-sounding Ice House? What is the link between the railways and the Independence movement? How did Cenotaph Road get its name? Come and discover colonial Madras through the buildings the British left behind.