CHENNAI: As Chennai has expanded to encompass several dimensions, some parts of the city have retained its old world charm even as everything around it is caught in the whirlwind of change.
Mylapore, one of the most striking examples of age-old traditions meeting the glitz and glamour of urban living, deserves the ‘United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) World Living Heritage Status’, according to the Mylapore Institute of Policy Research (MIPR).
The think-tank for economic development has brought out a policy paper on the scope for obtaining the Unesco Living Heritage Status for Mylapore.
Shiv Kumar, president of MIPR and the author of the paper, said that in Mylapore, worship, architecture, music and preaching came together to offer a unique spiritual experience while the community has also been drawn into a particular way of life, making a strong case for the status.
“In places like Chidambaram or Kancheepuram, the community is centred around the temple itself unlike in Mylapore, where the temples have created a unique ecosystem. I haven’t seen this anywhere else in the country,” he said.