CHENNAI: As a superpower, the United States of America’s geopolitical and socio-cultural impact can be easily observed in various countries, including India. However, you may be surprised to know that landmarks and sites with which you are familiar are historically linked to the USA.
On Thursday, S Suresh, archaeology consultant and Tamil Nadu State Convener, INTACH, shared details of US-India connections that can be found in the landmarks of Chennai through his talk ‘America in Chennai - Sites, Streets and Structures’. The session was presented by the United States-India Educational Foundation, in collaboration with the US Consulate General Chennai and the International Centre - University of Madras to mark the 75th anniversary of the Fulbright Program, and Madras Week.
“I stumbled upon many America-Tamil Nadu connections while researching for INTACH till 1996. When I went to the USA on a Fulbright fellowship, I was able to further explore these finds,” said Suresh.
On a national level, he discovered that even archaeological policies are comparable when he was studying the Indian and American systems of historic preservation. “India’s first major archaeology law, the Ancient Monuments Preservation Act of 1904, was the inspiration for the Antiquities Act of 1906 in the USA. Several sections read alike. One can even get confused,” he shared, adding that this discovery was only possible through the archival records in DC.
When it comes to Chennai, there are various structures such as the YMCA building, LIC building, and Royapuram Railway Station that either had a direct involvement of American nationals or were modelled after structures in the USA. Suresh detailed some of the most significant landmarks of the city that represent direct or indirect American impact.
Madras Museum
While the museum is home to a rare, solid gold American coin of 1852, the origins of the item are still unknown. It is believed that the Maharaja of Pudukkottai acquired it through his connections with American and British scholars in the 19th century, and ultimately belonged to the Madras Museum when it took over the Pudukottai Royal Museum. “I studied and presented this to the Rappahannock Coin Society in Virginia. Even there, people were astonished at how an American coin landed in an Indian museum in Chennai,” Suresh shared.
Ice House (now Vivekananda House)
In 1845, the Ice House was leased by the East India Company to Tudor Ice Company, founded by Frederic Tudor from Boston. Cut from ponds in Massachusetts, the ice was imported into Chennai and stored in the Ice House for the British elite to enjoy. While there were other ice houses around the nation, this is the only living one in this part of the world.
Once the city learned how to make its ice, the building was acquired by local scholar Biligiri Iyengar, who hosted saint Swami Vivekananda after his western tour in 1897.
St Mary’s Church
St Mary’s Church is an Anglican church at Fort St George established in 1680. The first marriage performed here was that of Elihu Yale and Catherine Hynmers. Elihu, an officer of British East India Company, later went on to contribute to the Yale college in Connecticut, now Yale University. While there is a debate regarding the amount of his contribution, the institute was named so in honour of his benefaction.
DGP Building
According to Suresh, the Grand Central Station in New York shares a connection with the DGP building. In the 1970s, a 55-storey commercial tower was to be constructed over Grand Central but activists, including the national trust for historic preservation, actively fought this and won the case in the Supreme Court. Similarly in 1990s Chennai, when the Police department set out to build a skyscraper for modern police requirements in place of the DGP building, INTACH intervened, making it the first instance in the country where a historic building was saved by a local voluntary organisation.
The Theosophical Society, Adyar
The Theosophical Society was originally founded in New York by a Russian-American couple, Helena Blavatsky and Henry Steel Olcott. However, on a trip to Chennai in 1880, the couple were struck by the picturesque Adyar river and thus, decided to shift the headquarters there instead.
Georgetown
Suresh noted the parallels between Georgetown in Chennai and Washington DC. They were established around the same time, though the one in the USA was named after George II and the one in Chennai, after George V. Their main thoroughfare accommodate restaurants, banks and are well-documented by the National Trusts of their respective countries. Both areas were terminal points for the cities’ trams, however, the tracks in Chennai are now uprooted.