CHENNAI: When Dhanya Rajagopal returned to her native Thiruvanmiyur in Chennai after completing her master’s degree in the US, she came back with fresh eyes and a renewed sense of possibility. Walking through the neighbourhood she grew up in, she noticed not just what had changed, but what could be restored. The streets that once framed her night walks now carried the marks of neglect, congestion and unplanned growth — signs of an area that had outgrown its old rhythms.
Rather than viewing this transformation with resignation, Dhanya saw an opportunity. Along with architect Pavithra Sriram, she envisioned a way to bring life back to the historic Mada streets surrounding the Marundeeswarar temple tank. What emerged was Project Thiruvanmiyur Mada Street, a community-driven initiative aimed at reclaiming public spaces, restoring walkability, and reimagining heritage streets as cleaner, safer and more vibrant places for everyday life. The project’s activities can be followed on Instagram at @projectthiruvanmiyurmadast.
“To rope in the residents, we arranged for a ‘Neighbourhood Story Portal & Walking Guide’ to give an overall idea to interested persons,” Dhanya added. As part of the project, a photo gallery exhibition became the heart of the initiative. Residents came together carrying old photographs of the Mada streets, pausing over fading images of the familiar streets, exchanging stories, and reliving shared moments from the past. The exhibition turned into a collective walk down memory lane, where people rejoiced in familiar faces, forgotten corners, and the lived history of Mada Street.
Dhanya, who also runs a private firm in Europe, said, “Even though Pavithra and I were part of the same neighbourhood since our childhood, we met only while working on a project together in Chennai in 2023. We started talking about public space issues, and one thing led to another, and we landed on the Mada streets, thereby coming up with the project.”
As part of the project, a mobile library unit has been set up near the Anna statue, a spot that is expected to be developed into a full-fledged library in the future. Stocked predominantly with children’s books, the space has been designed to draw young readers in—inviting them to browse, read, and build a habit of storytelling in a neighbourhood setting. Sabari Perumal, who runs a small eatery nearby, is the guardian of the library unit. “The children are very much interested in reading. After the rains in the first week of December, the library unit has been wrapped in plastic and set aside to avoid damage. The kids are constantly asking me to open it,” Sabari said.
Dhanya explains that the main idea behind the project is to make the local community understand that the responsibility for maintaining the locality and streets does not only rely on the corporation but is in the hands of the community itself. The project has also earned support from the local GCC councillor, the Marundeeswarar temple trust, and the local shopkeepers. Pavithra, who runs an architecture firm in Chennai, said, “All of us first need to understand that the public space is not just for vehicles; it is also for the pedestrians and the local public.”
Instead of teaching the ideas orally, Dhanya and Pavithra came up with a ‘Pilot Demonstration’ event, which was funded by a private firm based in Bengaluru. “The impact of visually presenting an idea is much more effective than mere explanations and discussions,” Dhanya added. It was conducted on November 14 and 15 with the help of volunteers from Pavithra’s firm and local shopkeepers. The highlights included an exhibit-and-visioning corner showcasing the project’s ideas. Visitors were invited to engage through a range of interactive formats, from introductory panels explaining the project to before-and-after visualisations, voting boards on key issues, and age-coded user data charts. People could leave memories and sketches and browse a timeline tracing the evolution of Thiruvanmiyur through archival material. Talking about the event, Pavithra said, “There are so many layers of cultural history of Thiruvanmiyur that are yet to be documented.”
With the pilot demonstration now completed, the team plans to work with residents and the GCC officials to draw up a road map for sustained changes to the Mada streets in the coming months. The initiative offers a hopeful blueprint for how heritage precincts can be revived through sustained community participation that places residents at the heart of the city’s streets.
Since the project is actively looking for CSR funds and donors to help with the implementation of the plan, interested people can get in touch with Dhanya and Pavithra at thiruvanmiyurmadastreet@gmail.com
(Edited by Srestha Choudhury)