Conducting a heritage walk in January dedicated to S. Ambujammal the patriot, I decided to pay a visit to Luz Church 2nd Street and found there was no way of accessing it. This is due to the ongoing Metro Rail work, which has more or less marooned that cul-de-sac. Now what did this have to do with Ambujammal, you may ask. Well, at one time, this was no blind alley but the entrance to her father’s bungalow: Amjad Baugh.
Giant of Madras Bar
Sriman Srinivasa Iyengar was a giant of the Madras Bar who very quickly shot ahead of his illustrious father-in-law Sir V. Bhashyam Iyengar. Having qualified in the late 1890s, he set up practice and by 1916 had become Advocate-General, Government of Madras, the youngest ever to do so. A large income as a lawyer also demanded a suitable bungalow in keeping with his status and so he purchased Amjad Baugh with its entrance on Luz Church Road. This was no ordinary residence, for, apart from the house, it had a garden space spanning a whopping 150 grounds, or eight acres. Ambujammal describes it in her biography as pretty much a forest. Even today, several seemingly unconnected properties in the Luz area trace their origin to Amjad Baugh.
