Time and again, I reflect on how George Town, and for that matter, much of the rest of the city needs a proper compendium of street names and their history.
This thought came back to me yesterday while reading P. Thankappan Nair’s Calcutta in the 18th Century. I was reminded of how much regard the late S. Muthiah had for this unsung historian of Kolkata. One of Nair’s seminal works is History of Calcutta’s Streets. Chennai definitely needs a similar volume.
Or, maybe volumes. George Town by itself would merit one, or maybe more. And in it/them would be Linghi, Thambu, Errabalu and other Chetties, Stratton (yes, and not Strotten) Muthiah Mudali, General Muthiah, Anna Pillai, Govindappa Naicken and several of those colourful Indian characters who kept the wheels of commerce well-oiled and moving in the 17th and 18th Centuries.
