Last week I was invited to preside over the annual day of the Sri Kanyaka Parameswari College for Arts and Science (SKPC) and accepted at once. The college stands on land belonging to the Sri Kanyaka Parameswari Devasthanam (SKPD), in the area better known as Kotwal Chavadi. This space has a recorded history from 1708, when it was called Komatla Thotta, the vegetable garden of the Komatis or Arya Vysyas.
Kotwal and the Community Property Dispute
It was administered by leading members of the Arya Vysya community and in the 1790s the responsibility lay with Sunku Krishnamma Chetty. The EIC either wilfully or under the mistaken notion that it was his personal property, took over all forty-four grounds of it and the dispute lasted over ten years. When in 1803 it was returned, the community elders pondered over how to protect it. Colla Muthurama Chetty, then the head, decided to build in one part of the land a temple to the community’s tutelar deity Vasavi Kanyaka Parameswari. Thus came up the shrine and the SKPD.
Kotwal Market and the Rise of Chavadi
The origins of the market on the rest of the land are somewhat hazy. Even in the 1750s we read of the Kotwal’s Market, though it is not clear if it was in the same place. That was an era when the Indian law officer, designated the kotwal was also responsible for the markets and so it got its name. By the early 1800s the market was within the SKPD land. And it probably doubled as the space where the Kotwal held court and so became a community centre of sorts. It thus borrowed a Marathi term – Chavadi and made it its own.
Kotwal Chavadi as a Bustling Market
It is significant that Delhi too has its Chawri Bazaar, tracing to the same roots. Indeed, many of the shops around Kotwal Chavadi still bear signboards that give the address as Kotwal Bazaar. Hemmed in by Malayaperumal, Audiappa Naicken, Godown and Badrian streets, Kotwal (aka Kothaval) Chavadi flourished as a market. For almost two centuries Goddess Kanyaka Parameswari woke up early, at around 3.00 am or so, when lorries bearing fresh produce lumbered into the enclosure. Trade was brisk till 7.00 am by when the retailers at the rest of the city would have completed their purchase and left.
Then came the local residents and business continued in a more desultory fashion for the rest of the day.
Kotwal Chavadi and the Chaos of the Market
The area was a byword for chaos – rotting vegetables, foraging cattle, and congestion spilling over to the surroundings. As the great writer SaVi observed, you went in all firm and round like a potato and emerged as a battered and rotting tomato. It was a happy hunting ground for wedding caterers and also for social workers. In the Corporation archives are numerous letters from Mary Clubwalla Jadhav for instance, railing at the terrible condition of the market. This led to a decision to shift the market.
Kotwal Market Moves to Koyambedu
The first choice was the premises occupied by the zoo, next to Moore Market. It was finalised that the zoo would move elsewhere, which finally led to its happy relocation at Vandalur. But the market did not move into the space it vacated. By 1975, there were greater plans afoot and Koyambedu was identified. That transfer took almost two decades more but it did happen. Kothaval Chavadi lady did go to Koyambedu as the film song observed.
Kotwal Land Becomes a College
The SKPD debated over what was to be done with the land it got back. The trustees could have easily built a commercial complex, battened on rent and added to the surrounding chaos. But enlightened thought prevailed and a women’s college was decided upon. The SKPC today caters to girls not only from George Town but to students from as far away as Tiruttani, Gummidipoondi and Arakkonam. A robust rail and metro service makes the commute not easy, but certainly possible.
Kotwal Legacy and the Campus Today
The trustees attribute everything to the grace of the Goddess. And certainly she must be pleased with girls getting educated. Visiting the campus I noticed what a rare piece of open space it was in congested George Town. The premises, also housing a cow shed, an Ayurvedic dispensary and a community hall, apart from temple and college, is spotlessly maintained.
This article appeared in The Hindu –https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/from-a-market-to-a-college-a-madras-transformation/article70694386.ece
My book, Chennai, A Biography can be ordered–https://sriramv.com/2021/12/27/how-to-buy-autographed-copies-of-chennai-a-biography-from-outstation/20.ece
