She seems like a deity created for Gen Z. Yet, if local legends are to be believed, her temple has stood in our city for more than three centuries. The story was new to me. I owe my introduction to Ganesh Ramaswamy, who wrote asking whether I knew anything about the Goddess Nimishamba Temple in George Town.
The name refers to the goddess who grants wishes within a minute. Ganesh had recently visited the Nimishamba Temple at Ganjam near Mysore not to be confused with the erstwhile princely state in Odisha.
He wondered whether the two shrines were connected. His question sent me on a long trail of research that ultimately ended in conjecture.
The Nimishamba Temple in George Town
The tiny shrine stands on Kasi Chetty Street in George Town. Today, shops crowd around it so closely that only a narrow entrance remains. Several subsidiary shrines have also appeared within the complex, concealing whatever traces of the original structure may once have existed.
Inside the sanctum stands a four-armed goddess. The temple is managed by local traders and comes under the control of the HR&CE Department.
Interestingly, even regular worshippers know very little about its early history. In recent years, a legend has emerged that the processional idol was discovered when the site was excavated about three hundred years ago for building a house. Since the same story is attached to many temples across Chennai, it can probably be discounted. The real question remains: why Nimishamba?
The Origins of the Goddess Nimishamba
Edgar Thurston, in *Castes and Tribes of Southern India* (1909), discusses the Nimishamba cult. He associates its Goddess worship with the Razu or Raju communities, who spoke Telugu and claimed martial ancestry.
According to him, they had long since moved away from military service and taken up agriculture. Originally from the Karvetinagar Zamindari in Andhra, they migrated southwards during the Vijayanagara period and settled in places such as Rajapalayam.
Curiously, however, neither Karvetinagar nor Rajapalayam possesses a well-known Nimishamba shrine. Instead, the worship of the goddess appears to be more closely associated with another community known as the Nakashvandulu or Chitrakaras.
The Chitrakaras and Nimishamba
Like the Rajus, the Chitrakaras also claimed martial origins. Over time, however, they turned to skilled artisanal occupations. Their expertise included filigree work, inlay craftsmanship, and scroll painting, derived from the Urdu word *Naqqashi*.
During the Vijayanagara period, many members of this community settled in and around Mysore. By the seventeenth century, they had become sufficiently important for the Wodeyar rulers to establish the famous Goddess Nimishamba Temple at Ganjam.
Even so, this still does not explain how a shrine dedicated to the goddess appeared in Madras.
Community Temples in George Town
Temples in George Town generally fall into three broad categories. The first are those built by influential dubashes. Naturally, the more powerful the patron, the grander the temple. The twin temples of Chennakesava and Chennamalleeswara are excellent examples.
The second category comprises community temples, such as the Draupadi Amman shrines, the Chinnakadai Mariamman Temple, and the Ranganathaswami Temple on Mulla Sahib Street.
Finally, there are the temples established by artisan communities. Among the best known is the Kalikambal Temple, built by the Viswakarma community. Similarly, the Sivasubramaniaswami Temple on Irusappa Chetty Street was constructed by the Senguntha weavers as a local counterpart to the larger temple at Porur.
The Nimishamba Temple and Madras Painters
The Nimishamba Temple appears to belong to this same artisan tradition. It was probably established by members of the Nakashvandulu or Chitrakara community. But what brought them to Madras? Once again, Edgar Thurston offers an important clue.
He records that the community was spread across Odisha, Karnataka, Andhra, and the city of Madras. They were renowned for painting on cloth. Among their many skills was *kalamkari*, the art of creating intricate textile designs with natural dyes.
During the seventeenth century, painted calicoes from Madras became highly sought after in England and across Europe.
The East India Company and the Painters of Madras
An East India Company minute dated January 2, 1705, records that a large group of painters had settled in Madras. Throughout the seventeenth century, painted textiles formed an important export from the city. Eventually, however, the Company’s Directors in England prohibited these imports, probably because of pressure from the domestic textile industry.
As a result, many painters left Madras. Later, when the Directors learnt of this migration, they reconsidered the matter. In January 1705, they decided that the craft should not disappear and extended local encouragement to retain the artisans.
An Unanswered Question About the Nimishamba Temple
Was the Nimishamba Temple established during the first wave of settlement? Or did it arise during the second phase, when the East India Company encouraged the painters to remain? No clear answer has yet emerged. Its location, however, is certainly suggestive. The shrine stands on Kasi Chetty Street, close to Washers (Mint) Street and Weavers (Nyniappa Naick) Street.
One cannot help wondering whether the Chitrakara painters once lived in this very neighbourhood. Unlike them, Nimishamba remained. Today, the temple attracts large crowds on every Dasami, the tenth day after the new moon, adding yet another colourful thread to the rich fabric of our city.
The Goddess Nimishamba in the Census Records
Karthik Bhatt, who knows all that there is to know about our city, gently steered me to the Census of India 1961, Vol. XI D, which deals with the temples of Madras State. Running through the names of those who put it together was, by itself, a delight. There were several hallowed names from the IAS, including my dear friend P. “Bob” Murari, who was then Deputy Superintendent of the Census.
Many of the articles in the volume undoubtedly bear the stamp of Bob’s writing. The write-up states that the Sri Nimishambal Ishwari Temple was built in 1836 or thereabouts. The present claims of the shrine being four centuries old are, therefore, clearly incorrect. The builder was Krishnaswamy Raju, of whom nothing further is known.
He built the temple on a plot of three cents about 1,300 square feet off Kasi Chetty Street. In 1884, Venkatalakshmi Ammal endowed a mandapam. The two shops at the front pay rent to the shrine and help in its maintenance. I was wrong too in assuming that it was one of the Chitrakaras who endowed the temple. From the name, Krishnaswamy Raju seems to have been one of the Rajapalayam Rajus.
This article appeared in The Hindu–https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/the-goddess-of-instant-gratification/article71139131.ece
You can also watch a video on this topic on YouTube–https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sJKcc4scNs&t=88s
My book, Chennai, A Biography can be ordered-http://-http://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
So much of interesting information. Very informative.