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Kodambakkam

Coordinates: 13°03′13″N 80°13′32″E / 13.0535°N 80.2255°E / 13.0535; 80.2255
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Kodambakkam
Neighbourhood
Kodambakkam is located in Chennai
Kodambakkam
Kodambakkam
Kodambakkam கோடம்பாக்கம் (Chennai)
Kodambakkam is located in Tamil Nadu
Kodambakkam
Kodambakkam
Kodambakkam (Tamil Nadu)
Kodambakkam is located in India
Kodambakkam
Kodambakkam
Kodambakkam (India)
Coordinates: 13°03′13″N 80°13′32″E / 13.0535°N 80.2255°E / 13.0535; 80.2255
Country India
StateTamil Nadu
DistrictChennai District
MetroChennai
ZoneZONE 10 – Kodambakkam Zone
WardWard No. 127,130,131,133,134
TalukasMambalam Taluk
Government
 • BodyGreater Chennai Corporation
Elevation
63 m (207 ft)
Languages
 • OfficialTamil
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN
600024
Vehicle registrationTN-09
Lok Sabha constituencyChennai South
Legislative Assembly constituencyTheagarayanagar (T Nagar)
Planning agencyCMDA
Civic agencyGreater Chennai Corporation
Websitewww.chennai.tn.nic.in

Kodambakkam (also known as K-Town[1] or Kollywood) is a business and residential neighbourhood in Central Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. The neighbourhood is served by Kodambakkam railway station of the Chennai Suburban Railway Network. Kodambakkam has a high concentration of film studios and has been known for its status as the hub of the Tamil film industry, lending its name to the industry's monicker Kollywood.[2]

Location

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Kodambakkam is situated at 13.0481 N latitude and 80.2214 E longitude. It is one of the westerly located neighbourhoods of Chennai city. It is bounded by the neighbourhoods of Nungambakkam to the east, West Mambalam and T. Nagar to the south, Vadapalani to the west, Choolaimedu to the north and K. K. Nagar and Ashok Nagar to the south-west.

Kodambakkam is located at a distance of 8 kilometres from Fort St. George.

Etymology

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It is believed that the name "Kodambakkam" itself might have been derived from the Urdu word Ghoda Bagh meaning "garden of horses".[3] Another version says that "Kodambakkam" derives its name from "Karkodagan Pakkam".[4] Karkodagan is the name of a famous snake in Hindu mythology. It is said that the snake worshiped Lord Shiva here. There is still a temple for Lord Shiva by the name Vengeeshwarar in Kodambakkam. Several sculptures and images of the snake Karkodagan can be seen in the temple, even today. There is another etymology for this name from Soundarya Lahari according to Sudha Seshayyan. "Kodu-am-bakkam" Kodu means hill, am – denotes arrow. The place is associated with lord Shiva using the meru mountain as bow for destroying Tripura.[citation needed]

History

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The neighbourhood of Kodambakkam has a history going back to about 2,000 years. During the period of the Pallavas and the Later Cholas, the western part of Kodambakkam formed a portion of the historically important temple town of Vadapalani. One of the oldest temples in Kodambakkam is the Bharthukesavar temple which is over 500 years old.

Present-day Kodambakkam originated in the 17th and 18th centuries CE, when it supposedly served as source for the horses of the stable of the Nawab of the Carnatic.

Under the British, Kodambakkam was administered as a municipality in Chingleput district till the draining of the Long Tank in 1921, when Kodambakkam was incorporated into the Madras city and formed the Kodambakkam-Saligrammam-Puliyur district of Greater Madras along with other localities to the west of the now extinct Long Tank, with a population of 497 people in 1939. Kodambakkam also played an important role in the Anti-Hindi agitations of 1938 when Maraimalai Adigal presided over a conference denouncing the imposition of Hindi in the Madras Presidency on 3 June 1938.[5]

The first movie studio was established by Avichi Meiyappa Chettiar in 1948. Since then, a number of other movie studios have been established, notable among them being L. V. Prasad Studios and Vijaya Vauhini studios. Liberty theatre which was the oldest movie theater in Chennai was based here too, it was the place to be seen in the 1950s for movie premieres. However, the theater been demolished in the year 2010 and been replaced by a hotel and condos.

Liberty theatre - a famous land mark in Kodambakkam

Infrastructure

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Kodambakkam Railway Station

The neighbourhood got one of the city's first flyovers in 1967.[6] It is 623 m long and 12.8 m wide and connects the localities of K. K. Nagar, Vadapalani, and Ashok Nagar. The district is also home to the Meenakshi Sundararajan Engineering College, which is affiliated to Anna University.

Religion

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There are old temples dedicated to Lord Shiva namely Vengeeswarar Temple and Bharadvajeswarar (Valeswarar) Temple belonging to 13th Century built during Chola Period. One of the oldest mosque in Chennai named Puliyur Juma Masjid is situated here.

Film industry

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Kodambakkam is the centre of the Tamil film industry known as Kollywood, a portmanteau of Kodambakkam and Hollywood. A. V. M. Studios established by Avichi Meiyappa Chettiar was the first movie studio to be established in Vadapalani-Kodambakkam. The Vijaya Vauhini Studios was established a little later followed by Prasad Labs in 1974. Today, many Tamil movie studios are located in and around Kodambakkam.

Residences of many film and television stars are located in and around Kodambakkam due to proximity to the movie studios. A film directors' colony situated in Kodambakkam is the home of many Tamil film directors and producers.

Indian Music Composer Ilaiyaraaja's self-owned Musical Studio "ILAIYARAAJA Studios" is located at Kodambakkam High Road.

Indian music director A. R. Rahman's house and his AM Studios is located in the same street.

Localities

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Some of the important localities of Kodambakkam include:

References

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  1. ^ "Corona hits K-Town: Shoots disrupted, releases pushed – Times of India". The Times of India. 18 March 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  2. ^ Vasudevan, Ravi (2020). "Bollywood". Keywords for India : a Conceptual Lexicon for the 21st Century. London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. pp. 80–81. ISBN 978-1-350-03927-8. OCLC 1134074309.
  3. ^ Manichandar, Athirupa (26 August 2012). "K for Kodambakkam: A stitch through time". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  4. ^ "Kodambakkam Locality overview". PropertyPistol – Blog. 30 October 2021. Archived from the original on 6 June 2023. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  5. ^ "A Chronology of Anti-Hindi Agitations in Tamil Nadu, India". Tamil Tribune. Archived from the original on 30 July 2010.
  6. ^ Hemalatha, Karthikeyan (5 July 2013). "OMR, Alandur: Alandur is worst yet has brightest future". The Times of India. Chennai: The Times Group. Archived from the original on 27 September 2015. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
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