An Evening in Parry's !

An Evening in Parry’s !!!

I  picked  this title  after a recent visit to the FaceBook site of my nephew who lives in London and saw  a picture  posted by him with a  caption “ Good morning Paris “ , probably he would have been there !

My thought travelled back to an oldie movie “ An Evening with Paris “ , a Hindi film with star cast – Shammi Kapoor and Sharmila Tagore in dual role. As usual Pran was the villain. The enchanting song vibrates in my mind.  In search of true love the heroine  goes to  Paris , FRANCE  and after some initial resistance gives in to the hero’s charms . Let us leave the story with this. Only the title inspired  me to take the  thread for  my  blog on old Madras.

We are celebrating the 373^rd  Birthday of Madras  and it struck me to caption my  blog  as “ An Evening in Parry’s “ , a place called Parry’s corner in Madras , INDIA . I was very much associated with that Parry’s  for many years and my dad  had spent his entire service for 35 long years near parry’s Corner.

No resident , whether a native or a migrant , would not  have missed to visit Parry’s. Though the place is called  Parry’s Corner  , it is referred by many as Parry’s, which is one of the central business  district in  old Madras as well as present Chennai. It is in the intersection of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Road and North Beach Road ( First Line Beach ).



Dare House - Parry Building



The corner building is the Head Quarters of EID Parry Company established in 1787 by a Welsh merchant , Thomas Parry and so it is named after him. No need to mention here about Parry’s   Chocolates .

An evening in Parry’s  must be a pleasant  experience to all those who worked nearer  by experiencing the cool sea breeze set in the afternoon itself. Many company employees working in and around that famous building ,  take a break near the corner after lunch with betal leaf , pea nuts or a cigar between their fingers. The wind speed is very high and you will love to stand and wish to experience it daily after noon and in the evenings.

Old North Beach Road with Tramway

Once upon a time Electric Tram ran in those roads and now busy and congested with heavy traffic. North beach road / First  Line Beach is famous for old monumental British buildings , like the State Bank of India , General Post Office , Magistrate Court and the Beach Station. To go further there are many more such buildings. But many were demolished for new high rise business centres’  like Standard Chattered Bank , TIAM House and Richardson & Cruddas Building now became Pachaiyappa’s Trust Building ,   and many others.



State Bank Of India

General Post Office




NSC Bose Road



 TIAM House (old building )



               

Magistrate Court( adjacent to R&C Building)

Busy NSC Bose Road and High Court

 Burma bazaar is a place to visit for any kind of imported stuff from perfume to Electronic goods.  Seiko and Citizen watches were in much demand when we do not have any other than HMT watches and that too we need to wait and pay premium  in 1970s’. Umbrellas , children’s toys , VCP , VCR and Two-in-One Tape Recorders of Sony and other brands , foreign cigarettes , Parker pens and what not ! You  name it and You get it !  I too had a friend in the Bazaar and purchased  a wrist watch for my dad’s 60^th birthday and a Hitachi VCR .

Burma Bazaar

 Since harbor is nearby , lot of truck movements were also there. Beach station is a destination for all those who lives in southern Madras and having business or office in Parry’s Corner and nearby.  An afternoon lunch at Hari Nivas and relaxing in the corner for the cool breeze was a pleasant memory for me and for many who worked there. Later Cosmo cafeteria came for hot samosa  and tea.  The road side shopping and window shopping I cannot forget soon after my wedding with my wife and even after my daughter’s birth.



Chennai Port Entrance




Beach Station

Glimpses of  the old Parry’s Corner is still behind my eyes  and I cherish the   visit to the landmark destination of Madras and now Chennai. I still wait a chance to visit Parry’s and not Paris , which I cannot afford ( to be frank ) !

Enjoy living in  Madras and dream  to explore the present Chennai  . The photographs are for the viewing pleasure of people who loves Parry’s.

 I had been to an Indo German Urban Mela organized by Indo German Chamber , yesterday and the theme stressed there is , how we can make  our  urban green and live our life healthy. Let us join our hands to take care for a better  urban living.

Let us join our hands to take care for a better  urban living.