230 ஆண்டுகளுக்கு முன்பே ‘சென்னாபட்டிணம்’ பற்றிய குறிப்பு கண்டுபிடிப்பு!

230 ஆண்டுகளுக்கு முன்பே 'சென்னாபட்டிணம்' பற்றிய குறிப்பு கண்டுபிடிப்பு!

230 ஆண்டுகளுக்கு முன்பே ‘சென்னாபட்டிணம்’ பற்றிய குறிப்பு கண்டுபிடிப்பு!

A bridge back to Chennapattinam

Amid tense office goers waiting for their ride and honking vehicles, it is easy to miss this 230-year-old memorial pillar with an inscription of a bridge which no longer exists. But, the British-era vestige on Anna Salai, diagonally opposite the veterinary hospital at Saidapet, holds the key to a time when Madras had a pastoral serenity to it.

The inscription credits a merchant named Adrian Four Beck for constructing the bridge over a brook by the veterinary hospital. It says the bridge was built for the benefit of the public, but Beck’s trade interests could have also played a part.

His secretaries T Pelling, L Defries and P Bodkin and chief engineer Lt Col Pat Ross supervised construction of the bridge whose completion Beck did not live to see. “Beck, a successful trader, died on February 22, 1783, three years before the bridge was inaugurated. But he left a legacy for constructing a bridge across the channel,” says history enthusiast K R A Narasiah, adding that Beck was initially a gunroom crew at Fort St George.


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“In 1740, he was disabled and superannuated with a monthly pension of one rupee and 14 annas.Later he went on to become a successful trader.”

Information on the pillar, in English, Tamil, Latin and Persian , give s a glimpse of the region’s diversity . The word `Chennapattinam‘ also finds mention on the inscription. But there is no mention of the fate of the bridge that is now just a record on the ignored memorial pillar.

The pillar, now protected by the state archaeology department, is fenced inside the highways department complex and draws attention only if one spots the board establishing its importance.

An employee at the complex says there are hardly any visitors as it is almost unnoticeable on the busy arterial road. Only commuters of buses that halt for a few minutes at the signal read it.

Source: TOI

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