BesantNagar stands out from the rest of the city.It is relatively greener and quiet .The beach , commercial outlets, government residential quarters, posh residences, temples and church give this locality an added charm. On browsing the history of BesantNagar i found the source of its form , why it looks the way it looks today.
BesantNagar derives its name from Annie Besant , a key member of the Theosophical Society which has its international headquarters at Adyar , another posh area adjacent to BesantNagar. Along with Dr.George Arundale , Annie Besant established the society in Adyar.Before starting the society Dr.George Arundale married Rukmuni Devi who founded the Kalakshetra Foundation, an organisation famous for its artistic endeavors. Together the three owned most of what is BesantNagar today. Later in order to run the schools they founded ,they sold part of their land to the Government of India. A part of which was used by Tamilnadu Housing Board (TNHB) to build residential flats for central government employees. This led to the birth of commercial outlets and the economic growth of current day BesantNagar. If they had not sold their land to the Government of India, BesantNagar would have remained a private area belonging to the Theosophical Society and i wouldnt be staying here today and writing its history!
BesantNagar is rightly named as BESANTNagar!
Source:
http://madrastales.blogspot.in/2008/09/sometime-back-i-wrote-interesting-post.html
