A bling street behind barricades: how C.P. Koil Street in Chennai keeps its ‘golden glitter’ despite Metro Rail work affecting access to its doorsteps

Chengazhuneer Pillaiyar Koil Street off North Mada Street in Mylapore can be missed by footwear-clad hooves other than those heading to it aware of what it has to offer, a standout craftsmanship nestling quietly inside. Narrow and hemmed in by non-decrepit buildings, it slips past the eye unless one has known it for what it is: the bling street in these parts. In terms of numbers, both of shops and transactions, C.P. Koil Street is no patch on Edapalayam Street, which winds like a necklace between NSC Bose Road in George Town and Walltax Road in Park Town. While Edapalayam Street is the undisputed capital for gold and other precious metal jewellery-making and testing in Chennai, C.P. Koil Street could be placed in a “family” that includes gold jewellery-making enclaves in T. Nagar and Purasawalkam.