From heritage to high-rises, how Chennai grew taller
This feature explores the rapid urban transformation of Chennai, contrasting the city's historical low-rise architecture with the modern proliferation of skyscrapers and high-density developments. Residents share nostalgic reflections on how the changing physical landscape has altered their personal connection to the city.
Why it matters
The article captures the tension between urban modernization and cultural heritage, a common theme in rapidly developing metropolitan areas.
“Andha kalathula ellam…” [In those days...] is how many memories of Chennai, or Madras, begin. We all grow up, and inevitably, so do our beloved cities. Every goodbye is followed by a hello: old buildings are torn down for new high-rises, beloved theatre screens go dark, garden houses become apartments, and corner shops give way to malls and multiplexes. Relatively flat for most of its early development, the city today has tall buildings and skyscrapers vying with each other in certain parts. Swept up in the business of being a metro, Chennai grew wide and tall; and as it did, it changed the memories that different generations carry of home.
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