Pondy Bazaar

Pondy Bazaar
—  market neighbourhood  —
Pondy Bazaar Location of Pondy Bazaar in Chennai and India
Coordinates	13°02′26″N 80°14′24″E
Country	India
State	Tamil Nadu
District(s)	Chennai District
Planning Agency	CMDA
Civic agency	Chennai Corporation
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)
Website	Chennai District website

Pondy Bazaar (Tamil: பாண்டி பஜார்), officially called Soundarapandian Angadi, is a market located in T. Nagar, Chennai. It is the principal shopping district of Chennai. Though the origin of its name remains unclear.

There are two references to how ‘Pondy Bazaar' got his name. It is said that the market ‘Soundarapandia Bazaar' was named after Justice Party politician W.P.A. Soundarapandian Nadar. The other suggests that the name has the origin from a shopping complex called –— Pondy Bazaar — which was one of the initial commercial set up here, (next to today's Geetha Café). One Mr. Chockalinga Mudaliar, from Pondicherry built it in 1933.

Ref :- http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-downtown/article2725086.ece

Ref :- http://www.anandnataraj.com/t-nagar-something-we-dont-know/

Transport

Theyagaraya Road, which is the arterial road of Pondy Bazaar, suffers from slow-moving traffic. To ease the traffic, the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (Chennai) has diverted buses going to the T. Nagar bus terminus that used to go via Pondy Bazaar. They now travel via the Thanikachalam Road-Burkit Road route. For some routes, such as the 47s and 11s, the buses occasionally go via Pondy Bazaar and occasionally via the diversion.

Private vehicles headed for the T. Nagar bus terminus or for Anna Salai (Saidapet and beyond) are strongly encouraged to either use the Thanikachalam Road route or Boag Road, rather than the Pondy Bazaar route, especially during rush hour.

Shopping District

Clothes

Pondy Bazaar has a wide variety of clothing stores in all price ranges within a two or three kilometre radius. Along with independent reatilers there are name brand stores such as Globus, Raymond Group, Reebok, Nike, LEE, WRANGLER, Levi Strauss & Co. and Colour Plus along with cheaper outlets like Big Bazaar and Sri Krishna Collections.

Commodities

Saravana Stores is one of the biggest commercial stores in Chennai. Commodities from safety pins to gold and diamond jewellery are available here. Rathna Stores has a big branch in Pondy Bazaar, where commodities ranging from umbrellas to cooking utensils are available at low prices. The shop has five floors. Other stores include Ponni Stores. Rathna Fan House (not to be confused with Rathna Stores) is a place for electrical accessories such as fans, air conditioners, and refrigerators. Formerly specialised in lingerie, Naidu Hall now offers garments of all types.

Shops in Pondy Bazaar

Roadside vendors

Many commodities such as used books, buckets, ropes, soap cases, hair bands, bangles, bags, and other accessories are available from roadside vendors at Pondy Bazaar.

Restaurants

Some of the popular restaurants here are Saravana bhavan, Geetha's Cafe, Rathna's Cafe and Adyar Anandha bhavan

Hotels

At the eastern edge of Pondy Bazaar, two major hotels are located: GRT Grand Days and Residency Towers.

Temples

Tirumala Tirupati Devastanam, located near Venkatnaraya Road (T. Nagar), is a temple of Lord Balaji. Mupathamman Temple, located near Duraiswamy Bridge, is a temple for Mariamman.

Schools

Ramakrishan Mission School and a hostel are opposite Panagal Park and near the T. Nagar bus stand and Habibullah Road. Holy Angels Girls School is nearby. Shrine Vailankanni Senior Secondary School is a school on dhandapani street, with classes from kg to eleventh standard.