From World War bombings to ancient churches: new cycling tours cover Chennai’s history

Chennai’s Cycling Yogis joins hands with TTDC to explore everything from Madras’ ancient history to its streets with the funniest names, in its latest set of heritage cycling toursRamanujar Moulana, founder of Cycling Yogis, discusses the trend of cycle tourism, overlooked cultural spots in Madras and upcoming heritage cycling tours

Sitting roughly 700 metres away from Chennai’s Island Grounds, the place where India’s first flight, a plane commandeered by Giacomo D’Angelis, took off in 1910, history enthusiast Ramanujar Moulana unveils many other not-so-secret tidbits about Chennai’s rich cultural history. 

Following the set of four heritage tours conducted in early 2022, the Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation (TTDC), along with Ramanujar’s organisation Cycling Yogis, is launching a second series of six themed tour trails, beginning on June 26. 

Prominent among these is the recently concluded World Wars trail, that revisits Madras’ tryst with the wars. “Lots of people aren’t aware of Chennai’s involvement in World Wars, so the World Wars trail will cover the Emden bombing plaque, air shelters used in the Second World War in Kasimedu, the Madras War Cemetery in Nandambakkam and the Victory War Memorial,” says Ramanujar. 

The second tour, Ancient Madras Trail, focusses on Madras before its British settlements. This will explore a shrine of Alvar, the Thiruvalluvar temple, the Parthasarathi temple and Tiruvottiyur. 

On the other hand, the Scottish and Irish Trail will visit the Munro Statue, The Kirk aka St Andrew’s Church in Egmore, and other various Scottish contributions to Chennai architecture. It also plans to cover St Patrick’s school in Gandhinagar and St Thomas Mount, to observe the Irish stamp on our city. 

“When COVID was at its peak, I had to stop my previous research for safety reasons,” states Ramanujar, who has been highlighting Chennai’s heritage tgrough his cycling tours for years. He adds, “It was during this time that I decided to create a trail dedicated to our doctors and healthcare workers. These trails were compiled and released in my book Madras By Cycle in 2021.” 

The Medical Heritage Trail will cover places already listed in his book, like Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy memorial in Thiruvanmiyur, Dr. Edward Bulkley’s tomb right next to Madras Medical College, and the oldest eye hospital in Asia, Egmore Eye Hospital.