Ethiraj Salai - Egmore (Name Reason)

Image Source : The Hindu

:: Chennai Factoids ::

:: Name reason behind famous roads in Chennai ::

:: ETHIRAJ SALAI / ETHIRAJ COLLEGE ::

Many a times we will pass through the Ethiraj Salai and had a lots of guesses rolling in my mind as to who is that Ethiraj behind this name. The students of Ethiraj College might be well aware of this personality. This road is erstwhile named as "Commander-In-Chief Road" and now it has been renamed as "Ethiraj Salai". After searching for too many keywords in google, here is the one I got from Wikipedia.

Vellore Lakshmanaswamy Mudaliar Ethiraj :

Vellore Lakshmanaswamy Mudaliar Ethiraj was an Indian lawyer and philanthropist who founded Ethiraj College for Women , a college in Chennai.

His father was Thiru. Vellore Lakshmanaswamy Mudaliar from Thottapalayam village in Vellore.

V. L. Ethiraj received his undergraduate degree from what is today Presidency College,Chennai and received his law degree from the University of Dublin. 

When he returned to India, he joined The Madras Bar. He was the first Indian to be appointed as Crown Prosecutor by the British Raj .

He donated one million rupees (Rs.10 lakhs) as an endowment for Ethiraj College for Women. 

He believed that educating a man is educating an individual, but educating a woman is educating the entire family.

One of Ethiraj's successes was the Lakshmikanthan murder case , which he successfully fought in defense of Tamil actors M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar and N. S. Krishnan and got them released from prison.

Source : Wikipedia

Landmarks in and around Ethiraj Salai : 

• Ethiraj College
• The Presidency Club
• Hotel Kanchi
• Sivalaya Complex
• Vivanta - Taj Connemara
• Rani Meyyammai Marriage Hall
• Derby Showroom
• Evergreen Vegetable Store

Locate Yourself : Ethiraj Salai  - Egmore (Source : Google Maps)