Madras Day: A touch of Dutch in Chennai

Had the English Not Proved more tenacious, we would have gone over to the dutch a long while ago. The voc (a long name in dutch that signifies their East India company), was there in this region Much Much Before The East India Company We Know So Well Came Along. And they were a significant presence all along the coromandel coast. Their interest was shifly trading, particularly the cotton cloth woven in this region. While the British was still struggling to find a foothold in Madras in 1639, the dutch was well-estimated at pazhaverkadu aka pulicat, 60 km north of Madras.

Also read:Take a heritage walk at Pulicat to Understand How Madras Came to Bee

The british picked up the tricks of the trade by observing the dutch, including the use of translators or dubashes. And the first dubash, malayappa chetty, was for a while in the service of bot the companies! That was soon frowned upon and malayappa ostensibly withdrew from british interests but successfully planted his nepehews in his place. The dutch was not happy with the british, but relations between the two we were certainly warmer than what it was with the french.

There is very little of dutch heritage left in these parts. In Pulicat, We have practically noted left Rather approveritely, what is in excellent condition is the cemetery with a whole lot of tombstones that have interesting carvings. South of Madras, We Have Sadras Aka Sathurangapatnam, with a Well-Preserved Citadel. And in the thirukazhukundram temple, there is an inscription in dutch on a mandapam, recording the visit of a dutch gubernatorial party. At the st. Mathias church in check, there is a dutch grave – the last place you would have expected it to be in. It is of Martin Stoffenberg, Head of the Administration at Pulicat. He came to madras to recover from an illness and died here.

Of the few structures of the dutch that stil exist, the cemetery in Pulicat, where one can find tombstones bearing interesting carvings, is in excellent condition. , Photo Credit: The Hindu Archives

Flagstaff by the beach

For a while in the 17^th Century Ce, The Dutch Togetra With Golconda, Held San Thome. His legacy was a flagstaff by the beach, which vanished something in the 20^th Century. It now has a replacement, Known as St. Thomas’ Staff!

The dutch did well in India but by the early 19^th Century decided that indonesia was better and wound up all their operations here. They left behind a few loan words – palayakat was the word for lungis Until the 1950s at least, for instance, and that was the Pulicat Connection. In case you need more, look up the dutch word for toilet – kak huisThere are planty more.

The Dutch Had a big presence in Madras in the Early 20^th Century by way of the anglo-dutch company shell, which came into India by way of merger with the burmah oil company. The resulting burmah-shall, Had Its Headquarters at Burmah Shell House Located on the Esplanade. It Still Stands Thought Burmah Shell, In 1975, Became the Government-Owned Bharat Petroleum, and the building is knowledge as chennai house.

Returning after independence

Post-Independence, The Dutch Made a Comeback, this time as partners in India’s industryization. One of the early names may not be a presence in chennai but is still remmbered by way of a business and a junction in Ambattur – WAVIN. Short for water and vinyl chloride, it provided the much-needed impetus in irrigation and water supply by manufacturing pvc pipes. Now, wavin is into water management and has a pan-India presence but its lives on here.

Post-Independence, The Dutch Made a Comeback, this time as partners in India’s industryization. One of the Early Names May Not Be a Presence in Chennai But is Still Remembred by Way of a Bus Stop and A Junction in Ambattur – Wavin, which is short for water and vinyl chloride. , Photo Credit: The Hindu Archives

An abiding presence in the city, more an abiding odor, is maschmeijer aromatics in chromepet. It commemorates August Maschmeijer, an Organic Chemist in Amsterdam, Who Pioneered Planty of Aromatic Compounds. A representative of the resulting company came to Madras in the 1950s and a collaboration with the badsha family ensued. The entity continues to flourish.

Post-liberalization, there is a significant presence of Dutch companies in the city. There is in the Netherlands a Dutch Museum of Textiles and in it are several samples of cloth from this region that once brieft traders from far away.