Adyar
Adyar Location of Adyar in Chennai and India
Coordinates	13°00′23″N 80°15′27″E / 13.0063°N 80.2574°E / 13.0063; 80.2574
Country	India
State	Tamil Nadu
District(s)	Chennai
Parliamentary constituency	Chennai South
Assembly constituency	Mylapore
Planning Agency	CMDA
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)

Adyar or Adayar is a large neighbourhood in south Chennai (formerly Madras), Tamil Nadu, India. It is located on the southern banks of the Adyar River. It is bounded by the Buckingham Canal to the west, Tiruvanmiyur to the south, and Besant Nagar to the east.

Sub-localities of Adyar include: Gandhi Nagar, Kasturba Nagar, Nehru Nagar, Indira Nagar, Padmanabha Nagar, Bhaktavatsalam Nagar, Parameshwari Nagar, Jeevaratnam Nagar, Shastri Nagar, Karpagam Gardens and Arunachalapuram. The centre of this neighbourhood runs along the Sardar Patel Road, Chennai, between Gandhinagar(north) and Kasturbai Nagar(south).

[edit] Landmarks and points of interest

The Theosophical Society, is headquartered in Adyar. The campus, located on the south bank of the Adyar river provides a calm environment for quiet contemplation on comparative religion.

The Adyar estuary has been home to over a 100 species of birds^[1] but is losing out to frenzied urbanization^[2]. The proposed Adyar Poonga seeks to restore this fragile eco-system to its natural state^[3].

Adyar is situated on a flat coastal plain, near Adyar river	A view of Adyar and Adyar estuary	The main entrance of IIT Madras, showing its logo and its motto

Elliot's beach in nearby Besant Nagar is the nearest point to the sea, and a popular recreation spot.

IIT Madras and Anna University are situated near Adyar. Adyar is also home to the Central Leather Research Institute, the world's largest leather research institute and the Adyar Cancer Institute.

Tamil Nadu's first IT centre - TIDEL Park is located at the southwest boundary of the neighbourhood.

[edit] Location history and landscape

Locality map of Adyar

The locality has developed significantly through the late 1970s and early 1980s as a residential area to accommodate Chennai's sprawl. Since the late 1990s, it has become part of the IT corridor, the part of southeast Chennai that houses several IT companies.

Property (land and houses) values in Adyar and adjoining neighbourhoods have increased significantly over the past few years and can be up to four times the value of similar sized properties in the northern part of Chennai^[4].

[edit] Schools and colleges

Schools in the neighbourhood include Bala Vidya Mandir, The Hindu Senior Secondary School, Bharath Senior Secondary School, Sri Sankara Senior Secondary School, Sishya, St Johns English School & Junior College, The School K.F.I. and the twin schools of St. Michael's Academy and St. Patrick's, Kumararani Meena Muthiah College of Arts & Science.

IIT Madras, Anna University, National Institute of Fashion Technology and the Technical Teachers Training Institute are all located in adjacent neighbourhoods.

[edit] Transport

The Mass Rapid Transit System (Chennai) runs through Adyar and has three stations within the neighbourhood - Kasturbai Nagar, Indira Nagar and Thiruvanmiyur, thereby connecting Adyar from Madhya Kalash Circle to Southern parts including Tidel Park and Ascendas through the 6-lane IT corridor.

Adyar has a bus depot operating both intra-city and inter-city buses.

[edit] Entertainment

Prarthana Cinema Theatre, near Adyar, is a beach-side drive in theatre. Other theatres include Ganapathiram, Jayanthi and Thyagaraja.

[edit] References

ChennaiOnline Profile of Adyar