Goldsmith shops at T.P. Koil Street off North Mada Street in Mylapore.
Chengazhuneer Pillaiyar Koil Street off North Mada Street in Mylapore can be missed by footwear-clad hooves other than those heading to it aware of what it has to offer, a standout craftsmanship nestling quietly inside. Narrow and hemmed in by non-decrepit buildings, it slips past the eye unless one has known it for what it is: the bling street in these parts. In terms of numbers, both of shops and transactions, C.P. Koil Street is no patch on Edapalayam Street, which winds like a necklace between NSC Bose Road in George Town and Walltax Road in Park Town. While Edapalayam Street is the undisputed capital for gold and other precious metal jewellery-making and testing in Chennai, C.P. Koil Street could be placed in a “family” that includes gold jewellery-making enclaves in T. Nagar and Purasawalkam. The description of a lane fitting it better than that of a street, C.P. Koil Street (the quickly recognised contraction) is lined with shops of gold-and-other-precious-metal jewellery-making craftspersons strategically interspersed with those selling jewellery. There are flower vendors, and shops selling temple-related items at C.P. Koil Street sketching the classic image of a street running close to a famous temple (in this case, Kapaleeswarar temple), but the one trait that overrides everything else is that of a turf for craftspersons adept at shaping precious metal into wearables. These craftspersons, some of whom also work with silver and zari saris that have gold and silver threads woven into them, draw upon the trust built patiently over generations. At Santhosh Thanga Maligai, the owner M. Padmanabhan is carrying forward a family business that had its genesis on North Mada Street where his grandfather operated for nearly 50 years. In its current location at C.P. Koil Street, the business has weathered 40 summers. And if one does a simple addition math, there is an unmistakeable and majestic hoariness to the enterprise. This account of a skill passed down generations is a recurring feature, the story reappearing at different addresses across C.P. Koil Street’s storefront.
