The Chennai Columns : Ashargana

In the second post of the series, we look at Ashargana, a locality in Chennai, now famous for Kathipara Flyover, the largest cloverleaf flyover in South Asia. The locality was famously called Asharagana; buses plying the route still refer the bus stop by that name. But why the name 'Ashargana'?

  

Was this locality a hot spot for gana songs? Did the theatre in that locality had anything to do with the name? Or was it named after a celebrity who lived there? The truth could not be farther. Explorations took me closer to my earlier study on Anna Salai. We had seen earlier how the Britishers used Anna Salai to frequent St. Thomas Mount. Now, Anna  Salai ends at Kathipara Junction (aka Ashargana). Back then, as much as we natives used bullock carts for transport, Britishers used horses and horse-driven carriages as primary means of transport; and anyone with even a primeval understanding of horses would know the significance of horseshoes. As with any metal, horseshoes wear out over time; being in the vicinity of the then frequented St. Thomas Mount, the spot near Kathipara became famous for horseshoe sales and repairs; workshops delving in horse shoe business mushroomed around the locality. Gradually the place grew up to be called 'Horse Shoe Corner'. And the locals, with their limited knowledge of English, localized the name to their suiting. Hence, what was 'Horseshoe Corner' got corrupted over 300 years to Horshhoe Corner -> Horshsha Conner -> Haasha-Conna -> Assha-caanna -> and today, Ashargana.  No doubt, this is one of the most corrupted names in the history of British India.

Other notable corrupted words from English that i could think of :


Hospital - Aaspithiri
Bandobast - bandhobasthu
Cholera - Kalra
Emden - Yamtan

- Arun