Voices and Vignettes of Vepery 
Developed as part of the Heritage Walk Leader Programme

Today, if you are in Vepery at around 3-4 o’clock in the evening, you will find yourself amid a sea of school uniforms and vans.

One of the suburbs of Madras, where schools were first established, Vepery, continues to be home to many of the old institutions.

Come and walk through the history of the Vepery mission, the oldest Protestant mission in the country.

See the library bequeathed to the public by a police officer who was at once a Sherlock Holmes persona and a great Tamil scholar.

Not only schools, but technical education in the city, too, started here, thanks to the munificence of a man who earned the title Lee.

And a walk through the famous double bend, which was the scene of a murder in broad daylight, one that shook the film world to its core.

The walk was developed under the Heritage Walk Leader Programme. 

The walk will be led by Ms Latha Nathan. She tells the story of the neighbourhood that has been her home for the past two decades. She is a kolam artist, a saree lover, a storyteller and a heritage enthusiast. As a volunteer with an urban greening NGO, she has done many tree walks across the city. 

Walk Details

Focus: History, Culture, Local Histories and Stories
Research Duration: 3 months (and, ongoing!)

Walk Duration: 2 hours
Timings: 06:30 - 08:30 a.m.
Starting Point: Doveton Clock Tower

Ending Point: Near Presentation Convent, General Collins Road
Includes:

• History of the Vepery locality

• Iconic landmarks of the area

• Local histories and stories