Anna Salai

Anna Salai (), formerly known as Mount Road, an abbreviated form of St. Thomas Mount Road, is an arterial road in Chennai, India. It starts at the Cooum Creek, south of Fort St George and ends at the Kathipara Junction in Guindy. Beyond the Kathipara Junction, the road branches into two, with one traversing westwards to Poonamallee to form the Mount-Poonamallee Road while the other continues southwards to Tambaram and beyond to form the national highway NH 45. The road was an indicator of development as the city of Chennai grew up mostly along its eastern and western sides.

Anna Salai is almost 400 years old and has its origins in a cart track which was used by the European employees of the British East India Company to travel from the factory at Fort St George to the holy town of St Thomas Mount where the apostle St Thomas was crucified. The road, in its present form, took shape during the time of Charles MaCartney who served as Governor of Madras. Most of Chennai's business and corporate offices are located on Anna Salai.

The Stretch

Anna Salai starts from the Parktown area of Chennai city where Chennai Central railway terminus is situated. It, then, traverses the Island with its statue of Sir Thomas Munro to the other side of the Coovum before entering the neighbourhoods of Thousand Lights and Teynampet. From Teynampet, it continues straight southwards to Nandanam and Saidapet before traversing the Maraimalai Adigal Bridge across the Adyar River to Little Mount and...
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