Goddess of instant gratification

The tiny shrine, with shops lining it to the point of leaving only room for a narrow entrance, is located on Kasi Chetty Street in George Town. | Photo credit: Surya Kumar

She looks like a deity meant for Gen Z. But her temple has been in our city, if local legends are to be believed, for over three centuries. This was news to me and I am grateful to Ganesh Ramaswamy who emailed me asking if I knew anything about the Nimishamba Temple in George Town. The name means She who fulfills wishes within a minute. He had just returned from a visit to the Nimishamba temple in Ganjam, Mysore (not to be confused with the erstwhile princely state of Odisha) and was wondering if there was any connection between the two shrines. That started me on a long chase that ended in guesswork.

The tiny shrine, with shops lining it to the point of leaving only room for a narrow entrance, is located on Kasi Chetty Street in George Town. Many sub-shrines have appeared in the precinct, hiding whatever may have been there from the past. The shrine reveals a four-armed goddess. The current trustees are local businessmen and the temple comes under HR&CE. Devotees have no information about the past of the temple. Recently, a legend has emerged that the core of the temple is a processional icon that was found when the land was excavated for the construction of a house about three hundred years ago. But since that is the story behind many other temples in the city, we can neglect it. But why Nimishamba?

Edgar Thurston in his Castes and Tribes of Southern India (1855) writes about the Nimishamba cult. He says the worshipers are the Razu/Raju clans who speak Telugu and claim warrior ancestors. He also notes that they switched from the military some time ago and instead focused on farming. Originally from Karvetinagar zamin in Andhra, they migrated deep south to Rajapalayam during Vikayanagar times. However, neither Karvetinagar nor Rajapalayam seems to have a shrine for Nimishamba. Her worship is prevalent in Andhra and more associated with the community known as Nakashvandulu or Chitrakara.

They claimed a martial origin, like the Rajus, and later took to craftwork, mainly filigree and inlaying (Naqqashi in Urdu) and scroll painting. It is this group that settled in and around Mysore during Vijayanagar times. In the 17th century, they were important enough for the ruling Wodeyars to build the Nimishamba shrine in Ganjam. Which still doesn’t explain how the temple came to be in Madras.

The shrines in George Town are of three kinds. The first ones were built by the dubashi, and the more powerful the dubashi, the bigger the temple. The twin temples of Chennakesava and Chennamalleeswara are examples as well as several others. Then we have community temples – Draupadi amman shrine, Chinnakadai Mariamman temple, Ranganathaswami temple in Mulla Sahib street etc. Finally we have artisan temples. Prominent among them is the Kalikambal temple built by the Viswakarma sect. We also have the Sivasubramaniaswami temple on Irusappa Chetty Street built by Senguntha weavers. This was built as a local version of the larger temple at Porur.

In the same tradition, the Nimishamba temple seems to have been built here by members of the Nakashvandulu or Chitrakara sect. What were they doing here? Edgar Thurston has the answer again. The community was far-flung, spanning Odisha, Karnataka, Andhra and the city of Madras, he writes. They were skilled canvas painters, which meant that their varied skills included kalamkari – the art of painting motifs with natural dyes on canvas. In the 17th century, it was among the various textile offerings from Madras that were in high demand in England and the rest of Europe.

According to a record of the East India Company dated January 2, 1705, a large group of painters settled in the city and until the 17th century painted calico was exported from there. But the company’s directors in England, probably facing opposition from the textile industry there, soon banned imports. This led to most of the painters leaving Madras. In January 1705, when the directors learned of this migration, they felt that the art should not die, so some local support was extended.

Was the Nimishamba temple built when the first wave of settlers came? Or was it in the second wave that society encouraged them to stay? No clear answers emerge. But its location, on Kasi Chetty Street, near Washers (Mint) Street and Weavers (Nyniappa Naick) Street, makes you wonder if painters aka Chitrakars once lived here. Unlike them, Nimishamba has remained and has record crowds every dasami – the tenth day after the new moon, adding another thread to the colorful fabric of our city.

Sriram V. is a writer and historian

Published – 24 Jun 2026 06:00 IST