Vivekananda House things to do, attractions, restaurants, events info and trip planning
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Vivekananda House
VIVEKANANDA HOUSE, Kamaraj Salai, Marina Beach Road, Triplicane, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600005, India
4.5(4.1K)
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attractions: Marina Beach, Arulmigu Sri Parthasarathy Perumal Temple Tiruvallikeni, The Museum of Possibilities Chennai, Marina Beach Photo Spot, Theerthapaleeswarar Temple, Kannagi Statue, restaurants: Sandy’s kitchen Marina, Titanic Fast Food, Mobile Sea Food Restaurant, Spartans Food Court, Namma Chennai Fast Food, TAJ fast food, China Town, Amma Unavagam, Hotel Sri Viveka, Chennai kings fast food
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+91 44 2844 6188
Website
vivekanandahouse.org
Open hoursSee all hours
Fri10 AM - 12:30 PM, 3 - 7:15 PMClosed
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Prashant BalakrishnanPrashant Balakrishnan
A must visit place in Chennai for spiritual seekers. It is a heritage building, very well maintained by Sri Ramakrishna Math. The museum depicting the life of Swami Vivekananda is very well designed. It was originally known as Castle Kernan or Ice House. The museum also had a depiction of how ice was stored in this building when it was used for ice storage purpose. Entry tickets are priced at Rs. 20 each, you can also view a short 3D film based on Swami Vivekananda's Speech at the World Parliament of Religions along with an augmented reality show. There is also a book stall close to the museum. It is located on Marina Beach road, with a dedicated public transport bus stop close by. You can get a good view of Marina beach from the higher floor of Vivekananda House. Just mentioning a brief history of this building as per Wikipedia. In February 1897, Swami Vivekananda returned to Calcutta from the West. At Madras, on the request of his disciples to begin a permanent center, Swamiji had said, "I shall send you one who is more orthodox than the most orthodox Brahmins of South India and who is at the same time incomparable in performing worship, scriptural knowledge, and meditation on God." He meant Swami Ramakrishnananda, who was sent in March 1897. The Ice House, which is now called Vivekanandar Illam, used to be called Castle Kernan. It is a three-story building on the Triplicane beach that used to belong to a wealthy lawyer named Sri Biligiri Iyengar. It was there that Swami Vivekananda stayed on his return from the West, when he was given a historic reception by the citizens of Madras. Sri Iyengar, who was a good devotee, now placed the ground floor at the Swami's disposal. Swami Ramakrishnananda moved to the Ice House and started his activities. He built a shrine for Sri Ramakrishna and worshiped there on a regular basis. While at the Ice House, Swami Ramakrishnananda started an orphanage for the destitute children, which has now grown into a large institution called Ramakrishna Mission Students Home, Mylapore. The Ice House served as the first monastery of the Ramakrishna Movement in South India for a period of 9 years.
wasim akramwasim akram
Vivekananda House (known as Vivekanandar Illam in Tamil), an important landmark in Chennai is associated with the Sri Ramakrishna Math since 1897 when Swami Vivekananda stayed here for nine days after his triumphant return from the West. Later, Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai was founded and functioned at this place during its ten years from 1897 to 1906. Now, this historic place houses a technological smart museum called “Experience Vivekananda” on Indian Culture, Swami Vivekananda’s Life and his message using latest trends like Virtual and Augmented Reality, modern 3D/4D effects and advanced Son et Lumiere elements. Currently, Vivekananda House is maintained by Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai and it’s a source of inspiration to thousands of Indian and International visitors who visit it every year.
A realistic 3D Model of Swami Vivekananda with real skin shaders has been created and improvised based only on his photographs in the absence of any video reference of Vivekananda. To create smoother animation for the 3D movie, Motion capture has been performed with an actor playing Vivekananda’s role.
Parliament of Religions 3D Movie
The movie is currently screened at the 3D Theater every 30 minutes in Vivekananda House, Chennai.
This short 3D Movie is about Swami Vivekananda’s historic speech “Sisters and Brothers of America” delivered at Parliament of Religions in Chicago on September 11th 1893. The movie portrays Swami Vivekananda’s trip to the west, his visit to 1893 World’s Columbian Expo and his Chicago address at Parliament of Religions (Art Institute) in 1893.
The entire Chicago Expo has been re-created based on 1893 Chicago Archive Maps and a virtual setup of the Parliament of Religions stage with an audience of 7000 members has been built. The Empress of India ship that Vivekananda undertook during his journey to the West has also been re-created.
Timings
10.00 am – 12:30 pm
2 pm –5 pm
(On Sundays upto 7:30 pm)
Closed on Mondays
Surenthar K SwamySurenthar K Swamy
The Ice House owes its name to an ice trade that once flourished between British India and merchants in America, owing to a lack of refrigeration facilities in India.
Fredrick Tudor, a Boston-based entrepreneur — known as the ‘Ice King’ — saw potential in shipping large blocks of ice wrapped in sawdust, so as to prevent it from melting, from the frozen lakes of New England.
These were loaded on to empty ships to cater to officials of the East India Company, particularly in the humid presidency towns of Madras, Bombay and Calcutta.
The ships that brought ice to Madras — as Chennai was known then — carried back goods such as jute, saltpetre, indigo and animal hide to New England.
While the British officials preferred their drinks cold in the unrelenting heat, wealthy Indians could also have access to cold beverages in their homes, clubs and restaurants.
Enterprising Tudor was not only involved in shipping the ice but also designed and built insulated buildings across India that could store the ice blocks once they reached the ports.
Unfortunately, the Ice House in Chennai is the only one that survived. Functional until about the late 1870s, it still stands tall today.
Tudor built the Ice House in 1842, on land that was bought with funds raised by the Anglo-Indian community and leased to him.
An underground ramp led up to the beach and a mechanical pulley was used to haul the blocks.
With huge arched windows, motifs of sunbursts on the facade, and stately Grecian columns, it quickly became a landmark.
By the end of the 19th century, the ice-trade monopoly became redundant as artificial refrigeration facilities began mushrooming in India.
Reviews
Reviews of Vivekananda House
4.5
(4,103)
5.0
3yA must visit place in Chennai for spiritual seekers. It is a heritage building, very well maintained by Sri Ramakrishna Math. The museum depicting the life of Swami Vivekananda is very well designed. It was originally known as Castle Kernan or Ice House. The museum also had a depiction of how ice was stored in this building when it was used for ice storage purpose. Entry tickets are priced at Rs. 20 each, you can also view a short 3D film based on Swami Vivekananda's Speech at the World...
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5.0
4yVivekananda House (known as Vivekanandar Illam in Tamil), an important landmark in Chennai is associated with the Sri Ramakrishna Math since 1897 when Swami Vivekananda stayed here for nine days after his triumphant return from the West. Later, Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai was founded and functioned at this place during its ten years from 1897 to 1906. Now, this historic place houses a technological smart museum called “Experience Vivekananda” on Indian Culture, Swami Vivekananda’s Life...
Read more
3.0
1yVivekananda House, also known as Ice House, is a historic landmark located on Marina Beach in Chennai. It holds great significance as the place where Swami Vivekananda stayed for nine days in 1897 after his triumphant return from the West, where he represented Hinduism at the Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago.
The house itself is a colonial-era building with a distinct architectural style typical of its time, featuring spacious rooms and verandas overlooking the beach. It was...
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