Semmozhi Poonga (Classical Language Park) in Chennai

 Timings: 10 AM to 8 PM; Weekly Holiday: Tuesday.

There is nothing much about the classical language in this park, but its a beautifully done park with a lot of greenery in the heart of Chennai (Cathedral Road, previously Woodlands Drive-in). I had recently been to this park and am glad to post some photos taken there…

semmozhi poonga entranceThe entrance is as green as the ambiance inside! And there is a lot of water here, along with ducks which keep moving around.

ducks in semmozhi poonga chennaisemmozhi poonga pond chennaisemmozhi poonga pond and treesUnlike the normal parks, there are a lot of special plants and trees kept in this Semmozhi Poonga. Some of these plants have been imported, especially the Chinese Bonsai plants (which are around 45 years old). There is also a type of banyan tree called Ficus which has been imported from China. There are also orchids from Thailand, Vitas trees that can drive away mosquitoes, Victoria Cruciana with huge leaves, Nephenthes which can suck insects, Golden barrel Cacti, etc.

semmozhi poonga plantssemmozhi poonga grasssemmozhi poonga orchidssemmozhi poonga chinese bonsai plantssemmozhi poonga chennai treesThere are a variety of trees here from pine to bamboo (15 types). Wonder how they got all of them in such a short time! It seems even the materials used for construction/ roofs etc, are  mostly designed using tree products. Another big attraction here are the water fountains. The below water fountain kept changing its forms and I randomly clicked one of them. Even the smaller water fountains are beautifully arranged.

water fountain in semmozhi park, chennaismall water fountains in semmozhi poonga chennaiNice place to have in the heart of the city. There was a lot of crowd on the Sunday evening I went there – perhaps people were yearning for greenery so much all these days!

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32 thoughts on “Semmozhi Poonga (Classical Language Park) in Chennai

  1. Bikram

    Nice pictures looks like a lovely park …

    thanks for sharing

    1. Rajesh K

      Yeah it is a lovely park! We need more parks like this in all the cities.

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      1. Sathish

        Hi Rajesh,your photos are superb.Can I use these photos to put it in Wikipedia .In Wikipedia , Semmozhi Poonga topic as no pictures,if this is not copy righted we can display them in Wikipedia.If this is copyrighted can you provide permission to display them in Wikipedia.
        Thank you.

        1. Rajesh K

          Yes, you can. These photos are taken by me and not copyrighted.

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  2. saritha

    Beautiful and well maintained park which we hardly find in the cities…

    Loved the sun shine coming out of the tree,excellent capture 🙂

    1. Rajesh K

      I can take the pictures like that (where the sun is not falling directly on the camera) with my cell phone camera. But if the sun falls directly, the picture becomes too bright and unclear… Since its a new park, its well maintained, hope they will maintain this park later as well….

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  3. Anu

    Lovely! I get to know all news about chennai (or as a whole about Tamilnadu) from your blog Rajesh 😀
    I love woodlands drive-in, and I was literally cursing the government to demolish that! But I am glad that such a huge, beautiful park has come in the centre of the city! It must be a real gateway to watch the green’ness around, with water fountains and ducks !!
    The pictures are so inviting! I am keeping this in my agenda when i go to chennai 🙂

    1. Rajesh K

      Even the woodlands drive in had a lot of trees surrounding the hotel… I too liked it! You might get a glimpse of a small part of Kerala as well as Palakkad is so close by Coimbatore 😀

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  4. V Rakesh

    Brilliant pictures, DI.

    This is just a walk away from where I stay presently.

    1. Rajesh K

      So, have you visited this park yet? Maybe both of us could go one day in the late evening – I want to take pictures with the lighting effects in the night…

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  5. Balaji

    Hi Rajesh

    your site is providing us a beautiful info abt south india – it’s nice to hear that govt of TN has adopted ‘ Go Green Policy’ – i wish it should happen in each and every part of india – heart of the city with pollution like hell – this Classical Language Park is a amazing place to be ……hope so tn Govt will maintain this (Classical Language Park) properly.

    jai hind

    1. Rajesh K

      If there were more trees inside the city, I am sure chennai would be slightly cooler than what it is now (during summers)… I think, along with the Government, even the people should make it a point to build houses with small gardens (at least) to make sure that there are at least a couple of trees in each house. Bangalore has already done it quite visibly, Chennai needs to do it too.

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  6. Meera

    Lovely pictures and very informative! I will try to visit the “Semmozhi Poonga” > I like the way Chennai is turning green. We now have the “Adayar Poonga” next door. But I certainly miss the Woodlands drive in that used to be where the Semmozhi Poonga now stands.

    1. Rajesh K

      The best thing about the woodlands drive in was the ambiance – lot of trees and lot of space. Both are available in this park as well, except the food 🙂

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  7. kanagu

    Your picture posts are getting better and better DI.. I liked this.. maybe I will give a visit by some weekday… 🙂 🙂

    1. Rajesh K

      Yeah, thats a better idea – to go on a weekday. It should be more peaceful with lesser people, I guess.

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  8. vishesh

    haven’t been there yet, should go 🙂

    1. Rajesh K

      Yeah, you should visit the park very soon. Nice place to spend an evening.

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  9. Nita

    Very nice park! I think Indian cities need several such parks. Mumbai has a dearth of them, considering the density of the population.

    1. Rajesh K

      Bangalore has the most of them – almost every locality or even area has one… I love their enthusiasm to build parks and keep the city green…

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  10. Avada Kedavra

    Looks like a nice park.. you have been doing lot of travelling DI.. pics are too good 🙂

    1. Rajesh K

      I generally don’t like traveling that much… but my time is like that :)! I was traveling a lot on work earlier, now I am traveling for my blog. But this one is much better 🙂

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  11. rooban raj

    nice park
    we expecting more………………………..from you…..

    1. Rajesh K

      Yeah sure, Once I move to chennai, you can expect more…

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  12. Anuradha

    All the pics are nice. I have been witness to making of this Park, rather we have installed the Vertical Garden at the entrance. I was immensely happy to see the very first picture. Its the first curved green wall in India. Thanks a lot for sharing this Green story.

    1. Rajesh K

      Thanks for taking the time to comment on this article. The entrance was very different and well done. We hope to see more such green walls in lot of Indian cities in the future.

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  13. Andal

    Hi Rajesh. superb photos with so much of info abt the semmozhi poonga. u have captured all the beautiful places of the work. thanks for sharing it here.

    Definitely it will be a nice outing with play area for the kids. this summer holidays, i will visit the park and update u. thanks.

    andal

    1. Rajesh K

      One rule that works for me when taking photos is – 10:1 – For every ten photos taken, publish one of the best! The only issue is the crowd – otherwise its a cool place. Maybe you can go on the weekdays.

      Destination Infinity

  14. das MOHAN

    Awesome….beautiful pictures and narration Rajesh… 🙂

    1. Rajesh K

      Thanks das Mohan 🙂 If you don’t mind, what is this ‘das’?

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  15. Vinothkumar

    Awesom pictures..beautifull park

  16. Kanaga

    Beautiful park….nice….

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