The road that saw the birth of trade union movement

COIMBATORE: The avenue that houses the region's first textile mill was once a palm grove. In fact, Krishnasamy Mudaliar Road or Brooke Bond Road was once called Palm Grove Road. Founded in 1888, Coimbatore Spinning and Weaving Mills (CSWM) located on this stretch was the earliest textile mill in the region. "Coimbatore went on to become the Manchester of South India after CSWM was set up," says city historian C R Elangovan.
The trade union and the communist movement, which once dominated the political space of the region, originated at CSWM or pazhaya mill (old mill) as it is referred to commonly. According to Elangovan, CSWM along with Somasundara Mills and Kaleeswara Mills provided the base for strong trade unionism in Coimbatore. The palm trees have disappeared and the trade unions are on the decline. And, the Palm Grove Road (now Krishnasamy Mudaliar) has become just another busy and congested road in the city, connecting Avinashi Road and Mettupalayam Road.
The road was named after the then Coimbatore municipal chairman A T Krishnasamy Mudaliar. However, Mudaliar lost out to Brooke Bond, which had a unit here. "The road borrowed its name from the Brooke Bond coffee and tea blending unit that was located here till a decade ago," says past chairman of Tea Traders Association of Coimbatore, N Anand. The site, where the blending unit was situated, now houses Brookefields mall. Even though a decade has passed since Brooke Bond exited the road, the road has retained the name.
Poet Puviarasu says the stretch was also called as Srinivas theatre road. "It was one among the two theatres in the city to screen English movies but now the theatre has made way for an apartment complex," he adds.