one on Big street. The Kasturi Srinivasan library is more than 50 years old. Culture Triplicane has a rich culture. The culture associated with Parthasarathy temple and its mada veethis is a traditional and an age old one. Rooted in tradition, Triplicane is also known for its fine artistic taste in music, dance and arts. An annual community event known as the Thiruvallikeni Thiruvizha (literally 'Triplicane Festival') is celebrated in January. Other festivals include Triplicane Music Festival and Marghazhi (winter) festival. Triplicane is known for the traditional cuisines of Chennai, being based here. Architecture Triplicane, similar to few other areas in the city such as Mylapore and West Mambalam, is known for its traditional row houses, known as . Typically, these can be seen where an entire street is occupied by Brahmins, particularly surrounding a temple. The architecture is distinctive with Madras terraces, country tile roofing, Burma teak rafters and lime plastering. The longish homes consisted of the (receiving quarters), (living quarters), (kitchen and backyard) and so on. Most houses had an open to sky space in the centre called the , large platforms lining the outside of the house called the and a private well in the backyard. The floors were often coated with red oxide and sometimes the roofs had glass tiles to let in light. The quadrangle seen in Triplicane is around the Parthasarathy Temple and its tank. About 50 families continue to live in the in Triplicane. However, many of these houses are being replaced with modern multi-storied apartments, resulting in a reduction in their numbers. Religion Although Parthasarathy Temple remains the most important temple of Triplicane, there exists indeed several other temples in the neighbourhood, including Ellai Amman Temple, Ettampadai Murugan Temple, Peyalwar Temple built on the 13th century. and Thiruveteeswarar Temple. The thevaram has a reference of Thiruvateeswarar temple, which suggests its existence since the seventh century. Mutts in the region include Uttradi Mutt on Singrachari Street, Ahobila Mutt Vanamamalai Mutt on East Tank Square Street, The Wallajah Mosque, also known as the Big Mosque, is a historical mosque in the city. Built in 1795 in remembrance of Nawab Wallajah, the mosque was constructed with grey granite, without the use of wood or steel. Vaikunta Ekadesi Vaikunta Ekadesi Festival is held in this temple and huge crowds gather on the day of the festival. Vaikunta Ekadesi Vrata is observed on Dhanur Masa Shukla Paksha