By Saurav Mehra Whether you’re building a bar cabinet with brandy snifters and cognac glasses, framing a family photograph, fitting a new kitchen door, or picking up a can of dye for a craft project, Devaraja Mudali Street has quietly served that exact mix of needs for generations. It’s one of George Town’s genuinely multi-purpose specialty streets — a single lane that somehow holds glassware, hardware, chemicals, and photo framing together as complementary trades rather than a random jumble.
A Street With More Than One Identity
Devaraja Mudali Street sits within Park Town, part of Chennai’s historic George Town commercial district, close to Parry’s Corner. Unlike many of its neighbouring streets that specialise narrowly in one product category, Devaraja Mudali Street has built its reputation across several related trades: glassware and photo framing on one hand, hardware and dyes and chemicals on the other.
The glassware side of the street covers genuine breadth — bowls, dishes, cups and saucers made of bone china, alongside a full range of traditional bar glassware including beer mugs, brandy glasses, and cognac snifters, plus everyday tableware like water glasses. Photo framing has developed as a complementary trade here, useful for anyone finishing off a print or a certificate without needing a separate specialty shop. On the hardware side, the street carries doors, window fittings, kitchen and bathroom accessories, glass door fittings, and a genuinely dense concentration of general hardware dealers — Justdial alone lists over 367 hardware shops here.
Devaraja Mudali Street Overview
| Category | Details |
| Location | Park Town, George Town, Chennai — 600003 |
| Neighbourhood cluster | Rattan Bazaar, Parry’s Corner |
| Nearest metro | High Court, Mannadi (Blue Line) — serving wider Parry’s Corner |
| Nearest railway station | Chennai Beach |
| Best known for | Glassware, photo framing, hardware, dyes and chemicals |
| Hardware shop count (Justdial) | 367+ listed |
| Glassware dealer ratings | 4.0–4.4, thousands of reviews across shops |
| Also sells | Human and synthetic hair wigs, hair extensions |
| Neighbouring specialty streets | Mint Street (sarees/jewellery), Anna Pillai Street (spices), Nainiappa Naicken Street (surgical goods) |
| Purchase style | Wholesale-oriented, minimum quantities typically apply |
| Shop timings | Typically 10 AM–8 PM (Sundays often reduced hours) |
Where Devaraja Mudali Street Sits
Devaraja Mudali Street runs through Park Town, within the broader George Town neighbourhood near Parry’s Corner in North Chennai. It sits close to Rattan Bazaar and forms part of the roughly 25-street shopping cluster that makes up Parry’s Corner, one of Chennai’s oldest and most congested commercial zones. Its neighbouring streets each specialise in their own trade — Mint Street for sarees and jewellery, Anna Pillai Street for spices and pooja items, and Nainiappa Naicken Street for surgical goods — collectively forming one of the city’s most comprehensive wholesale shopping districts.
Getting to Devaraja Mudali Street
Given its location within the Parry’s Corner cluster, the same broad connectivity applies here as elsewhere in George Town. High Court and Mannadi metro stations, both on the Blue Line, serve this part of North Chennai, with Chennai Beach railway station providing an additional rail access point.
Beyond the metro:
- Bus: Numerous MTC buses connect the area to Broadway, Parry’s Corner, and the rest of North Chennai.
- Auto/cab: Widely available, though the street’s narrow lanes and constant footfall mean vehicles can’t practically navigate all the way in.
- On foot: Essential once you’re in the immediate area — like most of Parry’s Corner, walking between shops is the only realistic way to shop here.
Given how congested this part of Chennai gets, arriving by metro or bus and covering the final stretch on foot remains the most practical approach, particularly during peak business hours.
Shops and What the Street Is Known For
Glassware and hardware together define Devaraja Mudali Street’s commercial identity, and both trades run genuinely deep. On the glassware side, dealers stock everything from bone china tableware to full sets of bar glassware — cognac snifters, brandy glasses, beer mugs — alongside decorative and gift items, with several shops carrying ratings between 4.0 and 4.4 and thousands of customer reviews. Photo framing shops operate alongside these glassware dealers, a natural complementary trade for anyone finishing decorative work.
On the hardware side, the street is a genuine destination for doors, window fittings, plywood, kitchen and bathroom accessories, aluminium sliding doors, and general building hardware — Kalanjiam Hardwares, with a dedicated Parrys showroom at #32 Devaraja Mudali Street, is one of the established names here, alongside Kumar Ethnic Hardware and Kitchen Accessories nearby in Rattan Bazaar. Dyes and chemicals round out the street’s traditional trade, historically tied to the same commercial cluster.
A genuinely unusual specialty also operates on this street: hair peddlers selling both human and synthetic hair wigs, hair extensions, and hair lengtheners (locally called “sauri” in Tamil) — a niche trade that’s carved out its own space alongside the glassware and hardware businesses. As with most of Parry’s Corner, shops here operate largely on a wholesale basis, so buyers should expect minimum purchase quantities on many items, though individual retail sales are available for smaller needs.
Nearby Areas Worth Visiting Together
Mint Street, close by, is one of Parry’s Corner’s most prominent streets, known for salwars, designer sarees, steel products, jewellery, Jain temples, and a lively eatery scene.
Anna Pillai Street, nearby, specialises in spices and pooja items sold wholesale, including turmeric, kumkum, camphor, and betel nut.
Nainiappa Naicken Street, a short walk away, is George Town’s dedicated hub for surgical equipment and medical supplies.
Evening Bazaar, also nearby, deals in cutlery, crockery, aluminium and stainless steel utensils, carpets, and mats — a natural companion to Devaraja Mudali Street’s glassware trade.
FAQs
Q1. Which metro station is closest to Devaraja Mudali Street?
High Court and Mannadi metro stations, both on the Blue Line, serve the wider Parry’s Corner area that Devaraja Mudali Street sits within, alongside Chennai Beach railway station.
Q2. What is Devaraja Mudali Street best known for?
A genuinely mixed identity spanning glassware and bone china tableware, photo framing, general hardware (doors, fittings, kitchen accessories), and dyes and chemicals — one of the more multi-purpose specialty streets in the Parry’s Corner cluster.
Q3. Do I need to buy in bulk on Devaraja Mudali Street, or can I purchase single items?
Most shops here operate wholesale-first, with minimum purchase quantities typical for many products, though several dealers — particularly for hardware and glassware — do accommodate individual retail buyers looking for smaller quantities.
Q4. Is it easy to combine Devaraja Mudali Street with other Parry’s Corner shopping in a single visit?
Yes — it sits within easy walking distance of Mint Street, Anna Pillai Street, Nainiappa Naicken Street, and Evening Bazaar, making it straightforward to cover several specialty streets in one Parry’s Corner outing, provided you’re prepared to walk rather than drive between them.