Triplicane Big Mosque

The Triplicane Big Mosque, also called the Wallajah Mosque, stands on Triplicane High Road in Chennai. The family of Muhammad Ali Khan Wallajah, Nawab of Arcot, completed it in 1795, after the Nawab had moved to Chepauk in 1768 with a large Muslim following. It is the city's largest mosque and its principal one, run by the Prince of Arcot Endowments Trust, and many of its administrative staff are Hindus. A Persian chronogram at the entrance to the prayer hall was written by the Nawab's Hindu secretary, Raja Makhan Lal Khirat.

The mosque is built of granite without any iron or wood. Under Azam Jah its two Mughal-style minarets were altered and given golden finials. It has a large prayer hall, a broad courtyard and a big tank to the north-east, with tombs of people linked to the royal family to the west. At Bakrid and Ramzan worshippers spill out into the grounds, and the grave of Qaid-e-Millat Muhammad Ismail lies in front.