Recently, I read a book "Madras Rediscovered" by the Madras-historian Mr S. Muthiah. Many things in the book interested me; i am going to write about one of these. If you like history like i do, then this would interest you too. Read on: George Arbuthnot, a Scot, came to Madras in 1777 and joined the firm of Francis Latour & Co in 1800. Later, one John de Monte joined this firm and these two took over (purchased) the firm in 1810, and renamed it as Arbuthnot de Monto & Co. After the death of de Monte in 1821, the firm became just Arbuthnot & Co . It was in the present Parry's Corner area. Over the years, Arbuthnot & Co became a big establishment and a household name in Madras. Much later, the nephew of George Arbuthnot (the founder), named Sir George Arbuthnot became the head. The firm by then had grown a lot, with a banking business also. The head Sir G started "spending" the public money in various investments all over the world. Like, searchi...