Registered with the Reg. No. TN/CH(C)/374/18-20 Registrar of Newspapers Licenced to post without prepayment for India under R.N.I. 53640/91 Licence No. TN/PMG(CCR)/WPP-506/18-20 Publication: 1st & 16th of every month Rs. 5 per copy (Annual Subscription: Rs. 100/-) INSIDE G Short ‘N’ Snappy G Bookshop on the footpath G Willingdon statue G 2 pages of Madras Week G Remembering TKR WE CARE FOR MADRAS THAT IS CHENNAI Vol. XXVIII No. 10 September 1-15, 2018 Looking for the Colonial in Madras Week G by The Editor et another edition of tels, a service apartment chain Madras Week has come and a couple of boutique restau- Y Children from Jagannath Vidyalaya, Kelambakkam, displaying their paintings at the art contest held as part of Madras and gone. We have had the rants. We had one programme Week celebrations. usual chorus of hallelujahs and on contemporary miniatures of also an equal number of heritage buildings in the city, a naysayers who have been pre- celebration of the Gaana- the talk on the bronzes and other you could include a tour of the temples of Chennai or a revival dicting for the past 14 years, music of North Chennai, a pre-British era masterpieces at Theosophical Society as a third. of games people played by tak- ever since Madras Week began, golden jubilee of a hotel that the Madras Museum, and a But let us not forget that the ing them to Metro Stations and that it is all a flash in the pan was built AFTER indepen- chronicle of how a nature- Fort is now the seat of our ad- other public areas? that will soon peter out. But the dence, a programme on Hindi loving couple bought a farm ministration, the Nawabs were The next set of whiners have strangest of the lot are the ones films made in Madras (post outside the city and converted here before the British and the problems with the date for Ma- that keep harping that the 1947), the story of a Dubash’s it into a forest. Where among Theosophists continue practis- dras Day and its nomenclature. events are all a celebration of will that funds education here these are we celebrating the co- ing their faith. How would you Madras is much older than Au- the colonial period of Madras. and now in Tamil Nadu, the lonial rulers? classify walks focusing on gust 22, 1639 they say. Nobody Let us do a quick analysis. tale of how a bunch of slum There were some heritage temples of Velachery, the has any arguments with that. Take for instance the eight children were taken by a city- walks that were admittedly heritage of our harbour, or trac- The city is made of various parts Madras Musings lecture series based NGO earlier this year to focused on relics of the colonial ing the origins of the Dravidian that go much beyond that date. that this magazine hosted in Washington DC to participate era – Fort St George was one, movement? How should we Butquality do we of ask life? for any historical collaboration with several ho- in a festival of choral music, a the Nawabi trail was another, define talks on lesser-known When(Continued the area on was page expanded 2) to 1,189 sq.km, Government rea- soned that a large area was needed to find the best possible location for employment, afford- able housing and relocation of Need to make deep sea fishing acceptableslums and developing connecti- vity. This was primarily to be t has taken over forty years to families. Even as we write this, mented jointly by the Central to the water. The project has achievedmarketing, by creatingloan servicing, satellite Itake concrete steps towards 27 fishermen have been and State governments with 60 passed from the policy phase to townsworker and supervision peripheral andring moneyroads. resolving the fishing rights dis- arrested by the Sri Lankan per cent capital subsidy (40 the stage of fine engineering of management.Of five proposed That towns, is a onlybig pute between Tamil Nadu authorities. from the former and 20 from the its features to match ground twojump. – ManaliWhile it and is gratifying Maraimalai that fisherfolk and the predomi- The deep-sea fishing project, latter) towards cost of deep-sea realities. In terms of value, Nagartechnical – were training accomplished. sessions This are nantly Tamil fisherfolk of the launched by the Central fishing vessels each priced at 80 1,200 crores may be a small hasheld not at been different adequate locations, to arrest Northern Province of Sri government in 2017 at the fraction of the state budget but thetraining rising on overcrowding business aspects in Lanka. Though through an repeated appeals of the State for removing an irritant in our Chennaiappears neglectedcity. The and object should of exchange of letters in 1976, Government, has certainly G by A Special relations with an important makingbe corrected. housing in suburbs an India and Sri Lanka agreed to offered new hope to this vexing Correspondent neighbour and securing the attractiveThe new option business has notmodel been is stop fishing in each other’s issue. It is a bold step involving livelihood and prosperity of our realised.alien to Reports the fisherfolk. from residents They waters, Tamil fishermen, know- major capital subsidy to potent- lakhs. The beneficiary is fisherfolk it is of high impor- inmust outlying not only areas get indicate to know thathow ing no international borders in ially 2,000 fishermen. It seeks to required to provide 10 percent tance. Failure cannot be localto manage roads have it but, not beforebeen put com- in eking out a living, have been convert a problem into an op- – 8 lakhs and the balance – 24 afforded. placemitting nor to it,has know the itssupply financial of transgressing international bor- portunity by persuading our lakhs – is to be loaned by banks. Fisherfolk till now used to servicedimplications. land for The middle beneficiary and is ders, exposing themselves to jail fisherfolk to take to more The value of the project is 1,600 trawling in shallower waters risking 32 lakhs – 8 lakhs as his by Sri Lankan authorities. Over sustainable deep-sea fishing. crores. should be prepared to take on equity and 24 lakhs as borrow- the years, hundreds of our fish- Monies have been released in Conceptually, monetarily what is now a business venture ing to repay which he is liable. ermen have had to undergo jail record time and much energy is and for speed of response, the – managing a 80 lakh venture, He should know what he is sentences causing loss of liveli- in evidence in implementation. scheme cannot be faulted; but managing production, pre- likely to get out of it and hood and hardship to their The project is to be imple- there is more to taking the horse processing, storage, pricing, (Continued on page 2) CMYK 2 MADRAS MUSINGS September 1-15, 2018 Looking for Colonial in Madras Week MMM gets email adras Week is over. Or is thereby indicating that a very It was in pessimistic vein (Continued from page 1) worthy features, then what else Mit? The Man from Madras diffident voice was at the other that MMM confided his would be? Musings has his doubts for end. It eventually mustered troubles to his good lady, also basis for celebrating Mother’s there is no sign of the enough courage and asked if it known as She Who Must Be Day, Father’s Day or for that Let’s face it – Madras Week programmes abating. MMM is was MMM speaking. On being Obeyed. Having mulled over matter Friendship Day? Social is a celebration of the city. still getting invites for break- replied to in the affirmative the it, she came up with what was Media is full of Days like that. Rather than finding ways and fasts, lunches and dinners voice went silent thereby indi- a winner – get the hotels to Those who question Madras means of criticising it and where he is expected to hold cating that whoever it was at hand over pre-served plates to Day do not appear to have any predicting its demise, it is high forth on Madras, Madras the other end was mulling over the attendees she said. The problem with those other Days. time people responded to it Week, Madras Month and so the matter. MMM was just idea came to her on day 5 of As for the name, it really makes positively. It is a day/week/ on. At the end of all that eat- about to hang up when the Madras Week this year. Day 4 fortnight/month when positive ing, MMM is quite certain that voice, having revived, enquired had in particular been very no difference. Let it be Chennai there will be enough of him for if this was the MMM who did bad, with Owl managing to Day. But let us celebrate the energy is spread. There is no two or three MMMs. walks. MMM said yes. There balance eight gulab jamuns, city. It has been our home. It politics in it and money/com- With that MMM draws a was a dead silence again. But seven paneer pakodas and six has ranked in the top 52 desti- merce does not play any role. In curtain over his speaking and this time MMM did not hang sandwiches on a small tiffin nations of the world to travel to. short it is a sure formula for in- eating engagements and goes up and was duly rewarded.