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New parish priest at Cathedral has to deal with families affected by the pandemic

By Our Staff Reporter

Father M. Arulraj is not new to the San Thome Cathedral for this Catho- lic priest has worked for some years at the Bishop’s House next door. But soon after he took charge Flats under construction in Doomingkuppam in early June this year as the Cathe- dral’s parish priest, Mylapore MLA focussed on three projects – transferred here from a parish in Porur, he has had a difficult task on his hands – arranging for kuppams re-development, temples support for the poor families of his parish whose economic conditions have been ravaged by the maintenance and educational facilities pandemic. “I have got petitions from some 50 families By Our Staff Reporter encroached patches in the kuppams, people seeking urgent financial assistance,” he says. say living in 10 and 12-storeyed blocks pose “Many bread-winners have remained unemployed Mylapore MLA Dha. Velu has three big problems for access,” says the MLA. “So for months now and many families just don’t have big issues on his table that he says he is we are working out a compromise in the the money to pay the fees of their school-going focussed on. Resolving the redevelopment plans.” children.” of run-down tenements along the Marina in As far as maintenance of Mylapore Last Sunday, the senior priest who has four the kuppams zone, sprucing up all the tem- temples goes, he says some of them need other priests on his team here appealed to the ples in the area and developing the Chen- attention and also a dedicated maintenance congregation at Sunday Holy Mass for their sup- nai Corporation’s school in Bheemanapet, team for their upkeep. “I am talking to the port. “I told them that if one well-to-do family the only higher secondary school in this HR&CE minister on these plans,” says can undertake to pay the fees of one child we can zone. Velu. surely address this worrying issue,” he says. “I He says that even as the state rolls And he is particular about making the have got some positive response now.” out its redevelopment work of residential Chennai School in Alwarpet a lively, model Earlier this week, he chaired his first meeting blocks in the kuppams – from Doomingkup- school – the strength here has fallen badly with the leaders of the parish anbiyams ( small pam to Srinivasapuram off the Marina, and though the campus is large and accom- Christian communities). San Thome has some these plans are being challenged by resi- modation is sufficient, many upkeep and 40 anbiyams whose members belong to this par- dents. revival issues remain. ish. “While the Slum Board plans to erect “We must do all we can to draw people “Since I am new to this parish I wanted to huge, multi-storeyed blocks so as to ac- to admit their kids here and we must then interact with the leaders of the community,” said commodate not only those who reside provide all that is required for teaching and the priest on an evening when he celebrated two in the tenements but those who live on extra-curricular activities,” says the MLA. wedding Masses at the Cathedral.

Eid celebrations Eid celebrations on Wednesday ( July 21) were YOUR low-key across the Mylapore zone due to the pandemic- CONTACTS time regulations. A large number of Muslims attended prayers at the MYLAPORE mosques in their local areas TIMES that morning and dispersed after exchanging greetings. n At the small mosque PHONE in Dooming kuppam, about 24982244 100 people attended the n WHATSAPP prayers ( this photo was shot at this mosque ) 9445764499 2 MYLAPORE TIMES July 24 - 30, 2021 Freelance writer Photo: S. Prabhu Lakshmi Venkataraman has donated her Alwarpet apartment to NGO

By Our Staff Reporter called Lak Square ( www.laksquare.com) The NGO had been looking out for Lakshmi Venkatraman did not bat space in the city to house its administra- her eyelids when. she took the decision tive operations and the donation came in to donate to a voluntary organisation, handy – Sevalaya’s team now operates an apartment she owned in Alwarpet from this apartment. that would have fetched her at least Lakshmi’s charitable act perhaps flows Rs.2 crores, from similar ones that her family has made since the 19th cen- tury. Her roots trace back to Pradosham: temples continue an illustrious person – her grandfather was the restrictions, people visiting famed judge of the Madras High Court, Justice from afar disappointed P. R. Sundaram Iyer. By S. Prabhu The family then owned would not be allowed into the temple till after 6pm and resided in the sprawl- 84 year old audi- ing bungalow that was built and they had to make do tor N. Varadan, who is in the late 19th century with a darshan of Sri Ka- also a cricket fan hav- called Sri Baugh near paleeswarar from outside ing encouraged many Nageswara Rao Park: in the entrance. young cricketers in the the 1930s, this property The temple authori- 1980s, believes in the was sold to the family of ties have now permitted view that one who has Lakshmi handing over the property transfer document to the Sevalaya Nageswara Rao who started Srikanth and his team team in the presence of the then Mylapore MLA, R. Nataraj a darshan of 120 pra- the Amrutanjan balm members to present Shiva doshams will not have In some ways, this was a Christmas- business. Purana in chorus in front time gift for Sevalaya, a NGO which has, Later, the family moved to Eldams rebirth. of the Annamalaiyar san- for over three decades, been developing Road, settling down in another vast When the lockdown nidhi every evening from educational and social services on a big property where Lakshmi’s father built the was lifted and temples 8 pm for about half hour. scale in the districts of Thiruvallur and art deco house in 1935 which was pulled reopened to devotees, Kanchipuram. down recently. he came all the way At Sri Karaneeswa- “It was time to move on,” says Lak- A freelance writer, Lakshmi has been from Thiruvallikeni, rar Temple shmi, who has been a senior writer on close to the city’s artists, the famous and where he currently At Sri Karaneeswarar art, music and culture and who ran an the young, written on them, on their resides, to have dar- Temple, even the proces- art gallery called ‘Sri Parvati’ ( which works and on their careers, curated art shan of the pradosham sion did not take place as was also the name of this bungalow) on shows and closely followed India’s art earlier this month but the authorities took a call Eldams Road which was sold recently world. was saddened when the not to have the usual pra- and is making way now to multi-storeyed Now, her online magazine keeps her a entrance was shut as dosham procession inside building. bit busy. But she is considering shifting the devotees were not the temple. “I have known and observed Seva- to Alwarpet or R. A.Puram if she locates a allowed to enter the Shanmugham guru- laya’s activities for a decade and found it good apartment in a quiet colony that she temple during pra- kal told Mylapore Times deserving to receive the property,” says can buy. ”I grew up and have spent dec- dosham. on Wednesday that the Lakshmi who now resides in Royapettah ades in this area and I want to get back to But on Wednesday authorities took this call and currently edits an online magazine it,” she says. evening, for pradosham as a safety precaution the temple did not as they did not want to allow devotees into attract a big crowd on the Admissions on at Vivekananda College: the temple. They were pradosham evening. allowed in after the The temple presented for regular and evening college courses event. a quiet picture with Varadan, who had devotees sitting inside By Our Staff Reporter self-financing stream. Each course has a been a guest lecturer the temple to watch the specialisation – accounting and finance at the Vivekananda abhisekam. Many other Vivekananda College in Mylapore is one option while the other is bank College for many devotees did pradakshi- offers five streams of the B. Com management. years, said,“I have had nams around the temple undergraduate course in its evening, Obviously, these courses are a big draw darshan of over 70 and will be so this season too as admis- complex on the pradosh- File photo pradoshams and am sions open at the am evening. devotionally inclined college now. to complete the 120 Admissions are open to the regular, pradoshams during my day-college courses lifetime. I hope the Ka- MYLAPORE as well as the even- pali Temple authorities ing college courses. permit devotees into TIMES But the applica- the temple at least on - 77, C. P. Ramaswamy tion process is fully the next pradosham.” Road, Alwarpet, online – the college Last Wednesday Chennai 600018. gates are closed due evening, there was - Ph: 24982244. WhatsApp - 9445764499 to current pandemic a big crowd present - E-mail - time regulations. at the eastern rajag- Admin & Advertising - All details are opuram. Many of them [email protected] at – https://rkmvc. who had come from - Editorial - ac.in/ afar were disappointed [email protected] to find that devotees July 24 - 30, 2021 MYLAPORE TIMES 3

107 years of Queen Mary’s Vignesh Iswar in concert at Raga Sudha hall recently College: a simple campus event At Raga Sudha hall, By Our Staff Reporter This was a snappy, simple and symbolic event held live music is back but concerts on July 14 - the commemoration of 107 years of Queen Mary’s College, located off the Marina. are canned and webcast The college faculty, staff and some students who were around gathered around the bust of Queen By Our Staff Reporter promotion body, she arranges for these Mary, and placed flowers, lit candles and greeting in-house concerts to be webcast after cards on the floor and in this space. B. Jayalakshmi, who is the heart and they are recorded. Started in 1914, QMC was the third women’s soul of Raga Sudha Hall on Luz Avenue, Recently, Ramapriya Arts Founda- college in India at that time. the hub of music and performing arts tion, which is made up of a small team Today, managed by the state and autonomous, this concerts is glad a series of Carnatic mu- of people which curates concerts hosted college educates mostly economically-weak students sic concerts are being recorded at this three in a row at this hall, which includ- and girls from rural areas. cosy auditorium and webcast to rasikas ed one by the Mambalam Sisters Though the campus boasts of a host of magnificent all over again. ( all these concerts are available on the heritage blocks, almost all have been left to decay, “I’m just hoping that we can have a Parivadini Music YouTube channel). crumble and collapse over recent times and the cam- time when at least, limited audience is Meanwhile, Jayalakshmi has been pus is hardly maintained, with shrubs and vegetation digging into the music archives of allowed at concerts but the state has to growing wild, private parties using some open spaces relax the rules for this to happen,” she ‘Naada Inbam’, the arts promotion for events like sport and leaving behind a mess and says on the day last week, when a vocal organisation, her late father the state using its halls and rooms to count ballots concert of Vignesh Ishwar was being S. V. Krishnan founded here even as he after elections. recorded here. built this auditorium in the shadow of Jayalakshmi often gets calls from the verdant Nageswara Rao Park. people who dedicate concerts to their “We have begun posting online some loved ones or to their gurus, asking her unique music concerts of the past,” Carnatic vocal music course: to arrange these concerts and paying she says. “We put out one by for them and these calls have continued Dr. Ritha Rajan and lots of people have applications invited. since the day pandemic-time rules were listened to it.” relaxed some weeks ago. These too will be featured on the This school is run by Partnering Parivadini, a music Parivadini channel. Narada Gana Sabha. San Thome’s Tasneem launches By Our Staff Reporter Swami Haridhos Giri School of Music which is promoted by Narada web site to document Bohras of Chennai Gana Sabha Trust , Alwarpet is now By Our Staff Reporter This web space will feature the rich accepting applications from students history of the Dawoodi Bohra Muslims of Carnatic music for the School’s Freelance writer and San Thome resi- in Chennai and also narrate interesting Intermediate and Advanced course of dent Tasneem Akbari Kutubuddin has tales of the pioneers and those who have three years in Carnatic vocal music. launched a new project and it is online – contributed immensely. After completion of the three it is named BohrasOfMadras.com ( this Tasneem invites Dawoodi Bohra Mus- years course, successful students will is the URL of the web site). lims to share their own life stories. be eligible to join the post-graduate Tasneem is supported course of M. A. (Music) of the Madras in this venture by Zehra University, states a note from the Aliakbar, Sarrah Jawed, School. Abbas Akbari and Batul Classes start in the second week Safder Hussain. of August. “We welcome pictures, In-person classes are conducted tributes, snippets and in the evenings at the sabha premises. Currently, biographies that may add classes are conducted on-line due to the pandemic value to our documen- condition. tation,” says Tasneem, Applicants must be between the age of 12 and 35 whose family has deep years and should know a minimum of 5 varnams. roots in George Town. Applications available at the sabha’s office or on You can mail to File photo used here is of Tasneem leading a Heritage Walk in e-mail request. Contact George Town themed on the Bohras in Madras. – bohrasofmadras@gmail. com. Sabha office for further details. Tasneem says that she has been The social media platforms are Prof. Dr. R. S. Jayalakshmi and vidwan documenting the history of her commu- – https://www.instagram.com/bohrasof- C. R. Vaidyanathan head the faculty at the School. nity for some years and now feels it must madras/ and https://www.facebook.com/ Phone: 2499 3201, 2499 0850: all come to be in one digital space. bohrasofmadras786 E-mail – [email protected] 4 MYLAPORE TIMES July 24 - 30, 2021 Born and raised in R. A. Puram, this Catholic priest is to become Bishop of diocese of Andamans

By Our Staff Reporter So how did the Chennai-based A Catholic priest seminarian find a who was born and calling in the Anda- brought up in Raja mans? Annamalaipuram “I wanted to People seated in a classroom, awaiting their turn to get vaccinated has now been ap- serve outside my pointed Bishop of home state and I Steady stream of people at GCC’s Port Blair diocese was keen to go to which oversees all the missions in Af- Alwarpet centre to get the jab the churches in An- rica. But one unex- daman and Nicobar pected turn took me By Our Staff Reporter islands in the Bay to the Andamans,” of Bengal. says Fr. Selvaraj. It looks like Chennai Corporation has, at least in 55-year-old Fr. The then bishop the Mylapore zone, chosen to focus the vaccination Visuvasam Selva- of Port Blair was process for the community at its Alwarpet centre and raj was appointed passing through relieve the GCC health centres elsewhere in the zone bishop by Pope Chennai and while of this work. Francis – the papal in the city, casually Reason why, while the Alwarpet operations which order was issued on “I was baptised at saint told local senior have been in operation for many weeks now at the June 29. The priest Lazarus Church. priests who were GCC school in Bheemanapet are always on stream will be ordained hosting him that he and the place remains busy, people seeking the jab in on August 21 at I served as an altar boy would be happy to the GCC health centre on Appu Street in San Thome a grand religious there and have attended have young priests area are told to head to the Alwarpet centre. ceremony. serve in his dio- However, the demand for the jab is still very good – Fr. Visuvasam Holy Mass at this church cese. This invita- in fact, everyday, tokens issued to people who walk-in Selvaraj was born tion was shared to get the jab at the Alwarpet campus are exhausted on January 4, 1966 for many years,” with Fr. Selvaraj in less than an hour ( this centre is on Bheemana at the Andhra who was yet to be Street, off Mahila Sabha- ordained a priest, C. P. Ramaswamy Road.) managed Durgabai Deshmukh Hospital and the young man took the earliest On one recent morning, some 100 people were on in R. A. Puram. His parents, hailing flight to the island. from Madurai had moved to Chennai, He was ordained priest in May 1994 campus to get the jab. 20 doses of Covaxin and 200 living in Adyar first and then moving for the diocese of Port Blair and after doses of Covishield were supplied that morning and to a small house in a colony located off serving in many a local parish, went on there were people seated in three classrooms, await- Greenways Road. His father managed a to hold key posts in the diocese. ing their turn at the two counters where nurses give wholesale business in aval “Since I worked closely with the you the jab. ( beaten rice). bishop at Bishop’s House I was involved A GCC staff here said that they get a steady That business has remained with the in many policy-making decisions,” says stream of people and have their hands full on all family for years, though it has scaled the priest. And since the time the previ- mornings. down – the priest’s brother, Bhaskar ous bishop retired and moved out to Goa, Tokens are issued after about 8.30 a.m. and the now runs a shop in Mandaveli’s Devana- Fr. Selvaraj has been administering the vaccination starts after 9.30 a.m. than Street which sells among other diocese. products, aval. His record in the Andamans diocese “I was baptised at saint Lazarus must have made it easy for the Pope to Vedic teacher offers homam and Church, was an altar boy there and choose him as the new bishop. attended Holy Mass at this church for Fr Selvaraj says that it is the la- shraddam ceremony services years,” said the priest while talking ity that drives all the activities of the from Ranchi where he was attending Catholic Church in the Andamans and By S. Prabhu meetings. that he is keen to respect that tradition He first attended Rajah Muthiah and even encourage it further after he Nandakumar Gana- School, did his final two years of school- takes charge as bishop. padigal, who has been ing at San Thome Hr. Secondary School, “It is the people who decided on a Vedic teacher at the joined the Catholic diocese’s minor the date of my episcopal ordination in Adyayana Patshala on seminary in San Thome ( then located August and told me they would make all Pichupillai Street for opposite the Cathedral) and moved to the arrangements for this grand event,” the last two decades, the Sacred Heart seminary in he says. is offering homam and Poonamallee. His brother ( seen at his Mandaveli shraddam services in a godown store in the photo traditional way. here), Bhaskar’s fam- He has a team of ily now resides near the Vedic pundits who will Mandaveli store and they help perform different are members of the parish kinds of homam as well of Our Lady of Visitation as the shraddam services. Church on St. Mary’s He says that in the recent past, people have came Road, Abiramapuram. up to him and said that they were not able to perform “When I am in Chennai the shraddam ceremony as many of the facilities in I often visit that church Mylapore were always booked and rooms were not and have also said Holy available. Mass there. This time, I “I have taken up a place on rent and put together a will also drop in at saint team that will offer these services.” Lazarus Church,” says the To avail of the services contact: 94444 66484 / bishop-elect. 91713 40604.