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Vol. XXV No. 9 MUSINGS August 16-31, 2015 How anti-national Know your Fort is all this? better adras Week enters its 13th ernment began setting about do with the colonial period. But Medition this year. It looks changing the official name of as we have always maintained, as though it is all set to become the city to Chennai, we had sug- while these buildings may have yet another annual highlight of gested that would be been designed by British archi- Chennai’s social calendar, like a far better option given that it tects, the construction – and the Music Festival and The was one of the oldest parts of much of the methodology and Hindu’s Lit for Life event. There the city, far older than Madras embellishments – were South is a sense of anticipation among or Chennai. And don’t we al- Indian and done by local arti- people even as the event ap- ready have a Mylapore festival sans. Sadly, we have lost those proaches and this is also re- that is older than Madras Week talents. So much for our ability flected in the increasing levels itself and is it not organised by to protect our heritage! of participation. one of the prime movers behind At a time when it is largely And yet there is a certain Madras Week? And have we the negative news that hogs the section that persists in dubbing limelight and there is despon- Madras Week as elitist and be- dency all around, festivals such ing an apologist for the British by The Editor as Madras Week play an impor- Raj. One Tamil newspaper has tant role in creating a feel-good even gone to the extent of not been repeatedly highlight- factor. A city festival like Ma- claiming that by celebrating ing the necessity to have local dras Week inculcates a sense of Admiralty/Clive House. Madras Week, the organisers area festivals on the same lines? pride in the place where we live. are indulging in anti-national Is Madras Week really an oc- It is that time when we learn to G Parade Square, as we saw in the previous issue, stands more or activities! While it is gratifying casion that just celebrates the appreciate the positive at- less in the middle of the Fort. Radiating from it are streets in all to think that someone is writ- colonial past? Nothing can be tributes of our metro and also directions. It must not be forgotten that the Fort was once very ing about us for a change (and further than the truth behind take cognisance of the areas much a town with its residents. And these needed houses, all of that means we are getting no- this charge. Is a Textile Tour of that need improvement. which were placed along the various streets that crisscrossed the ticed), the grave nature of the T’Nagar colonial? Or is a walk As responsible citizens, we entire precinct of White Town, as the Fort was known. Interest- charges forces us to reiterate down Adyar Poonga to observe take stock of the direction in ingly, as H.D. Love points out, the residents of Madras referred to what Madras Week stands for butterflies anti-national? How which our city is moving and the Fort as the City and to what lay outside of it as Town. The East and what it hopes to achieve. rejoice in its progress. “We do then can we explain the con- India Company reversed the nomenclature – according to it, The article referred to stated duct of a heritage walk that not take anyone’s money to Madras was the city and the Fort was the town! that it saw no reason why Ma- traces the connection between celebrate the event and neither It was Elihu Yale who, as Governor in 1688, decreed that the dras Week had to be celebrated Mylapore and the Freedom do we thrust it down unwilling streets of Fort St George be given names. These names have given that several areas of the Movement? Is a talk on 11th people’s throats. We are mere city are far older than the 376 century inscriptions in the facilitators and those who wish survived till today. Thus, three streets emanate from Parade Square years of Madras’ existence. We Tiruvottriyur temple something to celebrate join us. Those who and the Assembly in the southern direction, these being St have never denied the antiquity that celebrates the British raj? do not wish to do so are not in Thomas’ Street, which is at the eastern end of the Fort, James of some of the villages that Yes, we do have events that cel- any compelled to participate,” Street, which lies behind it, St Mary’s Church connecting the two, eventually came to form Ma- ebrate the city’s architectural say those who celebrate the city. dras city. In fact, when the Gov- heritage, much of which has to What is wrong with this? (Continued on page 12) It’s back to renaming streets

ur Corporation is at it issues and nothing other than behind each name. We had also monotony of all areas of the city such as J. Chartres Molony, J.R. O again. Having in its opin- that is going to be acceptable. pointed out that while we were having streets that bear the Coats and J.W. Madeley. We ion solved all problems such as This is not the first time that not in any way against the names of political leaders of had requested that the name of potholes, illegal constructions, our city’s civic body has em- honouring of Tamil scholars, the recent past and current F.W. Ellis who had done such and garbage clearance, it found barked on this name-changing provenance. good work in the context of the time hanging heavy on its hands spree. The previous instance More importantly, we had Dravidian languages and on the and decided to work on chang- was during the Tamil confer- G By The Editor said that while not all British Tirukkural be allowed to re- ing the names of several roads ence when the then Mayor, in a names were worthy of com- main. We do not know if our of the city. It is high time that case of misplaced zeal, announ- memoration, some – at least entreaties had any impact but the powers that be realised that ced that all streets bearing the this could safely be done in new names of those who were had shortly after a list was published such exercises are futile ones names of Englishmen would be areas of the city where there are done worthwhile service to the in these columns, the idea of re- and the watching public is renamed after Tamil scholars. plenty of streets that are in city – needed to be retained. In naming the streets was shelved. largely indifferent to such gim- This journal had then brought the need of names. This way, this context we had argued for It has now resurfaced. mickry. In fact, what the people out a comprehensive list of such we had argued, we can also the continuation of the names want is delivery on several civic streets, explaining the history save ourselves from the of officers of the Corporation (Continued on page 11) CMYK 2 August 16-31, 2015 The changing world To prohibit or not veryone has gotten on to IT metropolis that thinks it still vanced age and could not be in Ethe wagon. Or should The is a garden city. MMM predicts an advanced stage of preg- of Tambrams Man from Madras Musings say that it won’t be long before our nancy. A still closer inspection the bandwagon? He alludes to tipplers begin planning visits to showed that the reason for the Tamil Brahmans: The making ous academic work that lays the recent snowballing support these cities on the slightest pre- embonpoint was a tube that of a middle-class caste by C.J. bare the mysteries of Tam- for declaring our beloved State texts. was wound around the stom- Fuller and Haripriya Nara- Brahmism because, as social and City completely dry. MMM has had experience ach and carried precious simhan. Social Science Press/ groups go, Tambrams are as dis- Nature, or what we did to it, of living in other cities that liquids. The ladies were let off Orient BlackSwan. Price: tinct in their practices, customs, has already made the region temporarily went dry for vari- after a strict warning which, Rs. 750. shibboleths and prejudices as, water-free and now the pow- ous politically correct reasons MMM is sure, they obeyed. say, the Hassidic Jews. They ers-that-once-were and the (these moves are never altruis- Not that there were no official s is evident from my name, cling to a mixture of piety and powers-that-want-to-be-in- tic). Those who HAD to drink outlets. These required the or should be, I am a Tamil A practicality that survival under power are building a grounds- every day in these places were aforementioned permit and the Brahman. But I have lived 97 well of opinion in favour of advised to get a medical certifi- vending contracts for these difficult circumstances teaches. per cent of my life in completely abolishing the cate that stated that they outlets were highly profitable. In doing so, they often appear where I have gone to school other fluid – the one that needed to imbibe in order to It is not as though nobody ben- as ridiculous as the Jews who with post-partition Punjabi cheers. To Hell With stay alive. This in turn trans- efited from Prohibition. have been known to debate children and, later on, mingled TASMAC appears to be their lated into what was called a Prohibition times were also whether electricity is fire and, if motto. It is noteworthy, how- permit, which rapidly became when those manning air and with Jats and other assorted so, whether it is all right to get ever, that the power-that-is is the most precious document seaports were much in demand North Indians throughout my into a lift on the Sabbath. completely silent on the possible, spawning a whole cor- as also were those who were fly working life. Similar eccentricities can be subject. ruption industry in its procure- out to the Emerald Isle just It was only towards the end laid at the doors of Tambrams. MMM, who is abstemious ment. The application form in south. These men, known col- of my career that I worked in an to a degree (his only weakness the national language of the loquially as sparrows because They were obsessed with auspi- utterly Tamil Brahman organi- in the wine, women and song north was evidently created by of the short flights they took at ciousness. Whether it was time sation, group of pub- trio is the last named), could a rabid dry. The first column enormous risk, invariably re- – rahukalam and yamagandam – lications. I realised then that not care less either way but he asked the applicant to fill in turned with goodies that did or food – no tubers, etc. – or oil being a Tamil Brahman was se- does have a kind heart and ‘The Alcoholic’s Name’ and you good. And given that those baths and castor oil, the Tam- would like to point out to the the second one ‘Name of were days when electronic sur- rious business. It certainly was brams are a class apart. lobby that demands the ban on Father of Alcoholic’. These veillance devices had not yet not like the funny serials writ- The authors ably demon- ten about them in The Times of strate the emergence of a bunch in the early 1990s. That India of professionals who have done series had popularised the term very well for themselves. Their Tambram, much to the anguish SHORT ’N’ SNAPPY recent history is that, for a hun- of my aged relatives. dred years from the 1870s, they That aside, had Fuller and took to liberal arts education brandy, the whisking away of terms alone, it was said, turned made their entry, it was easy to Haripriya not written this book, and law, thus becoming promi- whisky and abolition of arrack several hopefuls permanently slip in a cask or two. Capture I would probably have at- nent in the fields of education that without these essential away from the bottle. As they invariably meant the caging of tempted one on the subject. It and governance. Then, when commodities, our State may say, the pen is mightier than the sparrow for a temporary is, after all, a low-hanging and the Dravidian movement began come to a complete halt. For, the sword. period but then there were al- fascinating fruit. But they have just as Napoleon (or was it ways plenty of others. As to the to shove them aside in Tamil spared me the labour and pro- Wellington?) said that an army commodity they brought in, Nadu, they took to engineering Dry tales duced a very scholarly study marches on its stomach, our these were immediately confis- and medicine, though less to which shows not only Tam- State and our City operate well he possibility of Prohibi- cated and were supposed to be the latter because of ritual pu- tion also brings to the brams their place, but also the only when considerably lubri- T destroyed. But if that did hap- rity reasons. cated. mind of The Man from Madras pen, those manning air and world the place that Tambrams When in the 1990s the rest Take for instance that mega Musings the several interesting seaports would not have been now occupy in Indian society: of India pushed on with affirma- festival that happens once happenings that took place in demand, would they? down from high-caste oppres- tive action for the lower castes, every five years – the general when our State was last dry. Foreigners were exempt sors to middle-class survivors in That was during the time the they found themselves being election. How can this be a from such laws. And they too a hostile environment in their Old Monk had a lot of influ- edged out of both educational spirited affair without the found their popularity skyrock- own State. distribution of spirits? In the ence – and by that MMM eting overnight. Given that we opportunities as well as govern- The authors say the Tam- absence of this perquisite, the alludes to the venerable old were just emerging from our ment jobs in India. So they went bram population of Tamil Nadu cadre will be dispirited and sage (if you believed Kalki post-independence xenopho- big on the private sector. Many magazine) and wily old fox (if has declined hugely from 2.4 per newspapers cannot claim that bia, this was surprising. But went off to the US and have you trusted the Dravidian par- cent in 1931 to just about 1.8 the campaign ended on a high then alcohol, like the politics done well there. Living outside note. In short, the zigzag path ties). It was during his tenure that is currently driving the de- per cent now. A quarter of them their natural habitat, they have to the hustings will be filled that State-wide Prohibition mand for prohibition, makes live outside Tamil Nadu. started marrying outside their with hiccups. first came into effect and then strange bedfellows. This is not a book for the fold too. The only option would then it remained in force off and on frivolous reader looking for a till the early 1970s when the In consequence, old edifices be to brew the stuff illegally. Tailpiece quickie on a flight. It is a seri- MMM has no personal experi- very Dravidian party that Old are crumbling. There used to be ence but he is informed by Monk helped bring to power nd while on the subject of a time when a Vadagalai Iyen- those that are in the know that and which had by then elevated AProhibition, what do you gar would not marry a Tenkalai the formula for these home- him to the status of Teacher think of the picture reproduced Iyengar and vice versa. That remedies is taken directly from and gave him a Royal Salute, below? The person who sent it line was breached in the 1950s. the three witches in Shakes- decided to wet the state with a to The Man from Madras August 19-23: Onam festival Next, the Iyers and Iyengars peare’s Macbeth (fillet of a vengeance. The Old Monk (11.30 am, 12.30 pm, 3.30 pm & started marrying each other, fenny snake, fingers of a took it up as a Royal Chal- 4.30 pm at DakshinaChitra) which was a clear watershed. strangled babe, etc.) and the lenge but he was told to Paithrikakalakalari, Kozhen- Now everyone else has become end-result is invariably double drown his sorrows in a butt of malmsey, as Shakes- cherry, Kerala, performs Pada- fair game. So, as endangered so- double toil and trouble. The yani – a ceremonial dance in- potion gives such a kick to peare would have said. The volving masks. The performance cial groups go, Tamil Brahmans those that imbibe it that they venerable sage retired in will include Pulanirtham and lead the way. permanently move to a higher high dudgeon thereafter, Marutha Kolam. The unique The book, however, fails to abode. his spirit corked and was Padayani Kolam, Pulanirtham is bring out adequately the Another option would be to ever bitter thereafter. an offering by the farmers to ex- gradual disappearance of a com- take a tip from the wildebeest It was, however, when press their gratitude to the God- munity that was always a curi- of Africa that migrate in large Prohibition was in force dess for paddy production while osity. The end for the Tambram numbers in search of watering that it was noted that Marutha Kolam is performed to is in sight, but the book doesn’t holes. In this Madras that is busloads of seemingly enor- Musings says that it is on the mously pregnant women were banks of the Cooum but MMM keep away epidemics and in say so. Give it another 50 years Chennai is singularly blessed for it has well endowed neigh- coming in from neighbouring la has his doubts. In the mean- honour of mother Goddess of the and, as the Agatha Christie village, Marutha. As part of the bours on both sides – the Francaise towne to our city. while – cheersh as they say in festival there will be demonstra- novel says, there will be none. French town that has preten- Closer inspection revealed that Madras. tions on the making (and sale) of (Courtesy: Rotary News) tions of being a State, and the the ladies were all of an ad- – MMM terracotta and bamboo jewellery. – T.C.A. Srinivasa Raghavan August 16-31, 2015 MADRAS MUSINGS 3 The City’s Our Readers Write second widows’ home he first shelter for destitute She registered Avvai Home un- Twomen in Madras was a der the Society’s Registration home for Brahmin widows Act. Her sister C.N. Nalla- started by Sister Subbalakshmi. muthu, a lecturer in Queen There was also in the city a Mary’s College (later its Princi- hostel for non-Brahmin women pal), was made the Warden and an orphanage for girls run with a mandate to set up the by Christian missionaries. home. Dr. Muthulakshmi rent- On an evening in June 1930, ed a house (No. 1, Kutchery three young girls from Namak- Road, Mylapore) where the girls kal turned up in Dr. Muthu- could be housed. But soon lakshmi Reddy’s house seeking something bigger was necessary. shelter as they had nowhere to Dr. Muthulakshmi started look- go and their relatives would not ing for vacant land to build a help them either. They be- new home. longed to the Devadasi commu- Adjacent to the Theosophi- nity and had refused dedication, cal Society, on its west, there whereupon they had to leave was a vacant site that belonged their home. At the time, to the Tiruvannamalai Sri Aru- Dr. Muthulakshmi was living nachaleswarar Devasthanam. in . As she thought it The Devasthanam, when ap- was the right thing to do, she proached, agreed to help her sent them to the non-Brahmin with the land, but the rules did women’s hostel, known to her not permit sale of land gifted to Sitting: left to right: S. Krishnan, R. Santhanakrishnan, V. Prabhakar, R. Srinivasan (Capt.), M. Ekambaram as she was its medical officer. a temple. Therefore, a lease was (Vice-Captain), T. Bhaskar and P.M. Venkatraman. Standing left to right: K.V. Ranganathan, N. Narayanaswamy, She thought the girls would be agreed upon at an unbelievably M. Sundaram, D. Sadagopan, T.V. Girish, K.V. Ramanan and R. Jayaram. welcomed there. On the con- low cost: For a period of 50 The beginnings trary, the warden of the hostel years, 50 grounds at Rs. 10 a students in 1947 and it was helped to join the n the article (MM, August 1st) V. Ram- not only refused admission to month! She also took another league by R. Srinivasan, who was with K.S. 27 grounds for her use at a sli- I narayan has stated that Jolly Rovers was Ranga Rao, the then Secretary of Madras them but also ill-treated the started by K. Balakrishna Rao. It was started Cricket Association. girls because of their back- ghtly higher rate for 50 years. The lease included a clause by during 1947-48 (as informed to Madras Musings “The name ‘Jolly Rovers Cricket Club’ was ground. Traumatised, they in writing a couple of years ago) by my father, which it could be renewed after suggested by K.K. Shanmuganathan who was returned to Dr. Muthulakshmi. late M. Ekambaram and some of his friends. one amongst us and the name was finalised. 50 years for a further period of The photo which appears above was taken Seeing their plight, Muthu- Shanmuganathan could not play for Jolly Rov- 50 years. during 1947-48. R. Jayaram is the surviving ers Cricket Club as he was successful in the All lakshmi and her husband Construction started in 1934 member of the club today. He resides in India Forest Services exams and had to leave Dr. Sundar Reddy took the with artisans supervised by the Chennai. Madras for the officers’ training. girls in. But this made Muthu- contractor himself, a patient of E. Krishnan “The students had no sponsors to run the lakshmi want to do something hers. By the end of 1936, the [email protected] club and it was run with the pocket money of on a more permanent basis. It girls were able to move into the the students who started it. was then that she decided to orphanage. FOOTNOTE: What he had earlier written “The club won the III Division ‘B’ Zone start a home for the destitute as Of the three girls who took to MM stated the following: Championship in the very first year of entering they needed not only protection asylum in Dr. Muthulakshmi’s “The club was started by a group of college the league.” but also a future. As, slowly but house and later shifted to Avvai As you walk into a sprawling she made arrangements with Home School were trained in steadily, more girls trickled in Home, one became a doctor, area of lush green, Avvai Home the Olcott Memorial School this Institute and one such from near Namakkal and Sa- another a nurse and the third a premises, through a not very and Besant Theosophical person became the headmis- lem, a bigger place was required. school teacher! impressive gate that belies the School (now The School, KFI) tress of Avvai Home’s primary space within, you feel as though to educate the girls. school. you are travelling back in a Dr. Muthulakshmi stated The next step was a high Time Machine. Dr. Muthu- often enough that her aim in school and, with a handsome lakshmi lived there. A dilapi- founding the Home was to donation from Mrs. Nalla- dated old house to the far left provide orphan girls a safe place muthu, this became a reality was once her home. On the to live in, and education and, and, in 1969, as a natural right is a temple to Goddess later, a training leading to a progression the school was Saraswathi. When the campus worthy profession in life. Then, upgraded as a higher secondary was developed in 1936, next to ideally, the Home would assist school in 1978. the Theosophical Society, there them in getting married to suit- The school owes its growth were hardly any buildings in the able persons. With such aims, to the untiring efforts of Man- vicinity. the number of people wishing to dakini Krishnamurthi, daugh- The Home shifted to the seek a roof in the Home only ter-in-law of Dr. Muthulak- present premises, where many kept increasing. shmi. girls were brought in by their The need to have its own Mandakini Krishnamurthi, a widowed mothers who could school was acutely felt and an member of the Madras Legisla- not support them and where elementary school was started tive Council from 1977 to 1983, women and girl children dis- in 1950 within the Avvai Home was born in Madhya Pradesh carded by society for various premises. Then, in 1952, a (nee Mandakini Dattatreya social reasons took refuge. teachers’ training institute was Deshpande) and migrated to C.N. Nallamuthu, a sister of established. The Teachers’ Tamil Nadu where she married Dr. Muthulakshmi, was the first Training Institute (TTI) had to S. Krishnamurthi, son of Dr. warden of the Home. When the close in June 2011 when it was Muthulaksmi, in 1945. On the home was in Kutcheri Road in found that it did not meet the passing away of her mother-in- ● This historic picture goes back to the start of the first widows’ home in Madras. Mylapore, Dr. Muthulakshmi, infrastructure norms specified law in 1965, she took charge of Sister Subbalakshmi started the Ice House widows’ home, Sarada Illam, for with the help of one Sesha by the National Council for the Home, its orphanage and Brahmin widows. In this picture are seen its first three child widow graduates Iyengar, got the girls admitted Teachers’ Education, Research associated institutions and built from Queen Mary’s College, now celebrating its centenary. Ammukutty, Lakshmi and Parvathy (from left to right) – all came from Sarada Illam – in the National Girls’ High and Training (NCTERT) them up to the present stature. joined QMC in 1917. Ammukutty and Parvathy took up teaching jobs in School. She was very particular though almost all who passed She passed away in 1980 – Coimbatore and Salem. Lakshmi Ammal taught in QMC. Not long afterwards that her girls should get quality out till its closure have done (Courtesy: Adyar Times). Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy started the second widows’ home in the city for education. well for themselves. Many non-Brahmin widows, Avvai Home, the subject of this feature. At the new Home in Adyar, teachers appointed in the Avvai – K.R.A. Narasiah 4 MADRAS MUSINGS August 16-31, 2015 Trying to cope with hostel food

n the summer of 1946 I joined ing of being an ‘outsider’. I also order and cleanlines were very Ithe liberal arts and humani- missed the comfort of familiar low priorities for them. One of ties department of one of the home-cooked food. the resident staff did try to im- country’s premier women’s in- Queen Mary’s College had prove matters, but the numbers stitutions for graduate studies, an excellent reputation for aca- were so large that it was a no- the Queen Mary’s College in demics, but the hostel food was win situation. Madras. indifferent in quality and the The weekday lunch and din- I took the train from Poona atmosphere of the dining room ner in the vegetarian mess was to Madras Central Station, uninviting. There were two di- ill-planned. On most days, it where my mother’s cousin met visions in the hostel mess: the was potatoes in one form or an- Capper House, where Queen Mary’s College had its beginning. me in the early hours of the crowded, noisy ‘vegetarian other. Green vegetables were a morning, gave me an early mess’ and the orderly ‘non-veg- rarity. take on the extra work involved rooms. The tutors were breakfast and put me in a cycle etarian dining room’. A veg- After the third week of the in the membership. In fact, I responsible for the good beha- rickshaw, handing me a sheet of etarian by upbringing, I pre- first term, in my first year in col- enjoyed going to Kotwal viour and academic perfor- paper with handwritten direc- ferred to join the vegetarian lege, Krishnan Nair, an avuncu- Chowadi market, the wholesale mance of their wards. They tions to the college. The two mess. Soon I realised that more lar man in his forties and the vegetable and fruit market, with assumed the role of surrogate black trunks containing my per- than two-thirds of the hostel head cook in the vegetarian Krishnan Nair once a week, parents. My tutor, Mrs. Manda- sonal belongings were loaded on inmates had joined the vegetar- mess, noticing that I ate very wandering among the moun- kini Bai, was the chairperson of to another rickshaw, and I left ian mess even though many pre- little, came up to me and ad- tains of vegetable sacks and the Hindi department. She was for my college and new ‘home’, ferred non-vegetarian food. vised me on the importance of fruit baskets. I introduced more benignly firm and helpful. She the college hostel, with trepida- They had their reasons. eating well – he meant more – vegetables into the menu and was fond of me, maybe because tion. Many in the hostel referred in order to be able to study. I started eating better. I also in- of my fluency in speaking Hindi Soon, I was at the imposing to the food served in the non- told him I did not like the food troduced a more substantial and, unsuccessful though, had gates of the college on Beach vegetarian dining room as ‘En- served for lunch and dinner and evening tiffin, of appam with tried to get me to transfer to Road, overlooking the sandy glish food’, which translates to that I preferred the breakfast kurma and poori, and with po- Hindi from French. Marina with the fishermen’s menu. I still remember the tato curry instead of the two bis- I was allotted a room on the boats setting out for the day to- weekly breakfast menu – idlis, cuits or two bajjis that the then first floor in Stone House Block wards the brilliant sun. The Bay with coconut chutney and existing menu provided. The – a room for two – and my first of Bengal was shimmering calm sambar, dosai with potato curry result was an increase in the room-mate was Juliet. I found, that morning. Little did I know and chutney, uthappam, rava mess bill, which made me un- when I entered my room with that with the onset of the tor- dosai with coconut chutney, popular with some of the stu- two trunks and a hold-all, she rential monsoons, the stormy semolina upma, wheat polenta, dents who protested, threaten- had already unpacked and wait- waves would drive the sea into appam with vegetable kurma ing to stage a one-day hunger ing to see who would share her the college campus. stew, and poori with potato strike. It was a delicate balanc- room. I remember her as being I liked what I saw when I curry. My favourite breakfast ing act for me between good short in stature, just about five entered the gates. A canopy of was the spongy, frilly edged food and capping the mess bill feet tall, with a tanned com- rain tree branches spread across appam that came with the at the end of the month. Fortu- plexion, curly-haired and stock- the driveway and a well-laid- creamy mixed vegetable kurma, nately, this was sorted out with- ily built. I was very impressed out rose garden on the lower out compromising on the qual- that she could lift my trunks terrace of the campus was in ity of the food, and I was re- without much effort. G As Queen Mary’s College celebrates its Centenary, we bloom. elected to the student member- As we got talking, I learnt came across this recollection of the College and its hostel * * * ship for the next few years of my that her parents lived in food in the 1940s. This is in a memoir titled Tiffin* (a recol- On arrival, every student stay in the College. Tanjore, which was another lection of her life as well of recipes of the tiffin items she had a brief interview with Miss * * * reason to bond with her. Juliet had enjoyed) by RUKMINI SRINIVAS. These excerpts are Myers, the principal (and hostel Once I had settled down in and I shared a room for the first published with her permission. warden, of the college. I was my college, I started bonding year after we joined college in nervous about the interview but with the nine other girls in the the intermediate class. Over the Miss Myers allayed my fears. omelette and toast for breakfast with the vegetables disintegrat- large dormitory. I learned that first couple of weeks, we became She was the spitting image of instead of idli and dosai. They ing in a thick, spicy, coconut all, except one, came from small good friends, and though the Miss Levy, my English teacher were also uncomfortable with milk sauce, and pooris with a towns near Madras. Sushma hostel room was small and whom I adored at the Christ the formality of the dining room potato curry. Krishnan Nair Kutty, from Trissur in Kerala, cramped with two chests of Church School in Jubbulpore. and the conversation was treated me to one more appam and I were the only two from drawers, two writing desks with She asked me a couple of ques- mostly conducted in English. and two more pooris than was outside . straight-backed chairs, and two tions about my parents and my They decided they were not go- my share. None of them had heard of beds against each wall, and family, and wished me well in ing to pay for the tables with I would eat heartily at break- Poona. hardly any room to move, each my studies and for my stay in table cloths, vases with flowers fast and deliberately miss lunch. Four of the girls, in ankle- one of us had managed a space the hostel. and uniformed bearers. I found no variation or variety length skirts (pavadai in Tamil), of our own. Juliet was very ad- I was South Indian and In comparison, the appea- in the menu for lunch and din- and a short blouse with melakku, justing and, as I realised soon, Tamilian, and Madras should rance and atmosphere of the ner. The staple was boiled rice a length of material wrapped caring too. When my younger have been ‘home’ to me, but it large rectangular vegetarian with one dry vegetable curry, over the upper part of the body, sister Sarasa also joined Queen was not. I generally found dining hall was chaotic and sambar with a few vegetables, looked in their early teens to Mary’s College in 1947, Juliet people, including many of my unappeatising. Six long rectan- rasam, buttermilk and, on some me. The other five looked older helpfully moved to another classmates in college, conserva- gular wooden tables were ar- days, appalam. Dessert was and were dressed in sarees. room in the same block and on tive and caste conscious. ranged parallel to each other served on Sundays and festival They all looked disapprovingly the same floor, and we contin- Poona, by comparison, was cool and students sat on wooden days – fruit salad and ice cream at my clothes, a knee-high ued to be friends. She left and liberal. Women had more benches. The dining hall could on Sundays and payasam on fes- pleated maroon dress, and two Queen Mary’s College at the freedom in Poona, where girls seat only about forty students at tivals. After the eclectic fare in of them even asked, ‘Are you end of the second year when she and women rode bicycles to a time, and there were several my parents’ home, I found the Christian?’ joined the Vellore Medical Col- school and work. Though I had batches at every meal. There hostel menu boring and the A couple of days later, I lege and, sadly, thereafter I lost brought my bike with me, I was an unwritten hierarchy food poorly cooked. shifted to wearing a saree, all contact with her. I contin- rarely felt comfortable riding it among the students – our In my second year in college, which helped me blend with the ued to stay in the students’ hos- in Madras. To add to the feel- seniors dined before us. The Krishnan Nair suggested that I student community in the col- tel for the next three years till I first two batches of students volunteer as a member of the lege. completed the Bachelor of Arts dined at cleaner tables and the vegetarian mess committee so Ten days later at a hostel (Honours) programme in * Tiffin by Rukmini Srinivas food was hot. The Malayali that I could have some clout in meeting, all the new entrants to Geography. (Rupa Publications India Pvt. cooks and servers looked ex- suggesting changes in the the intermediate. BA and BSc Ltd., 2015) hausted and overworked; thus, menu. I was not reluctant to courses were allotted tutors and (To be concluded) August 16-31, 2015 MADRAS MUSINGS 5 Madras Week ’15 August 16 to August 23

Updated till August 12th

Till August 21 G Exhibition: History through Invitation – RMRL from the collection of Sayeed Cassim 10 am-5 pm daily family. Organised by the Roja Muthiah except Sunday Research Library (RMRL). and what needs to be done to stop this Till August 23 disaster from spreading further. This will G Exhibition: A photographic exhibition Crowne Plaza be followed by a panel discussion on on 60 years of Australian cricket history Adyar Park lobby our beaches, featuring eminent in the city. The Australian Consulate- personalities all connected with Chennai. General presents a photographic exhibition which chronicles memorable August 19-24 and historic moments from the ten Test G Exhibition: Photographs selected from City Centre matches and four one-day internationals that submissions to the Madras Photographic Australia has played in Madras Society Contest.

Till August 24 August 20 G G A special Burra Hazri breakfast will be Vivanta by Taj Illustrated Lecture: Photography on Glass PII available at the Vivanta by Taj at Connemara – When photography came to Madras. 4.30-6.00 pm Connemara to start its 125th year 9-11 am Narrated by S. Muthiah, projected by celebrations.The sumptuous, priced D. Krishnan. Organised by the Press breakfast brings to the table dishes from Institute of India the menus out of the hotel’s fabled past. G Talk: The Journalist who became a RMRL A special High Tea is also being offered Consumer Activist: Recalling R. Desikan, 5.00-6.30 pm in the afternoons throughout the Week. by R.V. Rajan. Organised by Roja Muthiah Research Library Till August 31 G Talk: Chennai Heritage Lecture: Singing The Park Hyatt Exhibition: Display of books, old and Madras Club in Chennai – Sanjay Subrahmanyan 6-8 pm new, on Madras. Library in conversation with Sriram V. For members and guests only. G Quiz: An inter-school quiz competition Preliminaries: for students from Classes IX to XII on 1.30-4.00 pm Places of worship and religious Finals: 4 pm August 19 monuments in Madras to highlight the rich G Visit: Visit to Heritage Centre, IIT Madras IIT Madras culture of the city. Quizmaster: S. Ram. For details: Suresh: 9940421073 8.30 am-10.00 am Each team to comprise three participants; and a school can send more than one G Panel Discussion: IIT Madras: The IC & SR Auditorium team. Organised by Thejus, T.Nagar. Chennai Links and their Evolution. IIT Madras Panel Members: S. Muthiah and 3-4 pm For details, call 2815 6370 / 94440 00060 K.R. Narasiah. Moderator: Prof. Ajit Kolar, G Knowledge Hunt: Visit British Council to For details: IIT Madras. For details: Suresh: 9940421073 explore knowledge by taking part in a 1800-102-4353 G Illustrated Lecture: From Swadesamitran PII Knowledge Hunt. For information to Dina Thanthi – The remarkable 4.30-6.00 pm contact British Council at journey of Tamil newspapers and journals. [email protected] A presentation by K.R.A. Narasiah. Organised by Press Institute of India. August 21-22 G Madras quotient: Visit British Council and For details: G Nature Walk: IIT Madras. IIT Madras participate in a trivia quiz 1800-102-4353 For details: Suresh: 9940421073 5.30-6.30 pm For information contact British Council at G Talk: Chennai Heritage Lecture: GRT [email protected] Dr. Uma Ram and Dr. Sharada Srinivas – 6-8 pm Being Women & Women Doctors in Chennai August 21-31 G Exhibition: Rare and known photographs Vennirul Art Gallery, G Film: Alliance Française of Madras, Edouard Michelin and paintings of Madras. C.P. Art Centre INTACH and PondyCAN screen a Auditorium, Alliance Inauguration: documentary: India’s Disappearing Française of August 21, 5.00 pm Beaches – A Wake Up Call. A film Madras, 6.30 pm produced by Shekar Dattatri for Pondy August 21 G Citizens’ Action Network (PondyCAN). Illustrated Lecture : Media and PII In just 15 minutes you discover why India’s Advertising in Chennai – A fascinating 4.30-6.00 pm beaches are eroding at an alarming rate, history. A presentation by R.V. Rajan. Organised by Press Institute of India.

NOTE: G Open to all, but terms apply. Limited seating at all venues on first-come, first-served basis. * All Chennai Heritage walks require booking and payment in advance. Please make your bookings through email ([email protected]) and you will be informed on where to make the payment and get further details.

Check www.themadrasday.in and Madras Week App Promotion and Publicity: for up-to-date programmes. PRISM Public Relations. 6 MADRAS MUSINGS August 16-31, 2015

G Talk: Chennai Heritage Lecture: Chamiers, 6-8 pm Walk: A tour of two temples in 7am-8am Emergency in Madras, R. Swaminathan built by Dubash Adiappa Narayan.You will Walk led by and S. Murari. see fascinating relics from the 18th Pradeep G Talk: Humour in Madras by Major V.V. Nahar Hall, Century and relish temple food from the Chakravarthy Narayanan followed by a hilarious White’s Road 21st Century! Dress code: Men - preferably veshti/dhoti with a session with Swami Siripananda. shirt/t-shirt. Trousers are OK. Women: Sarees/Salwars. Organised by Transactional Analysis 6.30-8.30 pm Either way no shorts please! G Madras Week Celebrations at Phoenix Market City G Seminar: On Architecture in Colonial C.P. Ramaswami Phoenix Market City Mall. Stand up For details contact: Madras with the following speakers: Aiyar comedy show by Evam followed by a 044 30083389 Inaugural address by S. Muthiah, Foundation fashion show, choreographed by Sunil Menon followed by Dr. Nanditha Krishna: 10 am-1 pm The New Architecture of Colonial Madras; August 22-23 Sriram V.: Architects and Contractors in G Film: Madras-based Artists. DakshinaChitra Colonial Madras; Dr. Razia Tony: DakshinaChitra will also showcase 11 am-1pm onwards Churches of Colonial Madras; Dr. photographs of old Madras and 3 pm-5 pm. Chithra Madhavan: Temples of Colonial G Exhibition: Display of photos of the great Luz House, Madras; and S. Anwar: Mosques of cricketing family of Buchi Babu. Mylapore Colonial Madras G G Exhibition: Twin Art Show: The event will PINE Banquet Hall Quiz: The Murugappa Madras Quotient St. Bede’s showcase the works of two special Quiz 2015. Quizmaster: Dr. Navin Auditorium persons: artist Narasimhalu, who is (Inauguration: Jayakumar. San Thomé. suffering from Cerebral Palsy, a gifted 6.30 pm, 1 pm onwards. person adept at embroidery and painting August 21, G Quiz: Quiz on Madras. For Tamil medium P.S. School with his foot. The other artist is by invitation only) schools. No registration required. Campus Hall. R. Udhaykumar, who has Spinal Muscular Organised by Mylapore Times. 1.30 pm onwards. Atrophy and whose right thumb and Teams of 2 index finger are all that moves in his G whole body. Using them, he paints. Workshop: Terracotta tile making and DakshinaChitra Organised by HeART BEAT Foundation, designing for adults. The participants will 10 am-5 pm Gallery Sri Parvathi and Nina Reddy of Savera Hotel. learn the process of making terracotta tile and the making of traditional design August 22-September 5 on the tiles. For details: 98412 66149 G Exhibition: Madras – A Reflection. An Forum Art Gallery Walk: Chennai Heritage Walk: Textile 2.30-4.30 pm exhibition of watercolour paintings of 10.30 am-6.30 pm tour of T. Nagar. Starts at Co-optex, 2.30 pm assemble Madras by S. Potrarasan. Monday to Saturday Theagorayanagar where T.N. Venkatesh, IAS Co-optex, (Inauguration: will flag-off the walk and will conclude Theagoraya 11.30 am, Aug. 22) at Nalli’s. It will be led by Sreemathy Nagar August 22 Mohan. Rs. 350 per head G Photowalk for kids: Bylanes off Starting Point: To register send Bhageerathaís place. Walk and click Vasanth & Co, email to editor@ from the High Road Purasawalkam High madrasmusings.com to the once quiet bylane, Vellala Street. Road, Opp. BSNL G Food Trail: Visits to some North Indian Starts at 4.30 pm Get to know the history of the street Reporting Time: snack outlets in and around Mint Street ends at 6.00 pm where famous personalities like 6.45 a.m. to give you a taste of the rich food Start point: Kakada R.K. Narayan, R.K. Laxman, writers 1 hour in this part of our city. Sweets (Near Jain ‘Marina’ and SaVi lived. Visit the 2000 year Prema: 24986651. No registration charges. Temple), old Gangadeeswarar & Pankajakshi temple, the Srinivasa Perumal temple and the G Talk: Chennai Heritage Lecture: Amethyst Bhajanai Koil. Walk led by Ramaswamy N The River in the City – D.H. Rao speaks 6-8 pm of The Chennai Photowalk. Organised by on the YOCee. Contact Revathi: 9840544629 G Illustrated lecture: Dabba Chetty Kadai Gallery Sri Parvati by Badri. Organised by Kalpakalakshmi 6.30 p.m. G Heritage cum Flora Walk inside the QMC Starts at 7.15 a.m. Charitable Trust. campus. Heritage Walk led by Dr. Uttra Assemble in front Prabhu and V. Vasantha (both Alumnae) of Kalai Maligai G An opportunity for 8-15 year old budding For details: and the Flora Walk by A. Thilagavathy, facing Marina. journalists to explore their interviewing 1800-102-4353 Asst. Prof. of Botany QMC. Dr. Uttra skills. Register with British Council and 6.30-7.30 pm Prabhu 9840447830, V.Vasantha 9940140302, win a chance to interview cricketer A. Thilagavathy 9486888849 Krishnamachari Srikkanth and Nikhil Whitaker, curator of the Madras Crocodile G Heritage Walk: 3rd Annual Trace Origin Trip fee: Rs. 940 Bank about their memories and views about Madras. For of Madras to Pazhaverkadu (). Inclusive of AC bus information [email protected] 6.10 am: Starts Loyola College ICAM gate transport, breakfast, 8.30 am: Breakfast and A/V Presentation lunch, snacks, Talk: Sriram V on Street Names of Madras Club 9.00 am: Heritage Walk coffee and water. Chennai. Followed by a special Madras 7 pm 12.30 pm: Lunch and depart for Chennai. For details: Day dinner. For members and their 42139961 guests only. www.aarde.in [email protected] Talk: Madras – Past, Present and Future Rotary Club G Heritage Walk: Chennai Heritage Walk: 6-8 am by Sujatha Shankar. For members and of Madras The Islamic Heritage of Rs 500 per head their guests only. Southwest. led by S. Anwar. Walk ends with To register send G Dance: Madras Week Celebrations at Phoenix Market City breakfast. email to editor@ Phoenix Market City Mall. Dance For details contact: madrasmusings.com performance by Padmashree Shobhana 044 30083389

G Heritage Walk: Fort St George. Assemble Starts at 6.45 am August 23 at parking lot opp. Fort's main gate. No 2 hours G registration required. Walk led by Vincent Nature Walk: Bird Walk at Reporting time D' Souza. Free. No registration required. Tank. Organised by Madras Naturalists’ 6.30 am Society. Reporting Place: Bus Stand opp Group Size: 25 August 16-31, 2015 MADRAS MUSINGS 7

IT Park near Toll Plaza in Perumbakkam. August 25 Please bring along Binoculars & Cameras. Talk: Ram Ramakrishnan, entrepreneur, Hotel Savera Please email Vijay at [email protected] will pay tribute to the undying music of 6.30 pm to confirm your participation. Confirmation M.S. Viswanathan. Organised by the strictly on first-come basis. Rotary Club of Madras South. For members & guests only. G Heritage Walk: From Ireland to Madras 6.45 am shores – Story of the first 2 hours August 29 Presentation nuns of BVM. Starting Open to all. No G Talk and Walk: The City and its Cinema. Starting Point: point: VOC statue, outside Madras Port, registration reqd. An introduction to the fascinating history of Entrance gate of opp. Customs House, Rajaji Salai, George cinema in Chennai followed by a walk L.V. Prasad Town. Walk through George Town, ends through Prasad Studios and Prasad Labs. Academy, at St. Mary’s Cathedral, Armenian Street. The walk will offer a unique opportunity . Led by Vincent de Souza to see what an actual studio floor looks like. 9:30 am-12 noon The walk will be led by Venkatesh Chakravarthy, Regional Heritage Walk: Chennai Heritage Walk: 7-9 am Director of L.V. Prasad Film & TV Academy. Free Fort St. George. Led by Sriram V. Rs 350 per head For registration: [email protected] To register send email to editor@ madrasmusings.com August 30 G Quiz: The Madras Open Quiz Details at G Walking Tour: The 8th Annual Living 7.30 am Meet at organised by the Murugappa Group www.murugappa.com Statues of . Brief dramatic the Kannagi Statue, in association with the Quiz Foundation enactments of the stories of six historical Marina Beach of India. Quizmaster: Dr. Sumanth C figures (Kannagi, NSC Bose, Thiruvalluvar, (Bharathi Salai). Raman.Open to all quizzing enthusiasts GU Pope, Bharathidasan, and Avvaiyar) in and around Madras. Exciting prizes in Tamil and English. for the winning teams Please contact the World Storytelling Institute if you might like to perform one or more of the figures, or read aloud August 31 anything written by them. Organised by World Storytelling Talk: Meet Supdt. Christian Le Fanu, IPS, Vivanta by Taj Institute.For details: 98403 94282 or www.storytellinginstitute.org Madras Police. S. Muthiah speaks of the Connemara exploits of a new detective hero, one 6.30 pm based in Madras. Organised by Madras G Tree Walk: NIZHAL’s Landmark Tree My Ladye’s Book Club. For members and guests only. Series of Tree Walks. Vriksha Paryatan – Garden, . A tree walk (commentary in Hindi). 4.30 pm September 1 Admire the rare Asoka and other heritage For registration Talk: The American Contribution to Madras. TAG Centre trees. Meeting point: The gate on 9791029568 / A talk by S. Muthiah. Organised by Rotary 6.30 pm Sydenham’s Road. 8870005455 / Club of Madras South with seven other 9840604912 Rotary Clubs participating. Members G Dance: Dancing in the Parlour. An 6.15 p.m. and guests only. evening of Madras Presidency’s Sadir, Luz House Music, History and Storytelling. Mylapore September 2 With Sundari, Ranganayaki, Sivaramaiyya, G Reading: Readings on Madras by Chamiers, 6.30 pm Pilli Narasimha Rao Naidu and others. Madras Players Concept and performance: * * * Dr. Swarnamalya Ganesh and Ranga Mandira ensemble Contests Contact: Ranga Mandira: 9840424703 G The Madras Song was launched by the The video along Murugappa Group last year as a music with the lyrics of G Talk: The Madras Mag and Luz House Luz House, video and went viral with over 3 lakh the song, rules invite you to an evening of conversations Mylapore views on YouTube . This year they are of the contest, with writers/translators Padma Narayanan 4.45 pm asking people to come up with their ways to submit etc and Kalyan Raman, on transporting own versions of the song. It could be are all available on the nuances of Tamil words to an in any genre of music, sung solo or www.murugappamadras English-speaking world. performed as a band. song.com G Talk: Chennai Heritage Lecture: Westin, Both audio and video entries are welcome. Chandu Nair chats with three tech 6-8 pm The bumper prize is Rs1 lakh. A whole host of other prizes for: professionals who have created Metro Voice with an edge award from CUMI Abrasives Utility Apps. (Note: This replaces Dr. Chitra Madhavan’s talk announced earlier.) The voice that will go places award from Parry Travels The Super Band Award from TI Cycles G Illustrated lecture: Bleeding Madras Gallery Sri Parvati (Mystery textile) by Sabitha Radhakrishna. 6.30 p.m. The Voice Worth Insuring award from Chola MS General Organised by Kalpakalakshmi Insurance Charitable Trust. The most refreshing cover version award from Parry’s ‘Fresh Tea’ G Interaction: Third Chennai Authors’ and Odyssey, Adyar The sweetest voice award from Parry’s Sugar Publishers’ get-together to meet and 6.30-8.00 pm * * * chat with readers G Contest: INTACH-Chennai Photo contest For details: G Vocal: Madras Week Celebrations at Phoenix Market City for college students. Identify heritage youngintachchennai@ Phoenix Market City Mall. Vocal For details contact: structures other than listed structures gmail.com performance by Sudha Raghunathan 044 30083389 for your pictures. * * * August 24 August 20 Play: Madras nalla Madras: A street play At British Council Contest: Baking MADras – The baking contest with a Twist performance led by Arun Krishnamurthy 5.30 pm organised by The Murugappa Group in association with the Old (Environmentalist Foundation of India) Madras Baking Company and Hospitality partner: Raintree Anna on the topic Madras nalla Madras. Followed Salai. The event will consist of three rounds – the last of which by interaction between the British Council’s will be a live cook off Cash prize of Rs.60,000, gift hampers and Regional Director, South Asia, Stephan Roman, vouchers to be won. Last date to participate – 20th August S. Muthiah, Chronicler of Madras, and 2015. For details: Log on to the official Murugappa Facebook Krishnamurthy on the heritage and culture of Madras. Page at www.facebook.com/murugappagroup * * * 8 MADRAS MUSINGS August 16-31, 2015

August 24 Young INTACH-Chennai suggests... G Contest: Competition on Folk DakshinaChitra Performance for Chennai college students. No participation fee G Film: Screen 50-minute film by S. Muthiah Colleges can send groups of six to ten For details: (given free to schools by INTACH till August 22nd and Rs.150 a students. The theme would revolve around 98412 66149 copy thereafter) during Madras Week for students in the Middle traditional folk performances. The best three and High School. folk performing teams will be given prizes and certificates. (SCHOOLS: please contact [email protected]) * * * G Design: Design a Flag and carry it along with placards on Madras Day in a walk inside your school premises August 25 during breaks and outside school. Stop at points and talk to Competition: Identify... a competition C.P. Arts Centre people about Madras Day’s significance. Please send us the for children based on buildings, builders route decided by your school. (Middle and Higher) and architectural styles. For details: [email protected] G During Madras Week many exhibitions and talks are being * * * conducted in the city. Organise a trip to an exhibition and Other Programmes have the children write about it. (Middle and Higher). G Ask students to bring old photographs of their neighbourhood G AWARDS: The Senior Citizens Group of For details and Chennai and display them. (Middle and Higher) Besant Nagar plans to present ‘Pride of 98842 24480 Madras’ awards to senior citizens during G Organise a display of landmarks of Chennai by Middle School Madras Week. The awards will be given to senior citizens in the students and get Primary school children to view them. city who have made a difference to the city or who have gone G Get children to write a story based on the history of Madras beyond the call of duty to bring pride to Chennai. and read it out in class. * * * For assistance: [email protected] Madras Youth Choir * * * G Madras Youth Choir plans to perform at three or four public parks in the city during Madras Week. It would like to have Madras Week Celebrations by City Schools partners who can organise their own events in the park space. So you can host a Madras drawing show and a Tree Walk that We have been informed by the following schools that they have organised runs with the choir singing, mostly songs on city/nation. Parks in activities to celebrate Madras Day/Week/Month from the first week of August: T Nagar, and Nageswara Rao Park, Luz are being Alpha School, CIT Nagar; Chettinad Vidyashram, Rajah Annamalaipuram; considered. If you are part of a youth/community group keen to Hussain Memorial Matric. Hr. Sec. School, ; Kids Central, ; KRM Public School, ; Mary Clubwala Jadhav Girls link up, please contact us at [email protected] Higher School, ; Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan Sr. Sec. School, * * * K.K. Nagar; PSBB, KK Nagar; PSBB Millennium, ; Sri G Trying to recreate San Thomé of the 17th Organised by Sankara Vidyashramam, Tiruvanmiyur and Vidya Mandir, Mylapore. and 18th Centuries with a map a scholar Mylapore Times These activities have included screening INTACH’S History of Madras shared. If you are keen to help this project, film, those suggested by Young INTACH, Chennai, and a variety of mail to: [email protected]. We need competitions. Of special note were: volunteers who can help collect old photos of places in San Thomé which are 50/75/100 years old. – KRM Public School, Perambur cycling along the Cooum’s course with the Cycling Yogis. * * * – Sri Sankara Vidyashramam’s visit to Lathur Panchayat Union Middle Till August 23 School near Kancheepuram, Chettinad Food Festival at the Marina. Sivagami will demonstrate Chettinad cuisine preparations during – Kids Central, Kotturpuram, helping out at the this week. To attend the classes you may contact: The Marina, and exploring its campus, and Nazim, Manager -9884396213, 044-42035265 – Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan Sr. Sec. School, conducting over four * * * days a dozen competitions in which several other schools participate. August 22 Events still ahead: Release of Special Postal Cover: D. Hemachandra Rao, philatelist, Alpha School, CIT Nagar (August 22nd) collector, heritage enthusiast and civil engineer has chosen as – Screening of INTACH movie – his theme for his Special Postal Cover – Coins of the Madras History of Chennai Presidency. Visuals of the pagoda, panam and kaasu will be Chettinad Vidyashram (August 22nd) featured on the cover. Thanks to a collector of coins, Rao has – Students to bring old photographs of their neighbourhood and sourced some nice pictures of the coins. For details: Chennai and display them (Middle School). [email protected] Hussain Memorial Matric. Hr. Sec. School, Ambattur (August 22nd) * * * Film – Preparation and display of placards, photos and cut outs on Madras Day. A docufilm to screen at your Campus. 33 minutes * * * The Gudiyam rock shelters located near www.gudiyamcaves.in KRM Public School, Perambur (August 21st) Chennai where Stone Age people and their – Exhibition: Yukai Tanjoubi (Happy Birthday 10 am-2.30 pm culture thrived many thousands of years ago. This documentary to Madras) School premises reveals some surprising facts about the archaeological * * * findings and geological formation of these rock shelters. Uniform view and appeal of all the experts strengthens the need for Mary Clubwala Jadhav Girls Higher School, Egmore (August 22nd) urgent call to protect, popularise and conserve this unique – Quiz and painting competition for deaf children about Colours of prehistoric heritage site silence ... general monuments, festivals and visits to places where children went on excursion (Vedanthangal etc)

Addresses for the venues

Alliance Francaise: No.24, College Road, ; Amethyst: Next to Corporation Bank, White’s Road, Royapettah; Chamiers Anokhe: 106 Chamier’s Road, R.A. Puram, (diagonally opposite Sheraton Park); City Centre: Dr Radhakrishnan Salai; C.P. Arts Centre: 1, Eldam’s Road, ; DakshinaChitra: East Coast Road, Muttukadu. Forum Art Gallery: 57, 5th Street, Padmanabha Nagar, Adyar. Gallery Sri Parvati: 28/160, Eldam’s Road, Alwarpet. The Marina: 39, College Road, Nungambakkam. Luz House: 176, Luz Church Road, Luz, Mylapore; Observer Research Foundation (ORF): 5th Floor, A-1 Tower (Rear Wing), 89, Dr. Radhakrishnan Road; Odyssey: 45 & 47, 1st Main Road, Gandhi Nagar, Adyar. Nahar Hall: Deshbandhu Plaza, 47, Whites Road, Royapettah; Phoenix Market City: 142, Velachery Main Road, Near Gurunanak College, Velachery; Press Institute of India: Second Main Road, Taramani, CPT Campus, (behind M.S. Swaminathan Foundation); Roja Muthiah Research Library: 3rd Cross Road, Rajiv Gandhi IT Expressway, CPT Campus, Taramani, (opposite Indira Nagar MRTS Station); Westin, Velachery: No. 154, Velachery Main Road, Velachery. August 16-31, 2015 MADRAS MUSINGS 9

ted ‘Pattu’ (Padmanabhan) – a Natya Sangh’s plays, The Whole almost the entire troupe con- fellow actor and scriptwriter Truth. In a memorable ending sisting of ARS, Jayalalithaa, From with a flair for comedy writing. to the play, the girl, after acting Nagesh, Lakshmi, and others They struck a close friendship. dead in the final scene, sprang made use of the opportunity. Recalling the time, Rajamma up to take a bow along with the One memorable play of the time says, “He was not happy as other actors. was Tea House of the August journalist... there were few opportunities UAA faced multiple chal- Moon (John Patrick) in which and SVS did not encourage the- lenges such as no-shows with- Rajamma acted and spoke in ajalakshmi (Rajamma, to atre after some time.” Seeing out notice by actors, and occa- Japanese. Rmost) Parthasarathy is a the duo’s common passion for sional messing up of dialogues Rajamma had developed a woman with many talents. She theatre, she suggested that they on stage. In time, UAA became flair for props, acting, story and has left her mark on journalism, start a troupe on their own. a home for many prominent ac- dialogues. She was part of every theatre, social causes and resto- Thus was born the Tamil the- tors and Rajamma, as she was story discussion as she had a ration of temples, besides play- atre group United Amateur fondly called by the entire strong sense of the story. Her ing a major role in education. Artistes (UAA) in 1952. UAA troupe, was the central figure twist to the story line in The school she started, Padma was known for introducing En- around whom things revolved. Kurukshetram, in which ARS Seshadri Bala Bhavan (PSBB), glish mixed with colloquial The YGP house was like a was the lead actor, made the has grown into a group of Tamil. It encouraged women second home to the UAA play a roaring hit. Her involve- institutions of higher secondary actors to come on stage. Cut troupe. Apart from regulars like ment did have some comical in- education of high repute in dialogues – stopping a dialogue Sandhya (Jayalalithaa’s terludes. In his typical punchy Chennai today. Her life, how- Young Rajamma, the journalist. ever, goes beyond education, and her contribution to art and culture equals her promotion of ... to theatre personality... the cause of education. In the field of arts, Raja- lakshmi chose to bask in the shadow of her late husband Y.G. Parthasarathy, a passion- ate player in Tamil theatre, popularly known as YGP. Many know her, therefore, as Mrs. YGP without the least idea of her given name. She was the first woman journalist to enter the portals of The Hindu, “the staid and se- date newspaper”, as her biogra- pher Lakshmi Devnath puts it in A Class Apart. She was just 25 when, as Rashmi, she provided comfort to anxious women in an ‘agony aunt’ column What Should I Do? in Sport & Pastime (1948 - 1967), a weekly of The Hindu. Donning another pseudonym, ‘Jalak’, she The UAA troupe – Cho Ramaswamy, Mrs. YGP, A.R. Srinivasan, Y.G. Mahendra and others – with the then Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran. wrote in Tamil for Kumudam and as ‘Sumangali’ for Swadesa- mitran. Women’s Corner was her column providing a rational ... to educationist slant to women’s issues. She also wrote on fashion trends in dox woman steeped in our cul- mid-sentence countered by an- satirical style with a touch of Sport & Pastime. A compilation ture.” Absorbed in books, other – was another highlight of impishness, Cho says that all of her columns has been Rajamma developed a sharp UAA’s plays. Critics slammed her suggestions were usually published as a book, Stree. “I mind, and went on to become it, but audiences loved it. Every “rejected”. Scriptwriter ‘Viet- was a rebel. I didn’t like old- the first woman graduate in the UAA script was vetted by Raj- nam Veedu’ Sundaram at- fashioned ideas.” she says. In family. amma: YGP would never fina- tributes whatever English he one of her columns, she wrote Yechan Gunja Parthasa- lise one without her feedback. knows to Rajamma. Mouli says tips for career girls as early as rathy (YGP) entered her life by It Happened at Midnight was her suggestions had an underly- UAA’s first production. Yaman ing logic. Rajamma recalls, Emaandan, Never Say Die and “YGP used to say, I was their G by Venkatesh Krishnamoorthi Pavam Balaraman are some of best friend and worst critic. At the group’s social comedies, a Rajamma, the educationist. times, I used to come up with genre that UAA had developed mother) and Vidyavati (her absurd suggestions, which 1950 when very few women accident while she was in col- a niche for. aunt), the troupe also featured would make people laugh.” A were part of the workforce. In lege. She was a source of solace In the 1950s, Rajalakshmi Nagesh and Lakshmi, both of drawback, she says, was her it, she cautioned the secretary and strength for Vaidehi, her also became the secretary of the whom blazed the silver screen penchant for ‘mile-long’ titles, to be firm with the ‘flirtatious close friend at college and Madras Natya Sangh, a branch later. Veteran actor ARS (A.R. which would be shortened boss’, advised the receptionist YGP’s sister, who was undergo- of Bharatiya Natya Sangh. Srinivasan) and Cho Rama- eventually. to be tactful and told the ing problems as a result of her Initially, Rukmini Devi Arun- swamy began stage acting with Popular actor and stage vet- teacher ‘not to be frightened’. love marriage that had dis- dale was the Sangh’s president. UAA. Cho more or less became eran Y.G. Mahendra, Raj- At the same time she asked the pleased her in-laws. An innocu- Later Dr. V. Raghavan, re- part of the YGP household. In amma’s elder son, who also teacher not to be ‘carried away ous letter of gratitude from YGP nowned Sanskrit scholar and his memoirs written recently in made his stage debut at UAA, by your colleague’s charms’. kicked off what was to become Indologist, took over the reins. Kumudam, he recalled his recalls a funny incident. YGP She built impressive creden- a lifelong association. Not long Natya Sangh was a national favourite activity – raiding her was in the habit of awarding Rs. tials as a journalist before afterwards, the book-loving organisation with international refrigerator for food – and his 50 to the best title for a play moving on to other spheres of introvert. Rajalakshmi, became prominence. It often invited affectionate bond that still whose script was ready. For one activity. the life partner of the witty and popular productions in theatre continues with Rajamma. such play, an engrossing thriller Rajamma’s childhood was ebullient extrovert YGP. As a and dance from abroad to per- Not only actors, but also by Mouli, Rajamma suggested shaped by her mother Alamelu result of the association, she too form in Madras. When Ragha- scriptwriters like ‘Vietnam the title Adi Mel Adi Vaithaal from whom she drew inspiration became a connoisseur of the van was President, the Sangh Veedu’ Sundaram, Venkat, Ammiyum Nagarum. In a jest, and imbibed a host of qualities, arts. also adapted Sanskrit plays into Visu, Mouli – all made their de- YGP announced, “I will have the most prominent being the * * * English and Tamil. It was but at UAA. When Archibald to part with a part of my wealth ability to take control of any Back from Delhi, YGP was Rajamma who persuaded a McLeod, a famous director from for advertising this title in situation. She says, “My mother acting at Suguna Vilasa Sabha fourth form student then, J. the USA came for a year to was broadminded, but an ortho- (SVS) in 1948, where he spot- Jayalalithaa, to act in one of train actors at the Natya Sangh, (Continued on page 11) 10 MADRAS MUSINGS August 16-31, 2015 The pioneers of the

(Current Affairs questions are from the period July 16th to King Institute 31st. Questions 11 to 20 per- tain to Chennai and Tamil he King Institute of Pre- Jail Superintendent of Manda- Nadu.) Tventive Medicine (KIPM) lay, Burma, Superintendent of in was formally opened the Government Lunatic Asy- 1. Which new OS was globally by Governor Lord Ampthill in lum, Madras, and Sanitary launched in Kenya on July 30th by its India-born CEO? November 1905. KIPM was al- Commissioner of the Madras ready functioning as a vaccine Presidency in 1894. Later he 2. Sanjiv Chaturvedi and Anshu depot supplying smallpox vac- was a consultant at the Tropi- The King Institute of Preventive Medicine. Gupta are the two latest Indians cine lymph to people in the Ma- cal Diseases Clinic and Lecturer to be conferred with which pres- dras Presidency, supervised by in Tropical Hygiene at King’s plague). The issue of a passport azar inducing protozoan and tigious Asian award? Lt. Col. Walter Gaven King College, London. He wrote the was not new at that point of the transmitting agents was 3. Chris Froome won which pres- from the 1890s. By 1905, he had Cultivation of Animal Vaccine time, since this procedure was naturally strong at this time. tigious annual sporting event for grown it into a large provincial (1891), Plague Inspector’s operational in the Madras Presi- Patton published a series of the second time recently? facility, housing a well- Manual (1902), Sanitary Rules dency at least before 1869. For papers on this while working at 4. How did Professor Richard for the Prevention of Plague in example: KIPM. Hay and George Baker make Par- Municipalities (1903), and “The Madras Sanitary Regu- For a period, Patton also of- liament news recently? Simple Sanitary Rules during lations made elaborate provi- ficiated as the Superintendent 5. Name the two Indian compa- Cholera Epidemics. KIPM pub- sions for the prevention of chol- of KIPM. In 1913, he published nies in the latest ‘2015 Fortune lished periodical reports on era during native festivals. Na- the Textbook of Medical Ento- 500 Global Companies list’ at vaccination in the Madras tive migrants to Madras from mology along with Francis 119th and 158th rank. Presidency for 1902-03, 1903- infected areas were excessively Cragg, who earlier worked at 6. Name the eminent banker who 04 (Government Press, 42 pages the Central Research Institute, is the President of the new BRICS each). Kasauli (Punjab), and later was Bank that formally started its op- Sacrification method was an assistant to the Director of G Ramya Raman & erations from its headquarters in The vaccine depot, the precusor of pioneered by King, who based KIPM. Patton will be remem- Shanghai on July 21st. the King Institute of Preventive Medi- his words from a translation of a Anantanarayanan bered for his monumental book 7. The fragments of, reportedly, cine. text on variolation with both Raman Insects, Ticks, Mites and Venom- the oldest version of which book cow and human pox attributed ous Animals of Medical and Vet- were found recently in the Uni- equipped bacteriological labo- to the Danvantri Nikandu (sup- erinary Importance (1929-31), versity of Birmingham? ratory and a public health labo- posedly written 2000 years be- policed, put under close police published after his return to surveillance, and issued with 8. Name the first post-apartheid ratory in addition to the origi- fore Edward Jenner). Lord UK. ‘passports’ and emergency pow- captain of the South African nal vaccine depot. It was named Ampthill reiterated this point Kandadai Venkatasubrama- cricket team and a world-class all- after King to celebrate his con- while inaugurating KIPM in ers were introduced to sum- nian Venkatraman was the rounder who passed away tribution in making it an insti- marily punish both male and fe- Director of KIPM in 1948-49 recently. tute of excellence. male offenders. By 1869, every and will be remembered for his The vaccine lymph section conceivable agglomeration was Name the Nobel Laureate, contributions to the biology, 9. brought under systematic sani- after whom a sub-atomic particle manufactured more than two epidemiology and management is named, who was recently million doses annually for sup- tary control.” of cholera. awarded the Copley Medal, the ply within the Madras Presi- * * * Clinical specimens need to world’s oldest science prize. dency through the Civil De- Lieutenant Samuel Rickard be rapidly transported to the partment. Some quantities were Christophers will be remem- laboratory to prevent growth of 10. Name the work, considered a bered for his monumental con- sequel to Harper Lee’s celebrated also supplied to the British and any other contaminating mi- tributions to medical entomol- To Kill A Mockingbird, that was French armies within India and crobes. This can be achieved published recently. to Ceylon. During World War ogy in general and to the sci- using ‘transport’ media. Such I, large quantities of lymph were ence of mosquitoes in particu- media prevent drying of speci- * * * sent to the allied army person- lar. Christophers was the first men, maintain the pathogen to nel in the East African theatre. formal director of KIPM, being commensal ratio, and inhibit 11. Which popular sporting out- The microbiological section appointed in 1904. While work- growth of any contaminating fit is celebrating 50 years of being manufactured both curative ing at KIPM, he confirmed managed by one organisation? microbes. Venkatraman, col- and prophylactic bacterial vac- W.G. King. Charles Donovan’s discovery of laborating with C.S. Rama- 12. What happened to Madras on cines to meet the requirements 1905. King broke new ground the Leishman bodies in the krishnan (Water Analyst, King July 17, 1996? of hospitals in Madras Presi- by introducing trained sanitary spleen of patients suffering from Institute), developed the 13. By what name is Lock Cheri, dency. inspectors in the Madras Presi- visceral leishmaniasis (kala azar). Venkatraman-Ramakrishnan near the -Purasawalakam In 1919, at the behest of the dency. In the British Medical Christophers was later posted as medium which efficiently an- area, now known? British Government, KIPM Journal (1922), he says: “The the Director of Central Malaria chored V. cholerae in the faecal 14. Who or what was Chengam manufactured the anti-influ- Madras Government was thus Bureau, where he made impres- sample obtained from the sick sarakku? enza vaccine on a large scale for the first in the tropics to require sive contributions to Malariol- for more than six weeks at room 15. Name the regular ship that the first time in India, meeting compulsory technical training ogy research and to the knowl- temperature. This medium en- connects Port Blair and Chennai? the civil and military needs in of sanitary inspectors. Assistant edge of mosquitoes. While at abled the transport of the bac- the London School of Tropical 16. What do the initials in the the Presidency. Similar efforts Sanitary inspectors attend teria from outbreaks in remote name of the well-known company were also made to mass-produce courses in physiology, bacterio- Medicine, after his return to areas to laboratories to study A V Thomas & Co. stand for? vaccines to combat outbreaks of logical demonstrations, and England, a revised edition of the the epidemiology. cholera, typhoid and paraty- theoretical hygiene, under the Indian Anophelini was published 17. Which century-old institu- phoid, and issue them to the professors of the Madras Medi- in 1933 and it remains a mile- * * * tion in Chennai has the motto stone in the science of Indian ‘Lighted to Lighten’ and a crest general public at a nominal cal College, and practical hy- KIPM in Madras, along with anophelines even today. made up of sunflowers, a lit lamp cost. giene under selected sanitary the Central Research Institute, and its motto? Given below are some notes officers.” * * * Kasauli, and also Pasteur Insti- below on the pioneers of KIPM. The Madras Plague Regula- Captain Walter Scott tute of Southern India, Coo- 18. Where in the metro is a new Walter Gaven King entered Ciclo Café with a cycling theme? tions and Rules for the City of Patton, while serving on the sci- noor, have been serving India’s the Indian Medical Service as a Madras (1902) and The Plague entific staff at KIPM, made public health management 19. Which respected Chennai surgeon in 1874. He became a Inspector’s Manual (1902) were great strides in medical ento- needs over the last 110 years. business house was founded by M. Lt. Colonel in 1905 and retired issued during King’s administra- Starting as a vaccine depot in a Rajagopala Naidu? mology within the wider con- in 1910. Among the posts he tion of sanitation management text of public health. Because tiny shed, KIPM today provides 20. Which institution came up held were: Professor of Physics in Madras. These include Donovan, Professor of Physiol- state-of-the-art medical resear- because of a schoolgirl Nalla- (Presidency College, Madras) facsimiles of a ‘passport’ system ogy at the Madras Medical Col- ch involving serology and muthu Ramamurthy’s prize- and Hygiene (Madras Medical that was operational in Madras lege, was blazing new trails immunology and manufactures winning essay? College), Special Sanitary Of- to regulate the spread of epi- studying kala azar, interest in vaccines for use not only within (Answers on page 12) ficer for Madras City, Central demics (e.g. cholera and knowing more about the kala- India, but outside as well. August 16-31, 2015 MADRAS MUSINGS 11

G An occasional column by a British freelance writer on her eight years in Madras

The black train pulls in at the platform called John Pereira’s garden after the Portuguese Hissing into silence like hot steel in water merchant who built a house here for recreation, but Tell the porters not to be so precipitate. by falling into disrepair it became a gaming den and cock-fighting venue before it was purchased by the It is good, after a desperate journey railways (debatably it still is!). To rest a moment with your Perils upon you. This splendid station served as the main gateway – Vijay Nambisan ‘Madras Central’ for all people who travelled to South India during the British Raj and although the station now has bookshops, restaurants, Internet browsing and a n the early dawn, the long deep horn of the Shatabdi shopping mall it would seem that the hygiene IExpress to Bangalore reverberates through the standards remain much the same as they were city and pulls me from peaceful dreams. I lie in 138 years ago when it was built. The station lacks the tranquillity of my sleeping house in Kottur- several facilities, including drinking water, and has The Great only ten toilets to accommodate the 350,000 purum and imagine the scene at Chennai Central station. passengers that pass through it daily. These are not worth a visit. Despite this, Chennai Central still People are queuing to get past the ticket barrier. retains the excitement and bustle that makes large Women clutching semi-conscious babies nervously stations so intriguing. The sense of mystery that try to find the right coach number and seat, asking to Indian train travel engenders for many of us is stark contrast move or change with others so they can be close to to the stationary monotony and dangers of Indian relatives. The floor of the station littered with bodies roads. sleeping, eating, and defecating. Boxes piled high with elaborate caging of string. A weighing machine with Railways One of my greatest disappointments is the way in flashing neon light standing unused as porters hurry which many Indians draw the blinds and settle down past through the sea of coloured sarees with suitcases to sleep as soon as they board a train. I risk extreme balanced on their heads. on holiday to Ooty. We took our driver with us in displeasure from my travelling companions as I politely request to flood the compartment with For the privileged few in the calm and comfort of order for him to drive us on arrival, but he emerged the next morning from his second class compartment sunlight, although they think nothing of subjecting the first class A/C compartments, metal flasks will be me to six hours’ snoring! doled out with a tea bag, two packets of biscuits, white with his suitcase and newly acquired hat to enjoy a and crisp inside the bright yellow packaging. “A holiday himself! He had employed a driver from Surely the best thing about travelling by train is newspaper, madam?” Coimbatore to show all of us the sights, but it was the moving landscape passing the window? For me, not till he climbed into the passenger seat next to the looking out of the window is about living other I lie in my bed and imagine the smell of jasmine driver that we realised he was taking a self-imposed people’s lives vicariously, a succession of memorable that frequently adorns the traveller, the hair oil, the vacation! images like the sudden swell of hills, or the emergence sweat, and the soot. This is the great Indian railway of giant boulders on the way to Bangalore. station. In Ordered South, Robert Louis Stevenson writes, Weary, wiry men with bullock carts ploughing I remember with shame how when I first travelled “Herein, I think, is the chief attraction of railway travel. The speed is so easy, and the train disturbs so little through red earth, the fleeting view of a girl washing to Coimbatore on the Shatabdi Express we contrived long tresses of raven wing hair beneath a water pipe, to get a compartment to ourselves by buying up a four- the scenes through which it takes us, that our heart becomes full of the placidity and stillness of the country; the glimpse of a heron on a lotus pool, the shanty berth sleeper. We placed pillows in the bunks to make towns by the railway tracks where I can only guess at them seem occupied, a childish schoolboy prank that and while the body is being borne forward in the flying chain of carriages, the thoughts alight, as the humour the misery of daily life. All these images are what make can only be excused by the English obsession with up life in India. solitude and my hatred of other people’s snoring. This moves them, at unfrequented stations. . .” is, after all, a moving residence with all the romance One of the world’s largest railway networks, the It has been on train journeys that I have had some associated with extreme privacy. Indian Railways was the brainchild of (you guessed it) of my most memorable conversations. The journalist the British. 23 million passengers a day travel from lurking within me is nosey about other people’s lives. Suddenly a woman appeared in the compartment On one occasion I was eating a hard-boiled egg that with an entourage of relations and a tiny screaming 7,172 stations along 65,000 km of track, which begs the question why are the roads still so busy! distressed my vegan neighbour. This led to a discus- baby. Her family, seeing her off, was eager for her to sion about vegetarianism and the caste system, which share with foreigners rather than potentially lecherous Madras Central was designed by George Harding, a was highly educational. Indian train journeys and single men. She took one look at my horror-stricken British architect, in the Gothic revival style, with the humour go hand in hand, which is fortunate because, face and fled. later addition of the bell tower by Robert Chisholm generally, it is better to laugh at the chaos than be One day, our family boarded this same train to go The original land on which it was constructed was enveloped by it.

Back to renaming From CHENNAI HERITAGE journalist to No. 5, Bhattad Tower, 30, Westcott Road streets educationist Royapettah, Chennai 600 014

(Continued from page 1) infrastructural projects stand (Continued from page 9) I am already on your mailing list (Mailing List incomplete. Is this an appropri- No...... ) / I have just seen Madras Musings and Recently, it was announced ate time to start off on The Hindu”! That play, titled would like to receive it hereafter. that Halls Road would hence- such cosmetic activities as Padmavyuham became an all- forth be known as Tamil Salai. name changes? Or is this just to time hit of UAA. G I/We enclose cheque/demand draft/money order for Rs. We do not know what the con- divert public attention from Rajamma was a hard task- 100 (Rupees One hundred) payable to CHENNAI nection between the mother non-delivery on key para- master. She would not hesitate HERITAGE, MADRAS, as subscription to Madras tongue and this road is. And meters? to pull up Pattu for an ordinary Musings for the year 2015-16. while we do not wish to criticise What is interesting is also script. When he produced one for Pettraaldhan Pillaya what must be a decision arrived the number of enquiries that we G As token of my support for the causes of heritage, envi- at after due deliberation, we as a publication have received she told him, “You usually pour ronment and a better city that Madras Musings espouses, cannot help wonder if any other asking if we propose to do any- gold into your writing. In this I send Chennai Heritage an additional State in India has a road named thing about this name change. script, you have just poured Rs...... after its official language. Is this To this we can only say that ink.” Needless to say Pattu con- (Rupees ...... ) strictly necessary or is it even apart from expressing our opin- verted that script into a master- Please keep/put me on your mailing list. relevant? And does the lan- ion we have no other intention piece. Name : ...... guage benefit in any way by this to intervene. It is up to the resi- *** ...... street renaming? dents of the roads that are to be Serious differences arose Our Corporation has admit- renamed to protest or accept between YGP and Pattu and Address: ...... ted rather openly that more the change, for they are the real the duo had to part ways in ...... than half of its 132 announced stakeholders. Only if that is 1962 much to YGP’s agony; he ...... promises are yet to be fulfilled. forthcoming will our civic body did not stage a play for two It is in the throes of a severe fi- stop such superficial activities years. (Courtesy: Sruti). All cheques to ‘Chennai Heritage’. DD/Cheque should be nancial crisis partly owing to and get down to grapple with its sent by Speed Post only. stagnation in revenues. Several real problems. (To be concluded) 12 MADRAS MUSINGS August 16-31, 2015 KNOW YOUR FORT BETTER (Continued from page 1) ard. Moreover, he was in love with Margaret, the sister about the architectural magnificence of the house. of his close friend Edmund Maskylene. She arrived in “The house is truly great both in its external and inter- and Charles Street which lies at the rear. St George’s Madras in 1753 and Clive, ever the determined soul, nal appearance. Squarish in plan, the upper floors of Street radiates in a westerly direction from Parade doggedly wooed her till she consented. The wedding this three-storeyed building are the most spacious, con- Square and eventually connects with St. George’s was conducted on February 18, 1753 in St Mary’s sisting of huge halls with extremely high ceilings, and Gate, the principal entrance to the Fort on the western Church in the Fort, the Rev Fabricius, who did much were most probably living spaces with other service fa- side. Three streets link the Parade Square and the As- for Tamil and for printing in India, officiating. Clive’s cilities located on the ground floor. The focus is a large sembly to the northern end of the Fort. The eastern- married life was one of bliss and he lived the first year centrally placed hall on all floors, the one on the first most, corresponding to St. Thomas’ Street on the of it at the ‘Great House’. But he was in ill-health and floor designed with a tall, two-floor high ceiling. Lined southern side, is Gloucester Alley. Behind it is York had applied for home leave. This was granted in 1753 with a series of circular columns along the inner edges Street, which is also known as the Middle Gate or and he left for England where he fought battles of a and wonderful fenestrations facing the street, the am- North Gate Street as it connects to the North Gate of political nature before returning once again to India, bience of this space is certainly fit for a king. Fronted the Fort. To the rear of this is Choultry Gate Street, this time to conquer Bengal. His second tenure had by a small verandah-like ante space that faces the which once led to the Choultry Courts that were just very little to do with Madras. street, it is the expression of this face with strong archi- outside the Fort. This entrance is now blocked. At the After Clive’s departure, Shawmier sold the house to tectural details that is the capturing feature of the ex- extreme western end of the Fort is a thoroughfare that de Castro, a Portuguese, who in turn sold it to the Com- terior and distinctly different from all other buildings runs south to north. This is known as Palace Street pany for 6,000 pagodas. It became the guest house for within the Fort. Raised in the centre due to the in- and it has an interesting history of its own, of which accommodating important visitors and it was in that creased height of the first floor, an ensemble of tall Ionic more later. capacity that it hosted Admiral Charles Watson, who columns in the upper floor rests on a series of semicir- Charles Street must have been an important thor- in 1754 sailed from England with a large squadron fit- cular arched openings on the ground floor, with deep oughfare, for it houses some very stately buildings. The ted exclusively for the protection of the “possessions in sloping wooden shades sprinkled on either side. Bridg- most striking, and indeed the best-maintained building the East Indies”. He appears to have stayed here for ing the gap between the columns is a combination of in the whole Fort today, is the headquarters of the Ar- just a year. In 1755, the building was assigned to the louvred and glazed windows that catch the morning chaeological Survey of India. It goes by the names of then recently set up Court of Admiralty to try naval sun in a most dramatic manner.” Clive House and Admiralty House. The residence dates mutineers. The name Admiralty House stuck, though The write-up does not mention it but one of the to the 18th Century, a time when, apart from the Brit- the court vacated the premises by 1762 when it once exquisite features of this building is a staircase that rises ish, some Portuguese, Armenians and Indians also again became a guest house. That year the Company from the ground floor to the top-most storey. In recent owned property within the Fort. One among these was supplied at its expense “Furniture, Cotts, Linen and all years, the ASI has created a ‘Clive’s Corner’ in one part Coja Nazar Jan, a rich Armenian who settled in Ma- other necessarys for the reception and Accommoda- of this building. This has a reasonably aesthetic display dras in 1702. It was he who built this residence and, on tion of Strangers”, a housekeeper being appointed to of various portraits and copies of documents pertaining his death in 1740, it passed on to Coja Sultan David take care of the establishment. By the late 1700s, Ad- to Robert Clive’s life. It is clear that, no matter who the and from him to his son, Aga Shawmier Sultan. It was miralty House became the Governor’s residence in the occupants of the building before and after him were, it during David’s time that the residence first began to be Fort. With Robert’s son, Edward, the second Lord Clive was he who gave it its place in history. called the Great House. Several covetous eyes were preferring to live outside the Fort when he was Gover- – Sriram V. cast on the building and when in 1749 the British nor, the ‘Great House’ served briefly as the Banqueting moved back to the Fort after the French had vacated Hall. With a new building being erected in 1802 for it, this became the residence of Richard Prince, the that purpose on Mount Road (the present day Rajaji Answers to Quiz Deputy Governor of Madras – he was the administra- Hall), the ‘Great House’ became the office of the Ac- tive head till 1752 when the Governor officially moved countant General, in which capacity it was used till the 1. Windows 10; 2. Ramon Magsaysay Award; 3. his headquarters back to Madras from Fort St David in mid-20th Century when the ASI took it over. Tour de France; 4. They are the two latest nominated Cuddalore. The house was restored to Shawmier who An interesting aside is that the East India Company Anglo-Indian members of the Lok Sabha; 5. Indian Oil Corporation and Reliance Industries; 6. K.V. then let it out to its most important occupant – Robert consistently defaulted on the rent to Shawmier be- Kamath; 7. Holy Koran; 8. Clive Rice; 9. Prof. Peter Clive. tween 1749 and 1752, the arrear amounting to 1,866 Among the few marble plaques that commemorate Higgs; 10. Go Set a Watchman. pagodas. He appealed repeatedly and it was only in * * * heritage structures in Madras, one is to be found on 1773 that Governor Alexander Wynch forwarded his st 11. Jolly Rovers; 12. It officially became Chennai; this building. It reads that “Robert 1 Lord Clive lived request to the Court of Directors in England. There his 13. Lockma Nagar; 14. A woman of dubious repute, in this building in the year 1753. Truly great in arms prayer bore fruit with compensation being paid in 1775. deriving the name from an area in George Town; 15. and in council, he founded an Empire.” By then Clive Landlord travails evidently have a long history in Ma- m.v. Nancowry; 16. Alfred Vedam; 17. Women’s was no longer a depressed writer or lowly clerk. He had dras! Christian College; 18. Gandhi Mandapam Road in emerged as the hero of the sieges of Arcot and INTACH’s publication Madras, the Architectural Kotturpuram; 19. Rayala Corporation; 20. Queen Trichinopoly and was now back in the Fort as its Stew- Heritage by K. Kalpana and Frank Schiffer gives details Mary’s College.

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