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Vol. XXV No. 13 MUSINGS October 16-31, 2015 And still more Know your Fort flyovers? better

recent video uploaded on make a bigger and more mon- four years of its existence. The AYoutube went viral. strous flyover. new structure, it claims, will re- A computer generated simu- The Corporation of Chennai duce the travel time from Anna lation, it demonstrated the recently gave its nod for a Rs Salai to Mahalingapuram to less space freed up on a vital New 290 crore exercise that involves than two minutes – for car users York road if everyone gave up the linking of the North and of course. The problem is that their cars and took to alter- none of the local residents want natives such as bicycles, buses any of this flyover or even the and streetcars. World over, the G by The Editor earlier flyovers. They have, in trend is to replace private cars fact, written to the Corporation on the roads. Our city, however, South Usman Roads flyovers demanding the demolishing of appears to be on a completely and creating what it terms the both the existing structures. different trajectory. The Ad- -Mahalingapuram It is the contention of the ministration continues to Connector. The civic body is residents that they had objected Elizabeth Baker’s tombstone. Agent Greenhill's tombstone. pander to the interests of car understandably excited about to the North and South Usman owners. The latest, mani- flyovers even at the design Before you walk into the Church of St Mary’s and admire its trea- its plan – it has had no large sured possessions, pause for a while and look around the yard. It is festation of this malaise is the project to showcase in the last stage. As many as nine alterna- proposal to link two failed tives were proposed to residents paved with some of the oldest British tombstones in India. All of them rectangular, several of them broken and re-assembled like a flyovers in the T Nagar area and (Continued on page 2) but there were objections to each. Yet the Corporation jigsaw, these have a story of their own to tell, for some of them date decided to go ahead with its to a time when St Mary’s was not yet thought of. plans. The end result, according A high rate of mortality was one of the features of early colonial to the locals, is that there are life in India and, today, the sole remnant in many abandoned settle- 30 years huge traffic pile-ups, before, ments is a graveyard. Madras is different, for its first British grave- after and even on the flyovers. yard has completely vanished, the Law College standing on that The Corporation concedes this site now. The early records speak of ‘the English Golgotha or Place and has offered to make certain of Sculls’ as having been near “the North West angle of the Native of consumer structural modifications to Town” – not to be confused with present day George Town but the allow for better access to the old Black Town which straggled to the rear of the Fort and occu- side roads when the new flyover pied much of what we would today recognise as the High Court is built. The civic body is also, Campus. A vast guava garden existed west of this spot and from Dr activism Fryer’s writings based on his stay in the city in 1673, we do know for perhaps the first time, considering introducing pedes- that the last resting place of the first English settlers here was no (By A Staff Reporter) trian subways in the proposed open yard but an enclosure with distinctive architectural features. structure. H D Love, in his Vestiges of Old Madras (1913), has it that the group of professionals Electricity Regulatory Commis- Residents, however, contend tombs ”occupied the floor of a long battlemented cloister. This had A came together 30 years sion), Shyamala Nataraj (devel- that the new flyover will only arches on each side, supported by pillars, which also carried a ago in Madras to form the Con- opment journalist with the add to their woes. The new vaulted roof. The roof consisted of a series of domes, each dome sumer Action Group (CAG, South India Aids Action Pro- structure will further restrict rising from a square base of four columns, and terminating in a ball later renamed the Citizen Con- gram) and of course Sriram the side roads, and access lanes carrying ornamental iron work”. The last named has been de- sumer and Civic Action Panchu. will become highly constricted. scribed by Dr Fryer as a globe riveted by ”an iron wedge sprouting Group). CAG was promoted to Several months down the They fear that in the event of a into a Branch”. All the monuments and funerary slabs were of help the consumer take care of line, a photography exhibition fire accident, there will be no gneiss, the local stone. his interests even before the was held in 1986 that high- space for fire tenders to make In 1680, when Streynsham Master was in charge of Madras, the Consumer Protection Act was lighted the significant civic their way to the site. Residents burial ground was cordoned off from the rest of the guava garden enacted in the country. The problems ordinary citizens faced also point out that even with by a wall. The garden itself was handed over for development and moving spirit behind this move- in Chennai. The exhibition re- the existing flyover the space on it came up Garden and Merchant Streets, Merchant Lane and ment was a young lawyer, vealed the ambitious goals of its beneath and along the sides is Back Lane, none of which survive now. Arriving in Madras in 1702, Sriram Panchu, who roped in organisers and also that CAG practically unusable. Civic Charles Lockyer penned a detailed account of our city and in it his senior Govind Swamina- meant business. CAG’s found- maintenance in these areas is also included a description of the burial place, which, according to dhan, Senior Advocate and ing trustees took a much more also wanting, as conservancy him, was “adorn’d with many stately Tombs in honour of the De- former Advocate General of expansive view of the consumer trucks find it difficult to move funct. Some with lofty Spires carved into different Fancies, after Tamil Nadu, to be one of the than traditional consumer pro- about. the Indian manner; others in a lower Sphere gravely express the governing trustees. The initial tection organisations. Rather Local opinion has it that the Merits of the Person for whose sake they were erected; and all in trustees were S. Guhan (former than focus only on the rights of Corporation is looking at the general have the most curious Workmanship in India bestow’d on Finance Secretary, Govern- those who paid for particular them.” Lockyer also evidently attended a couple of burials there ment of Tamil Nadu), S.L.Rao (former Chairman, Central (Continued on page 2) (Continued on page 2) (Continued on page 8) CMYK 2 October 16-31, 2015 CONSUMER Going Global (and Green) he Global Investors’ Meet Another panjandrum, with Clearly the bling was not allow- ACTIVISM Tgot (GIM) over last some affinity to those in the ed to cling. month. Sadly for The Man opposition, said that the ones It was, however, the liberal from Madras Musings, he had out of power were quite sick at usage of yellow paint that was a (Continued from page 1) nities through public meetings to miss it, what with his having the way the GIM turned out. dead giveaway. MMM had half and educational materials. to be elsewhere. If only he had Their own future they opined expected that this colour of the goods and services, CAG saw Since CAG’s inception, quali- been around, he is pretty much was likely to be grim and they sun would be vetoed for road all residents of Chennai as con- fied legal professionals have sure that he would have were apparently very glum signs and replaced with that of sumers of goods and services provided free counselling to enough material to fill several about it. This rather puzzled tender leaves but he presumes provided by the Government. consumers seeking redress. columns of this size for months MMM. After all, everyone in that this idea may have been CAG was created to fight for a The Group is best known for on end. For instance, as he politics is supposed to be work- given up out of considerations city that was more responsive to could see from the newspa- ing for the welfare of the same of visibility. And so yellow and important public interest litiga- pers, there was this laser dis- State, no? white colours were used to the needs of all of its residents. tions it filed in the city’s courts play on the riverside, a speech mark the borders of the lanes. Over the years, the organi- and the Supreme Court, espe- by a certain minister that drew Roads (not) global This however was done in such sation has been a leader in is- cially on issues affecting public much traction and titillation a hurry that nobody noticed health and the environment. not to mention derision… But he Man from Madras anything amiss in the wrong sues ranging from not only con- Musings has just returned sumer protection but also elec- For example, after founding the let us draw a veil of modesty T usage of the paints. Interna- over such outlandish manifes- from far off lands and among tionally, as MMM understands tricity, urban planning, envi- Joint Action Forum for Safety his first resolutions even as the on Roads in 1989, CAG suc- tations of our international them, a yellow line is marked ronmental issues like water mindset. aircraft touched the Chennai to separate traffic flowing into management and protection of cessfully filed a case against tarmac was to not write any- dangerous road obstructions. Returning to home base, two diametrically opposite di- natural resources, and issues re- thing comparing foreign and rections and no turning is per- CAG has also filed a number of MMM noticed that everyone local roads. He need not have lated to public health such as in officialdom is going about mitted over a solid yellow line. road safety and pharmaceuti- seminal cases against environ- worried. For all the principal A solid white line signifies a with a smug look and those thoroughfares in Chengai (or is cals. CAG has relentlessly en- mental degradation in the city, that are agile are patting them- lane on one side a road, and including on the cutting of trees it Chingapore) looked truly there may be many such lines gaged with these issues, some- selves on the back. After all, wonderful. They were tarred times over decades, which has for the , and on Yoga is one of the many things indicating many lanes of traffic afresh and what’s more had flowing in one direction. A dot- led to continued and sustained construction in the delicate we gave the world, apart from gleaming, self-luminescent and impacts. estuary of the . the first head transplant. Tar- ted white line indicates cars reflective what-nots (MMM is can shift between lanes. It has highlighted illegal gets have been met, said one not aware of the correct term CAG’s strategies are based panjandrum to MMM, adding None of these have any on rigorous studies and re- constructions, including a for these things and so will re- meaning in Chennai anyway, that other States were going fer to them henceforth as search. An early study in 1987 successful campaign against the for cars, or that matter buses, green with envy. MMM too is GSLRWN) pasted all along the uncovered vital safety issues in construction of a five star hotel delighted for he would like this autos, rickshaws, trucks, mo- the city’s blood banks and in the city. to be a land of milk and honey. torcyclists and bikers, can resulted in tighter regulation Last year brought a sharp Apparently much of the prom- SHORT ’N’ weave their way in and out and enforcement by the Gov- ised investment is in the area among lanes, across lanes and focus on issues facing the urban even across opposite directions ernment. Audits in 2004 on of green technology, which ap- SNAPPY poor, as well as a new set of tools pears to be the in-thing these of traffic. And perhaps this is government healthcare institu- within CAG, to create change. days. Give us our daily sunlight what sprang to the mind of tions led to CAG being invited A group of researchers has and plenty of wind, appears to borders, the central median whoever painted the lines on to join the State Level Advisory joined the team from Transpar- be the prayer. and the lane separators. They the roads. The yellow was lib- Committee on Biomedical ent Chennai. They have MMM did notice on return winked and twinkled to such erally used to divide lanes go- Waste (Management and brought with them their track that it was not just the sur- an extent that MMM assumed ing along the same side of the Handling) in Tamil Nadu. A record of working on issues rounding States that went they were part of the publicity road and the white was used to study on dubious promotional facing the urban poor. green. Madras that is Chennai campaign for a film titled Bling mark the central median that practices among pharmaceuti- too donned that colour, this Is King. separates traffic moving in op- To celebrate its eventful 30 posite directions. MMM as- cal companies led to CAG help- being the current favourite Closer inspection of the years, CAG invited Justice shade of power if those in the edges revealed that this was as sumes that the global investors ing the Government to draft Dr. S Muralidhar and Pra- were too traumatised by our rules to reform such practices. know are to be believed. slap dash an effort as any other shant Bhushan, the legal acti- Flyovers went green and con- that our civic agencies specia- traffic to notice and had prob- A survey on bus transport in vist, to deliver lectures recently. tinue to remain that way. Even lise in. They reminded MMM ably shut their eyes in prayer 1995 led to the government There were also panel discus- poor old Munro was not of a Viceroy’s Journal from the each time they travelled. But if mandating uniform and legible sions with experts. Looking at spared. Driving by the other past where the potentate is in- they been brave enough to look around, they would have seen bus colours. the eager young faces attending day, MMM noticed that the vited to inaugurate a hospital man was illuminated in a light up north and finds on arrival the strange road markings and From the mid-1990s, CAG the function, it can be said that possibly assumed these to be began to take a more bottom up CAG can step into the future precisely of that colour. And that only the façade is ready, while on the subject of lights, the rest no doubt not being of the reasons behind the chaos. approach, empowering commu- boldly. what MMM would like to any consequence once the The one sign incidentally know is whether the promise grandiose opening was done that was never marked, was the of illuminating public heritage with. The same applied to our zebra crossing. But that does buildings during the GIM was roads as well. The first set of not really matter anyway. carried out. MMM rather sus- rains post the GIM, and the tar Tailpiece And still more pects that it was not and the began to open up and reveal all structures were allowed to lan- the cracks within. Even the he Man from Madras guish. GSLRWNs looked a trifle TMusings wonders how many Everybody worked over- jaded. Several had moved out errors can actually be identified flyovers? time to achieve the targets set, of alignment, having been in the address shown in the pic- said the same panjandrum to pasted when the tar was still ture alongside. Quite the MMM, on condition of strict wet and so not having had time flavour of the times? (Continued from page 1) has made an effort by housing anonymity of course. Appar- to set in their proper places. – MMM the last named in a building ently GIM had to be a success problem from the wrong angle. constructed for them but this and, if not, the future for many They contend that all plans are effort has met with limited suc- was predicted to be GRIM. only with a view to please the cess. The residents of the area This set the tone and the event, as it turned out, was shops and establishments in the feel that the civic body has to area, many of which have built termed a hit. Which is all to work towards bringing the big the good. MMM will be more huge retail outlets in gross vio- establishments to heel – getting than happy to see the colour lation of all rules and regula- them to conform to rules and of the money, also green, that tions. This has caused great provide for parking spaces for he is sure will soon be making congestion in what was once a the shoppers. If this is done they its way by way of the projects well laid out locality. In addi- feel the area will get freed up taking off. Otherwise, after all tion the presence of so many re- and not have any necessity for this effort, MMM’s friend the tail outlets has resulted in a flyovers. But all that requires panjandrum and others of his huge number of shoppers and enormous political will. It is ilk will be left blue in the face, that, in turn, has encouraged the State’s bottomline in the much easier to steamroll the red and the future would be hawkers who spill over on to the objections of the common folk, grey. pavements. The Corporation is it not? October 16-31, 2015 MADRAS MUSINGS 3 Will pedestrians ever get their due? ome Navaratri, the four pedestrian. Many urban cen- on RK Mutt Road connecting CMada Streets around the tres are working towards it and, various parts of the city. In ad- tank brace them- for a start, many heritage areas dition there is the MRTS facil- selves for an extra dose of chaos. in metros are entirely off limits ity, which is a stone’s throw Makeshift stalls selling the tra- for private cars. That this is not from the temple tank. These ditional clay dolls take over the entirely an elitist exercise, ‘not days, there are also plenty of call footpaths and also a good bit of suited to third world countries taxi facilities either via phone or the road. Buyers come in large like ours especially with hot through mobile apps. And as numbers, most of them in cars, weather’, as the common ex- the Administration makes the Looking after pedestrians (above) on the improved Kowdiar Road stretch in Thiruvananthapuram (below). and clog whatever space is left. cuse is, has become evident area out of bounds for vehicles Where do the pedestrians go? with the Indian town of on the Arupathumoovar pro- The traffic snarls this year have Gurgaon, a neighbour of New cession day in March/April, it is been to such an extent that Delhi and a part of the National not an unprecedented sugges- many neighbouring areas such tion. as and Mandaiveli One of the key stumbling have also felt the impact. And blocks to such a move has been yet the Administration is most G by A Special the attitude of the local shops reluctant to make this space a Correspondent and establishments. They are of pedestrian zone, at least for the the view that custom and trade duration of the festival. will be affected if vehicles are This attitude indicates the kept off. They also feel that the lack of will to confront the Capital Region, experimenting doll sellers are interlopers and problem and come up with a with the concept. Beginning there are instances of many creative solution to it. At September 22nd this year, the shops trying to prevent the present, the area has been left city administration has declared hawkers from setting up their to manage on its own, and what that Tuesdays will be car-free stalls on the footpaths – not out Road improvement little traffic movement there is, days in certain areas. The ini- of any altruism but because they is thanks to the highly inad- tiative, jointly launched by the block access to the outlets. This s the Advisor to the Government of Kerala for the Capital equate police force and local police, the NGO Embark is an extremely short-sighted City Road Improvement Project, N.S. Srinivasan evolved a A good Samaritans. Why is the Rahagiri, and a citizen’s forum, view. Traditionally business has comprehensive road and traffic improvement programme for Chennai administration not met with poor response on the boomed in any area that is de- Thiruvananthapuram city, and rendered technical guidance in able to take a leaf out of the day of its launch but those be- clared pedestrian chiefly be- implementation and monitoring of the project. The implementa- many international cities that it hind the move have said they cause of the ease of movement tion and maintenance for 15 years have been taken up as a Public aims to emulate? The world are not giving up in a hurry. that it brings about. Private Participation Project. This is the first time such a compre- over, new urbanism is in and They realise, they have de- The Corporation of Chennai hensive road and traffic improvement programme has been ex- one of its tenets is the making clared, that such moves take has recently begun an exercise ecuted in the country. The International Roads Federation, Wash- of cities as pedestrian-friendly time and will only bear fruit in of building a wide pedestrian ington, has chosen the Trivandrum Road Development Project as as possible. This thinking states the long run. In Chennai too, pathway leading all the way the best “Urban Planning and Mobility Project” for the year 2015. that “being able to walk to a mix the Corporation has embarked from the Luz Church to the Considering the usefulness and success of this project, the Gov- of shops, restaurants, news- on such an exercise in the tank. This is most welcome but ernment of Kerala has taken up a similar programme in Kozhikode stands and work centres deliv- Elliots Beach area every Sunday it will do wonders for the area under PPP (Public Private Partnership) model. It is hoped that ers the highest quality of life, where it has seen good results. only if the plan is combined such schemes will be taken up in other cities also. and adds great variety and vital- Mylapore in our city is ide- with a pedestrian initiative, at The photographs show the Kowdiar road stretch and intersec- ity to an area.” ally suited for such an activity. least on certain days of the year, tion. There is a growing demand It is well serviced by public for the four Mada Streets. – A Correspondent for making entire city districts transport – plenty of buses ply Trafficless & clean sible for successfully imple- tory of the Nilgris. Prior to the hat we senior citizens menting Prohibition in the dis- 1930s, he held the contract for Wgroup of Besant Nagar trict in the 1920s, much earlier the Permanent Way Mainte- (SCGOBN) had been agitating than anywhere in the country. nance of the prestigious Nilgiri for, for over the past one year, He was chosen to lead India at Mountain Railway and is was achieved on Sunday, Octo- the World Scouts Jamboree in recognised to have established ber 11th, albeit in a much Hungary in 1933. exceptional standards of effi- smaller manner. A greatly respected legislator ciency in this activity. Cars and motorised vehicles of the Madras Province (1923- The only bridge linking the were not allowed in one stretch we senior citizens have pave- A forgotten leader ments to walk on. 46), he also headed the Back- two States of Tamil Nadu and of the Beach Road from 6 am to riram’s report (MM, Sep- We wonder where the Cor- ward Classes League of the Karnataka across the 9 am. We had been asking for a Stember 16th) on the Madras Province for nearly three de- Mudumalai- Bandipur Tiger complete ban of all motorised poration got the will and the Week Walk connected with the money to do all this? We were cades from 1935. corridors bears the name of Ari transport from 6 am to 9 pm. Justice Party reminds me of a Ari Gowder inherited his dy- Gowder. Anyway we are happy that a told all along that the Corpora- long forgotten associate of the tion did not have the budget. namism from his father H.J. Rev. Philip K Mulley good beginning has been made. Justice Party. He was Rao Bellie Gowder (also a Rao Anaihatti Road But what is more pleasing are Thanks to the VIPs who visited Bahadur H.B. Ari Gowder Kotagiri 643 217 Besant Nagar on Sunday morn- Bahadur), known for his vibrant the ‘fringe benefits’ which we (1893-1971) of the Nilgiris. I role in the subaltern social his- The Nilgiris. residents of Besant Nagar have ing, the Chennai Corporation have detailed his career else- got. beautified 3rd Main Road. where (2012). The side road leading to the Whatever the reason, we senior He has a road named after beach (3rd Main) has been citizens of Besant Nagar are MADRAS MUSINGS ON THE WEB cleaned. The sand and dust happy. him (though as usual in a have been removed. Cementing We hope the Chennai Cor- twisted form — Arya Gowda To reach out to as many readers as possible who share has been done in patches. The poration shows similar enthusi- Street) in West . our keen interest in Madras that is Chennai, and in pavement has been reclaimed. asm in cleaning and reclaiming A distinguished spokesper- response to requests from many well-wishers – pavements in other parts of Garbage has been removed son for the Nilgiris during the especially from outside Chennai and abroad who from 3rd Main and new garbage Besant Nagar and other parts of British period, he had the privi- receive their postal copies very late – for an online bins brought in. We had been Chennai. lege of representing the district edition. Madras Musings is now on the web at asking for this for more than a before the Simon Commission Prof V. Chandrasekhar www.madrasmusings.com year. Above all, a new road President, SCGOBN in 1927. As a young pro-active signboard has been installed. B 12/12, 25th Cross representative of the then Dis- THE EDITOR We are all very happy. At last Besant Nagar, Chennai 600090 trict Board, he was also respon- 4 MADRAS MUSINGS October 16-31, 2015

NOSTALGIA Memories of an Alwarpet road

y first memory of Eldam’s ing property. This resulted in colony (as he had great regard MRoad goes back to the the first part of Eldam’s Road, for Anantharamakrishna Iyer, mid-1960s when, as a bride, I which was mostly residential, who developed the Simpson’s accompanied my mother to visit turning into a mix of residential Group). Subsequently his fam- Another bit of Alwarpet my husband’s grandparents liv- and commercial complexes. ily members sold part of the ing in Hamsa, their house on I was always curious to know property and, today, we have a the main road. It had a small how the road got its name and shoddy-looking, six-storeyed heritage under threat open area in front and a larger recently learnt it owes it to a apartment complex on the site irst it was D’Monte Colony. Now, another place of heritage one at the rear. There were, on Richard Yeldham of the East with the day’s linen hanging Fand history in Alwarpet is soon to be wiped out as new either side of the road, a few in- India Company, who became from the balconies greeting us development takes place. Sadr Gardens, a magnificent bungalow dependent houses with large the Mayor of Madras in 1801, first thing in the morning. located off Kasturi Ranga Road, Alwarpet, is to be brought compounds which were mostly the last one appointed in the We rebuilt our house two down. Preliminary work is on now. occupied by the owners them- Company era. By the time he decades ago but took care to This bungalow was once the ‘Sadr Adalat’, the chief courts selves. The tall trees with their died, in 1820, at the age of 68, preserve the nearly century-old of appealing from courts administering Hindu and Islamic Law rich foliage provided shade be- Yeldham had built a palatial mango tree in our compound (a for different types of castes. That was when the Nawabs ruled sides privacy to the residents. home in and the sapling of the Imam Pasand va- this part of the country. Though it was on the main road leading from his house to riety was brought from Raja- This campus was then a hub of legal cases in the middle of road connecting Mowbray’s Mount Road was named Yeld- mundry by my husband’s grand- what was scrub jungle and paddy fields. In fact, the area south Road at one end and Mount ham’s Road, which evolved into father). It faithfully bears fruit of Parthasarathy Gardens was paddy fields till about 50 years Road on the other with public Eldam’s Road. The first person even today. ago. as well as privately owned trans- from our family to live here was The nearest landmarks to Some people say that those condemned to death at the court port plying to and fro, pedestri- my husband’s ancestor, his our residence have changed at were hung from a tree in an area opposite where Narada Gana ans had no difficulty walking mother’s great grandfather, P. least three times to my know- Sabha’s auditorium stands. along Eldam’s Road or crossing ledge: Syndicate Bank, Profad, Those courts were later amalgamated to form the High it as traffic rules were strictly Esseen Musicals and Pizza Para- Courts in the Presidencies in British India. Later Sadr Gardens observed and concern towards G by Meera dise, the last giving place re- came to be the residence of Justice Basheer Ahmed Sayeed, former judge of the and celebrated advocate. safety of fellow human beings Raghavendra Rao cently to the Madras Coffee His name and that of another luminary Bashyam Iyengar, who was generally shown by those at House which is gaining in popu- was a resident of this street was hyphenated to give this street the wheel. larity for its snacks and steam- the name it sports today. An odd name that puzzles someone Once we moved into our Chentsal Rao, who was ap- ing filter coffee. On the oppo- who takes a close look at it. – (Courtesy: Mylapore Times.) own house situated in one of pointed Head Sheristadar of the site side is a pet shop which the private lanes off the road, Board of Revenue after Seshai- again is drawing a lot of custom- the first thing I noticed was an ah Sastry had vacated that of- ers, indicating an increase of pet treated me to oblige him saying kinds of goods and consumer early morning visitor accompa- fice to become Dewan of Tra- owners. Among the various it made a wholesome breakfast items available in their modest nied by a cow for whom my vancore. Chentsal Rao pur- other commercial establish- for the price charged, which ac- outlets. They include shops mother-in-law would eagerly chased for himself and his fam- ments that have come up in this cording to them was very rea- which sell clocks and watches, wait vessel in hand. He would ily a 13-acre property on El- former residential area are a sa- sonable. gold jewellery, textiles, electri- turn the empty can upside down dam’s Road for Rs.26,000. It loon, an electrical shop, a A few yards away is a li- cal goods, and so on. We find a for her to see it contained no dentist’s clinic, a pharmacy, a extended from Mowbray’s Road censed ‘bunk kadai’, a kind of 24-hour hospital and a dental water, then he would start milk- to the present H.D. Raja Street. popular cake shop and an kiosk selling sundry items, apart clinic in their midst. Not too ing the cow (at times admonish- internet café. The drive to the big bunga- from snacks such as bajjis and long ago there used to be a ing the animal if it didn’t coop- In the past decade or so, I low, named Baobab (was there bondas accompanied by side ‘hotel’ bearing the name of the had noticed that ‘Street Food’ erate) and later pour out two one there?), was from Mow- dishes which seem to be the road but today some other too has undergone a change. It measures of milk (one padi) full bray’s Road. Chentsal Rao sold main draw for customers living business has come up in its is no longer patronised by the of froth into the vessel. Almost the land adjoining Mowbray’s in the vicinity. One morning place. man-in the-street alone. It is at the end of every week he Road to Pattabhirama Iyer, during my morning walk I no- However, we hope the would request an advance, tell- Civil Court Judge and father of common to see officer-goers, ticed large stainless steel con- names of the important land- ing my mother-in-law that it Sir C.P. Ramaswami Aiyar. The with briefcase in hand, standing tainers being unloaded from an marks that residents from far was only to buy fodder for his plot next to it on the west, with alongside the security of the auto and the owner of the kiosk and near are familiar with will nearby posh apartment com- cow. As days passed, the re- a small building on it, was sold transferring the items into tin not change or get diluted at has plex gulping the brew at the quests turned into demands, in- to Sub-Judge Gopal Rao, and a boxes with lids. When asked happened with the name of the mobile food cart. The man serv- variably becoming unpleasant plot further west was sold to from where they were sourced, road. They are the CPREC ing this health drink, is verbal exchanges between the Sambaiah Chetty, a family koozhu, the auto driver pointed to the Foundation at one end (nearer seated under a large colourful two until one fine day when friend. As both of them man owning the kiosk and said, TTK Road) on the left and, on umbrella which advertises an they automatically came to an changed their minds later, be- “They are all prepared by his the right, the residence-turned- FM channel. His is end with the Corporation step- cause they didn’t want to settle Koozhu wife in their house.” office of Kamal Haasan, the film ping in. The worst affected were in Madras, Chentsal Rao repur- made by boiling rice and millets world icon. Further up is The A little distance across the the milkmen/owners of cows chased the land. This property with buttermilk and salt added Christian Arts and Media Cen- road is the recently opened who until then made a living by was called The Grove, and here to it. It’s quite a sight watching tre with a sprawling compound. Kovai Pazhamudir Cholai selling milk, apart from enjoying Chentsal Rao later built a small his clientele drinking mouthfuls Tattvaloka, a beautiful three- where fresh vegetables, fruit the liberty of letting their cows cottage for himself, designed of the brew even as they gener- storeyed building in shining juices and groceries are avail- loose on the roads day and and constructed by the well- ously help themselves to fried granite where religious dis- able. But if you live on the op- night, not to speak of old-tim- known contractor, Nambe- green chillies, cut mangoes and courses and music concerts take posite side of the road, the ers like my mother-in-law who rumal Chetty. In 1918, his son, shredded onions placed on the place, and the Subramaniar heavy traffic must be braved to had to reluctantly switch to P. Krishna Rao, sold Baobab and ‘table’. Seeing me watching the temple, which has been reno- reach this all-under-one-roof dairy milk supplied in a sachet. in 1959 on the advice of P. whole scene one day, the ven- vated recently, are at the other supermarket. In the 1980s we began to no- Panini Rao, his two sons dis- dor poured a little of the koozhu end, in Teynampet. A couple of tice the gradual transformation posed of The Grove which was into a plastic glass and said, The second half of the road, mobile carts selling street food, of the area with the rise of purchased by Vunugopala “Amma why don’t you taste it? towards Teynampet where the mainly chaat, are found along apartment and commercial Mudaliar who changed the You will find it heavenly if it is road meets Anna Salai (Mount the other half of the road as complexes as a result of a shift façade of the building and accompanied by a bite of the Road), has more or less main- well. – (Excerpted from the in peoples’ thinking in terms of named the colony, comprising a green chilli and shredded on- tained its ‘commercial’ and author’s latest book Chennai the long-term benefits of own- cluster of houses, as ARK ion.” People drinking it en- ‘congested’ nature with all Collage with her permission) October 16-31, 2015 MADRAS MUSINGS 5 The days of the ‘Fishing Fleet’

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man possessed of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.” – JANE AUSTEN (1813)

ortunately this quote from Jane Austen no longer applies in the 21st Century now Fthat we have a more enlightened approach to gender. For Mrs. Bennett, the char- acter in Pride and Prejudice whose main ambition in life is to find a suitable husband for her five daughters, this was a very real conundrum. From the dawn of civilization, parents around the world have strived to dispose of their financially burdensome female offspring in the only way possible, by marrying them off. Before the education and employment of women in recent times, marriage had always been viewed as an economic rather than a social activity. It was the only route Landing in Madras. to security for a woman and her vant, the “Turbot” or “Hali- received from Indian dignitar- The ultimate goal for a Fish- its and customs of ‘the natives’. children; the grim alternatives but”. But first, they had to risk ies. This exotic land breathed ing Fleet girl was marriage to a Although these girls could were to become a governess, a life and limb and make the glamour with its silks and spices, man of her choice and these be sure of a rollicking good time paid companion, or a prostitute treacherous journey to India. its jewels and ivory. The tiger weddings were often extrava- with picnics, amateur theatri- (in 1841 there were 55,000 By the time of the Raj, steam shoots and hunting had over- gant occasions. The reality of cals, horse shows, and dances prostitutes working in London, had replaced sail and unlike tones of romance and danger, married life in India, however, under jasmine scented starry one prostitute for every twelve modern ships, there were no irresistible to an impressionable was very far from glamorous for skies there were many harsh adult males!). stabilisers and little protection young girl. Whatever the haz- most women. As Kipling said, and traumatic experiences for Arranged marriages are a fa- from a rough sea. A ticket ards of the journey, the prize “Marriage in India does not the Fishing Fleet to endure. miliar concept in India. It is an around the Cape only pur- was a tantalising pool of eligible concern the individual but the During the British Raj, India efficient system of third party chased an empty cabin, which bachelors. government he serves.” experienced some of the worst management in the marriage the recipient was expected to Arriving in India for these For many Raj wives, life was famines and disease. Bubonic market. For the British, no such fill according to their means. women was dazzling – all hu- difficult. Apart from the physi- plague and Spanish flu saw off official practice was in place. The traveller must provide, at manity, shouting and begging in cal aspects, like the difference thousands of people as well as Trade with India was the the very least, a bed on which an incomprehensible language. in climate, surroundings and the endemic malaria, cholera jewel in the crown of the British to sleep, a mirror, washstand, a The smell of spices and sweat, housekeeping, they were under was rife and apart from the gen- commercial empire. The East chair, candles and a chest for curry and open drains all carried the constant gaze of Indian ser- eral discomfort of the heat and India Company, founded in vants but had little to occupy the misery of isolation the Raj 1600, accounted for half the them. Ironically, loneliness was wife would have to deal with world’s trade and beckoned to G by Frances Wilson one of the main hazards. Sepa- the threat of rabies, snakes and young British men. If they sur- ration from their children was riots. vived the arduous journey, they almost inevitable because they The cemetery in Fort St could look forward to riches and clothing. Most of the ships were on a warm breeze, the noise, were sent back to England to be George is testimony to the success. To the British middle cramped and carried cargo of and the crowds jostling was educated, and husbands were heartbreaking realities of life for class family, overburdened with livestock, including, in one in- strange and unfamiliar. Add to often sent up country for long these women in Madras. The daughters, the colonies were a stance, a pack of foxhounds, that the vivid colours of saree’s periods of time. While men at graves are a sad record of Brit- godsend. With this concentra- and several horses. During the and exotic fruits, suffocating least had their work, women ish children dying in infancy tion of ambitious, wealthy long journey, food would perish heat and the sheer mass of bod- were often miles from their and women in childbirth. young men, India quickly be- and there was a shortage of wa- ies, it was overwhelming. nearest neighbour and the so- Although plenty of criticism came a land of opportunity for ter. Disease and seasickness, Begun in 1890, ‘August cial highlight of the week was a has been poured on the heads the poor, plain, or elderly girl – however, were plentiful. Not- Week’, when The Fishing Fleet visit to the club and the occa- of the Memsahibs, what is as- over twenty – to make a catch. withstanding, the British stiff arrived, was the great social sional Saturday night dance. tonishing is that most of these Socially constrained and un- upper lip pervaded and social event of the year. In Ceylon, the Desperate for integration, girls in their early twenties man- able to mix and marry with In- etiquette was strictly main- tea and coffee planters would many did what they could to aged to cope, and also learned dian women (although, as we tained; evening dress was come down to Colombo and take part in the life of the coun- to love the strange and alien know, many did so), European obligatory and no respectable take a look at the fifteen or try and help those around them, environment of India, despite men up until this point had woman would ever go without twenty girls who arrived in but they were limited by gov- the perils that life there threw been condemned to a life of ex- her corset, whatever the condi- stages and stayed at the Galle ernment policy, designed to re- at them. treme loneliness and sexual tions. Face Hotel. They would then be strict interference with the hab- deprivation. In the tropical cli- Rank and precedence were asked to dances and social mate, this led to an understand- everything and were strictly ad- events and vetted for suitability. able and unbearable frustration, hered to. Distinguished people Complex social rituals existed CHENNAI HERITAGE one that could negatively im- such as aristocrats and members for the introduction process – a pact their thriving commerce. of the Indian Civil Service sat girl’s most important accessory No. 5, Bhattad Tower, 30, Westcott Road In a savvy business move, The at the Captain’s table whilst the was her calling card, for, with- Royapettah, Chennai 600 014 East India Company, realising rest of the passengers were out one, she was socially invis- I am already on your mailing list (Mailing List No...... ) / the dearth of European women grouped with their social ible. These cards were the I have just seen Madras Musings and would like to receive it for their workforce, paid the equals. Children ate in a sepa- means by which a social aspir- hereafter. passage to India for a number of rate dining room with their ant could be kept at a distance G I/We enclose cheque/demand draft/money order for Rs. 100 willing women – they became ayahs. There were lavish parties while they were being assessed (Rupees One hundred) payable to CHENNAI HERITAGE, known as the “Fishing Fleet”. with champagne and dancing as suitable, or not! Cards were MADRAS, as subscription to Madras Musings for the year In 1671, in the first recorded for the “heaven born”, those delivered to houses and 2015-16. instance, twenty women were travelling first class on the top dropped into wooden boxes G As token of my support for the causes of heritage, environ- sent to Bombay. The prospec- deck. Mostly this was composed called Bokkus. If the lady of the ment and a better city that Madras Musings espouses, I send tive brides were divided into of the Indian Civil Service, the house was not receiving, a box Chennai Heritage an additional Rs...... “Gentlewomen” and “Others”. Crème de la Crème. was brought out with the in- (Rupees ...... ) Please They were given one set of Early members of the Fishing scription “Mrs. X not at home”. keep/put me on your mailing list. clothing and maintained in In- Fleet were not deterred by the Nevertheless, it was necessary dia for a year, during which time dangers and discomforts of the to drop as many cards as pos- Name : ...... they had to find a mate or go voyage. India had always fasci- sible off to be assured of a wel- ...... home in disgrace. An allowance nated the British general pub- come as a newcomer, or risk the Address: ...... of three hundred pounds a year lic, indeed Queen Victoria her- ultimate humiliation of not ...... and a pension if they were wid- self held it in such a high regard; finding a husband and being ...... owed, proved quite an incen- she built and furnished a sent back to Britain. These poor All cheques to ‘Chennai Heritage’. DD/Cheque should be sent tive. The biggest prize in the Durbar room in Osborne House girls were called “Returned by Speed Post only. matrimonial net was a civil ser- containing the many gifts she empties”. 6 MADRAS MUSINGS October 16-31, 2014 Two pages of

(Current Affairs questions are from the period September 1st to 15th. Questions 11 to 20 pertain to Chennai and Tamil Nadu.) 1. Which State topped the World Bank’s first ever ranking of States on the ease of doing business in India? 2. On September 9th, which institution was conferred the pres- tigious Gandhi Peace Prize for 2014? 3. Whose record did Queen Eliza- beth II break recently to become the longest-reigning female mon- arch in history? 4. The Union Government is going to develop which place as the ‘Spiritual Capital’ of the country in order to serve the civilisational bond between India and the Bud- dhist world? Getting street children 5. Which South African city will host the 22nd edition of the Commonwealth Games in 2022? 6. The United States has changed into football the name of the tallest mountain in North America, Mount McKinley, to its original native name. What is urinkumar 14, whose par- launched ‘Grama Jyothi’ and passion for the game, we knew we through the academic year.’ it? Sents are casual workers in the ‘Operation Rural Health’. But could pull it off. On April 17, Coaching resumed in July when 7. What is Project Nilgiri? construction industry, lives in the impact seemed limited as the 2014, when the whistle blew at the school re-opened, and has 8. According to the World Federa- Sathya Nagar, Jaffarkhanpet, and beneficiaries saw them as acts of 6:30 am, 40 boys assembled for been sustained – three days a tion of Exchanges, what distinction attends a Chennai Higher Sec- charity. They were passive recipi- the session. We expected the week, two hours a day, between did the Bombay Stock Exchange ondary School (Class IX, third ents with no sense of involve- number to decline but the team 3.30 and 5.30pm. The last 15 achieve recently? rank!). He plays football and ment. We wanted to catch them stayed intact! Fine, we said, till minutes are spent delivering a 9. On whom did Prime Minister wants to be Messi. Danushkumar young, train them in discipline we realised the children were positive message with success Narendra Modi release a com- 16 (father – self-employed elec- and hygiene, but couldn’t even reporting for the camp with stories of young achievers like memorative coin of Rs.125 value trician, mother – home-maker) make a proper appraisal of their nothing in their stomach. We got Beno Zephine, India’s first visu- recently? Hint: He had been walks to MGR Nagar Chennai needs, leave alone address them. a caterer to supply sundal. He ally-challenged IFS officer. awarded the Bharat Ratna. School from Kasi Theatre and And in some ways we were repli- would appear with a box, stay “With communication greatly 10. The Supreme Court recently thinks Ronaldo is the best. “I cating what the government was through the session. On Day 14, improved, children openly dis- stayed the Rajasthan High Court’s watch both on TV.” Ramachan- doing. to everyone’s surprise and cuss their problems with us. Now order declaring Santhara as illegal. dran, Class XII, MGR School, “Then it struck us: We would delight, he drove in with a truck- we are able to counsel, guide and, What is Santhara? has been playing football for address middle-school students, load of breakfast items and dis- above all, instil in them hope that * * * three years. “I’m a fan of all three there are people around who 11. Name the Chennai-based um- – Messi/Ronaldo/Neymar,” he care. Their confidence levels pire who has been included in the says. “I’ve seen their superb foot- have zoomed. In Mid-September ICC’s elite panel of umpires. work on Ten Sports.” His father we went to Bengaluru to partici- G 12. What is Natesa Mudaliar, after and mother run a cool-drinks/ by Geeta Padmanabhan pate in an All India ‘under-14’ whom the road connecting newspaper kiosk, and he “wants tournament. It is our vision that Mylapore to is named, to join the football Premier with this facility MGR Nagar noted for? League.” Chennai Higher Secondary 13. Name the café in Triplicane There is a good chance the we would speak to them through tributed them free! ‘This is my School will emerge as a vibrant that made Periyar protest for a year boys will make the grade, thanks sports. Sport is a language they way of showing appreciation for sports centre for all Government/ because it had a board that said to the swanky, world-class understand and receive with the concept,’ he said. Corporation Schools.” Brahmins only. ground they have been gifted least reservations. A perfect “In the first week of May I sub- It is a proud neighbourhood 14. What is now located at the with. The “stadium” where I vehicle to transport positive ideas mitted a detailed camp-report to now. “Earlier we played without place which once housed the watch 75 teenagers practise foot- to children! the Commissioner. He glanced shoes on rough ground but now White Memorial Hall of the ball under coach Amulraj has tall “A survey done over two years through it and asked if there was my parents take my game seri- Anglo-Indian Association of chain-link fencing, beautiful told us there was little or no anything the Chennai Corpora- ously,” says Ramachandran. “We Southern India in ? astro-turf, well-marked goal- worthwhile sporting activity in tion could do. ‘Would it be pos- all have sports shoes, play tour- 15. Where in Chennai can you find posts. It has a basketball court as these schools. Even where it sible for the works department to naments across the city.” the oldest Western inscription on neighbour. The children are happened, it lacked systematic demarcate the play-area and pro- Amulraj is thrilled to hear that the East Coast of India, dating back kitted with proper stockings and approach. Armed with this infor- vide goal posts?’ I wonderer hesi- their academic work has im- to the early 16th Century? shoes, and have colourful mark- mation, we planned a 14-day tantly. The Commissioner scraw- proved. “I didn’t know about this 16. What is the nom-de-plume of ers for tackle practice. There are summer football coaching camp led a few lines on the report in school, came here to help the the eminent writer J. Thyagarajan? toilets and a viewing area. It is a in April 2014, and chose Chen- green ink, and nodded. children improve when told of 17. Which prominent college ground that stands testimony to nai Higher Secondary School at “Three days later I got a call their disadvantaged back- taught Law in Chennai before the what can happen if a committed MGR Nagar which had a big from the school HM. She was ground,” he says. “We don’t stop Law College was founded? social-worker, kind-hearted playground. We approached the screaming excitedly, ‘Sir, what at sports coaching, we teach val- 18. Which edifice in Chennai cel- corporates and the Chennai Cor- school. You need permission have you done?’ I rushed to the ues – to forgive, to be respectful ebrated the British victories in poration get together. from Municipal Commissioner school and an incredible sight and kind.” Plassey and Seringapatnam? S Balachandran, the force Vikram Kapur for holding the greeted me. The rough ground The teenagers thank Bala sir, 19. Who, during his only visit to behind the football stadium, tells event, we were told. Kapur was being levelled by bulldozers but he says they should thank the Madras, is said to have stayed at its story. instantly warmed up to the idea and JCBs. I was told a state-of- Corporation. “We are grateful to the home of his disciple Venna “For two decades, my NGO and granted permission – with the art football ground was Commissioner Kapur and Educa- Kuppiar in Bunder Street? ‘Vatsalyam’ has been offering the request that we submit a coming up with Astroturf and tion Officers Lalitha and Shilpa. 20. Eminent art director Thota programmes tailor-made for the report. floodlights! The ground was With more help we will start girls’ Tharani has won the National students of Corporation/Govern- “We were lucky to find R made in record time. I met Award twice and both for Kamal teams and look for a basketball ment Schools. We counselled Amulraj, an NIS-trained coach Kapur, thanked him and pro- Haasan starrers. One was Nayakan. coach.” Name the other. girls on developing a can-do atti- with years of tournament experi- mised to resume the camp the To support, log on to tude, handed out books/statio- ence. When we saw his love of following summer. ‘It is a good vatsalyam.org or call (+91) (Answers on page 8) nery every academic year, teaching children matched his project,’ he said, ‘continue it 9381008723. October 16-31, 2014 MADRAS MUSINGS 7 happenings Our birding in the Yelagiri Hills

MCA Yelagiri Camp, nicely As first-time travellers with Indian kind), Bulbuls, Parakeets, Yspread over 30 acres at the MNS (although our family has Swallows, Babblers, and Prinias foot of Karadi Hills, is approxi- always enjoyed bird-watching) it were some of the species we saw. mately 6-7 km from the main was clear that the MNS trip was The Sunbirds, Wagtails (grey), Trekking in the Yelagiri Hills. (Pictures courtesy: N. Sankar Narayanan) Yelagiri city centre (which saw as much about bird watching as not seeing activ- some serious wide-road laying it was about watching and learn- ity in the next and median erection even in the ing from the group itself. For ex- 10-15 minutes, middle of the night) and approxi- ample, at the end of the first day, we decided to mately 2 km from the quaint little while most of us came to the din- try our the luck town of Mangalam. Due to the ner table with plates filled with in the lake area. nature of its location, the camp food, Srinivas arrived with pen There was a offered excellent bird watching and paper and started filling out noisy crowd in trails in and around the Camp it- not just the birds, but also the the park just self. As expected, the Camp was count of each bird with the num- around the boat booked to the brim, with quite a ber of sightings. landing. We bit of floating population owing Day 2: Vijay and three dogs moved on to the religious association. De- from the YMCA Camp led us to around the en- spite hundred+ consuming food the farthest point atop Karadi hill tire lake and got on a daily basis, the food quality (that was accessible easily) with- to spot Yellow was very consistent backed with out having to cape with over- Wagtails, King- excellent service. grown plants and bushes. On the fishers, and the Day 1: All of us reached the return, when we reached a point Ashy Wood YMCA camp by 11 am after a where there were two alternative Swallow. brief breakfast halt near paths we could take, the dogs Day 3: Even at Singapore stubbornly stood along one of the the 4 am rains Komala’s (ex-Arusuvai facility, paths even while some of us were and intermittent recently purchased by new man- taking the other path and then drizzles lasting agement – good breakfast and we realised in a short while the Leaf Bird, and Sparrows could be predators into the nest, but we approximately 2-3 hours could service). After checking into the reason why the dogs waited for us sighted inside the camp. At saw another Baya Weaver nest not dampen the spirit of trek rooms followed by a quick cup of to come along their way. The lunch, we saw several fruit trees close by on a tree in open area. leader Vijay, who at the first tea, most of us took a stroll trek up lasted nearly close to 2 and birds around the dining hall. After a brief rest following sighting of the sun taking a quick around the Camp itself absorbing hours while the return was be- Right in front of the dining hall lunch and some hot chai in the peek from behind the clouds, the location slowly. tween 40 minutes to 1 hour and there was even a mangosteen Mangalam tea stall (followed by sounded out the troops to get We were told that the team 15 minutes for the entire group. tree and a few of us even got to some yummy ragi snacks from ready for the hike up could take a rest after lunch and Back at the Camp, we went taste its fruit. A little farther Pritam), we set out for the euca- Swamimalai. From nearby then take a walk at the back of looking for some of the local away, just beyond the gate, there lyptus tree filled area at the back Mangalam we started the trek up the Camp itself where there were birds. The Common Iora, Munia, was a beautiful nest of the Baya of the Yatri Nivas. After seeing the hill after a short walk through some good trees and shrubs for White-bellied Drongo and other Weaver hanging above a small just Sunbirds and moving leaves fields. Due to rain it was quite birding. Drongos, Robins (Magpie and water pit. It was said that this was for a while, we spotted a few typical, to prevent easy entry for Small Minivets (M&F). After chill. By the time, we reached the top of Swamimalai, the sun was out and how we wished for shade. Green Bee-eaters and a whole host of butterflies made their ap- pearance during the trip. Rock On the trail of old cine musicians Agama and a fairly large lizard gave us a peek into the life be- yond winged creatures. f you are a fan of vintage Tamil film music, the sounds that you , I had occasion to meet the Pachecos and Pintos – the This trip up and down was a Ipick up from the songs may be familiar. Very Western. musicians who worked in film music recording studios. little tougher than the Karadi hill As would be the song and dance sequences. They kept to themselves. So we knew little about their work and The musicians who made the music happen in the 1950s and 60s their music. trip due to there being steps were Anglo-Indians and Goans. On the odd occasion, I had dropped into Uncle Pacheco’s home which seemed to pound on the It is their signature that runs through many of the popular hits of and was astonished at the many pianos he possessed more than knees, especially on the way that period. pieces of furniture. down. The whole trip took longer A few were stars in their own right. The rest live in fading So why were most of those musicians living in neighbourhoods than expected and, hence, most memories. like Narasingapuram, Royapettah and Thousand Lights? of us ended up just chilling out Australia-resident Monty Stephens, here for a wedding of a rela- During the times of the British, the Anglo-Indians who studied the camp on our return. tive and once part of the popular band, New Heritage which played music went on to get work in the Governor’s Band. They had The team took one final walk for a decade at the Chola Sheraton’s roof-top Sagari restaurant, has quarters in Government Estate. The other musicians played for the to a location near the Camp, and been opening the windows to the lives of the musicians who made it big bands in the clubs which lined Mount Road. Then there were big in . the ‘dance’ bands. it turned out to be the most pro- Of the days when ‘call boys’ would bring up cars to the doors of Thus, the musicians’ families made homes in areas off Mount ductive trail of the trip. We were these hugely in-demand artistes, of men who were wizards on the Road. rewarded with a view of a well- saxophone or on the guitar, of stars who played in both shifts and And when cinema blossomed, their destination was Kodam- rested Scaly-breasted Munia and got home at midnight from . bakkam’s studios. a Flowerpecker. After breakfast, Monty’s stories were valuable, and his sister-in-law Jean Lane, Playing for the likes of K.V. Mahadevan, M.S. Vishwanathan- we headed back to Chennai. We who lives in Kodambakkam (her rather Harold Gabriel was a pianist T.K. Ramamurthy and Illaya Raja. had, as a group, spotted 30 spe- who played for music director K.V. Mahadevan) had mad this Social histories of colonies inside neighbourhoods reveal much cies of butterflies and around 65 meeting possible. of the life and times of an age. Often, they go unnoticed, unrecorded. species of birds. (Courtesy: Ma- As I listened to Monty on a stuffy Monday afternoon, I was trying And are quickly wiped clean by physical and social changes. dras Naturalists’ Society Bulletin.) to connect the dots. We now have a growing Korean community in our city. As a teenagar living in the small neighbourhood of Narasinga- Can you imagine its imprint in 2050? – (Courtesy: Mylapore –Gowrishankar, puram, now cannibalised by the electronics and computer market of Times) Srividya, Madhuvanti and Hemavati 8 MADRAS MUSINGS October 16-31, 2015

KNOW YOUR FORT BETTER G by Sriram V. (Continued from page 1) memory of the old burial ground had gone and people considered Till October 30: Wonderful Vi- and recorded that “When a Person of Note dies, his Funeral is the Yale and Powney monuments to be isolated structures. It was gnettes, an exhibition of paintings solemnised with the greatest Magnificence. The Governour, Coun- only when excavations for the Law College began in the 1880s by Yuvan Bothi Sathuvar (at cil, and Gentlemen of the Town attend; nor are the fair Sex want- that quantities of bones were discovered, leading to renewed inter- Sandy’s, Cenotaph Road, ing in their Duty to their deceas’d Countryman.” est in the Guava Garden Cemetery. ). Even after the construction of St Mary’s, burials continued to The transfer of the stones took time, for Hyder Ali, while in- Till October 30: A Travelogue, an happen at this designated place, outside the Fort. In 1711, John vading Madras in the 1780s, could still use them for mounting his exhibition of etchings by Bruce Legg, Member in Council and whose wife Hannah would be buried guns. Several stones were thus damaged and many vanished and Peck, whose work captures heri- in the guava garden six years later, wrote that the place had some only a small selection made their way to the Fort. Joining them in tage sites of India in a classical old toddy trees (probably palmyrah palms) which gave the Church the St Mary’s yard were stones from the old Capuchin church of St style (at Apparao Infinity). Till November 19: Plethora of an annual income of twenty pagodas. Even while that note was Andrew’s which had stood within the Fort and was demolished in Gods, an exhibition of paintings being written, the church wardens had begun to complain about 1749 after its priests were suspected of colluding with the French. and sculptures by A.V. Ilango, K. the cemetery going to seed. Evidently nothing has changed in our Interestingly, there is a tomb with a Tamil inscription as well. This Muralidharan, M. Senathipathi, city when it comes to use of public spaces. The toddy tappers commemorates Thaniappa Mudaliar, alias Lazarus Timothy. A Manisha Raju, R. Sundararaju, worked whenever they felt like and the gates had to be kept open dubash of the French East India Company, he belonged to the par- S. Hemalatha, S. Nandagopal, at all odd hours. The tombs had become stables for buffaloes and ish of the Capuchin church and when he died in 1691, was buried Shalini Biswajit, Vasantha Raja night shelters for beggars. To prevent ingress of cattle, a shed was there. We thus have a Tamil Catholic who worked for the French and Y. Shivaramachary (at Fo- built for them close by but within a few months the Company req- EIC, commemorated in the yard of the oldest Anglican church! rum Art Gallery). uisitioned that structure for shops and the buffaloes were back at Also of interest is the tombstone of Elizabeth Baker, wife of the cemetery. Aaron Baker who was Agent, and later first President of Madras in Worse was to follow in 1758 when the French besieged Madras. the 1650s. She died off the Cape of Good Hope in 1652 and her A detachment of their troops was stationed at the burial ground. A body was brought to Madras for burial. The tombstone has the battery was erected behind the convenient shelter that the tombs distinction of being the oldest surviving British inscription in In- provided and from this, and other locations, the bombardment of dia. One multicoloured stone alone has been let into the north the Fort began. When the siege was lifted, a thorough study of the wall of the Church. This commemorates Agent Henry Greenhill, Fort’s security was made by John Call and in it he noted that the who died in 1658 under what can only be described as curious officers suffered “great Inconvenience from the Tombs at the bury- circumstances. He being “much Sweld, was perswaded per the Sur- ing Ground, which, being large arch’d Structures placed in a line, geons to bee tapt, to let out the Beaveridge, after which hee lived almost close to each other and opening into one another, not only but two days.” Such being the mercenary temper of the times, the protected the Enemy from our shot, but afforded them a cover same note in the next sentence records that it is an ill wind that equally safe against our Shells.” He requested that the Council “be blew nobody any good, for his death meant that Thomas Chamber, pleas’d to give Orders for removing this Evil.” who succeeded him, “will bee Exalted into a better Capacity of Till November 25: Politics of Reli- His words bore fruit and the tombs and enclosure walls were serving his friends.” Such is life. gion & Religion of Politics, an ex- levelled, even as the inscribed stones were transferred to the yard A full description of every tombstone in the yard (there are 104 hibition of paintings by various around St Mary’s Church in the Fort. Two monuments were left of them) is to be found in J Cotton’s work, the Monuments of Ma- artists (at Apparao Galleries). standing. One was the Yale Obelisk, a giant piece of masonry be- dras. This in turn draws many references from two earlier works. Till November 28: Everywhere, neath which rest Elihu Yale’s son David, and Yale’s close friend The first is Urquhart’s Oriental Obituary, published in 1809 in Ma- Everyday – an exhibition of art- Joseph Hynmer. Alongside was a circular vault enclosed with a dras, which records many stones now missing. The second dates to works by renowned artists, exploring the live elements of railing and this contained the remains of six members of the 1880 and is an album prepared at the instance of the then Gover- nature and their relationship to Powney family. Today, the latter is untraceable, probably sacri- nor, the Duke of Buckingham and Chandos, of the facsimiles of all the live senses of the human ficed in the interests of the Metrorail. Even by the early 1800s, all the stones lining the yard of St Mary’s in the Fort. body (at The Leela Galleria). October 20-November 21: A curated series of photographs tion featuring Hindol Deb and December 18: Sounds of Christ- from The Ostkreuz School of Answers to Quiz Sebastian Gramss. Together mas and New Year (at Goethe Photography, Berlin, Katarzyna with Amit Mishra and Paras Institut Auditorium). 1. ASTROSAT; 2. Dilip Shanghvi of Sun Pharma, 3. Court, Mazur’s work Anna Konda and Nath from India and Matthias Workshop for children 4. Nepal, 5. E. Sreedharan of Delhi Metro fame, 6. Godavari and Torben Greeck’s work Anti (at Muche and Erwin Ditzner from December 19: The camp will in- Krishna, 7. USA, 8. Bonn, 9. ‘Netaji’ Subhash Chandra Bose, 10. Ston- Goethe Institut Auditorium). Germany, they have explored clude a number of interesting ac- ing the devil ritual held as part of the Haj. November 4-8: Ludwig van different cultural roots and tra- tivities like t-shirt printing, * * * Beethoven symphonies (at ditions (ROOTS) and the ensu- origami, Dakshinachitra’s minia- 11. Cuddalore, 12. Kennedy Streets, 13. Karneeswarar Koil, Goethe Institut Auditorium, 7 ing of new fruits and sprouts ture model house making folk 14. P. James, the magician, 15. Palace, 16. Fort Museum, p.m.). (SHOOTS). (Entry on passes. dance, pot-breaking & tug of 17. Ashokamitran, 18. Madras Roads, 19. Ellis Road (after F.W. Ellis), November 18: Roots & Shoots – An Museum Theatre, 7.30 p.m.). war. (at Dakshina Chitra) 20. Triplicane. Indo-German artistic collabora-

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