Registered with the Reg. No. TN/PMG (CCR) /814/06-08 Registrar of Newspapers Licence to post without prepayment for India under R.N.I. 53640/91 Licence No. WPP 506/06-08 Rs. 5 per copy (Annual Subscription: Rs. 100/-) WE CARE FOR MADRAS THAT IS CHENNAI INSIDE Short N Snappy Any green in the blueprint? MADRAS City changed and unchanged Madras Week programme MUSINGS In Nanmangalam forest Vol. XVII No. 09 August 16-31, 2007 Government to the rescue of whats illegal (By A Special Correspondent) he Government of Tamil What in reality the Ordi- What! No curd rice...?! TNadu gave a shot in the nance has done is to protect the Its haute cuisine now! arm to all those violating build- high profile violators of building ing rules and land use specifica- safety rules and FSI regulations, Isnt this something? tions on July 27th. In a sweep- and in particular the illegal Our very own thair saadham ing move, it promulgated an buildings that have come up in making it to billboards, find- Ordinance that allowed the sta- TNagars shopping area which ing a slot for itself in the tus quo on illegal buildings for a were slated for demolition. All midst of all that fancy global year. The Ordinance sought to legal actions, such as demolition cuisine/food festivals brou- To be seen at Nanmangalam haha. maintain the status quo on and the imposition of regulatory unauthorised constructions for fines, have now come to a stop. Whod have thought...? l Among the dominant plant species are Kayampoo (Memecylon a year, notwithstanding any It is worth reminding readers umbellatum), Virali (Dodonea viscosa), Marakalan (Catunaregam Now, if you belong to the gen- spinosa), and Eugenia bracteata. The Reserve Forest is also a habitat eration that grew up on judgement, decree or order of that the State government is for Jackals, Grey-naped hare, Monitor lizard, Sitas lizard and a school lunches of thair- any court! not alone in this. The Delhi saadham-dotted-with-pickle It also said all notices issued Government too has taken variety of bird species. Birds like Little brown dove, Jungle wren- babbler, Small minivet, Indian robin, Stone curlew, White-eyed in little single-tiered tiffin by any authority for initiating shelter behind a similar excuse buzzard, Common Indian nightjar and Indian great horned owl (in carriers (those were the dino- action against unauthorised de- and the Tamil Nadu Govern- the picture above) are noteworthy. During winter, several birds, saur days before hot packs velopment shall be deemed to ment has obviously taken a leaf like the Brahminy starling, Chestnut-tailed starling and Rosy and cute containers, you have been suspended and no from the countrys capital. see), you cannot but help starling, can be sighted in great numbers. The insect life is quite punitive action shall be taken There is a strong belief prolific, many unnoticed being nocturnal and/or camouflaged well. glowing just a bit. for a year among those shocked by this Notable among them are eight-inch-long praying mantises resem- Imagine, we were so in (Yes, I The reason given was that bling grass leaves, and ant-lions, beautifully coloured crickets, jewel know, yet another dated the Justice Mohan Committee (Continued on page 4) beetles, spiders, butterflies and moths. The water in the ravines word that betrays your time- holds frogs and turtles. (Also see page 7.) slot), and didnt know it. is, anyway, reviewing the Town Instead, we used the dishs and Country Planning Act and, name when accusing some- in the light of that, several new one of a certain lack of pa- recommendations will emerge Lets all add to this nache or savvy-dom. which will need to be imple- Another image with the dish mented. Therefore, all such vio- playing centre-stage. lations can be taken care of in celebration of Madras Dinner time. A grandmother the light of the Committees re- (or someone equally vener- port with retrospective effect. able) sits, facing a semi-circle The Government has cited t is now clear that Madras centring on the city as its sub- decided to organise a series of of youngsters. Their hands protection of hawkers interests IDay has come to stay as an ject. The sudden arrival of talks in order to commemorate are stretched out, palms up- as the main reason for the Ordi- annual event in Chennais so- Salman Rushdie with Padma the citys founding and this turned. Scooping perfect nance. It claims that they would cial calendar. It is difficult to be- Lakshmi in tow for one of these changed the event from Madras little mounds of thair have been the worst affected had saadham from a big vessel in lieve that it was just three years talks created quite a flutter. But Day to Madras Week. Natu- front of her, she places them the High Courts recent judge- ago that the Editor of Madras that was largely it. It was felt rally, this enlarged the scope of bang in the middle of each ments on demolition of illegal Musings and a few other jour- that such an event needed to be the celebrations. The corporate palm. And the children eat, structures been put into effect. nalists who are heritage and his- houses of the city came forward mesmerised by her stories The Citizens consumer and tory enthusiasts got together to By A Special to participate. The Taj Group of into finishing dinner minus civic Action Group (CAG), celebrate the founding of this Correspondent Hotels was the first to come any fuss. which had successfully chal- city by Francis Day, Andrew forward and offered to host a The dish has certainly come a lenged the indiscriminate Cogan, Beri Thimmappa and broadbased with hotels, shops, couple of the talks. An exhibi- long way fancy packing, regularisation of unauthorised Nagabathan, none of whom is establishments and organi- tion of photographs of Carnatic advertised by stars, and given constructions earlier, is of the remembered anywhere in the sations getting involved. The musicians of the past was held a name thats a play on its old view that the clause about pro- metropolis. city needed to wear a festive at the Piano Lounge of the ho- one. tection of hawkers interests is a In 2005, Madras Day was a look and feel festive for it to be tel. Closely following it came But, inside, the same familiar sham, as no court order has ever a proper birthday. friend. low key event with a couple of the Park Hotel which hosted asked for eviction of hawkers. Heritage Walks, a few quiz con- Chennai Heritage, publi- the first of the talks. The restau- Not all makeovers change the essential soul. On the other hand, in terms of tests and a couple of talks shers of Madras Musings, rant-cum-boutique Chamiers court judgements, there is a And thank God for that. chipped in offering its venue for Committee that is looking into The Madras Week Programme: Page 5. Ranjitha Ashok the interests of hawkers. (Continued on page 8) CMYK 2 MADRAS MUSINGS August 16-31, 2007 GOKHALE HALL OUT OF BOUNDS he Young Mens Indian days, water, though a little ing deity made of two rubber T Association is following murky, no doubt owing to the tyres, a plastic bucket and the the time-tested route for build- cleaning, emerged. It was just branch of a tree in order to ing a case for the demolition of that the CMWSSB is a Cha- warn motorists that road works historic Gokhale Hall on Arme- otic Metro but Wilfully Strong are ahead. Once the PDB has nian Street. The Man from Ma- and Silent Body that moves in crossed this hurdle, he reaches dras Musings learns that eager a mysterious way its wonders to the traffic lights where a students of the Music Depart- perform, MMM discovered. bigwigs arrival has ensured ment, Madras University, on a that all traffic is thrown out of walking tour of the George In the dark gear. Then there are political Town area, were denied per- rallies, bus breakdowns, fisti- mission to enter the building. he Man from Madras cuffs between two car drivers The senior office-bearer from T Musings is certain that the whose vehicles have collided whom permission was sought Editor of this journal (or the and who have therefore de- declared over the phone that Chief as we like to think of cided to dispense justice on the the building was unsafe for en- him) is not going to like this, as spot, vendors, hand-pulled try and he did not want to be the contributions of Ziegenbalg carts and many other hurdles. held responsible for any mishap of Tranquebar and the Jesuit Which, incidentally, reminds to the students in case the edi- missionaries of Madura in the MMM of the difficulties propagation of Tamil rank high Vikramaditya went through in fice came crashing down on The state of composer Tiruvottriyur Tyagiers house in George Town. them! The students simply among his favourite subjects. his prime to fetch the egg in But why is it that when all which the demons source of contented themselves with challenged in Court, but was ences. Now what about the standing outside this endan- other statues dotting the Ma- strength was stored which, if dismissed on the grounds that citys own, presently celebrat- rina are always in a blaze of gered structure. What im- th not released, he, the demon, the demolition had already ing its 150 year, asked the light, thanks to the new spot- would eat the girl whom pressed them most was the vis- happened and so nothing could wag.