Registered with the Reg. No. TN/CH(C)/374/18-20 Registrar of Newspapers Licenced to post without prepayment for India under R.N.I. 53640/91 Licence No. TN/PMG(CCR)/WPP-506/18-20 Publication: 1st & 16th of every month Rs. 5 per copy (Annual Subscription: Rs. 100/-) INSIDE Short ‘N’ Snappy Museum Theatre gate Mesmerism in Madras Tamil Journalism Thrilling finale www.madrasmusings.com WE CARE FOR MADRAS THAT IS CHENNAI Vol. XXIX No. 8 August 1-15, 2019 Why celebrate Chennai? every three minutes that places by The Editor us ahead of Detroit? When it comes to leather exports did we Our THEN is a sketch by artiste Vijaykumar of old Woodlands here we go again, ask- other to the problems it faces. know that Chennai and Kan- hotel, Westcott Road, where Krishna Rao began the first of his ing everyone to celebrate This is where we ply our trade, pur are forever neck-to-neck T restaurant chain in the 1930s. Our NOW is Saravana Bhavan Chennai, for Madras Week is educate our children, practise for reaching the top slot? And (Courtesy: The Hindu) also equally significant in Chennai’s food just around the corner. The our customs, celebrate our our record in IT is certainly history but whose owner died earlier this month being in the news cynics we are sure, must be individuality and much else. impressive. If all this was not till the end for wrong reasons. already practising their count- Chennai has given us space for enough, our achievements in er chorus beginning with the all this and we must be thankful enrolment for school education usual litany – Chennai was not for that. And when it comes to and higher education, and our founded in 1639, the weather civic issues, which city is wholly performance on public health here is uniformly bad, there immune to them? Chennai has are the envy of most other is a perennial water crisis, the many achievements to its cred- cities of India. It is just that in roads are terrible, the civic body it. While its many firsts have our characteristic understated inactive and the traffic chaotic. been documented sufficiently fashion we prefer not to talk To all of this we agree in toto in MM and elsewhere, we need about any of this. but these in our view do not in to also look at the many ways Madras Week is not just any way detract from the fact it contributes to the nation. about celebrating a colonial that there are several aspects Chennai being the medicare past as many have unfortunate- to Chennai that are sufficient capital of India is well-known, ly depicted it. It is all about reasons to rejoice. but how many of us know that cherishing what is good in Firstly, it is home to so many it accounts for 40 per cent of our city and making it known of us. And despite its lack of the medical tourism inflows to everyone. Are any of the roads, water and much else, let into India? achievements listed above from us remember that we continue We always knew that Chen- our colonial times? Hardly. to live here, call it home and nai is referred to as the Detroit All of them are peaks that we also, it must be admitted, have of India, but how many of know contributed in some way or the that we produce one vehicle (Continued on page 2) Per a longstanding tradition, point and people, including the Better facilities needed the Athi Varadar idol is kept elderly, often have to struggle immersed in the temple’s Anan- to make their way to the tem- thasaras tank and brought out ple entrances. Darshan queues for public worship only once ev- snake around the temple for for the darshan ery 40 years. On July 1 this year, kilometres, with devotees often Lord Athi Varadar was raised waiting for six hours or more haipoosam arrangements again and the elusive idol is on to catch a momentary glimpse Tat Palani were reportedly by A Special Correspondent display until mid-August. Ex- of Athi Varadar. Devotees also exemplary, with the district tensive media coverage spread complain that they don’t have administration working closely the word far & wide, attracting access to basic facilities like with the HR & CE, police, fire temple, Kanchipuram, came as Tens of thousands of devotees millions of devotees - numbers water, toilets or food; for in- and rescue, health & other a nasty shock to devoteeTamil flock to these festivals, and unlike anything the temple has stance, just six bio-toilets have departments to ensure that pil- Nadu is known as the Land of while they brace themselves to seen before. However, ground been installed for their use, grims have a memorable spiritu- Temples for a reason; the state is negotiate uncomfortably large reports point to a lack of plan- and they’re not properly main- al experience. So, the fatal lack dotted with temples and hardly crowds, safety or access to basic ning & arrangement to safely tained. Things took a sombre of planning for the Athi Varadar a fortnight goes by without a facilities have never been a ma- manage the crowds. Vehicles Darshan at Varadaraja Perumal temple festivity taking place. jor concern. Indeed, this year’s. are not allowed access beyond a (Continued on page 2) C M Y K 2 MADRAS MUSINGS August 1-15, 2019 WHY CELEBRATE The Tower of Babel he Man from Madras buried into the wall rather CHENNAI? TMusings was quiet for in the manner of Mughal-era a change. All around him a courtesans, could be inspect- perfect Babel of voices rose ed. What was not mentioned terprise? Think of how you can (Continued from page 1) and fell, each in its own was that MMM, who had paid join in. If you live in an apart- cadence, pitch and punc- for the original work, would have scaled as an independent ment complex, see if you can tuation. We were all stand- now do so for the taking apart people. Is it not necessary to organise a celebration. There ing in a newly-constructed and reassembly. Not that take some time off and look is no one way to commemorate toilet, of 4’x4’ dimension, MMM had a choice anyway back at what we have attained? Chennai – you can cut a cake, the temperature was at an but he did reflect on how And please let us not waste our clean your neighbourhood, help all-time high and there was inconvenient these modern time on debating if Madras was the deserving, man the traffic, dust all around. Before you conveniences were. In the founded in 1639 or not. There promote water conservation – run away with the idea that old days, the flush tank was are many answers to that and all of these can be celebrations a group of men had met in outside and you could even there is no point in splitting of Chennai. Do it your way, but a loo for some nefarious ac- lift the lid and check if there tivity let MMM dispel such was water before you went on hairs. If you are not comfortable do share what you did with us. notions. This was a toilet in with your business. But now about August as a choice for The administration also per- the new chez MMM and his there is no way you can do celebrating the city then let us haps needs to take a line or two good lady, also known as She that, unless you have X-ray blank kiosk, as can seen in select some other time of the from Uttar Pradesh, not a State Who Must Be Obeyed and it vision of course. the adjoining photograph. year. But let us celebrate, that known for its administrative was not working. A gathering The dismantling was duly It is quite amazing that is what matters. capabilities, on how it handled of experts had been called done and the culprit it was this State of all places could We at Madras Musings have the Sangam at Allahabad for in and discussions were in discovered, was a tonne not come up with a 100 chosen August for our annual Which there was praise. Per- progress. or so of white cement that words or so on the man for thanksgiving for the city and we haps it is also time for India to It was as MMM said earli- had made its way into the whom a statue of several intend to abide by that. If others evolve some kind of a guide to er, something out of Babel for tank. Once again everyone hundred feet was erected off can come up with celebrations be shared across States on how several native languages were blamed everyone else, each the sea at the tip of India. heard. The marble layer was in his own language. MMM in other times of the year, we to handle events of this kind. And what is even more sur- from Rajasthan, the plumber suggested in the Queen’s will join them then also. But With time, our population is prising is that nobody has as from Kerala, the supervisor tongue that they better get yet noticed. It is of course celebrate we will. And so must only on the increase and events a Telugu and the person on with it. They did, and you. Do you work in a school or like this, owing to social media quite likely that there was no who supplied the porcelain when finished it was found consensus on what to write.