Registered with the Reg. No. TN/CH(C)/374/12-14 Registrar of Newspapers Licenced to post without prepayment for India under R.N.I. 53640/91 Licence No. TN/PMG(CCR)/WPP-506/12-14 Publication: 15th & 28th of every month Rs. 5 per copy (Annual Subscription: Rs. 100/-) WE CARE FOR MADRAS THAT IS CHENNAI INSIDE • Short ‘N’ Snappy • An American’s search • A public benefactor • C.V. Raman’s team-mate • Memories of Stanley Vol. XXII No. 22 MUSINGS March 1-15, 2013 The sad, sad state of Chepauk Palace Will it ever get better? t is now more than a year (By The Editor) housed the area of worship (be- Isince one part of Chepauk low which is the old marble Palace, the Khalsa Mahal, was as much as that of Khalsa plaque that states that this was consumed by flames. While its Mahal. What is worse, a part of the residence of the Nawab of proposed restoration has been the ceiling in Humayun Mahal the Carnatic) has plenty of veg- The sorry spectacle that is Chepauk Palace. in a state of masterly inactivity has caved in and the building etation growing from its crev- dislodging them. There is plenty announced that the building ever since, what is worrying is continues to remain in occupa- ices. Windows are falling apart of litter all around and Govern- would be demolished to make that the rest of the campus con- tion! and several gaping holes can be ment employees do not think way for fresh construction. tinues to remain in a state of ne- The Khalsa Mahal presents a seen. If at all there is one struc- twice before putting up posters Then, following an outcry in glect, thereby giving very little very sorry spectacle too. ture that still looks solid, it is on any of the historic walls. The the media, this was shelved and hope of a better future for what Through its arches it is possible the tower that Chisholm built entire area, though a very busy a three-member committee was is the cradle of the Indo- to see the fallen beams and to weld the two wings together. place, appears to be quite con- appointed to study the struc- Saracenic style of architecture. plenty of rubble. Even the mol- Outside, the upkeep of the tent with its squalor. Does all ture. It was pointed out even A recent visit only served to ten plastic sheets from erstwhile precincts too leaves much for this give any indication of seri- then that the committee lacked confirm that none of those in temporary partitions have not improvement. Squatters had ousness on the part of the Gov- structural engineers but the charge of the place has learnt been removed and hang pre- taken over the portico of the ernment to restore Chepauk Government went ahead. It is from the conflagration of 2012. cariously from the windows. Khalsa Mahal and the fire ap- Palace? now almost ten months since The same conditions that The north-western end which pears to have not succeeded in Shortly after the fire, it was (Continued on page 6) caused such extensive destruc- tion continue to exist in the sur- viving wing of the palace – the Humayun Mahal. All along its Will Metro moves threaten outer corridor, a huge quantity of discarded wooden furniture has been stored. Inside, the place is a rabbit’s warren of of- Ripon Building, VP Hall? fices, wooden partitions, make- shift toilets and any number of recent newspaper report aspects may get sorted out, belonged then to CMRL. These All this perhaps has something files filling every available spot. Areveals that Chennai what is clear is that Metro work, were hastily removed. But an- to do with the judgement con- Add to this, shoddy electrical Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) including drilling and tunnel- other request from the Corpo- cerning the land belonging to wiring, some ages old and sev- has moved its barricades 1.5 ling, will be much closer to ration is yet to be paid heed to. the Raja Sir Savalai Ramaswami eral new and exposed, and you metres closer to Ripon Building. Ripon Building and neigh- This pertains to the impact of Mudaliar Choultry located op- have a deadly cocktail for an- This in effect means CMRL has bouring Victoria Public Hall tunnelling on the two heritage posite Central Station. That other fire. And with the build- taken land over and above what than what was planned earlier. structures. The Corporation space, with its heritage building, ing being a structure that has was allocated to it by the Gov- was being eyed by CMRL which plenty of old timber in its make- ernment. While the procedural put up barricades along the property. But with the Court up, the extent of damage can be G by A Special Correspondent ruling that the takeover can happen only if proper compen- sation is paid, it is probable that The impact of such work on had in October 2012 asked CMRL has given up that plan these two heritage structures is CMRL to begin submitting and opted to take more land on yet to be assessed. monthly assessment reports. the northern side, from Ripon In 2010, the State Govern- CMRL is yet to do so. Building and VP Hall. ment allotted 4500 sq m of land Earlier this month, the barri- The taking over of space is on the Ripon Building campus to cades on the erstwhile grounds however only a temporary fa- CMRL. The Corporation of Ripon Building moved 1.5 m cilitation with CMRL intending Council gave its assent subse- closer to the structure. CMRL to return the land to the two quently. In 2011, 1964 sq m was now needs additional land for precincts once it completes its taken from the Victoria Public traffic diversions and has taken work. But what is worrying is Hall campus for the same pur- over the extra space it needs the silence regarding the impact pose. The Corporation took without the Government per- of underground work. The same umbrage over CMRL boards mitting it to do so by means of a question has been raised in “No, Amma, I don't need tea, the mosquitoes will make sure I stay being put up all around Ripon GO. The Corporation Council’s Building claiming that the area awake all night!” assent has also not been sought. (Continued on page 6) CMYK 2 MADRAS MUSINGS March 1-15, 2013 CUMTA should have a Cut-out season tis the season of giant cut- Second, there is the shape of the emus that he wrote about ’ outs for ’tis the season of the cut-out. The spherical one last fortnight. MMM is happy wider role various important people in is the most preferred for it oc- to report that they are doing the political firmament cel- cupies the maximum surface well. Last week MMM was out he Metropolitan concept that evolved over much of the twen ebrating birthdays. And then area and so cuts off visibility in walking when he saw the duo. all four directions. You cannot They have taken to running tieth century emerged from the industrial urban forms, con- there are stars releasing T troublesome films as well. And bend low and walk under it ei- along with the traffic and centrated core oriented production that, by agglomerating indus- ther. The rectangular ones are MMM noted them merrily try and employment in a single centre and packing the population all this calls for cut-outs and digital hoardings. The Man better for they permit walking keeping pace with scooters around the centre and along radiating transport networks, pro- from Madras Musings notices underneath rather like the Co- and cyclists, the latter being a vided a spatial solution to the problem of slow and expensive trans- that our city is full of nothing lossus of Rhodes allowed ships great favourite. Two or three port. The production and distribution of goods and an emphasis else but these. to pass below. But these suffer were sent crashing into ditches on radial movement to and from the urban core gave way to the What with having to navi- from a major weakness in the by these enterprising birds. No rise of the service economy, with communication increasingly sub- gate and negotiate these, eyes of physics. Their height question of any ennui with stituting for movement and movement occurring in all directions MMM has had ample time to being far greater than their these emi (or is it emus?) on at all times of the day and week. By and large, in a metropolitan study them. He realises that width, they have a very high the roads. MMM regretted centre of gravity. This causes that he was without a situation, now, there is a consequent need to constitute a unified the fixing of cut-outs, banners and digital hoardings follows a the Olympian leaders to gradu- camcorder, rather like those metropolitan transport authority to ease the traffic situation, ally bend down and try and big game hunters who regret- mostly for urban commuters. few simple rules. And these are listed below: mingle with the common folk ted not having brought along Mega cities in low and high income countries have more in com- on the road. They also sway to their guns the moment they mon with each other, irrespective of their locations. For example, G Every cut-out remains in the breeze. All this stooping to saw the emu. Or was it the the place it was put up till it is conquer gives motorists the jit- gnu? MMM is always confused consider Bangkok and Los Angeles, both territorially vast, amor- removed as and when those phous, multicentre regions with their populations residing in loca- ters for you never know on about this.