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 Rs. 5 per copy (Annual Subscription: Rs. 100/-) WE CARE FOR MADRAS THAT IS CHENNAI INSIDE • Short ‘N’ Snappy • Tambrahms portrayed • Cardiac care in Perambur • The great 1930s’ debate • The Baroda connection Vol. XXII No. 1 MUSINGS April 16-30, 2012 Can’t Mylapore Festival Who knows all about be more heritage buildings? (By The Editor) e heard it said the other day that the Indian National people WTrust for Art and Cultural Heritage’s Chennai Chapter knows nothing about heritage buildings. That the architects, history and heritage buffs, story-tellers and dilettantes associ- “O, God! It’s the ‘Metro’ attack! ated with INTACH-Chennai know nothing about heritage Quick, remove our things from our buildings. We also heard it said that the experts on the subject road!”Appa, you always don’t have to were institutions like the Heritage Conservation Committee of friendly? the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority, the Corpo- dress up inRail-roaded your 70’s clothes every time you watch the ‘angry young man’ ration of Chennai, Metrorail, Government Infrastructure Poormovies! Chennaiites. (By A Special Correspondent) organisations, etc. with their complement of bureaucrats, engi- First the power situation; now this neers and planners. Now that it has been stated definitely that those associated – The Great Chennai Re- he annual festival of the days of the festival. Residents Route Rumpus. with these Government organisations are experts on heritage TMylapore Kapaleeswarar with vehicles could be given en- buildings, may we, and others like us, appeal to them to draw up Look, Chennaiites, a fairly co-op- Temple has just concluded. It try passes, surely not a difficulty a Heritage Act worthy of a city of the 21st Century as quickly as erative lot, willingly, even was a grand spectacle, in keep- in this electronic age, and the possible and have it enacted. To take the first step of drawing up cheerfully, endure the tumult ing with what is expected of a rest could be asked to park their the Act, they won’t have to do much. A draft was suggested to and upheaval caused by value the States by a Central Ministry more than a decade ago and it additions like the ‘...rail based tradition that has spanned sev- vehicles at specific locations eral centuries. The devout and and walk the rest of the dis- was fine-tuned by various Tamil Nadu bureaucrats at different rapid transport system’ to the times, but never seemed close to presentation for enactment. cityscape of their beloved... the curious assembled in the tance. And for those who can- thousands and were not disap- not walk, the temple, given its With their expertise attested to, perhaps the present group of er...city... bureaucrats, engineers etc. will fine-tune the draft a little more, But... pointed. It was a gala ten days, substantial income, can even spell out in one-syllable words what heritage buildings are, and It’s hard, okay? except for the woeful inad- think of running a ferry service have the Act enacted. Agreed, all proposed road usage equacy it exposed – both in comprising the kind of golf carts West Bengal has a Heritage Commission Act for the whole changes are always carefully terms of civic infrastructure and that are in use at the Madurai State. Mumbai, Kolkata and Hyderabad have legislation pro- explained beforehand... the sense of civic discipline in Meenakshi temple and also at tecting identified heritage buildings. Delhi and Bangalore have But hey – the public. This is not the first Central Station. This will work. their Urban Arts Commissions. But why do we want to be like time this has happened and, as very well, especially if other them? We always want to be like that 21st Century city, There’s a huge difference between Singapore. So, perhaps then, this now-certified team of experts being given a set of directions, the years advance, the pressure kinds of traffic are prevented is only building up on what little from entering the zone during should visit Singapore and see what its rigorous Heritage Act and actually following them. has done to areas with Chinese, Malay, Indian and Colonial ‘Directions’ don’t tell you that the amenities that are available. the festival. Heritage. Perhaps they should look at what has been done there new you’ll-have-to-take-this- Take, for instance, the traf- What is happening at being done to George Town, the Mada Streets of Mylapore and right-for-a-while is a narrow fic. Given that the festival hap- present is that the traffic is Triplicane, Rajaji Salai and the Marina, and several other heri- strip that clearly resents having pens each year and its dates are allowed to flow right through tage precincts in Chennai (not to mention elsewhere in Tamil greatness thrust upon it. fixed pretty much in advance, the four streets whenever the Nadu). Or that, with all those one-ways, surely the city’s traffic police deities are not being taken out We are quite sure that all those members of INTACH- you’ll loop about so much, can involve themselves in some in procession. What is over- Chennai who know nothing about heritage buildings will be only there’s a real possibility you’ll creative solutions. One of these looked is that the festival too glad if the now-proclaimed experts draw up a Heritage Act – go past yourself at some point. could be the declaration of the becomes an occasion when after visiting Singapore – and ensure that it is enacted. And Dwellings in hitherto quiet by- four Mada Streets as ‘pedestrian implemented. That’s all heritage buffs like your Editor want. And have wanted for over twenty years now. lanes are now learning to say: only’ zones at least for the ten (Continued on page 8) ‘We’re on the main road itself, okay, va?’ Current Chennai road-users, stepping out of home, feel a George Town needs a master plan sense of shared experience with their favourite mythical he- he Corporation of Chennai a burgeoning pedestrian popu- G roes. Thas been making several By A Special Correspondent lation. Talk about facing the perilous and announcements on major If those be the problems with the unexpected on a daily basis. projects. It has promised world- ity that is completely different when electricity, motorised the streets, the homes and of- In addition, it’s summer. class roads, commissioned fea- from any other in the city, is transport, footpaths and mod- fices have challenges as well. Rumour has it that the average sibility studies for a slew of sure to be left behind, except ern drains were unheard of. The They were all meant to be town Chennaiite is checking daily flyovers, and initiated consoli- perhaps when it comes to gar- streets were laid out in a grid houses, with no space between horoscope columns more dation of garbage storage in bage disposal. I allude to George pattern and were meant for pe- them. These were usually two- assiduously these days. various localities. There is also Town, the old city. destrians and a few horse car- storeyed, with the business es- Understandable. much noise being made on a George Town presents chal- riages. Today, the same roads tablishment and warehouse on When chaos abounds, you turn to unified transport authority for lenges that are not necessarily bear the load of a vast number, the ground floor, and residence the stars for answers. the city. In the midst of all these present in other areas. This en- and bewilderingly different Ranjitha Ashok initiatives, one locality, a local- tire quarter came up at a time range, of vehicles, together with (Continued on page 8) CMYK 2 MADRAS MUSINGS April 16-30, 2012 Why don’t The politics of a tanneer pandal anneer pandals were very simple act of drinking a glass for a tipple or two. It cannot Tmuch in the news in the of water, declared the pandal be denied that our brethren the women last couple of weeks. For, it open in the name of the leader. lead interesting lives and work was the time when the festi- The faithfuls were then let in. hard for a living. val of the 63 great devotees of The bar, in short, was open. MMM was quite shocked Lord Shiva was celebrated in Those who preferred liquids to know about such goings on. answer? Mylapore. To The Man from were given the drink of their Not so MMM’s informant who Madras Musings, tanneer choice and for solid refresh- is a sharply observant charac- ou call your local ward councillor on the phone. A male voice pandals will remain a unique ments the sky appeared to be ter. He sees poetic justice in Yanswers. The man refuses to hand over the phone to his wife, Tamil tradition, though a the limit. By the end of the day, the whole thing. What was the councillor. newspaper did refer to them the place resembled a Roman provided by the Government “You can talk to me, it’s alright," he insists. as refreshment stalls, thereby orgy of sorts with the ‘spirit- is being returned to it, is his conjuring up a vision of some- ually’ elevated reeling away or view. What is being lost on the So why do parties choose to select the wives of local area politi- thing on a railway platform simply lying down on the foot- turnstile of roadways is being cians when it comes to giving tickets and respecting the reserva- with catering by Spencer’s in paths.