One in Multan

It was while getting yesterday's post ready that I realised I have not talked about the Ripon Building at all. I have skirted around the theme, including a post about the man the building is named after. 

Will have to satisfy myself with a rather poor picture of the building for now. There is a better one on this blog; that doesn't talk about the building itself, though. Will have to wait another day for the Ripon Building - remember, I'm not going to talk about the one in Multan, though! 

 

Colour and tricolour

On my way to the Chennai Central station to take a train out tonight. Got rather excited at seeing the Ripon Building all lit up, but this is all I could get of it on my phone.

Maybe the colours were to mark Mahavir Jayanti, though I would have assumed white to have been the colour of choice in that case. The Ripon Building was fitted out with a 'dynamic lighting' system in June last year. A little over 200 light-units have been placed around the building, each of which could take on various combinations of the primary colours red, green and blue. Had thought of checking out the building on Independence Day last year, but missed that and also this year's Republic Day, both of which would have seen the building decked out in the tricolour. 

Sheer coincidence then, that my scramble to click a picture also got a tricolour painted on the wall of the bridge. I have no idea how I managed to get all of these in one shot!

 

Trophy house

Going along Raja Muthiah Road - earlier known as Sydenhams Road - you find yourself going past the Ripon Building on your left and then, as you continue northwards, you begin to get glimpses of the Jawarhal Nehru Stadium. Almost all sports are possible in this stadium, with its indoor and outdoor facilities. It also houses the offices of almost all sports associations in the state.

It is therefore not surprising that on the opposite side of the road, one gets to see several 'trophy houses'. With the stadium hosting several competitive events at different levels - you could also have your intra-company sports festival here - there is a demand for some kind of recognition for the winners. Cups, trophies, shields or plaques, the vendors along Raja Muthiah Road will be able to give you what you want. 

This building however seems to have taken the idea of trophy house a bit further; rather than the usual depiction of a godly figure - Krishna, Lakshmi or Murugan are the more commonly seen ones - the builder of this house seems to be celebrating sporting success. From its style, I would guess that it pre-dates the stadium - but then, Periamet has been the home of the South Indian Athletic Association for quite a long while, and maybe this house is paying tribute to that tradition, such as it is!

White man!

Well, I give up. He has lent his name to one of the better-known roads in Chennai (and also to a locality in Choolai), but I haven't been able to get much information about this man. It is said that he was the first Commissioner of the Corporation of Madras from the ICS - that steel frame of the Raj - but even with that lead, there does not seem to be much information available about this man.

Even his statue, in the main corridor of Ripon Building, where he once had his office, has been painted over so many times that his features have become rather difficult to discern. Just like the man himself, the statue also seems to blend into the wall - only the railing stops you from ignoring it altogether. Complete whitewash, I say!

Painted over

It was originally a relief of St. George and the Dragon. Successive coats of paint over the years have left it a mangled mass, with little of the detail visible. This one is on one of the grilles along the northern verandah of the Ripon Building, which is tucked away from the public and the VIP view.

I went across to that side, trying to find out what the design on the grille was; the same depiction along the main verandah was completely unrecognizable!