Merry Christmas

The Wesley Church on Whites Road survived Cyclone Vardah with little damage to the main building. But outside, almost all the trees along its walls have been uprooted; the wall along Westcott Road has given away completely. 

The walls will be built again. The trees will be re-planted, and will grow big and strong again. But right now, these are minor inconveniences that worshippers will have had to suffer today. And there will be many of them coming here today. Faith will not be buffeted by a cyclone or two, not when it has survived for 2016 years - merry Christmas, everybody!

Welcome stay

For me, this hotel is one enduring mystery. It has a tremendous locational advantage. The businesses or offices nearby are not shy of announcing that they are "near Hotel Swagath". Even the Provident Fund Commissioner has to locate his office by stating that it is "Opposite Swagat Hotel". 

And yet, there does not seem to be much to talk about this hotel. Reviews on travel sites are so-so; there appears to be no restaurant in the hotel. The best thing being said about it is that it is a great place to conduct weddings - right, you are welcome too!

Business centre

Like many other businesses of the time, this one also started out as a family enterprise. Rather, as a one-boy business. Still in his teens, Ezhumalai decided that he had picked up enough in his six-year stint as a helper in one of Rattan Bazaar's workshops to go solo. In hindsight, it was probably a wise move for him to set up his workshop at Royapettah, quite a distance from Rattan Bazaar. As its name implies, this was the go-to place for cane furniture; opening a workshop there might have turned the full blast of competition on Ezhumalai. By basing himself in Royapettah, he cut the distance between the traditional furniture market and his customers,who were mostly based in south Madras.

When Ezhumalai launched his furniture business in 1937, the air must have been full of patriotic fervour. "Jayabharatham" resonated with the spirit of the times. It was probably that zeal which led him to train young men and women the art of re-wiring the cane strands onto the furniture frames. Some of them became competition, but the majority became his employees. Ezhumalai realized that if he had to expand his business, he would have to look beyond the city of Madras. His workforce could handle the volumes, and sales were driven through printed catalogues which were distributed free across the Presidency. Until his death in the late 1970s, Ezhumalai was actively involved in the business.

These days, when one thinks about buying furniture in Chennai, the place to head to is Royapettah. That change, from Rattan Bazaar to Royapettah, was brought about by this one man. And his successors have sustained that change. In 1989, a decade after Ezhumalai's passing away, his son Rajendran changed the proprietor-run business into a corporate entity. Now known as JFA Pvt Ltd, it has spun off a few brands and also niche products. The third generation is also into the business, which now has its presence in several parts of the city - but this building, on Royapettah High Road, is close to where it all began!

In the name of the son

In 1749, the British laid siege to the fort of Devakottai and succeeded in taking it over. That was a battle in which a young Shropshire lad, Robert Clive, caught the attention of Major Stringer Lawrence, who was heading the East India Company's troops in Madras. It could possibly have been a quirk of fate that had Clive playing a lead role there; it is tempting to think that, had a note of dissent against the campaign been accepted, there would have been no Tanjore campaign. Without it, that mad soldier Clive may have been hard-pressed to find another theatre for his success and history may well have been different. 

But that note by Foss Westcott was not accepted; despite that, he was still considered a reliable enough civil servant for him to be appointed as one of the two - or was it three - Commissaries to speak for the Company in the treaty for the evacuation of Fort St George (effectively the city of Madras) by the French. He negotiated terms with Dupleix and took over the fort from the French. Foss Westcott remained in the service for only a short while thereafter, going back to England in 1756. 

Foss left behind him his first wife, Ann Pye, who he had married in 1743, and a teenage son, George Westcott. George followed his father into the civil service, joining as a writer. He, however, stayed on in the service for long, going on to become a senior member of the Board of Revenue in Madras. During his tenure in the service, he acquired property at Royapettah and in the manner of the times, the road leading up to his house came to be known as Westcott's Road. The house is long gone, but the road continues to retain the name, even if some liberty has been taken with its spelling!

No more shows

There was a news report about Pilot theatre in Royapettah planning to shut down. It certainly had a lot of people groan about how standalone, single screen cinemas have become scarce and unviable, and about the romance of going for a movie in the old days. 

Pilot was certainly one of those old-world theatres. It was opened sometime in the 1950s and was going strong through the next few decades, screening English films for most of its life. Sometime in the early 2000s, though, the theatre lost its charm as a go-to place for watching movies and it was reduced to screening dubbed versions of slash-and-gore Hollywood movies which even Hollywood had forgotten about. 

Despite its recent setbacks, Pilot claims a couple of firsts to its credit. It was apparently the first widescreen in the city, and a novelty when it was inaugurated. The other was something called a 'thread-screen'; what that is, I have no idea. But those innovations were a long time ago and while there was some nostalgia, there was really little surprise about Pilot having had to shut down. But surprisingly, it seems to have got itself a new coat of paint on its facade - is there some kind of a revival in the works?

Intersect guardian

A statue of C.N. Annadurai, the first non-Congress Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, stands at the intersection of Avvai Shanmugham Salai (Lloyds Road) and Royapettah High Road. I am not sure if there is any particular significance of having his statue here, apart from the fact that the political party named after him (of which he was never a member) is headquartered nearby!

Screen festival

In 2003, a bunch of cinema lovers in Chennai formed the Indo Cine Appreciation Forum (ICAF) and staged the first Chennai International Film Festival (CIFF). After the first few years, the state government also lent its support to this festival and since 2008, the CIFF has been hosted with 'official' approval. The 12th CIFF started off on December 18 and will close on Christmas Day. 

This year, the CIFF is being played across four screens in the city: at Casino, at the two screens at Woodlands and at one of the INOX's screens and also at the Russian Cultural Centre. A quick look at the screening schedule tells us there are about 30 countries from where films are being screened - they include familiar names like the USA, UK, Russia and also a couple of surprising ones like Ethiopia, Finland and Kazakhstan. All told, over 80 films are packed into the week. 

The photo shows the Woodlands / Symphony cinema. Decked up with flags and buntings, it is evident that it is hosting a festival. Unlike the typical blockbuster release festivals, there are no 80-ft cutouts of stars or big banners announcing a film. The posters are small and you will need to look closely to identify the movies themselves. Woodlands is also hosting an exhibition - a series of photographs of stand-alone cinema halls by a couple of German photographers. Those photos were lovely, reminding us of a time when not only the movies, but the venues screening them were also works of art!

Bank office

When the banking sector was nationalised in India, fourteen commercial banks ended up in the hands of the Government of India. Of those, there were two that had been established in Madras - the Indian Overseas Bank and the Indian Bank. The latter was set up in 1907, following the crash of the Arbuthnot Bank, by V.Krishnaswamy Iyer, a lawyer of the Madras High Court. He was the moving force behind the Indian Bank, though it was sustained by Ramaswamy Chettiar and later, his younger brother Annamalai Chettiar.

Initially headquartered in George Town - the commercial hub of Madras - the bank moved to Royapettah much later. This new building came up less than 10 years ago; the bustle of Avvai Shanmugham Salai seems a rather unlikely location for the headquarters of one of India's largest banks; but there it is! 

Whose house?

Found this house on Avvai Shanmugham Salai. It looks quite well kept, but equally, it also appeared to be unoccupied and little used.

Wondering if anyone knows anything about this building - all ideas welcome!

What the Dickens!

That is quite an unusual way to name a store selling silks. Okay, it doesn't restrict itself to just silks, what with the display of an innerwear brand on its shutters. That still doesn't give us any reasons for the store's name. 

Let us just guess that the founder-owner is a fan of Dickens!

Jam your liver

It is one of those buildings that, by having been around for so long, makes you feel guilty asking about the origins of its name or any such thing. Had heard of the Jammi Buildings in Royapettah a very long time ago; if I remember right, it housed some big time office of the TN Civil Supplies Corporation in the late 1970s. Dad talked about having to go there for something to do with the ration card, but it was the name that caught attention. Jummy!

It was much later that I heard about Dr. Jammi Venkataramanayya and his miracle ayurvedic cure for problems of the liver. Jammi's Liver Cure (as it says on the board)  must have been like one of Jeeves' pick-me-ups for Madras' Woosters. Minus the raw egg, of course. But I have not come across anyone who has actually used Jammi's product, which makes me suspect that everyone has been treated with it. Dr. Jammi's early success was to target the product to specifically treat infantile jaundice - and in the early 20th century, when he began his practice, such success would have given him a God-like aura.

The firm that he started continues as Jammi Pharmaceuticals today. Headquartered in the Jammi Buildings itself, they are very modern - you can get in touch with them online or even buy their products as capsules and syrups. Do you think you need one of those after the night-before-last?!

Old station

Take away some of those vehicles in front of the building and this picture can be dated anywhere from the time photography began. The building itself probably pre-dates photography and must have been the same when the first officer took charge here. 

Despite redbrick being the standard colour of official buildings in the British era, the police stations of those times stood out distinctly. I am not sure why I feel so, but I guess it must have been because these were the only single storey structures that had the government redbrick motif. Today, only a few of these original structures remain; most other police stations have been pulled down and rebuilt, with more floors and some approximate abomination of the classic redbrick feel.

The E-2 Royapettah Police Station may go that way soon. But until it does, it commands a unique view at the junction of Gowdia Mutt Road and Thiru Vi Ka High Road. And somewhere behind it was the locality named after masons who worked there - Kallukaranpettai, for stone workers. Maybe to thumb a nose at the police station, Kallukaranpettai became Kolakaranpettai - the locality of murderers!

Times change

Tempora mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis.

So much has changed in the last decade and most of it has been for the better, I'm sure. As we move into the next decade, here's wishing that, ten years hence, we can conclusively say that the world has become more peaceful, healthier and just that tad cooler than what it is today.

A big change in the city of Chennai, just to the right of the clock tower (though not seen) in the picture is the almost-ready Express Avenue, a large mall which is set to open soon. Express Estates, which could justifiably claim to be the nursery of every sporting club in the city will only be a faint memory. But times change and we change with them. Including clock towers; this one at Royapettah sports different colours from what it had a couple of years ago!

Do you have the time?

How many clock towers does Chennai have? The question popped up when I was travelling past the Royapettah clock tower a couple of days ago. I had my camera with me, so I just had to take this picture, but the question remains. How many clock towers?

I can think of others at Vepery, Mint, Triplicane (and there was one in Tambaram that was brought down to make space for the National Highway) - apart from the ones on buildings such as P.Orr or the Chennai Central station. I guess I'll try and run a (fragmented) series of the clock towers :)

I'm sure there is some history behind the building of these clock towers; yes, the utilitarian value of telling time must have been the primary purpose, but who decided that the populace of the city needs to keep track of time? Will also pick up some information and link to this post - later!