Groves

I have known of Palmgrove the hotel, and also of Palm Grove, the army officers' quarters in Fort St George. But I did not know that the army's golf course is also referred to as the Palm Grove Golf Course.

Nor did I know that the army was maintaining an ecological park with the same name nearby!

Needs saving?

The Salvation Army has its Divisional Headquarters at Gangadeeswarar Koil Street in Purasawalkam. The Division referred to here is probably the state of Tamil Nadu; add Pondicherry, and that becomes the South-Eastern "Territory" in the Salvation Army's structure, with Territory Headquarters in Tirunelveli.

From the looks of the board and the building, some salvaging seems to be in order!

Lone rider

If ever colonial administrators could be canonised, Sir Thomas Munro would be first on the list for the people of the Madras Presidency. They came to idolize him as Munrolappa, for the simple reason that, even in his first posting as a lieutenant, Munro concluded that the King was levying a far higher share from the common man than the latter could bear. He argued that a fair tax would ensure higher compliance - and less scope for bribery. Such a line of thinking was not conventional for British officers in the late 18th century and it was no wonder that this man became a favourite of the local populace.

But it was not only about pleasing the locals. Sir Thomas was also highly regarded as a competent administrator and it was on his recommendations that the administrative system of the districts was reorganized to what, by and large, is its current form. His sensitivity towards matters of faith showed up in his actions at Tirupathi and Mantralayam. In Tirupathi, he set a practice of offering pongal to the deity - a practice that continues to this day, with the offering made from a vessel called the Munro gangalam. His decision to waive all taxes from Mantralayam's Sri Raghavendra Swamy Mutt was so surprising that the citizens decided he must have had a vision of the holy saint himself. 

Much more than all of these, Sir Thomas Munro held a firm belief that the British could not stay on as rulers for ever. He actively prepared for a transition by placing 'natives' in important positions of administration. He argued that Europeans, especially those who disdained local language and customs, were unfit to dispense justice on local issues. That attitude was probably what helped him become victorious in the Pindari War of 1817. His army was overwhelmingly local and in the words of Lord Canning, "Nine forts were surrendered to him or taken by assault on his way; and at the end of a silent and scarcely observed progress he emerged ... leaving everything secure and tranquil behind him." The tranquility he gave others came to him as well. In his final days, the legend goes that he saw the bangaru toranam, the golden garland made by Anjaneya for Venkateswara - a reward for the purity of his thoughts and deeds!

Cleaning guard

Going merely by this picture, there is not much to guard around here, but for the flotsam deposited on the banks of the Cooum by the high tide. This building is however the Regional Headquarters (East) of the Indian Coast Guard, a force that is the fourth arm of the country's defence. Tasked with protecting the seas between 5 and 30 nautical miles from the coastline, the Coast Guard does it through their 1,200 officers and over 5,000 personnel, based at 42 stations around the coast.

The RHQ at Chennai is not the largest; its jurisdiction starts from just a little bit on the west coast - the village of Poovar in Kerala to Ichchapuram in Andhra Pradesh. It is handled by two District Headquarters and six Stations, with air support being provided by the base at Chennai and an Air Enclave at Visakhapatnam.

In spite of all that, one wishes the Coast Guard would do something about the junk that is piled up. Not just because of the calls for Swachh Bharat, but also because one of the stated responsibilities of the force is "To preserve & protect the marine environment and control marine pollution"!

Green hospital

No, it is not a comment on their environmental credentials, but merely about the colour scheme of this building. Situated inside Fort St George, this serves as the Ex Military Hospital as well as the Section Hospital. The building was probably not built to serve as a hospital (does that remind of you of another such?), but has been taken over to serve as one. 

The first hospital in Fort St George was set up in 1664, thanks to two gentlemen (they must have been Company doctors) William Gyford and Jeremy Sambrooke petitioning the governor Sir Edward Winter, saying, "...we have thought it very Convenient that they might have an house on purpose for them, and people appointed to looke after them and to see that nothing comes in to them, neither of meate nor drinke, but what the Doctor alloweth", the 'they' referring to English soldiers coming to Fort St George. Sir Edward agreed with them, and the hospital was established on November 16, 1664. 

That hospital appears to have moved around inside the fort for a while, sometimes being commandeered for use as barracks, before being ordered out of the fort, into Peddanaickanpet, in 1752. That hospital grew into something else. Much later, after independence, the Indian Army took over parts of Fort St George. And they went ahead and took over this building for its current purpose. Wonder if the ex-servicemen coming here would heed the exhortation of "neither meate nor drinke"!

Not just the soul

You might remember that, in Chennai, the patron saint of drivers is the 'Bodyguard' Muniswaran. That appellation came about because of where the Muniswaran's shrine is located, but many drivers are firm in their belief that it is because of the special powers of this deity to protect the bodies - their own as well as that of their vehicle's. 

Further up Mount Road, a little after Pallavan Salai, is this board that is truer to the origins of the Bodyguard title. The Governor's Bodyguard was raised in 1778 and unlike many other units of the army, retained that title until it was disbanded. Though it started off as a Europeans-only unit, later expansion meant that it had to include the natives, of which there was a fair number of Musalmans. The unit had its barracks to the south of Fort St George, across the road from where Madras Gymkhana is today. The Europeans had their places of worship within the fort, but the troops had to make their own arrangements for worship. It appears that sometime towards the end of the 19th century, a mud-and-thatch structure was being used as a mosque; in 1904, with some public subscriptions, a more permanent structure was raised, and a full-fledged mosque began functioning there, with the Mullah being provided a room within the sepoy lines. 

The Governor's Bodyguard was disbanded in 1947. Some of the space that the troops were using was retained with the army, and most of the rest was handed over to the state Transport Department. The land where the temples and the mosque were located were of course handed over to the trusts that continue to administer them to this day. And yes, the sign points to the minaret of the mosque itself!

Large monument

The garrison church at St Thomas Mount has several memorial plaques inside it. As befitting a martial institution, almost all of them remember soldiers who had fallen, in combat or out of it. 

One military man however, seems to have been a favourite with the civilian folks of Madras as well. William Sydenham had joined the Madras Artillery as a cadet in 1768, when he was barely 16 years old. In the following 33 years, he went on to become the Commandant of that Artillery, having served in all campaigns of the First Battalion. He was apparently so smitten with Madras, and with the garrison at the Mount, that he kept coming back to it at every opportunity. 

Not only was he the head of the artillery, he was also Auditor-General of Fort St George. He was promoted to that post (and the rank of Major General) in January 1801, but he did not serve for long. Sydenham died on June 13, 1801. The generosity of the East India Company was large-hearted enough for him to be provided this memorial just behind the garrison church, rather than just a marble marker inside it!

The other church

It is natural that when one thinks of St Thomas' Mount and church in the same sentence, the building that comes to mind is the Church of Our Lady of Expectation. That's the one on top of the mount and perhaps the one that's much better known over the world. However, there is one other old church in the vicinity - one that goes by the rather workmanlike name of St Thomas Garrison Church. 

It was built sometime in the 1820s and was intended to serve as a place of worship for the garrisons stationed at St. Thomas' Mount and at Pallavaram. It is not clear why these garrisons could not go up the mount - probably it was difficult for the horses and carriages to climb up that winding path and so they had to have a church right at the foot of the hillock. Over the past two hundred years, this church has seen a lot, as can be gathered from all those memorial tablets inside. 

In the 1950s, when the Meenambakkam airport was getting ready for regular air traffic services, it was found that the spire of the St Thomas Garrison Church was impeding the flight path for aircraft landings. Ever since, it has had to do with this truncated top - the third storey and the spire had to be taken down to ensure aircraft safety!

Old world

No, this is not from the English countryside, even if the names of the houses in this part of Chennai try to fool you into thinking so. "East View". "Suffolk Lodge". "Starbrena". Even "Whitehall". Tucked away behind the old English Electric (now Areva) factory at Pallavaram is this street, and a few others like it, together making up the Veteran Lines - one of the last few enclaves of the Anglo-Indian community in Chennai.

Veteran Lines started off simply as what it claimed to be. Outside the military cantonment of Pallavaram, but close enough to remind them of the army life, it was a designed as a residential area for military personnel, especially retired ones. The majority of them who moved into the houses were Anglo-Indians, who put their cultural stamp on the area through their dance and music - not to mention their particular turn of speech. I suddenly find myself unable to reproduce it, not having heard it for many many years. It was all around me once, even into the early 1990s. But now it is gone, as have many of the young Anglo-Indians of Madras. They are all away, England, Australia, New Zealand, Canada....

....leaving the Veteran Lines to those who are truly veterans. It appears to be rather difficult to find a resident of this area who is younger than 60, but surely, there must be quite a few of them!

Let them pass

A couple of years ago, we were allowed inside the OTA for a few hours. We wandered around, looking at the birds, the trees and the flowers inside the campus - at least those parts that we were escorted around to.

As we were walking out, we had to wait to let cadet officers - both gentlemen and lady cadets - march past us. Been a long time since one heard the synchronised crunch of marching boots!

The Soldiers Friend

St Mary's Church, inside Fort St George, is packed with memorials to British officers long gone. In almost all cases, the inscriptions on their memorials are lengthy enough to provide several clues to the officer's career and accomplishments. One of the few exceptions to this rule is this statue on whose pedestal it just says, "Conway - Adjutant General - Obiit 13th May 1837 / Erected by the Army and by the Public". That's most probably because there was quite simply too much to say about Thomas Henry Somerset Conway, who had served in India, "having never quitted the country", for the entire duration of his 44 years' service with the army.

It is also likely that he spent a vast majority of those years in Madras. A story tells of him, then a young Ensign beginning his career, looking out through a window of the Exchange House in Fort St George when he was tricked into believing that the House was on fire. Upon which Conway jumped out of the window and broke his leg, no doubt providing a lot of merriment to his brother Ensigns. From those early days in Madras, he went on to become the Adjutant General of Madras, a position he held for 28 years, under eight Commanders-in-Chief. During his service he covered almost every military campaign in south India, apart from seeing action in the Mahrattah War and serving on the Military Finance Committee at Calcutta. Unlucky with promotions, he remained a rung lower than his contemporaries, a circumstance that some attributed to his unrelenting discipline and rigid integrity (it is said that he died without leaving behind a shilling - for a British officer in early 19th century Madras, that's saying something!). Those qualities also gave him an unmatched understanding of "every thing relating to the dress, drill, appearance and discipline of an army".

Technically, he was the Brigadier at Hyderabad when he died. However, he hadn't yet formally assumed that post, for he died of cholera at Guntoor, en route to taking charge at Hyderabad; which is why this statue (by Turnouth) credits him as Adjutant General. Though he was absolutely strict as a disciplinarian, unwilling to distingush the human from the organization, he was held in high regard by the men who were under his command - and that's why, in small letters, right on top of the pedestal, it says "The Soldiers' Friend"!

Attack anniversary

Through the 19th century and until the end of World War II, the Indian Ocean was regarded as a 'British Lake'; such was the volume of British maritime traffic crisscrossing this expanse of water. In 1914, when World War I began, the German light cruiser SMS Emden, with Captain Karl von Muller in command was based at Tsingtao (now Qingdao). In late July, she left her base and after receving orders from Admiral Maximilian von Spee, moved into the Indian Ocean in early September to prey upon the British merchant vessels. In a span of just over 2 weeks, the Emden captured seventeen ships and created so much panic not only at sea, where all shipping was stopped, but also on land, with many residents of Madras fleeing inland, fearing an attack on the city.

Their fear was probably heightend by the knowledge that one man on Emden's crew was Dr Cenpakaraman Pillai, an Indian revolutionary who was a fore-runner to Netaji in taking the help of Britain's enemies to fight for Indian independence. It is said that it was with Dr Cenpakaraman's guidance that the Emden hove-to about 3 km out to sea at 9.30 pm, 95 years ago to this day, and opened fire with its guns, targeting the oil tanks of the Burmah Oil Company in the Port of Madras. That objective was met in short order and the Emden then let loose on the High Court building (where the lighthouse continued to flash, unmindful of the ongoing war), the Port itself (a merchant vessel was sunk, killing 5 seamen. It is said that Karl von Muller was upset on hearing of this later, for they were the only civilians killed by a vessel under his command), the National Bank building and of course on Clive's Battery, which was supposed to protect the harbour. The guns of Clive's Battery took over 20 minutes to organize their response. By 10.00 pm, the 'Bombardment of Madras' was over and the Emden had disappeared.

Chennai retains the memory of that bombardment by this plaque at the spot where one of Emden's shells had smashed into the wall of the High Court. And on this day every year, a small group of people - led by Dr. Cenpakaraman Pillai's nephew - gather at this plaque to remember a freedom fighter whose story has been overwhelmed by the horror of the Emden!

Guarded entrance

What is it about Chennai's museums that get them to display armament outside? True, Chennai does have some kinds of martial traditions, but those do not really define the city. In fact, the armed forces would be fairly low on most people's list when they think about Chennai. And yet, the two major museums in the city are fronted by cannons (or mortars, if you insist).

You might remember one of those cannons outside the Government Museum - and here we have a couple of guns, on either side of the main door to the Fort Museum. There are a couple of other field guns, too, on the verandah. All these were apparently seized from his army after Tipu Sultan was defeated at Srirangapatnam in 1799 - and since Madras was the headquarters in those days, the spoils were brought back - and have remained here since!

The house by the river

By some quirk of history, the Southern Command of the Indian Army is headquartered at Pune, in Maharashtra. Apart from the four southern states, Maharashtra, Goa and Gujarat (!!) also come under the Southern Command. It is not only the largest Command geographically, but also the 'senior-most'; the latter arising from the fact that Surat (in Gujarat), the site of the East India Company's first 'factory' in India, falls under this Command.

The two Area Headquarters under the Southern Command are at Mumbai and Chennai. Needless to say, the one at Chennai covers the four southern states - in army shorthand, it is ATNK & K Area. The ranking officer becomes the General Officer Commanding in Chief for the Area HQ. Of course, the GOC-in-C has a very nicely appointed house to live in; across the road is a sign that could well have become gibberish to the civilian had they insisted on putting in the 'GOC-in-C' bit also - it would have read "ATNK & K Area GOC-in-C, Flagstaff House"

That the Flagstaff House is on the banks of the Cooum is certainly a disadvantage, but one that can easily be borne by Maj. Gen. EJ Kochekkan, the current occupant. A lifelong armyman, he's certainly not going to be put off, no matter how many mosquitoes try to raid his residence!


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Cut the clutter

It took me a long time to understand that 'mess' had another meaning than just a clutter. Until that knowledge took the charm away, it was fun to imagine a building where army officers would drop their stiff, disciplined, spit 'n' polish image and start mucking around. As a kid, everytime I saw this sign at St Thomas Mount, it took me to an image of officers behaving in the most un-gentlemanlike fashion.

In fact, even after learning that 'mess' could also describe a dish, or a place where meals are served to a specifc group, it was difficult to wipe away the earlier image. It was merely modified to one where the officers were being extremely clumsy about eating their food!

This was one of the two signs which fascinated me as a child; the other one is here

Relic of The Seven Years' War

As one of the earliest possessions of the British in the Orient, Madras served as a base camp for several military manoeuvres; mainly within the peninsula, but every once in a while, across the seas into Ceylon, Burma, Malaya or even beyond. Once such trans-oceanic adventure happened as a part of the Seven Years' War; though the main cause of the war was Austria's desire to get back Silesia from Prussia, the European powers - especially the British - were quick to figure out that it was as important to establish ascendancy in the colonies as well as on the continent. That belief saw a lot of imporance being attached to theatres in North America and in Asia.

In Asia, almost of the action was centred in India. Battles at Palashi (Plassey, 1757) and Vandavasi (Wandiwash, 1761), were the most significant of these, reducing France's capabilities and establishing the British as the leading power in India. With the victory at Vandavasi still fresh, the British troops were itching for more action and they got it when a fleet under Admiral Samuel Cornish and a 3000-strong land force under Colonel William Draper were ordered to take Manila, in the Philippines, then under Spanish rule. The troops reached Manila after almost two months at sea and yet managed to land unopposed at Manila Bay, within a few kilometres of the city. The Governor of Manila, who was apprently unaware of the course of the war in Europe was taken aback when called upon to surrender; under-estimating the strength of the attacking force he chose to fight with his 2000-strong garrison. Despite the fatigues of the sea-journey, Draper's forces overran Manila within 10 days and the Governor surrendered, offering a payment of £ 4 million as ransom for the city. It is not clear if this amount was ever paid, but Manila remained under British occupation for over a year before being returned to Spain under the 1763 Treaty of Paris, which ended the Seven Years' War.

Draper returned to India, with William Pitt the Elder referring to him as "Manila's gallant conqueror". But Draper felt he had been denied his just rewards from that conquest; his claims made him an object of mockery. Maybe he brought back this cannon - and a few others, today seen at the Government Museum, Chennai - as part of his victory spoils, but maybe they were confiscated from him when he got back to Madras!

All the best!

In these times of sabre-rattling, it is worth considering that war might impose quiet, but peace has to come from within.

The theme for today is 'Best photo of 2008'; for quality of photography, this one is among my worst, but finding a statue of the Buddha in the OTA was a startling moment.

To Peace! And a very happy New Year to everyone!!

The best of the best from other City-Daily-Photobloggers can be seen by clicking here.

War hero

India's ill-advised mission to keep the peace in Sri Lanka lasted for about 3 years, from 1987 to 1990. The major fallout of those years was an emboldened LTTE assasinating Rajiv Gandhi and then continuing to hold on to their cause for several long years. Fighting a proxy war for the Sri Lankan government was not what the IPKF had bargained for and they got it in the neck, being blamed for civilian casualities by both the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE. The Indian Army lost over 1,200 of its men in this war before better sense prevailed and the servicemen were brought back home.

Maj. Parameswaran was one of the 1,200 who never returned to India alive. Very early on in the life of the IPKF, Maj. Parameswaran was killed in an ambush, earning himself a posthumous Param Vir Chakra (PVC), the highest military honour in India, which has been awarded to only 21 servicemen since being instituted in 1950. In doing so, Maj. Parameswaran became the first alumnus of the OTA in Chennai to be awarded the PVC.

Today, 21 years to the day after he died, there is not much talk about this soldier. The offical machinery of the government has not had any celebration around the day; but he is remembered every day inside the OTA campus with this bust in his honour!

They followed us there

Last week, we had taken off to Kerala for a vacation. The early part of the week was at Thiruvananthapuram, almost as far away from Chennai as we could get in Kerala. On September 28, we heard that the 'Army Mela' in the city was closing that day with a grand show of the army 'capturing' Shanghumughom beach. We were a bit late in getting there; by the time we arrived, the drill was done and the beach had been 'liberated' by the army - we only got to read the reports in The Hindu the next day.

Some vehicles, field guns and tanks, however, remained on the beach, for the public to look at, clamber over and generally have fun with. I will bet that any romantic notions of travelling inside an army tank will evaporate very quickly if you sit inside one - even looking inside made me claustrophobic. Many jostled to get inside, sit down and look through the periscope, even for a fleeting second, before having to make way for others. It was fun, still, to get to see such equipment up close.

So what does this have to do with Chennai? Well, the mock capture was staged by soldiers of the Madras Regiment!

Seeking peace

The Officers' Training Academy (OTA) in Chennai is one of the premier institutions training both gentlemen and lady cadets to be inducted as Officers in the Indian Army. When it was set up in 1962, the Officers' Training School was charged with training cadets recruited under the 'Emergency Commission', necessitated by the Chinese aggression. Since then, it has trained over 20,000 officers of the Indian Army, and also a few from other countries. Because of its origin as a School for the Emergency Commission recruits, there was an air of temporary-ness around it until 1985, when it was conferred the status of a permanent establishment. In 1988, with the change of its name from OTS to OTA, it was accorded level-pegging status with the Indian Military Academy (at Dehradun) and the National Defence Academy (at Khadakvasla). Today, it trains cadets selected under the Short Service Commission and under the Women Special Entry Scheme (Officers).

Located inside a 650 acre estate, the OTA seems far away from the city, even though it is very much within the limits of the Chennai urban agglomeration. In any case, anything that is off Mount Road has always been considered as being part of the city, so the OTA has been very much a part of Chennai since it was set up. On Sundays, the cadets would head to the shopping arcades and movie halls, in small groups. It used to be very easy to identify them as OTA cadets; grey trousers, black shoes shined to reflect the sky, the crew cuts and the red-and-bluish-grey-and-black striped ties. It seemed unfair that the cadets had to be in their uniforms even on a Sunday movie trip; but none of them seemed to mind it at all. I'm not sure if the rules have been relaxed now, but I have not seen the Sunday uniforms for a while now. Maybe they're less stiff these days.

One of the best features of the OTA campus is the statue in the lounge area of the Cadets' Mess; even with this poor photo, it is possible to identify The Buddha from his posture. At first look, it seemed incongruous, but as one of the officers at the Academy told me, no one desires peace as much as army personnel do - only that they have to be prepared to kill or die for it, if need be!