Changeover man

You are probably aware that the Corporation of Chennai is the second oldest in the world, having been established in September 1688. The office of its Mayor, would have had an unbroken 335 year streak had it not been for changes in the way the Corporation was structured and run. 

The first break happened thanks to the French. Between 1746 and 1748, when they had control over Fort St George, the Mayoralty of the city was suspended and for some reason, it was not restored until 1753. And then, for long stretches in the early part of the 19th century, the Corporation functioned without a Mayor. For a while, it was the Justice of Peace who played the Mayoral role, before a committee of three Municipal Commissioners collectively did it. The term was changed in 1886, and the head of the Corporation came to be called President. And then it was in 1933 that the title reverted to 'Mayor'. While that has remained the same, the office itself has been suspended twice since. The long stretch between 1973 and 1996 saw the Mayoralty suspended, as it was again for 6 years between 2016 and 2022. 

But this photo is of a statue at the end of Pantheon Road; it shows Mayor Thamarapakkam Sundara Rao Naidu. Even though his tenure was for a year, as was usual during the 1930s-1960s, Sundara Rao's was special. As Mayor between 1946 to 1947, it was he who saw the transition from the British Raj to independent India!

 

Onward

A stride that is familiar around the world. 

It is the 68th anniversary of his passing away, a "Martyrs' Day". I believe India has several of those - honouring the many who gave their lives to the cause of India's freedom. 

Part of the ceremonies on this day was to have the entire country pause for two minutes at 11 am, in memory of this man, and to the cause he served. I am not sure how many even remembered the significance of this date!

That way!

Early morning on the Marina.

Kannagi seems to be directing the sun on where to shine. According to legend, she set the whole city of Madurai on fire when her husband was falsely accused, and punished, in a case of having cheated the queen of her anklet. 

That was eons ago. This statue of Kannagi is much more recent, and Chennai is not Madurai, anyway. But is Kannagi the reason why December continues to be so warm? 

Leading lady

So there is at least one place where the lady still reigns supreme. Any guesses as to where this statue of Queen Victoria can be seen?

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!

Serenity

The bronze gallery at the Chennai Museum is mainly given over to Hindu deities, but there are some wonderful pieces depicting Buddhist and Jain icons as well. Here is one such, showing the Buddha under the bodhi tree (it has to be the bodhi, isn't it?).

This one is from Nagapattinam and is dated to the 11th century CE. It is not usual for the Buddha to be shown with attendants, so that should make this one also a rare work of art!

Display

At the Cholamandalam Artists' Village, visitors are not allowed to take pictures of the works inside the galleries. That is a big disappointment, but to make a mess of Keats, "...those unseen are brighter...". But they do allow you to take pictures of the exhibits and installations outside, and here is one of those. 

This one, by Keizo Ushio, and goes back to 1990. Titled 'Seven Thoughts', this granite sculpture took two years to be completed. Most likely, Ushio gifted this to the Cholamandalam Village in 1990, when he was invited to the 2nd International Sculpture Symposium in South India that year.

I am drawing a blank right now, but what do you think Ushio's thoughts were?

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!

Aaagh!

This is one of the pieces exhibited in the outdoor gallery at the Chennai Museum. Don't remember what the significance of this figure is, but boy, I do feel like doing the same thing today!

The other leg

The focal point of the bronze gallery at the Chennai Government Museum is the Natesha at the far end of the ground floor. But that is not the only statue of Siva as the dancer. One half of the first floor of the bronze gallery is given over to a display of about a dozen Nataraja idols. Despite all the irritants in getting a proper view of them, this is something that everyone should have on their must-see list. 

The Natarajas range in antiquity from sprightly 500-year olds to more solemn 1100-year olds. They have been collected mostly from Madurai and Thanjavur; with one or two from Nagapattinam, Kanchipuram and Tiruvallore. They are wonderful examples of Chozha bronzes, prized by collectors the world over. There are several more such, which continue to be present in their temples and shrines, being used as objects of worship even today. The ones in the museum were recovered from their hiding places; they were hidden from rapacious invaders and very often forgotten for centuries before turning up on a farmer's ploughshare. 

They are much sought after by "collectors" the world over and have attracted unscrupulous middlemen, who think nothing of bribing, threatening or browbeating temple-guards in remote villages and spiriting away similar idols across the world. One of the most notorious of such antique smugglers, Subhash Kapoor (who is now in the Puzhal prison, facing trial) had managed to get several of them out, over several years, selling them not just to secretive or unscrupulous collectors, but bizarrely, even to the National Gallery of Australia. That last one is now on its way back, but many of the others would remain out of reach. The returning Nataraja is 900 years old and is in the regular posture, with its left leg raised. It is reportedly worth $5.6 million. Imagine what this one, from the 9th century CE, in a rare posture of raising the right leg, would be worth - at least now, go take a look at it!

Ready to take off?

In the airport, they are getting ready to launch a boat!

Potholder

The statutes at Peoples' Park were all originally white - or colourless, with their white paint having faded over many years. Around 2008, when the Corporation got around to re-painting them, they decided to go vivid colour. 

Maybe it was a good decision. The colours don't appear to have faded much over the past six years. The lady's saree looks as bright as it was when she first wore it!

Further light

The Government Museum in Chennai has a very eclectic collection of artefacts. From the crocodile that was found in the Cooum to a schoolboy's toy bus claiming to be a model of the MTC buses, the collection has something in it for everyone.

The pride of the museum, however, has to be its bronze gallery. Even if it is only they who say it, no one would dare to counter their claim that the museum has the largest collection of such antique metal under one roof. The gallery is home to over 1,500 pieces, the huge majority of them representing Hindu Gods and Goddesses. Roughly a hundred of the pieces are Jain and Buddhist; the remainder are a bewildering mix of periods, schools and sources. Having been the Presidency Museum, it was the place where any kind of uncommon object was sent out to from anywhere in the Presidency. 

The pièce de résistance of the bronze gallery is this figure of Siva performing his cosmic dance. All the other pieces in the gallery are enclosed in glass cases. The beautiful Ardhanarisvara image, set on a revolving base, grabs your attention as soon as you enter. There are several others that hold you spellbound. But taking a picture is a challenge, thanks to be intervening layers of glass and the reflections therefrom. The idol of Siva, set on a raised stage at the far end of the gallery, has its special background. With no glass covering it, visitors can marvel at this wonderful figure from the 12th century CE; and no, it is not called the Nataraja, or "King of the Dance". Given the intense feelings it brings out in anyone who passes by, it seems more meaningful to call him what is a greater title - Natesha, the "God of the Dance"!

Throwing light

Pradeep Chakravarthy is a management consultant. But he is more than that, as well. He is deeply interested in the history and heritage - of this part of the world, specifically. He has written "Thanjavur: A Cultural History" and has also been the editor of a collection of writings on Kodaikanal. So, when he announces that he is going to lead a session to explain the basic differences between the Pallava, Chola and Vijayanagara styles, there is a rush to be part of that session. We were lucky to get in, and there we were at the Museum on Sunday morning. 

Basically: the Pallavas were the earliest of the three - their sculptures of Gods, or humans, were natural, showing them in relaxed postures, low on detailing, oval faces, cylindrical headgear. Through the Chola period, the figures became more stylized, the headgear conical, faces rounder and the body began to take postures that would have been difficult to sustain in real life. The volume of sculptures grew through the Chola and the Vijayanagara dynasties, and they became more 'industrialized'; templated designs and details, churned out by moderately skilled craftsmen, sacrificing originality and natural representation for the ease of mass production.

There were more details, and Pradeep weaved them into a tapestry of how life must have been in those days of yore; it was a compelling performance. The importance of noticing details, which is what helps you become a more-than-an-open-mouthed-gaper, was especially brought out right at the start. What most people would consider to be run of the mill stone columns near the statue of the Buddha are actually columns from the Pallava era, with inscriptions revealing what the king Mahendravarman considered himself to be. For more on that, over to Pradeep himself!

Broken soldier

I will give you a clue. This is supposed to be a Roman soldier. At some point, he was flogging someone or dragging something along. And this is on a hillock close to the Marmalong bridge. 

Give up? Okay, I shall tell you now. It is - or was - part of a tableau in the precincts of the Little Mount Church in Saidapet. There is nothing else near it, so it must have been discarded. Or did he just desert the ranks?

Grand old man

Today, the political movement that he was one of the co-founders of is in abject misery after its performance in the recent national elections. But that is no reason to think any less of Subbaiyar Subramania Iyer, a man of many parts, who was the Vice President of the Theosophical Society during the period 1907-11. The reason to mention that part of his life first is because this statue can be found in the Theosophical Society's grounds at Adyar. There was a later falling out with the Society, to the extent that some of his followers went ahead with a Triplicane offshoot. But that cannot take away the work that Sir Mani Iyer did for the TS.

The 'Sir' was indeed a knighthood, granted for his public services, which began at his birthplace, Madurai, as a government clerk, going on to become the Vice Chairman of the Municipality. Mani Iyer moved to Madras in the 1880s, by which time he had become a lawyer and was soon appointed as Public Prosecutor - the first native to be offered the position. In the meantime, he also helped in founding the Indian National Congress in 1885. Keenly interested in the cause of education, he was also a Vice-Chancellor of the University of Madras; that institution chose him to be the first recipient of an honorary doctorate, when it bestowed the Doctor of Law degree on him in 1908. 

Mani Iyer probably followed the tradition of vanaprastham, going into retreat, for a picture showing him in 'later life' does not carry the turban or the flowing gowns. The statue depicts him at the peak of public life, as a lawyer, an educationist and a theosophist. Interestingly, the statue of Subramania Iyer in the Senate House of the University of Madras shows him in exactly the same manner, quill in one hand, a finger marking the page of a book and the left foot half-raised; the only difference is that it is in contrast to this one, being entirely black!

Movement memorial

In 1852, the government took over the Madras School of Arts, that had been established by a surgeon, Dr. Alexander Hunter, a couple of years earlier. More than a century later, the second Indian principal of that establishment - which was by now known as College of Arts and Crafts - was instrumental in creating a movement of painters and sculptors that sought to combine modernism with local influences of myth, legend and art heritage. That principal was Kovalezhi Cheerampathoor Sankaran Paniker. His fellow teachers, and several students pursued this artistic ideal and that group became the vanguard of the Madras Movement. 

Many artists of that movement were extremely individualistic and it seems to me something of a miracle that they held together for long enough for their work to come under a 'category'. But they did and their work, recognized as and identified with the Madras Movement is feted around the world. They came together to form the Cholamandalam Artists' Village in the late 1960s, but it was only in the last decade that the artists have ventured to create a Centre for Contemporary Art. 

Housed within that Centre is the KCS Paniker Museum of the Madras Movement. It has works from almost every significant member of the Movement. Most of Paniker's own works, however, are not here; they are not with the Cholamandalam Artists' Village, either. They are not even anywhere in Chennai, for the Government of Madras (as it was in those days) did not take up Paniker's offer to donate his works to the state; and so they moved away to the Art Gallery at Thiruvananthapuram!

Art centre

In the 1960s, when K.C.S. Panicker started what came to be known as the 'Madras Movement', he also recognized that the artists of the Movement needed to be able to sustain themselves without having to sacrifice the leisure to pursue their art. And so was born, in 1966, the Cholamandalam Artists' Village. It was indeed a village, where the inhabitants turned out art products, which were then marketed to provide them a livelihood. Over the years, the Village has thrived; it is one of the very few artists' communes across the world that has remained successful across generations.  

In 2009, the Village inaugurated its showpiece to the world. The Cholamandalam Centre for Contemporary Art displays several works by the vanguard of the Madras Movement. The redbrick building houses paintings and sculptures; and there are many more sculptures and installations in the grounds as well. In fact, some of them have blended right in with the environment that you are surprised at what turns up. (Remember the sleeping cat? And one installation, being under a Ficus, has the ariel roots finding pathways through its grooves, now)

More about the Madras Movement later. The ban on taking pictures of the displays inside means that one has to find other ways to show what is there. But hey, if you are up early today, go for a drive on the East Coast Road. And on the way back, stop at the Centre - they open at 10am, so you can also stop here on your way to brunch along the ECR. So now, you have no excuses left for staying away from here!

Sleepy cat

So where does cat get his forty winks? In the shadow of a sculpture named "Dream of the Black Sun". The sculpture itself is worth a look at - and you should go over to the Cholamandalam Artists' Village to do it - but I thought this cat in the shade of the sun was kind of poetic!

The city's sculptors

As Mount Road runs through Teynampet on to Nandanam, there is a quiet piece of land tucked between some commercial establishments. The gates are mostly closed and all the busy people scuttling along do not look at those gates - they are easy enough to miss, anyway. But should they do so, they would likely be taken aback, seeing those 'people' standing and sitting around. What they may not realize is that they have seen the studio of Kishore Nagappa, a third generation sculptor, whose father and grandfather have crafted so many statues around the city. 

Kishore's father, Jayaram Nagappa, was the one who made the twin horse-and-man statues that are placed at the Gemini Circle. Off-hand, I am not able to point to one defining statue that is Kishore's; but that could also be because some of them have become so popular that there are probably many rip-offs pretending to be originals. 

The next time you pass that way, pause. And take a look at the place where all those statues you see around the city - and other parts of the state - are made!