A man, a plan

He seems a mythical figure, almost. The fresh garland on the statute in front of the"Kamaraj Memorial House" indicates that he's still revered by some folks, somewhere. Leaders of the Congress Party in Tamil Nadu continuously harp about bringing back the "Kamaraj age", when Tamil Nadu was one of the best administered states in the country, not to mention one of the 'cleanest', as well. That age seems far removed, much more than the 48 years since K.Kamaraj stepped down as the Chief Minister of the state.

And that was probably the last great sacrifice in Indian politics. Though Kamaraj was in his third term as Chief Minister, he still had considerable political clout in New Delhi, enough for Jawaharlal Nehru to take his advice in implementing what has come to be known as the "Kamaraj Plan". On the face of it, the plan was innocuous enough. Kamaraj proposed that senior leaders of the Congress should give up their positions in the government and move back to the party's organizational framework to revitalize the party. Kamaraj himself gave up his Chief Ministership under the plan, as did five other Chief Ministers and six members of the Union Cabinet. Kamaraj himself was almost immediately elected as President of the Congress Party. It was during his tenure that he orchestrated the transition through two Prime Ministers - Lal Bahadur Shastri after Nehru and then, Indira Gandhi after Shastri's untimely demise.

There are differing views on why the "Kamaraj Plan" was developed; some think it was to strengthen Indira Gandhi's position in the Congress Party. Others belive it was to push out Bakshi Ghulam Mohammed, the 'Prime Minister' of Jammu & Kashmir, who even though he was not a member of the Congress Party, offered his resignation - which was promptly accepted. Whatever be the compulsions for the Kamaraj Plan of 1963, the state unit of the Congress Party could do with some of Kamaraj's magic!

Who is this Adam?

This lovely, four-storeyed building on NSC Bose Road, just across from the Flower Bazaar police station, has been gracing the neighbourhood for almost 80 years, now. Yet, there is little information about who the building - the writing on it announces it is Adam's Building in 1923 - was named after and what it it is today.

Google maps indicates it is now a lodging house - if you do not trust that, the sign on the ground floor - Vijaya Lodge - will sway even the most sceptical. It seems a pity that there is little information, for the well maintained facade of this building seems to be inviting us to learn more about it.

Another day, another mystery - until the next time at NSC Bose Road, to ask the manager of Vijaya Lodge if heknows anything about the building's history.



Backwaters

Like the Chennai Central or the LIC Building, this bridge is a movie star, too. Unlike them, this did not establish a location, or even indicate that it is part of any city. It was a location of choice for jumping into the river/sea; at low tide, the waters are shallow enough to allow people to walk - if you know the path, of course.

A long time ago, the Tamil Nadu Tourism department showed quite a bit of foresight in setting up a boathouse here. It was fun to take a spin in the backwaters, going up towards the Bay of Bengal and then ducking back under the bridge. It appeared to be a secret, known to only a few people, for the vast majority would rush over the bridge, intent on getting to Mamallapuram or Kovalam, or wherever it is they were going, hardly sparing a glance to the boathouse on their right.

Not any more. There are always vehicles milling around the north end of the bridge, as tourists try to get the best parking spots while they go down for a boat ride. The possiblity of accidents, which were earlier much higher in the water - and there were quite a few fatal ones - are now loaded towards the land. Thankfully, they'd just end up with a few bumps and dings, rather than being life threatening!

Finest store

Why did so many Gujarati traders come down to Madras during the middle of the 19th century? It must have had something to do with their relationship with the English, who had set up their first trading post in the sub-continent at Surat, for sure. Among the later arrivals was Poppat Jamal, who came in to the city as an apprentice to Ibrahim Peer Mohammed & Co., dealers in fine glassware and china. He did well, for when the founders decided to sell out of the business, it was Poppat Jamal they handed it over to, in 1901.

Ever since then, the establishment in Chennai has been called Poppat Jamal & Sons, even though the branches in Kochi, Bengaluru and Vijayawada have been re-branded as Jamal's. It is quite likely the ownership has become fragmented and there are several of these "finest store of its kind in India" in all these cities!



Going ape!

Madras had an early start in the practice of keeping wild animals in captivity. The first zoo in the city was near today's Chennai Central station - though when the zoo was established in the 1850s, the Central station was yet to be built. For a long while, the zoo did not keep pace with emerging thought in the manner of caring for captive animals and its pre-eminence slipped.


It was in 1985 that Madras reclaimed its spot as having one of, if not the best modern zoos in India. The Aringar Anna Zoological Park is spread over nearly 1500 acres and houses about 160 species (Wikipedia tells us that the San Diego Zoo / Safari Park together cover about 2100 acres - but they have packed in more than 800 species there!)


For all the extent of the zoo, the space for animals is slightly cramped. These chimpanzees have a little bit more than most, but even they can get bored of the sameness of the trees and the moat!

Late fishers

The fishermen on the Marina Beach usually set out to see even before the dawn has cracked. At some unearthly hour, when most of the city sleeps, these fisherfolk push their crafts out, riding the waves before starting their outboards and veering away to their favourite fishing spots. By the time the early walkers have finished their constitutional, the boats are back, bringing in their 3-hour worth of catch which one can buy fresh off the boat.

It was already seven o'clock and this boat was just getting ready to cast off. That too, after a short puja. Turns out these people had, for some reason, not been able to go to work for over a week and it was their first day out after that break. Hence the puja and all that. 

By the time they get back, it will be just in time to get your choice straight from the fishing boat into the frying pan!

Suburban justice?

Tiruvottiyur may be within the Chennai postcode area, but for judicial matters, it falls in the Tiruvallur district. Justice in this part of Chennai is dealt with by the District Munsif (for civil matters) and the Judicial Magistrates (for criminal cases). In contrast to the pomp and show of the Madras High Court, the courts of these officials are quite homely. On a Sunday morning, it was not difficult to mistake these gates as being that of a school or something as harmless.

Judicial Magistrates can award sentences that are of less than 1 year's imprisonment (or a Rs.5,000 fine, at max) and the District Munsif has similar limits. The first court in Tiruvottiyur was apparently a sub-court that began functioning in 1965. It was only in 1996 that the sub-court was upgraded to its current status.

There was a news item that said a building for the combined DM / JM courts was inaugurated in November 2008. Though these buildings seem much older, I'm sure there are no other courts in Tiruvottiyur! 

Auto fittings

In the 1870s, Simpson established his coach factory at one end of Mount Road. Years later, in 1916, G.U.Cuddon built the "finest automobile showroom in India" a short distance away. With these two establishments setting the bookends for the automobile trade in Madras, some of the roads branching off Mount Road became the support zone, where parts for any vehicle could be procured. They were truly the supports, because the automobile companies were not interested in supplying to the aftermarket. If a car-owner wanted so much as a washer, he had to make a trip to this maze of streets.

None of those streets were more popular than General Patter's Road. More about the origin of that road's name later (hopefully); it is a stretch of about a kilometre, with little but shops selling every kind of part for every kind of automobile ever made. Yes, there was a cinema there somewhere and the office of a political party has become more visible now, but if you tell someone that you're off to "GP Road", you can be sure they will understand your desire to spruce up your vehicle.

And it is service on the street. The men in the photo are not pushing the car out of the traffic or anything like that. They were installing something - a music system? - inside the car and what better place to do it than the middle of GP Road!

Three-leaf clover

Had always assumed that the grade separator at Kathipara was a proper, fully-paid up member of the four-leafed clover interchange club. Not that it was difficult to validate this assumption, but for some reason, never did think about it being anything other.

Even after having taken this picture, I was searching for the fourth leaf; it took me a while to accept there are only three of them. Even as the effect of this bit of news was being absobed, came another bolt from the blue. Apparently, only 4-leaf grade separators can truly be called "clover-leaf intersections". Anything less, and we need to talk about "jughandle intersections" or "par-clo" (for partial cloverleaf).

Anything more, it would be a spaghetti junction, apparently!

A-ha, it is a clover-leaf after all, just that one of the leaves seems to have fallen off.... see comments!

Next clearance

It has been a long while since I had thought of a post-office. And here I am, thinking letters and mailboxes at least once a day over yesterday and today! Last afternoon, it was because my son wanted to post a letter from Sabarmati Ashram, Ahmedabad: they have a special cancellation for letters posted there and he wanted to send one to his school, just to have the postmark.

Today, it turns out that I have to look for a mailbox again, for a different kind of 'posting' - luckily, I had this picture, taken a couple of years ago, and that's turned out to be useful. This one is on Poonamallee High Road and is serviced by the Flowers Road Post Office - or, to use the technically correct status, the Flowers Road Sub-Office (Delivery).

I hope they will still go ahead and make the next clearance at 10.45 am tomorrow, as the window on the mailbox says!

 

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Here and there

This is a hotel caught in some kind of a time warp. The property itself was developed by R. Velayuthan, whose claim to fame was that he was married to KR Vijaya, a popular actress of the 1970s. Velayuthan invested his wife's earnings into building this hotel, which opened in the late 1970s. Riding on the crest of her popularity, Hotel Sudarshan, as it was then called, became quite a popular hangout, more so with the 'filmi' crowds visiting Chennai.

As with several similar ventures, the promoters were unable to sustain the business and within a decade, Hotel Sudarshan was in the doldrums. Velayuthan managed to find a buyer, the Narangs, who brought it into the fold of their Ambassador brand in 1986. The Narangs for some reason don't seem to be paying as much attention to this property as they should, banking on a regular clientele to support them.

And that clientele does. Not just because the rooms here are far larger than most others in the city. Not just because the service is a little more personalized than that at other hotels. But more so because, as this site for a wedding a couple of weeks ago says, there is an association with things past, an association that will probably take a couple of generations to change!

New route

It is deeply ingrained that when coming in to Chennai by train, one gets off at the Chennai Central station.But over the years, it has become slightly more convenient to get off at the Perambur station and get back home from there. For me, it is no major difference in the distance, but it helps to save quite a bit of time. The twenty minutes or so that a train needs to get from Perambur to Chennai Central is itself quite a good start. Add to that the long walk on the platforms of Chennai Central and you're already building up quite a sizeable chunk of time. With the Murasoli Maran flyover at Perambur getting into action last year, the exuse of traffic congestion has also been taken away.

But for all that, my biggest disappointment about forgeting to get down at Perambur was that the exit from the station was right outside my compartment. If I'd got off there, I would definitely have been saved a 1km walk, not to mention the 25 minute headstart I got on my way back home!

Watch this space

Well, if you keep staring long enough, you might just see that aircraft on the tarmac take off. Though I'm not in it, I am away from Chennai today. This one is coming to you from Bengaluru!

Gotham!

Late in the evening, the folks of George Town have finished their supper and are taking a bit of rest. Can't really say this place goes to sleep, but around the big buildings of NSC Bose Road, activity cools off a bit and moves into the streets off the main road.

One such evening, a few months ago. The Bombay Mutual Building seems to be lit up in colours. Maybe it could do with more lights, but can't think of any other place in Chennai that can double up as Gotham!

Bell pull

In November of 1876, Helene Marie Philippine de Chapotine was in Rome, having arrived there through Nantes (where she was born), Toulouse, Madurai (where she was sent to as a novice) and Ooty (where she was driven to because of some differences of opinion within the Madurai Mission). By this time, she was known as Mary of the Passion and on January 6, 1877, Pope Pius IX authorized her to found the Missionaries of Mary. In 1885, this Institute officially became the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary.

They have a convent - Holy Apostles Convent - and a creche on St Thomas Mount, behind the church. The main building of the convent is at a slightly lower level and is normally not open to the public. Those seeking to enter have to ring a bell - no, not any new electronic device, but by pulling at a twisted bit of metal next to the picture of a church bell.

And yes, please be absolutely quiet when the bell rings!

Matchless!

Bharat Matrimony, based in Chennai, was one of the earliest 'match-making' sites in India, taking 'arranged marriages' into cyberspace. Over time, they spun off sub-sites, to make it easier to find the spouse of your dreams.

And somehow, finding this advertisement for their services in front of a kalyana mandapam seems to be quite appropriate these days!

Open gates

We used to call it the 'Electricity Road', or the 'TNEB Road', because there was a Tamil Nadu Electricity Board office somewhere along this stretch of road. It was probably a private road in those days, with the barriers on the Commander-in-Chief Road (now Ethiraj Salai) / Binny Road side being almost always closed. With the barriers shut, even with their high clearance, it was rather daunting prospect to ride a bike down this road. If they were open, it was always a good excuse.

Over time, we found the barriers were not closed as often as they once were. This road became a familiar path to avoid the traffic along Anna Salai, zipping over from Binny's Road to Dam's Road, bypassing the traffic and the lights. The stench of the Cooum was a relatively small price to pay, for this road runs along the eastern bank of the river where it runs parallel to Mount Road, coming from behind Spencer Plaza.

These days, the barriers never seem to be shut. The road still does not seem to be a thoroughfare - maybe there is still a feeling of impropriety in using it. And the road itself continues to be anonymous. Without any proper name, it shows up as 'Link Road' on most of the maps!

Associations' building

The Thiru Vi-Ka Industrial Estate in Guindy is over fifty years old and this building seems to be from the same era. One of the earliest Industrial Estates in the country, this was the first in Madras. With the emphasis on small-scale industries, this 400-acre piece of land has a large number of such small factories, typically turning out components to be used by larger factories elsewhere.

Not that there are only small units here. Some big names - Ennore Foundries, TVS Electronics, Alcatel-Lucent, among them - have a presence inside the 'Guindy Estate'. Even the Olympia Tech Park on its western edge is an attractive location for the large, new age industries. The overbearing majority of units at the Guindy Estate however are of the single-unit entrepreneur type, somehow managing to clear a profit and trying to keep pace with all those competitive manufacturing practices coming out of China.

Bringing those kind of entrepreneurs together are various associations and industry groupings. The biggest of them here happens to be the IEMA - the Industrial Estate Manufacturers' Association, which is why their name board is the most visible one at street level. Inspite of having a spanking new office at RV Towers, the IEMA continues to operate out of this building, jostling for space with all those other groupings of small scale industries. Looks like they'll run out of nameboard space soon!

No washing

One of the city buses to school had a route that took it from the very British 'Sterling Road' bus-stop to the rather Anglo-Indian sounding 'Dobby Kana', which was its next halt. Having to get down at the former (if I wanted to go to school, that is), the latter was an enduring mystery. 'Kana' sounded rather like 'khana' (Hindi for 'food') that I used to imagine a huge crowd of dhobis (washermen) sitting down for lunch or something.

Although I've heard tell of how crowded the 'Dobby kana' at Chetpet used to be, I never had a chance to see it. For the Chetpet laundry had shut down even by the early '70s and today, even the bus-stop is called something else. Even the recent movie 'Madrasapattinam', with its washerman hero, seems to be set in the dhobi ghat of Guindy, rather than Chetpet. Even that has disappeared, now.

The last outpost of the Madras washerman seems to be this enclosed area at Pallavaram. I was told that the mornings are when it is a buzz of activity, with the wet clothes swishing through the air in arcs to have the dirt beaten out of them, wrung and then hung out to dry. In the evening, it is almost completely deserted; looks like the few people inside are those washing their own clothes!

Best photo ;)

Less than an hour's drive from the centre of the city, we got to see this sight early on a September morning. Clouds, golden lining and all, coming up to burn the mist off the grass. And the birds, having woken up, putting on their displays for us. A great morning's birding!

So here's to all of you - may you get what you seek for this year... leaving enough behind for others who would have need of it too, of course! A very happy New Year's Day to everyone, and wishes for a wonderful time in the year ahead!

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