The other side

Well, you saw the view from the landward side several days ago; here is the Simpson clock from the beach - and Radhakrishnan Salai / Cathedral Road leading away from it.

Parsi property

Down West Mada Church Road in Royapuram are several indicators of the city's Parsi heritage. The oldest of these indicators is probably this building, which stands on land that, by all accounts, was acquired by Heerjibhai Maneckji Kharas with five other Parsis sometime in the last decade of the 18th century. Just before that century ended, additional land had been leased for 99 years from the British East India Company. In 1858, with the Crown assuming sovereignty, the lands were transferred to the Parsi Panchayat.

In 1900, the Parsi Panchayat was renamed the Madras Parsi Zarthosti Anjuman. The property that had been leased from the British East India Company came to be referred to as Anjuman Bagh. Today, Anjuman Bagh houses within it a dharmsala for travellers, besides about fifteen flats though which the Anjuman provides subsidized housing for deserving senior citizens from the community. 

Though the original property on this road has been fragmented, the Anjuman Bagh continues to be a reminder of how the Parsis had contributed to Madras in large measure!

Just a building

Actually that's all it is. But the Sheraton Park Hotel & Towers is so very inviting. 


This property has seen quite a few name changes over the past 30 years or so that it has been around. It was first the Adayar Gate Hotel, then the Adayar Park; after its management was taken over by the Welcomgroup, it became Park Sheraton. Now, with ITC's brand building effort, it is the ITC Hotel Park Sheraton and Towers. 


If we conveniently ignore all the dance floors in various old world hotels and clubs of the city, Park Sheraton can claim to have brought the discotheque into the Madras of the late 1970s. The Gatsby was a major USP of the hotel when it opened and the name had enough recall value for it to be reintroduced as Gatsby 2000 in the late 1990s. 


The Gatsby is not this hotel's only connection to New York. What is today known as the Park Central Hotel was, between the 1950s and the 1980s, known as the Park Sheraton New York!

Hosting the Academy

It is not the oldest of the music sabhas in the city, but it ranks among the top 3 in that category. For quite a long time, the Sri Parthasarathy Swamy Sabha was the lone ranger; from the time it was founded in 1900, until the Music Academy came into being in 1928, there was no other sabha in Madras. 

The Music Academy's founding - in the wake of a resolution by the All India Congress Committee - led to a mini-rash of similar institutions coming up. Of the ones that followed, only two continue to be active: the Indian Fine Arts Society and the Rasika Ranjani Sabha. The latter, established in 1929 in Mylapore, seems to have enjoyed better facilities in the early days. It had its own concert hall on Sundareswarar Swamy Street. The concert hall was most likely named after the street, and Sundareswarar Hall hosted many of the prominent musicians of the day. In 1958, the Sundareswarar Hall was renovated and the new venue served the RR Sabha for over half-a-century. The current renovation - which should be completed soon (if it hasn't been already), will hopefully see the hall continue to use its current name.

Because that's a name that has hosted the Music Academy itself - before the Academy got its current premises, it conducted its annual conferences at different venues: and among them the Sundareswarar Hall was an early choice!

Looking another way

For almost 40 years, this statue was in the middle of things. Unveiled on January 14, 1969, Kalaivanar's statue looked towards the west, almost as if he was turning his back to the trappings of power - the state legislature and secretariat were to the east. In an era where politics seemed to be the logical next step for a successful movie actor, Nagarcoil Sudalaimuthu Krishnan stayed away from the temptation, preferring to advance his theories of community development through the dialogues and songs from his films. 

The unveiling of his statue on Pongal day of 1969 was the then Chief Minister Aringar Anna's last public function. The event was attended by two others who would go on to become Chief Ministers themselves - Karunanidhi and MGR. And it was during Karunanidhi's most recent tenure that this statue was shifted from the middle of the roads - the junction of G.N.Chetty Road, Dr. Nair Road and Thirumalai Pillai Road - to the northeast corner of that junction. The flyover that came up at that intersection was named Kalaivanar Mempaalam, becoming only the second named flyover in Chennai.

The auditorium named after him - Kalaivanar Arangam - has been demolished; it is good that this statue was spared. Now NSK looks across to Vani Mahal - possibly to the stage that was his first love!

Dog days

It is hot enough for even the dogs to seek some shade. This one finds it inside an auto-rickshaw parked outside the Tiruvottiyur temple. After the hike in petrol prices on Sunday, even the LPG auto-rickshaws would be hard pressed for business.

Dog days for everyone, indeed!

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!

Chamber

Of course everyone wants to get together to promote their shared interests. The bigger the business, the more so, I guess. It was probably in this spirit that a few companies got together a little over a hundred years ago to establish the Southern India Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Its website today claims inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi's call for swadeshi, but as likely it was the businessmen of the day banding together to ensure they had a common forum to raise their demands with the British government.


Unlike many such associations or industry bodies, the SICCI has gone on for over a century and continues to be relevant. Very soon after its founding, in 1927, it became one of the founders of the country's apex body for such chambers of commerce - the FICCI. 


For me, it was first one of the buildings on the Esplande - all commerce related information came much later. But it was only a few days ago I realized that it is not the "South India", but the "Southern India" Chamber of Commerce and Industry.... the former is a young upstart!

Roots of medicine

A shop in Velachery that sells some exotic things. Things that the city dweller needs because he hasn't yet left the village behind him. Things that assure her that her newborn is getting the best of nature. Things that only a "nattu marundhu kadai" can provide.

No, it does not - and should not - translate as "country medicine shop". That's missing the entire point. Like many other phrases, "naatu marundhu kadai" defies neat translation, because of the need for deeper understanding of tradition and culture. These are not really "country", but more like "non-city"; and "marundhu" here is not really medicine, but the ingredients - seeds, fruits, accessories - that are needed for making some traditional recipes. Recipes that are used for "health tonics"..... well, that's the best way of describing "kashayams", isn't it, although "lehyam" is beyond me for now!

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!

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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