Stoned

Chennai has been seeing non-stop rains since Friday; of course the streets are all flooded and the schools have been closed - and it looks like the rain will continue into the next couple of days as well. 

It was probably worse 20 million years ago in this part of the world. During the Mio-Pilocene age, there were severe floods - and probably some volcanic explosions as well. The forests south of modern-day Chennai were washed away and many of the trees ended up around Thiruvakkarai, about 175km away from Chennai. Over the eons, the trees were fossilised and turned to stone. Roughly 200 such fossilised tree-trunks can be seen today at the National Fossil Wood Park in Thiruvakkarai.

One of the chunks was brought over to Madras and placed on display at the Museum. It remains there, open to nature - I guess if it has been weathered over 20 million years, a couple of centuries more or less would not matter. This display, along with the skeleton of a whale, is the first memory I have of the museum's exhibits. Next time you are there, do look out for this - it is quite easy to miss!

Party office

Yesterday, this building would have seen a considerable level of celebrations. Not merely because the General Secretary of the Party was allowed bail by the Supreme Court of India, but also because yesterday was the 43rd anniversary of the party's founding. The AIADMK was formed  in 1972 when MGR, the iconic movie-star-turned-politician broke away from the DMK and set out his own party. He picked up the constitution of the DMK and replaced 'President' with 'General Secretary', thereby replicating the organizational structure of the parent party, but for a change in the centralization of power.

Of course, MGR was the founder-General Secretary and held that position until he died in 1987. The party lost its way for a couple of years, when his widow, Janaki Ramachandran tried to run it. In 1989, MGR's protege took on the mantle  - including the feminine version of MGR's title - which many believed was hers by right. And since then, through all the ups and downs of politics, she has ruled the party with an iron hand. 

It is ironic that this building on Lloyds Road, which has been the headquarters of the AIADMK since 1986, was gifted to the party by a person who was probably its weakest leader - Janaki Ramachandran!

Golden hero

The month of October is special for fans of 'Sivaji' Ganesan, the Nadigar Thilagam (the crown jewel of actors?) of Tamizh cinema. The first of the month is the birth anniversary of Villuppuram Chinnaiahpillai Ganesan, who went on to rule the Tamizh screen for over four decades between the 1950s and 1990s. He had many awards to his credit, including that of Best Actor at Afro-Asian Film Festival in Cairo in 1960 - the first Indian actor to win that award in an international festival.

That career started with the film "Parasakthi", made by AVM Studios in 1952. The script was by Mu Karunanidhi. Questioning the social mores of the day, the film's dialogues were quite fiery; quite a bit into its making, A.V. Meyyappan, the studio owner (and co-producer), as well as Krishnan-Panju, the co-directors, had doubts about the young man who was making his debut in the role of Gunasekaran, the lead character of the film. It was Mrs. Meyyappan and P.A. Perumal of National Pictures, the other co-producer, who backed Ganesan - and the rest, of course is history; not just for Ganesan, but also for the scriptwriter who would go on to become the state's Chief Minister. Parasakthi set the tone for a new kind of film-making.

It was on October 17, 1952 that this landmark of Tamizh cinema was released. 50 years later, this memorial to the movie was inaugurated inside the AVM studios. Apparently, it was initially placed a little way away from its current location, but was later shifted to the spot where Sivaji Ganesan delivered his first shot of the movie. At the bottom of this stand-up plaque, there is another shaped liked a book, listing the names of the people who had worked on the film: writers, lyricists, music director and technicians. The entire monument is topped off with the image of Sivaji delivering the first word of his first shot. Prophetic it was, for what he said was - "Success!"!

New bank?

Had heard - vaguely - of the T. Nagar Cooperative Bank earlier, but was not aware of anything about it beyond a name. 

Not that I know much more about it now, but at least I know where their head office is. Noticed this new building on Doraiswamy Road, and then realized it was housing a business that has been around for quite some time. Long enough for its address to be registered as 'Madras' on the DICGC's website!

Season opener

The Chennai music 'season' is still two months away, but the Navaratri / Dussehra festival is a marker of the change of seasons; here is Sudha Raghunathan on stage at Vani Mahal's Sri Chandrasekarendra Saraswathi Mahaswami Auditorium.

Happy listening!

Means of transport

One of the yards of the Port of Chennai. Of course it is a sea-port, which is why you can get to see a boat and a ship in this picture. Because some of the berths are just behind the Chennai Beach suburban railway station, you can see a passenger train passing by every once in a way. The port has a railway track running inside for goods trains; and there is one waiting here. There are also the container trucks bringing in the goods to be shipped out

Apart from all these, there is a batch of passenger cars in the yard, waiting to be loaded on to ships. From this distance, I'm unable to make out if they are made by Ford, or by Hyundai - or is there any other car making plant in Chennai that ships out its products through the Port?

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!

Transformation

It is difficult to imagine that, 8 years ago, this was a dump yard. Even though it had the grand name of 'River View Park', the Corporation of Chennai had not got around to doing anything about making it a park, as it had done with several of the other public spaces under its control. 

In 2006, Nizhal, a not-for-profit organization stepped in to support the Corporation. With the help of several volunteers, the rubble was cleared, saplings were planted, the area was better demarcated. Each round of effort with the volunteers raised the Corporation's confidence - and some funds through contributions - which helped in adding facilities like walking tracks, a wall around the park and staff for its upkeep. 

Today, the Kotturpuram Tree Park is a wonderful getaway from the city's sights and sounds. The saplings have grown, through the trees are still not so big as to provide great shade, they are all well on their way. The Friends of the Kotturpuram Tree Park (FKTP) have provided signs with the names of the trees - botanical, as well as the local name. The FKTP also helps with the upkeep and in coordinating the efforts of volunteers, many of who are children from the nearby streets and schools. Nizhal continues to be involved, helping the FKTP and the Corporation figure out how to leverage this showpiece of public-private partnership in the cause of general welfare!

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!

Demand

He is suffering because of the government's misplaced taxation policies. Why doesn't his government listen to him?

And yes, I agree with him!

The view north

The Marina Beach is supposedly 13 kilometres long, but that's the entire stretch from the edge of the Port of Chennai, all the way down past Besant Nagar. Somehow, I am unable to consider all of that as one beach, because the shoreline changes its character as it passes through Chennai.

This 4km stretch is most likely the beach that captivated Sir Mountstuart Elphinstone Grant Duff when he visited Madras sometime in the 1870s. He returned to Madras in 1881, this time as its Governor. One of the first things he did was to commence building a promenade along the sandy strip. On its being opened to the public in 1884, he named it the "Marina", from his recollection of the Sicilian beach - apparently an Italian general, when walking along the promenade with the Governor, mentioned to him that the beach reminded him of Palermo.

Since then, the Marina has been graced - and at times disgraced - by several projects. It was one of the key points in the city for public and political rallies. Thilagar Thidal, where Mahatma Gandhi addressed the people on his visits to Madras, is now just a memory. At the northern end, memorials to two former state Chief Ministers got the courts to declare that the beach should not be used for any other such memorials. At the moment, the sandy strip is going through one of its relatively cleaner phases; so, even if you are not able to go along all the 13km, this stretch should be good enough to rejuvenate you!

Another side

Looking from the north, at the first houses of San Thome. Just past the lighthouse is where the Kamaraj Salai changes into the Santhome High Road, and the beach narrows down to a sandy strip. 

A view of the other side coming up tomorrow...

Some books left

The Anna Centenary Library probably had the highest point in its young life on July 20, 2011, when the then US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Chennai. This library was the venue for her interaction with the general public of Chennai, in the 1000-seater hall attached to the library. Both hall and library were opened to the public on September 15, 2010, the 102nd birth anniversary of the former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C.N. Annadurai. 

A year later, the library was in danger of being shut down. The government in the state had changed and the new power did not think very much about this venture, even though Annadurai was their political mentor - as of their predecessor, too. The new government wanted to convert this into a hospital, and there was quite a bit of support for that proposal, especially from the younger generation. The issue has been referred to the courts, which don't seem to be in any particular hurry to make up their mind on what to do about this facility. 

Thus, the library has not been able to realize its potential. Its 375,000 sqft over nine floors houses only 500,000 books. That's a rather poor utilization of space. Membership is - hold your breath - zero. Until the courts decide, the library is not taking any chances in taking on members. For now, it remains a place where one can go and read the books that are available, but can't hope for anything more. Sad!

Decorating the street

A visit by any VIP of significance will see the area being cleaned up hurriedly by workers of the Corporation of Chennai. Not only does the garbage get swept up under the bins, but the workers go one step further.

Part of their VIP cleaning equipment is a bucket with its bottom punctured with a pattern. Filling it with kolamavu, the worker walks it along the side of the road, dipping it to touch the road every once a while.

So the VIPs go around and see all these clean streets and repeating kolam patterns. If only they get to see the garbage as it is, maybe they will get to see much more intricate and beautiful kolams as well!

Bombay in Madras

In the 19th century, when India was still a part of the British Empire, native - Indian - lives were considered 'sub-standard' by life insurance companies. The first insurance company in India, Oriental Life Insurance Company, established in 1818, was almost exclusively meant for European lives. With a lot of pressure being brought to bear on them, Oriental and the other insurance companies which started later began to insure Indians. But, no matter what their standing in society, Indians had to pay far higher premiums for their insurance. 

The Bombay Mutual Life Assurance Society was set up in 1870 to combat this prejudice. In that sense, it was the first Indian insurance company. They did not distinguish between native and European lives and therefore managed to carve out a significant market share - apart from prudence, patriotism seemed to have played a major role in helping Bombay Mutual establish itself. In 1953 - the last year for which I have been able to find data for - Bombay Mutual had generated Rs.43,287,250/- worth of new business, with an average sum assured of Rs.2,571.

In 1956, the insurance business was nationalised. By then, Bombay Mutual had already established its presence in Madras, with its headquarters in George Town. Built in the Art Deco style, the building had come up on land that it had acquired from the Madras Christian College, which had by then moved to Tambaram. After insurance nationalisation, the building passed on to the Life Insurance Corporation. Together with its neighbours on NSC Bose Road, the Bombay Mutual Building blends well with its neighbours, showing off the Art Deco heritage of Chennai!

Long throw

It is a little after 4 pm, but the sun is still quite warm. It will take a while for the beach to be filled up. So we went up the Madras Lighthouse to see what the view from up above was like. In its original conceptualization, the lighthouse was not meant to be a tourist attraction, so the viewing gallery is not really tourist friendly. It is a narrow strip running along two sides of the tower's triangular (remember, this is the only lighthouse in India with such a shape) cross section, and can hold about 30-40 people at a time. 

Of course we weren't allowed all the way up. The focal plane of the lighthouse is ~58m above mean sea level, and the viewing gallery is about 5-8m below that. Standing there, the view is quite boundless; Chennai is a flat city and there are not too many buildings blocking out the view, so with good eyesight (or a fertile imagination), one can see all the way to the city's outskirts. The light from here flashes twice every 10 seconds, but in an irregular manner; each flash lasts for 0.57s and the space between two flashes are staggered as 1.93 and 6.93 seconds. The light itself can be seen at least 22 (and up to 35) nautical miles away. 

It will be another hour before the light is switched on. In the meantime, the shadow of the building goes out about 300m into the beach - and provides good shade for several of the early beachgoers, and a merrry-go-round carousel as well!

Wheels

Jagannath and Parthasarathy are but two manifestations of Krishna, an avatar of Vishnu. One of them has given a word to the English lexicon. A word that was used by Charlotte Brontë in Jane Eyre, and by Robert Louis Stevenson to describe Mr. Hyde trampling over a child. 

There. Even without the clue, you would have guessed by now that I am talking about 'Juggernaut', which came from a description of the chariot of Puri Jagannath, at the wheels of which, it was claimed, Hindus sacrificed themselves. 

These wheels, though, are from the chariot of the Parthasarathy temple at Triplicane. They may not be as big as that of Jagannath; yet, you had better be careful to not get in their way, upon pain of creating a synonym of juggernaut!

Pujo!

Umapathy Street in West Mambalam is so narrow that two cars have to slow down to a crawl to get past each other without scraping paint. And if a vehicle comes in from a side street - say, J.P. Street - in a little bit of a hurry, it would cause a gridlock that would make Kolkata proud. And it should, too, for this is where a teeny-weeny bit of Kolkata pops its head up in Chennai. 

The Madras Kali Bari Temple was inaugurated on February 3, 1981. It does not have the gopurams typical of Tamil Nadu temples, but is a nine-spired tower, in the Navaratna style of Bengali temple architecture. All nine spires are on a single tower, spread over two levels - or three, if you consider the tallest, single spire as a separate level. The other two levels are kind of concentric squares, with a spire at each corner. In that design, the Madras Kali Bari takes inspiration from the Dakshineswar Kali Temple near Kolkata. A magnet for Bengalis of Chennai, the temple is especially crowded during the Durga Puja season, giving the area an additional layer of traffic, and an enhanced Kolkata touch.

Inside, the meditation hall in front of the sanctum has been converted into a puja pandal. On ashtami day today, the pandal was full. There were enough locals in the crowd - but there was very little to be heard of any language other than Bengali. And though there was a separate area housing the Golu, the focus was on Ma Durga!

Movement

There is a lot of it everywhere you turn to. Movement. A big city like Chennai is always on the move, even if it does not seem like it on most occasions. But even when you are stuck in traffic in Chennai, it is not a full stop. Traffic moves, even if slowly, on such occasions. There are several other places in the world, and even in the country, where traffic comes to a standstill on multiple occasions. 

Chennai is far better. Most of the pauses in your journey on the road happen at traffic intersections, where the red light stays on for longer than every motorist thinks is required. One such intersection is this one at the meeting point of Jawaharlal Nehru Salai (that's the NH 45 going inside the city) and Arcot Road. With the Chennai Metro construction also encroaching on the road space, everyone tries to get past this crossing as soon as they can.

And, if the car coming at you flashes lights at you, you had better stay out of the way - he is in too much of a hurry for you to attempt any movement into his path!

Theme Day at the CDP - and you had better get a move on there if you want to see the theme 'Movement' interpreted in cities around the world!

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"!