Bells

The bells of the Church of the Holy Rosary are far younger than the church itself. The latter goes back to circa 1630s. One of the bells has the inscription "Jaffnapatnam 1769".

They would have rung through a lot of history, for sure!

Wakeup time

Early morning on NSC Bose Road. One of those rare occasions when this road appears peaceful. Usually it is a cataract of humans, vehicles and a few animals as well. What with the Madras High Court on one side and Chennai's serious trading locality of George Town on the other, this road can't be anything but busy. Okay, it was a Sunday, and the traders of George Town were probably having a lie-in!

Striding out

This statue of Gandhi was unveiled on the eve of Independence Day, 48 years ago. I am not sure if this was placed at some other, prominent location earlier. Maybe the gardens of the Agri-Horticultural Society were themselves a prominent location in the 1960s. 

Anyway, there it is today, showing the sun-dappled Mahatma striding out from a bush. There is a vase on the base of the statue, but nobody seems to have cared enough to place flowers in it!

Garland street

Even though the last major news agency moved out almost a decade ago, Fleet Street continues to evoke images of the print media, just as Harley Street reminds us about physicians. Are there any similar streets in Chennai? I am not really sure, but Iyya Mudali Street in Chintadripet comes very close. 

Around the temples of Mylapore or Triplicane, it is possible to find several shops that sell a variety of garlands. However, those are just sales outlets. At Iyya Mudali Street, the packed garlands are intended to be despatched elsewhere. You may be able to place an order here, but I doubt if spot sales to walk-in customers are encouraged. The garlands - most of them with some proportion of sandalwood - have been crafted for specific occasions. Almost any commemorative occasion needs the chief guest and a few other dignitaries to be garlanded - and off to Iyya Mudali Street go the organizers. 

There are quite a few other traditional items that are crafted in the shops that line the entrance to this street. Remember the thombais? And the temple umbrellas? Well, you can take a safe bet they were made right here in Chintadripet!

26, 94

You may not be able to make out what the numbers mean, but that's nothing to be worried about. Even as great a mathematician as G.H. Hardy, who specialized in number theory, was not a numbers man. In that way, he was unlike Srinivasa Ramanujan, for whom numbers were his "personal friends". There is a story about Hardy visiting a very ill Ramanujan at Putney; getting into the room, Hardy mentioned that he had travelled in taxicab number 1729, which seemed to him a "rather dull number". Ramanujan, however, was instantly animated. "No, no, not at all", he said. "It is the smallest number that can be expressed as the sum of two cubes in two different ways". 

Since then, such numbers have been known as 'Taxicab Numbers'; you can head out here to see some of them, as well as a picture of.... well, something like taxicab number 1729. The story however is just one more example of how the man was completely un-fathomable, even for those who knew what he was talking about. What could he have achieved if he had lived longer than he actually did? 

Ramanujan passed into immortality this day in 1920. And yet, there are many who still don't know about him, or what he did. We go past all these mentions about the greatest mathematician of modern India with reverence, because it is too taxing to try and figure out what was it that he did. This day is marked with special events by the Ramanujan museum in Chennai. I haven't been there yet, but for today, this bust of Ramanujan at the IIT Madras should remind us of his memory!

  

A new option

Until the previous elections in Tamil Nadu, a voter could express her displeasure at the available candidates by stamping on multiple names in the ballot paper. There was also another option, under Section 49-O of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, for a voter to shun the ballot altogether, and record his decision in a separate form. Very few people actually knew about Section 49-O, and almost none of those would call for a form to record their dissent. Why should they, when they could have fun stamping across multiple names?

With electronic voting machines (EVM) replacing ballot papers, that fun was curtailed. The EVM would accept only one press of the button - and that, with a beep. Dissent wasn't possible through the EVM, and asking for the form clearly violated the principle of a secret ballot. The Supreme Court of India agreed with that contention and accepted the Election Commission's request to include "None of the Above" as a standard option on all the EVMs. 

And so there it was: the one candidate who is contesting across all constituencies in the country this year. NOTA. Would this candidate win anywhere? Well, even if there is a majority opting for NOTA, it is the top-grossing human who would still go on to win!

Selfinkie!

The election juggernaut came over to Chennai today. And here is the mandatory photo to show off that I have voted. With my voter ID card, too boot. 

Not a selfie, but a selfinkie!

Serving two masters

Vythinatha Iyer, possibly in a spurt of teenage rebellion, converted to Christianity when he was 17. He took on the name John, but used it only as a prefix. John Vythinatha Iyer certainly would have made people pause and wonder. 

But no, I am not talking about the clash of religious identities, here. The memorial stone at the Zion Church in Chintadripet talks about his serving the Government as well as working for the Church.  That's not a feat many could have managed!

The Eater's Digest - 9

It may be sacrilegious to talk about French cuisine and fast food in the same breath, but that's what bistros were, apparently. Urban legend has it that Russian soldiers in Paris during the early 19th century called out "bystro", indicating their desire to be served quickly. And so, those kitchens which put out simple fare, priced to suit the purses of the frontline soldiers, came to be called bistros. 

One thing is for sure. L'Amandier, which opened a few months ago on Chamiers Road, has got the 'simple' and 'economical' parts of the (alleged) bistro definition right. In keeping with the Parisian theme, they have a few tables outside, but given the Chennai weather, those may remain empty most of the time. Inside, however, it is pleasant, the food is simple, eminently gorge-able, and the people are nice.

Do they serve wine, like bistros are expected to? Ah, now you're being too greedy. Enjoy the food - and be happy with the fruit juices you get!

Down. And out.

There were about 50 people in the store. More than half of them were in their tweens or teens. Of the remaining, almost nine-tenths were in their mid thirties, or younger. From the conversations, it seemed that almost everyone had moved into Chennai sometime in the past five years or so. The layout was different, too. That half of the store where books used to be displayed - the 'original' Landmark - was off bounds. There were no books there, anymore. Those left over fitted into six display racks. The toys, VCDs and game cartridges filled up the rest of the space. And the shoppers were busy raiding. 50% off, and that's got the bargain hunters in. 

The old timers were staying away. There was one other shopper who engaged the store manager in conversation. "I was here on the first day you opened, you know", he said. The manager nodded, with a semi-polite half-smile. Of course he wasn't there when it opened. That was a long time ago. The store manager must have been eligible for a half-ticket at Safire when Hemu Ramaiah set up this store. She made sure that once you get down the steps and past the door on the right, you could transport yourself to a different world - or worlds. It didn't feel like half-a-basement at all. One could sit there all day and browse - yes, browse. In the days before Netscape Navigator, Hemu's Landmark would take you all over the wide world. 

Landmark was then a break from the past, but now, a throwback to another era. No bookstore before it tolerated anyone - school and college kids the least of all - flipping through their books. And here was the staff practically shoving a book into your hands and telling you to take your time reading it. It is difficult to believe that for 19 of the 26 years it has been around, the store has been competing against the Internet. The memories of those first seven years were strong enough for many to turn up again and again at the first Landmark store, now spread across the entire basement of Apex Plaza. Indra Nooyi, it is said, used to make it a point to spend a couple of hours here every time she visited Madras/Chennai. She was only one of the many non-residents - Madrasis or otherwise - for whom the Nungambakkam Landmark was the place to visit. And browse. And browse.

The first time I bought a set of greeting cards from Landmark, I did not realize that I was taking the first step to losing the bookstore of my college days. Greeting cards were followed by other stationery items. Then came CDs. Toys. Games. Suddenly, books seemed to be an "also there" item. And then the Tatas bought the chain, in 2005. India's best bookstore, born of passion, boosted by the quiz, sustained by the loyalty of its Madras customers (who spread the word about it to their friends in Pune, Bengaluru and other places) had now completely transformed into a 'business'. The staff didn't know their books. (Or even music, or toys, for that matter). But they still let customers visitors browse through the books, and the Nungambakkam store was the best place to do that. 

Now it is gone. When the bargain hunters have cleared it out ("50% off!!" "Everything must go!!!"), I shall also be gone. I did not intend to walk into the store yesterday, but I did. And I picked up a few books, at random. I only had a vague idea of what I was doing, because memories of 26 years obscured the actions of the day. My eyes were moist; I could not look at the girl at the billing counter, who asked me if I had a loyalty card. "I am turning it in today", I thought. I suddenly felt very old. Good bye, Landmark. You've taken my youth with you.

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!

Two of a kind

When a person starts birding, many long believed 'truths' turn out to be not so true. One of them is about owls. Most of us think of them as night birds; they may be mostly nocturnal, but there are many of them who are quite active during the day. Though first-timers might find it unbelievable, it is quite common to see owls during the daytime, even in the middle of the city. 

One of the common species of owl is the Spotted Owlet (Athene brama). It is a small bird, and is unfazed by the presence of humans nearby. You can spot them on the IIT Madras campus, on the golf course at the Cosmopolitan Club and several other places that are overrun with people. The two of them in this picture - can you spot them? - are at the TANUVAS' Research Station at Kattupakkam, on the outskirts of Chennai.

Athene brama usually nests in holes - that should be enough of a clue for you to click through the picture and spot the Owlets!

A memorial hall

It was in 1847 that a 17 year old "high-caste" boy at Palayamkottai converted to Christianity and was baptized as William Thomas Satthianadhan. The 'William' most probably was to honour William Cruickshank, the headmaster of the Anglican school who was instrumental in the conversion. W.T. Satthianadhan, with the zeal of the converted, went on to complete his studies in Divinity and Theology. Starting off with the Christian Missionary Society's school in 'Tinnevelly', he moved through a couple of other postings before being appointed as the pastor of the church at Chintadripet. 

He served there for thirty years, during which time the church was renamed as the Zion Church and he oversaw its expansion in 1880. After his passing in 1892, his son-in-law Rev W.D. Clarke took over. Within a couple of years, he had constructed a multi purpose hall next to the Zion Church and named it for his father-in-law. 

After nearly 130 years, that hall is in good shape. At least, it looks to be so from the outside - I am not sure if it continues to be used for any of the purposes it was intended to serve!

Green cover

From the sixth floor of Acropolis, looking out to the south-east, there is little by way of construction to break the green cover. Chennai's skyscrapers - such as they are - can be found in other parts of the city. The Mylapore area is not where high-rises are. 

In the foreground is another view of that church built without any wood - that seems to be the biggest break in the city's green!

Ersatz Rama?

Down the Madurantakam way, there is a story about a British Collector from the late 18th century - or maybe the last years of the 19th century - time does not matter much in such moffusils. You can catch up on the details of the story later; suffice to say that after the Collector had a vision of Rama and Lakshmana guarding the lake from overflowing, the temple there came to be known as Eri katha Ramar (the Rama who protected the lake).

It is possible that the experience led to several such temples for Rama, espcially near large lakes that are prone to overflowing. One such is the lake at Thiruninravur. Quite a large lake, it caters to the needs of the farmers in the region. Maybe after hearing about the legend of Madurantakam, the folks at Thiruninravur thought they would also invoke the blessings of Lord Rama by building a temple to him near the lake.

Since then, this shrine has also taken on the title of Eri katha Ramar - only that it seems so forlon that it might actually neglect to even guard itself against the rise in river water!!

If you are still interested in the Madurantakam story, here are two sites that you can get it from: Link 1 and Link 2

Cupcraft

Chennai hosts quite a few melas, or festivals, of products made by indigenous craftsmen. You could expect to see some metalwork, fabrics, paintings and things like that. But no matter how colourful they look, I am struggling to figure out how these cups would qualify as indigenous art!

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!

Medicinal might

Legend has it that the 63 Nayanmars, the minstrels whose songs of Siva are so uplifting that the Nayanmars themselves are considered near-divine, have sung specifically about 275 of Siva's temples. These 275 are considered to be paadal petra sthalams and are considered a notch above the vaippu sthalams, which are those shrines that were 'mentioned' in the Nayanmars' compositions. Of of the 275, three are in Chennai - Tiruvottiyur, Mylapore and then this one at Thiruvanmiyur.

The locality the temple is in takes its name from Valmiki, but it is said that one of the reasons for him to be here was to recover from some illness; it was a blessing from Siva, in the form of Marundeeswarar who cured Valmiki. The form itself was assumed to cure Surya (the Sun God) and Chandra (the Moon God), as well as the sage Agastyar - and it was the last who named this form Marundeeswarar - the Lord of Medicines!

Wait in line

They say that in Kerala, the only orderly lines you can see are the queues in front of the 'beverages' outlets. Looking for a Chennai equivalent, the closest I can think of is the queue of visa applicants outside the US consulate. In the past couple of years, the consulate has split the processing; things like fingerprinting and some basic document verification happens at a satellite centre on Cenotaph Road. 

And yes, the queue there is as orderly as those at beverage outlets!

Getting away

Mahabalipuram is not far off and it is a good drive; along the East Coast Road, the signs talk about a 'Scenic Drive' - and the toll booth also welcomes you to the "ECR Scenic Beachway". If you are a passenger, good for you, you can enjoy the view. 

But if you are the driver, you had better keep your eyes on the road. Not only is there a lot of traffic on the road, there will likely be a lot of it moving across the road as well!