Madras special - A love/hate relationship with the city

On the Madras special, journalist Vani Saraswathi paints her love and hate relationship with the city. She refuses to gush , but the journalist from Doha now wants to introduce the Madras of her youth to her daughters.

Over to her

When I was asked to do a post on Madras, I thought I would have reams to write about the only city I can truly call home. But all I have are random thoughts and memories�

Bus, STOP!

Growing up, city reference points were very much bus stop related. The DMS or AGS bus stop near home to reach school, at the Pondy Bazaar bus stop.

The Casino bus stop, to visit my friend Chris. The High Court bus stop to visit my aunt who lived on Moore Street. The Thillaiyadi bus stop to go for my Fountain Plaza visit � Bhel Puri treats and accessories from Rajesh�s. LIC bus stop to go for a drink to Aavin. WCC stop to reach Alliance Francais and NIIT.

As I grew up, my repertoire of bus stops grew. I hated Pallavan Transport Corporation. I hated lecherous and desperate fellows who preyed on school kids� but I loved the bus ride and the bus stops. I rarely ever looked out of the bus as a child. I had my nose buried in a book, be it seated or standing. But at every stop I looked out � eager to reach my destination and also curious to know what new vendor has hijacked the shaded spot.

When I had the opportunity to completely abandon PTC, I did. I walked or took an auto when I could afford to, and later got myself a Kinetic Honda. About 16 years after my last bus trip, I still associate much of Madras neighbourhood to the closest bus stop.

Candid Madras

Within the city, the farthest I�ve been till I started working, was Anna Nagar (yes, it was considered quite out of the way then) and Parry�s Corner.

Once I started working, covering the crime and more regularly the civic beat, I discovered North Madras. Royapuram, Ennore High Road, Binny Mills, Perambur�Interesting areas. Areas of the �original� Madras.

If you are expecting a gushing post on the city, then I am sure you will be disappointed. Because of the nature of my job, what I saw was a lot of neglect and dreariness. I had access to archive images of a beautiful gorgeous Cooum, but every day drove post what was only a large sewer line.

I saw illicit arrack being brewed, and I saw smuggled goods coming to the shoreline on the Ennore highway. I saw pot-bellied corrupt cops taking bribes in a systematic and planned manner from truck drivers. I saw the public stand by allow women to be teased, harassed and molested, because they just couldn�t care enough to muddy their culturally-superior hands.I saw very ugly sides of the city.

And when promises of Singara Chennai were made, I clung to it against my better judgement� yes, the city did get a little cleaner, and a little greener� but the people don�t change.Every year I go back, and I see total disdain for hygiene and public property.

What�s the use of flashy malls, if the stairwells are pan-stained and the parking lots reek of urine? What�s the use of flashy BMWs  on the road, if the windows are lowered only to dump garbage on the road or spit out the chewing gum? What�s the use of all that education and cultural supremacy, if we can�t hold together as a city to do better by it?

I love Madras. And at the faintest slight, am capable of turning feral. But it is like every other Indian metro � incapable of keeping up with its own growth!

Rediscovering Madras

I am now discovering Madras through my older daughter � she is all of 9. She visits regularly. And she inadvertently reminds me of all that I love about the city. The experiences that make it my home, even 12 years after I left it.

The secondhand book vendors in Mylapore and outside Moore Market. She now visits those places with my mum, with a heftier pocket money than what I had, totally in love with the smell of used books.

The lending libraries around town. Cramped, tiny, badly lit, but a treasure trove. She harasses my sister to take her to the library as often as possible.

To Landmark with her periappa (nana) for the latest Percy Jackson and Amar Chitra Kathas.

To Pondy Bazaar with my mum to pick up accessories and just browse the street side kiosks.

Auto rides. Anywhere, anytime.

Marina beach.

Idli and sambar in Palimar.

I am learning to see Madras the way she sees it. A city full of attractions and opportunities.

Madras moments

So I think of the spots that I look back at with great fondness.

Nathan�s caf� in Parry�s Corner.

Aavin near LIC.

The electronic store near High Court � the name escapes me � but that�s where I got my first transistor.

Ajnabi and Kwality�s where my friends and I spent most of our pocket money.

The Museum complex, which is probably the coolest place in Madras.

Elliot�s beach that played host to my budding romance.

Fabric from the street vendors outside Thillaiaadi in Egmore.

The beautiful Rippon Building where I spent a good part of my working life.

The historical and wildly gorgeous Express Estates.

Madras special - Memories of a Madrasi from Mumbai

We have a guest post from Anuradha Shankar, blogger and traveller who blogs at " A Wandering Mind." Anu is a prolific reader and she confesses to be a voracious bookworm. Living in Mumbai, Anu's visits to Madras are rare, yet she connects very strongly to her "madrasi roots." Here she goes on a nostalgic trip around the city

Over to Anu..

When I tell people that I am a Tamilian, the most common reaction is, �Oh, you are a Madrasi!� Explaining to people that there is more to Tamilnadu, and indeed to the south, than the city of Madras, is an exercise in futility! Over the years, I have come to realize that it is the city of Madras which people associate with the south� 

It was, after all, the home of the Madras Presidency, the first stronghold of the British in India, the place from where they spread to hold the entire subcontinent! No wonder it is still the name �Madras� which strikes the North Indian when he thinks of the South! My own introduction to Madras was late. I first visited the city when I was about 10 or 12. Till then, it was just a name! And the city itself � what a contrast it was, to Bombay! Huge, individual houses, with gardens all around, comparatively empty streets devoid of traffic jams (then!), the clean beach which simply went on and on, temples at every junction, the city was a surprise in every way!

Living as we did in the tiny flats in Bombay, the huge, individual houses were the major attraction of the city! This was where I saw the first coconuts growing on a tree, where I plucked flowers and pestered my mom and aunts to tie and entwine them in my tightly plaited hair! I spent most of my time outdoors, looking at the flowers and vegetables growing in the backyard, talking to the neighbours over the fence!  This was where I happily wore all the pavadais (and later, davanis too) without anyone asking me what I was wearing! Indeed, my earliest memories of Madras are associated with women wearing shiny Kanjeevaram sarees, their thinning hair weighted down by the huge bunch of malli and kanakambaram flowers. I made the most of my short holidays in the city, especially with all the flowers! Looking back, I am sure I would have looked like a walking advertisement for a flower show!

However, my most treasured memories are neither of the houses, nor of the flowers � they are associated with another place in Madras, a landmark by itself � Higginbotham�s! The first time I entered the over-150 year old book store was when I was around 12 years old. A great-uncle living in madras had just learnt of my love for books, and since he was then confined to bed, he commanded my cousins to take me there and get me whatever book I chose! He couldn�t have given me a better gift! 

Just walking into the shop was a thrill! In my eyes, it was nothing short of heaven! It was, after all filled with books, with ample space to walk around goggling at books of every genre and description! For someone who had only seen the name Higginbotham�s over the railway book stalls and visited tiny stores crammed with books in Bombay, the original store in Madras was a revelation! One step inside, and the huge book shelves laden with all kinds of books, the smell of paper permeating the air, the hordes of people leafing through the books seriously�. I was smitten! 

The book I bought then, on my first visit is one I outgrew soon, but it is one I have treasured, for it is associated with so many wonderful memories � of the great uncle who bought it for me, of the store which kindled my love for simply browsing through shelf full of books�over the next few years, I collected more books from Higginbotham�s � most of them are still my treasured possessions and waiting for my son too grow a little more so that they can be passed on to him! At the time, the history of the store was of no interest to me. I was only interested in the books. I remember insisting on visiting the store on every trip, and getting me out of there must have been a big chore for my uncles and cousins who took me there! It was only when I grew up and wasn�t able to visit the city any more that I actually learnt about the interesting history of the store, or that it is the oldest book store in India! 

I hadn�t even heard then of Abel Higginbotham, who rose from being a librarian at the Wesleyan Book Shop to owning it when the protestant missionaries running the shop decided to sell. It is his name under which the store attained glory and became a name forever to be associated with books in India. It has been years now since I walked into the shop, but my memories are as fresh as that day, so many years ago. I can only wait for my next visit to the city, so that I can take my son there! There are so many more book shops today, maybe larger and with better collections too, but the sense of history one gets there is something unique, that cannot be replicated!

Madras Day - Madras turns 372 today !

As we celerate Madras Day today and the 372nd  birthday  of the city - its an irony to note that the city is an ideal potpourri of the young and the old. While Fort St George where it all began is just 372 years old, areas like Mylapore could probably date back to 1st century BC. This post is however dedicated to Fort St George , where it all began. A look at some of the maps and illustrations in the Fort Museum show you how the settlement evolved over the three centuries

The Fort initially took about 14 years to build and was designed as a squarish structure with canons in the corners

Towns evolved around the fort � a white town within the town and the Indian or Black Town outside its walls

In the next century, you can see more buildings around the fort. Some of the streets and monuments are seen till date as well

There was a lighthouse once above the building which now houses the Fort Museum. The St Mary�s  Church for instance is one of the oldest structures in Fort St George that you can visit even today. It is said that Robert Clive got married in this church which houses several tombs and memorials. Robert Clive's house is now the office of the ASI 

Today Fort St George is open to the public and on the occasion of Madras Day, there are several heritage walks held in the area. It is a pleasure to walk down the streets which still bear the original names and look around some of the structures that exist still date.  The events calender is available here 

Architecture in Madras - Past, Present and Future

On the Madras Special is a journey of Madras through architecture. Noted architect and heritage enthusiast, Sujatha Shankar shares her thoughts on Madras and its architecture down the ages.Over to her now ..

Ever so often one encounters the question �Where are you from?� Coming from a lineage of South Indian Maharashtrians who moved to Thanjavur four centuries ago, born in Trivandrum and with family in all the southern states even in days of less mobility,  one would actually wonder `Where�?

Growing up and living here since early childhood, it certainly is `Madras�  that is home. Sunday morning visits to browse through rare books in Moore Market, buying craft materials  with my mother in Flower Bazaar, frequent trips with my father to Georgetown and  Triplicane,   receiving or sending off a cousin at the Railway Station,  school and home in South Madras, the annual ritual of seeing Christmas decorations at Spencers  eagerly awaiting Santa Claus� each street  and each building has its memories. It�s a city whose mosaic I find fascinating.

To each of us,  the mere words Patnam, Madras or Chennai bring instant recall of what is etched deep in memory, of certain images in our mind with strong association to its location.

What is it that makes Chennai?

What is a city remembered by?

Is it its landscape?

Is it its people?

Is it the food?

Is it the events, streetscape or the throbbing culture?

In part, it is certainly a weave of all of these but predominantly it is the built form and architecture that form a frame of reference for the city and links people across generations through their common association with a landmark in their perception of the city, establishing a link in time like a string through the past, present and future. It is this overlay of memories that sustains our very beings.

In our everyday life, we experience the buildings and spaces in our city, however we rarely pause to observe. Like Simon &  Garfunkel  would say "people hearing without listening people talking without speaking,"

Most times its also people seeing without looking.

To me, the sojourn away from home to do my masters degree was an eye opener. When I returned, I saw my own city in new light & sharper focus.

In an attempt to explore this architectural wealth of our city�s heritage I�d like to share with you a short documentary film that I made titled `Madras Vision of Day� named after city�s founder,  Francis Day.It narrates the story of how the city has evolved starting out as villages, growing with trade, influenced by settlers, the British with their major imprint on indigenous concepts. 

Initially the British transplanted pure colonial, Greek & European structures on Indian soil to establish supremacy,  first as  traders of the East India Company and later as rulers. As nationalism and unrest grew in the mid 1800s there was a transformation in architecture,  where local elements were  integrated into Western concepts,  creating the fusion of the Indo Saracenic architecture, a political tool to make the foreign powers appear  Indianised in the eyes of the masses. Then we move to the post independence era, groping with issues of planning and urban development.

Madras has grown since the film, bursting with flyovers, IT Parks, Offices, Hotels, Multiplexes & Malls. Many a flashy highrise has risen on the ashes of the last vestiges of a bygone era, increased mobility has created a demand for faster & better connections through transport & infrastructure.

With multiple modes of transport jostling for the same space, with the pace of life faster than what has been  planned for, the city somewhere has become a Vision gone awry. We tend to think that it is only the job of the government, the city planners or transport planners to shape our cities.

What is it that we as citizens can do to contribute to a better Madras and take it in the right direction? Even if it�s a small piece of the entire jigsaw?

 In the din & rush for everything new we must rise up to protect our heritage.Held in trust for posterity, these are resources that are non-renewable. Clearly we must act as custodians of the fragile wealth by shouldering our share of responsibility to pass it on to the future generations.

A positive step has been that Chennai has been displaying great pride in its Heritage through the Mylapore Festival,  Madras Week lectures, even poetry, music, dance and film. The key is to integrate it into the normal course of life for citizens, builders, developers, industrialists and children who are the torchbearers for the Madras of the future.

An active voice and public participation has saved some of the Heritage buildings like the DGPs office and more recently Gokhale hall and Bharat Insurance building. The City craves a Heritage Act and we do need to push for it.

Not all heritage structures can be preserved if they have outlived their purpose. To breathe new life into old structures, putting an old structure to new use or `Adaptive reuse� is as `green� a concept as any.

Just a few examples from outside Chennai  

-Butler Square, Minneapolis, an old warehouse that has been turned into an upscale shopping centre

-Quincy Market in Boston has transformed into a buzzing square

-Windsor & Eton railway station is a lively hub.

 Madras has its own trailblazers

- Amethyst � an old home functioning as a boutique

-   The Art Deco Ilford House which is FabIndia�s outlet

- Sri Krishna Sweets where we had the opportunity to transform a 100 year old house into a mithai shop  & restaurant. The only structural intervention has been the introduction of an eleva

- The Madras Terrace house  aptly named functions as a space for creative expression, talks, discussions and art shows.

 When it makes economic sense, many a structure can be saved from the demolishers with a little imagination.

Aesthetics is another area where each of us can contribute when we are faced with a choice. A danger on the Chennai cityscape is the lack of harmony with the neighborhood. Many cities in Europe even today maintain a harmonious balance with development. Our own Jaisalmer or villages do the same. Old images of Madras display our value for the aesthetic. Then why do we now display a certain megalomania in the `I, Me, Myself, race and  build monuments within four compound walls that have no connection to the neighborhood.

Madras despite the rapid pace of development has managed to keep some oasis of green� the Estuary, the Guindy Park, the IIT, Theosophical Society. Protecting these lung spaces for posterity is imperative for beautiful Madras.

If we pass on a Madras or Chennai to our next generation whose quality is as good if not better than we inherited, we would have done our job well.

Madras special - The Bombing of Madras by Emden

Coming up next on the Madras special is a very special post from noted scholar and author, V.Dhivakar  I am extremely grateful to Dhivakar Sir for sharing this post on the Emden Bombing on my blog . Thanks to Vijay who requested him on my behalf to share this as well. I am extremely delighted to see such rare and archival photographs accompanying this wonderfully written account.Dhivakar Sir has published four books in Tamil and one of them is on the Emden bombing.

For those of you who are wondering what the post is all about, lets rewind to the days of World War 1 when Madras the settlement was controlled by the British. The First World War had its impact in India too and the only city to be bombed was Madras by a German ship, Emden. I first heard about Emden in the summer of 1992 when I was a college student attempting to learn sailing in the erstwhile Royal Madras Yacht Club .A photograph on the wall was the testimony to the bombing and even the walls carried the scar.I did an article on it years ago for an inflight magazine called Touch of NEPC Damania Airlines. Today, neither the airline nor the club officially functions, but then my memory of Emden remains. And thanks to Dhivakar Sir's post, my memories came flooding back.

Over to him for the account of the historic event.

SMS Emden, the "swan of the east" attacked Madras, the " stem of east" but the excitement stood for short time. Yes , Emden was darling among German Vessels and even had a poem written on her. And the strong fort of  Madras was equally famous at that time , called as stem of east for British Imperial India, base for the Royal  British Naval Fleet which not only controlled Bay of Bengal but complete Indian Ocean wherever the flags of British fluttered

It was the third day after New Moon (Mahalaya Amavasya), that is 22nd September 1914, 9.20 PM, the German warship which already captured and destroyed around 15 merchant vessels having flags of Italy, British and Australia in just 15 days voyage, entered into the shore of Madras. Under cover of dark  she immediately started firing at the harbour, thinking of attacking the Fort St. George and Royal British Navy, instead hitting the Petrol Tanks built at Harbour. 125 shells in ten minutes into the oil storage and destroying 350,000 gallons of oil stored at  four Burma shell tanks were destroyed three of them completely, one in half of the way of destruction, but after just ten minutes of bombardment it just silently turned away from Madras shore and fled towards Colombo, as if nothing she created..

It was only ten minutes and the damage was also limited, but the ego of British Royalty was already hit.Emden attacking the city of Madras was the beginning of unfortunate and inauspicious time for the British Government in Madras. The city�s limited telephone lines were buzzing with various rumours very rapidly. Both the local and British press did not believe the reassuring messages from Fort St George whole heartedly. They printed the news and rumours they gathered in a big way. This made the position of the government even more difficult. Many did not know that the cable messages reaching the British government were not entirely true. However Emden�s attack on Madras caught every ones imagination. Rumours were flying like a wild fire throughout the Imperial India. Some claimed to have seen Emden and waved to it near the coast off the French Puducherry. Others were certain Emden achieved her target and even predicted she would not rest until her �mission accomplished� that was to end the British citadel in the eastern seas.

Fine! The time of attack was well planned by the so called Gentleman Capt. Von Muller, who controlled the War Ship SMS Emden. The over confident British Naval Officers stationed at Madras who did not care to give a minute respect to Emden till then, suddenly started crying and searching all over the seas for Emden with their enourmous fleet strength. They could  not beleive their eyes. The ship came. Anchored at shore. Bambarded the City, but why just ten minutes only. The sleeping city, sleeping Navy officers, sleeping Naval logistics could have done nothing against the bambarding one man army, but why Emden did not utilize its opportunity which was given in golden plate by her enemy �numero uno� to destroy the base? Though later on, next day, British Navy claimed that Emden ran away because they have responded strongly but in reality that was not there.After Emden reached to very safe distance, the British started responding towards unknown object in the dark sea.  Emden could have spoiled and even damaged the whole fort and High court along with Harbour even it stayed for half an hour there with slight moving. But it has not happened. Emden ran back in the dark. Why she ran away? Why she had not utilized the opportunity. Why only rubbing salt on wounds which ultimately pained the whole world and angered them in vengence for next 7 weeks..

This was a big question I asked myself that led to lot of research on Emden�s full voyage from the start of her sailing in 1908. The world war started only in July 1914, but the situation in the eastern seas were totally different in that time and vibrant competition made them to venture against each other among European giants.

There was lot of talk that Dr. Shenbaga Raman Pillai was a Doctor worked for German Navy and while bambarding Madras, it was told that the whole plan was his. But it is not all true and Dr. Shenbaga Raman was not in Emden while she was engaged in world war. The whole list of occupants of ill-fated Emden is available and no name of such there. Fortunately we have a direct account of Madras bombardment from the Vice Captain Commander Von Mukke, who later became author of many books, and one book he named as Emden, clearly giving the accounts of voyage took place from 8th August 1914 to 9th November 1914 and have mentioned so many incidents. But no Shenbagaraman was found. Instead he did mention one Indian (he mentioned as Hindu passenger) from whom he got several news through cables and newspapers captured from merchant vessels.

This is a major point I have taken as a link to my novel which was named �SMS Emden 22-09-1914�. Yes! the same date Madras got bombarded.

Oliver, Kennedy and Appar Swamy - Madras Special

Another guest post on the Madras Special on Mylapore by Sharath Chandra, popularly known as Shirty in media and advertising circles .As he introduces himself  - " Sharath 'Shirty' Chandra works in Media and these views expressed here are personal. His love for Madras, that's official. "

I met Shirty almost a decade ago in Madras, after several rounds of email exchanges between us . He came home one hot summer afternoon, to visit, nay interview me - a jaundiced soul, for a job with Radio Mirchi . It was probably the only interview in my life where the boss visited the candidate in her home for an interview - But that is Shirty for you . I did get the job - it was for Head of Programming for Radio Mirchi and Shirty and I hit it off together . Many years later, Shirty moved to Mumbai and then London , but his love for Madras keeps reflecting in his FB statuses now and then . A great punner and a man who has several PJs up his sleeve, Shirty instantly agreed to send a piece on Madras and Mylapore, where he grew up..

Over to Shirty now..

A few Sundays ago, on one of those rare sunny English summer afternoons, sunk in a sofa by the verandah and lulled by the stillness and quiet of Mayfair, I caught myself  asking why there did not seem to be a word that captured this delightful kind of day.

Much later did it not occur to me there indeed was a word - Mylapore 1970s. (Two words, not one, but still). And its sweet spot in my opinion� an idyll leafy housing colony nestled between Oliver, Kennedy, and Appar Swamy Streets, where I grew up.

Though more than 35 years have passed I can vividly recall the memories of nearly all my childhood that I spent there. And the ones that stand out most being the long days of summer. Blessed by the absence of TV (there was one in the entire colony!) and with few friends of my age, I was, it seems, left to my own devices to keep myself busy. One such summer resulted in mastering cycling on my friends BSA. And when I was blamed (unfairly, in my opinion) for twisting the handlebar and thus had my borrowing privileges revoked I longed for my own. But the hints were firmly ignored by my parents, ostensibly for safety reasons. Not long after, when running an errand (a weekly routine of taking Peaberry +Arabica beans to get roasted and ground at the �coffee machine kadai� in Appar Swamy Street, with strict instructions to sit on the bench and watch that the �fellow� did not �substitute�), I noticed that the curmudgeonly Loganathan (or Logu to his pals) who ran the �repair� shop next door had started a Hire Cycle business. To the uninitiated, �repair shops� usually squeezed in the no-mans land between  two shops, are places where you could get the reasonably uncomplicated domestic contraptions fixed - electric irons, immersion-heaters, taps, lamps and such. If you were lucky, they would work afterwards too.  Clearly business had been good for Logu and he decided to diversify into the mobile (!) business. Parked in front of his shop were a clutch of cycles of varying vintage and makes � Raleigh, Atlas and even a brand new Hercules. Mustering up the courage to enquire, I paled when he told me the rates - 20 paise per hour for the older ones and 25 paise per hour for the brand new Hercules (it had a dynamo also). There was, of course, no question of �initial deposit� (this was 70�s Madras; everyone knew everyone and probably still does!). To put the hire charges into context, my other objets d�desire then: NP Bubble Gum 15 paise, Commando Comic (at Easwari Lending Library) 25 paise, Bombay Halwa House Samosa 50 paise. And as pocket money to pursue my desires, I received monthly a princely sum of zero, save a tidy Rs. 5 for the entire summer, a reward for a (reasonably) blemish-free report card for the year that went by.

Oh, the joy that summer, and all thanks to Logu�s Hire Cycle. Throwing caution and budget to the wind, I sneaked away almost every afternoon for an expedition into the far reaches of Mylapore. (And sometimes, even as far as Santhome!) . The plan was simple. Every day around noon, when the household and the entire neighborhood slumbered into their siesta, I would tiptoe out, to Logu�s. Pay 20 p. Hop onto a cycle. Pedal away furiously for an hour. In any direction that caught my fancy. And to avoid the traffic (such as it was then!) and chance detection, more subterfuge - avoid the �big� roads!

So began my forays into the great unknown, intrepidly zigging and zagging into Cross Streets and Main Roads that seemed to meet and intersect in complexities of varying geometric and algebraic proportions. I quickly learnt that CIT Colony�s Cross Streets followed the elegant 1st, 2nd, 3rd system. Whereas R A Puram�s Main Roads followed the more imposing Roman I, II, III. And the minor inconvenience presented by lanes that were not worthy of the title of a �Main Road� or too friendly to be a �Cross Street� was ingeniously overcome by calling them Link Streets. Whizzing past on my (t)rusty Atlas, none of these nuances escaped my attention(a skill that has stood me in good stead since, helping me flip through 30-slide PowerPoint printout just minutes before a meeting and holding forth thereon knowledgeably).

Emboldened by my escapades I ventured further North, crossing Edward Elliots Road, in pursuit of thrills. And Commando Comics. As a callow youth, barely into my teens, the greatest repository of excitement then was Easwari Lending Library on Lloyds Road, run by the doughty Mr. Palani. Summer afternoons spent in the cramped confines of his splendid establishment with just one table fan that would function at the mercy of either the EB or its thrifty Proprietor, was the result of a weekly pilgrimage in the quest of the latest Commando Comics. Having reached there on the ill-affordable hire-cycle, I had little time to waste - sifting through the stacks of titles to sort out the newer ones, surreptitiously read one or two while pretending to flip through and finally plea bargain my way out with the Proprietor who was prone to mood swings (especially when callow youth would try and defer payment). With the mission somewhat accomplished, I would snap the books onto the equally recalcitrant �carrier� on the back of the cycle and then race back to return it to the clock-watching Logu. And then sneak back home. 

And it was not always the pursuit of visceral thrills either. On one mission I noticed, tucked between the wall of Luz Church and Kennedy Street, a tiny lane which for some reason never seemed to have been baptized. Local legend had it that kindly neighbors took it into their fold and affectionately called it Kennedy 2nd Street. While the reason for naming it Kennedy Street in the first instance never really intrigued me then, many years later, ruminating on this and that as one is wont to, the ineffable wisdom (or humor!) of naming a tiny narrow lane less than five-feet wide after a man whose far-reaching vision galvanized humanity into putting man on the moon seemed to be wholly in character with the denizens of that tiny corner of Madras - Mylapore.

More than three decades later in London, I cheered when visiting friends took their daughters cycling though Hyde Park. And smiled when a recently married young friend tells me her partner and she had made Sunday cycling their routine. A more propitious sign for a life-time of excitement and thrills couldn�t be had! As for me, our recent move here seemed to have coincided with the launch of a Barclays/Boris hire-cycle scheme right in the heart of London. And this one costs a Pound for an hour! So as I sneak off on summer afternoons to explore the lanes and mews Mayfair and beyond (taking care to avoid the �big� roads), life, it seems, has come a full cycle.  

Madras special - Memories of cricket and Besant Nagar

Coming up next on the Madras special is Vijay Kumar's memories of playing cricket in Besant Nagar. Vijay, who has left Madras more than six years ago is now based in Singapore and has just managed a cricket tournament in Singapore. While most of us know about Vijay, the heritage enthusiast who authors the blog, Poetry in Stone , here is another facet to him . 


Over to Vijay ..


I grew up on the shores of Besant Nagar - the best of my memories are from there. Work moved me to Singapore 6 years ago but the heart still wanders along the Catamarans and tennis ball cricket. I work in a Shipping company overseeing their operations in South east asia, and apart from temple art which is my hobby, i still play active cricket in the singapore local league second division. I also manage a team in the singapore T20 event and we were worthy runners up last weekend, being undefeated in the league stage. Kiwi Speed legend Shane Bond was our start attraction apart from former National players like Russel Arnold of Srilanka and Venkatramana of India, combining well with emerging stars of singapore cricket like Chetan, Chaminda, Abhiraj, Varun, Pramod etc. It was a great experience as we rubbed shoulders with legends like Sanath Jayasurya, Shoaib Akthar, Dirk Nannes, Imran Farhat and Alok kapali. It was great for Singapore cricket that the Man of the Tournament was a local boy Anish Param.

I thank LS for giving me an opportunity to rewind and think of the glorious days under the Chennai sun


The image of Elliots beach brings with it sprawling sands, the salty spray tinged with its fishy smell from the drying nets and salted fish, as we nimbly jumped over rows of kattaramarans to fetch the ball. Cricket on the beach had its advantages and disadvantages. The lack of a proper pitch meant that you were fed on a diet of full tosses, but the flip side was you could show off your athletic skills pulling off stunning catches with acrobatic dives without scapping your knees or elbows. For the imitation Kichas ( Krish Srikkant for us) there was no threat of breaking window panes nor lost balls at sea - for the  ball would float and the waves would bring it back to shore no matter how monstrous your six was. Showmen that we were, there was no dearth of audiences - we wouldn't compete with the Eden gardens but we had our own loyal pensioners and auto drivers to support. The legalities of the ill fated East Coast road, meant that we had the best of both worlds. A large tarred road with no traffic with sands on both sides and we temporarily moved further up from Elliots to the shores by the Kalakshetra compunds.

The typical weekend would start with the main investments - The bat, stumps and the ball. Bats were not a problem, as the soft ball would not damage the wood, but then cricket was not restricted only to the sands. Most often the need for solid pitches meant that we would takeover main roads and that meant broken handles and eroded bats - yes, many a bat would be ground to leave just their handles ! Broken ones were mended with an assortment of nails, robber bands fashioned out of cycle tyre tubes and even the humble thread soaked in fevicol. Stumps were the easiest - three brick lines on the neighbors compound wall to start with, but then that meant there would be no Keeper and no play possible behind the stumps. Innovation drove us to the veragu thotti ( dry wood shop) in Vannathurai were we would choose the young casuarina sticks, paid by weight and an afternoon of peeling its dark outer bark to leave a shining  offwhite set of stumps - 3 would do, as most often we played one side and the bowler had his ever dependable brick as his stump, with current for run out - meaning, if he has his leg on the brick and catches the ball - is akin to breaking the wickets.

The balls were the most difficult accessory, as they were consumables. The cheapest were the rubber balls - but they would hardly last, the next option being sold ` cork' balls but then that meant we would risk a more expensive tool - the bat. The best alternative was the ` Tennis' ball - hardy ones that bounce well - and even when they go bald you can play with them. The problem was that they were available only in the Tennis courts and Besant Nagar had two - one near the Main bus terminus and one near the ` oval' ground by the beach. They would ocassionally sell ` used' balls but they needed an expert eye to judge their longevity.

Most kids initiation to the game was tough - the elders, be it the young office goers in the different Bank Quarters or the rough inhabitants of the various fishermen colonies - the ritual was to be a spectator fetching balls for a season, and then be a substitute for some more seasons, before a chance housewife who had had enough of her ` young' husbands cricketing honors pulls him out last minute and you get your golden chance to be part of the team !

Once you were in, you shone with pride and your name would be utterred in reverence. Opponents would check out your skills and your name would spread - there were quite a few tradiional rivalry - the RBI Quarters team, the CPWD quarters teams etc. They had their senior teams and junior teams and the fervor would match a India Pakisthan match in Sharjah.

The options to progress to the hall of fame was to play the Cricket ball - there was only one ground in Besant Nagar those days - the Amar CC ground which has been sadly lost to make way for the Rajaji Bhavan. School teams were not that popular those days and hence club cricket was the only avenue for us to see the red cherry and white kits.

We more than made up for it with our own tennis ball tournaments and mini tournaments, the most popular being the floodlit tournaments organised by the Shastri Nagar Sharks - with teams parading an incredible ensemble of mascots from Mosquitos to Scorpions. It drove our parents mad, darkened our already mango grey ( maa Niram) but taught us the game, its spirit and kept us away from bad company and the idiot box 

Madras Special - 30 things to do in Madras

Come August and it is time to celebrate Madras Day and the birth of the city  - the day, a small piece of a fishing hamlet was sold to the British .They went on to create the settlement Madras or Chennapattinam from that sandy stretch,  built Fort St George and made it the headquarters of the East India Company. Soon many villages were added and annexed to this fishing village and the settlement Madras grew into the city as we know it today

Every year, the city gets into a festive mood in August and there is plenty of action on the streets of Madras. There are walks and talks,music and theatre , photography and documentary sessions among other events.

Backpacker and I have always been celebrating the Madras Day with gusto . In my 100th post, I wrote a detailed article on the Madras Day and the story behind it. I also featured some of my favourite monuments in the city and wrote in detail about Fort St George. However, this year, there is a slight twist to the tale.Adding to my voice are several voices who will share their stories on Madras as the month rolls by.

I will however kick start this special by a list of 30 things that I like/would like to do in Madras. I had to jog my memory a bit and with some help from folks, here is my list . Please add your wishlist as well. And if you do find people passionate about Madras ask them to  tell you their stories. You dont need any scholar out here - just ask your parents , uncles or grandparents to talk and as you listen to them , a new city opens out in front of you .

My wishlist

1. Watch the fishermen play a tug of war as they pull their haul to the shore at the Marina Beach .

2. Put some kadalai. In the evening, head to Elliots and have the thengai, mangai pattani sundal . Shoot some balloons and polish some bajjis.

3. Drive on the beach road early in the morning - start from Royapuram or Ennore and drive all the way up to Besant Nagar or ECR if you like .

4.Shop in the markets or whatever is left today of them instead of your malls and supermarkets at least for a day. Walk around Ranganathan Street in T Nagar or pick up knick knacks in Purasaiwalkam or in Luz market or any local market in your area.

5.If there is one area I would like to explore , it will have to be Triplicane . Walk around the old book stores, get lost in the narrow roads, visit temples, eat in Ratna Cafe, look at the architecture around, gaze at some of the domes , see the remains of the old Nawabi culture around Wallajah and the agraharams in the area.

6.Go to an old temple in the neighbourhood and listen to the " harikatha" stories . If you have the opportunity, do catch villupaatu if possible.

7.Know anyone in the harbour ? Catch hold of them and visit the Outer arm , where the last mile of the land protrudes into the sea. If that is not possible,  ask someone to take you to the place where the Royal Yacht Club was first located. It has been taken over by the Indian Sailing Association .Learn sailing from them and also ask them to show you the wall, which is still a testimony to the bombardment of Madras during the wars. The city was bombed by Emden the German cruiser during World War 1

8. Climb up St Thomas Mount . Drive up if you can

9.Lose yourself in the campus of IIT Madras. You may even find some black bucks if you are lucky.

10. Listen to a kucheri or a classical music concert in the neighbourhood parks

11. A stopover at Kalakshetra if you can for any dance performance

12. Go to Santhome's Church and visit the basement and the little chapel

13. Walk in Theosophical Society in Adyar over the weekend . You may need permission otherwise

14. Go for a tree walk. There are organisations in the neighbourhood that arranges for them

15. Visit any three temples in the city - mine would be Gangadeshwar temple, Kapaleshwar temple and Parthasarthy temple

16. Eat . Must visit Karpagam mess , Grand sweets and I would have said Woodlands Drive in - Pity, it is not there anymore

17.Walk around the small lanes of Parry's corner. Look around Burma Bazaar, the Mint street and many other small streets in that area

18.Must go to Armenian Church , the only church left here that tells you something about the Armenian community that lived here centuries ago

19. Spend a day at Fort Museum in Fort St George. Walk over to St Mary's Church, the oldest church from the British days and ask them to show you the register when Robert Clive got married

20. Take a ride on MRTS or the Hop on Hop off  Bus if you havent so far

21.Watch a Rajinikanth or a Dhanush movie in a regular theatre and whistle away .

22.See if you can manage a pass to any of the studios in Kodambakkam or Vadapalani - catch a film shooting ; believe me, its great fun

23. Visit one of the oldest lighthouses in Madras High Court premises .You may not be allowed to photograph though

24.Chepauk - not just for cricket , but see the palace built in Indo Sarcenic style. Do visit the University while you are still in the area.

25. Visit Connemara Library in the Museum premise and read or at least pretend to read. While you are at the museum, try and watch a play  and visit the Bronze Gallery . These are must dos.

26.Must visit Broken Bridge for sunset. Catch up on some birding, if you like in the area .

27.Road side sandwiches in front of Alsa Mall. Now, this is something that i havent missed out from my school days

28.Icecream parlours - would have loved to say Jafars and Dasaprakash, but in their absence will settle for Snowfield.

29.Guindy Park and Snake Park - Back to my childhood, but I can lose myself here. If you have the time, plan a visit to Crocodile Park

30.Want to experience a bit of the saree mania ? Go to Panagal Park and bug the shopkeepers to show you every saree of your fancy at Nallis, Kumarans, RMKV ,Chennai silks, Sundari...Window shop till they drop.

31.There is so much to contemporary Madras too -coffee shops to lounge bars, exclusive boutiques to premium malls, Mediterranean to Mexican fare, fusion concerts to international film festivals, art shows to contemporary dance - you will never run out of choices here