My Mylapore

History of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan - Golden jubilee in 2009

2009-05-15T02:19:00.000-07:00

Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan's Chennai Kendra launched in May 2009 the golden jubilee celebrations at its premises on East Mada Street, Mylapore. Founded in a small way in 1938, it is now a well-known and landmark institution of this city. This piece traces its history.

(Photos from top to bottom- Srinivasa Rao leading the group of devotional music students at BVB: statesman C. Subramaniam felicitating Semmangudi Srinivasaiyer in 1983: the Dhananjayans performing in 1985; Maharajapuram Santhanam in concert in 1983: the original facade of BVB when it was first built: prodigy Mandolin Srinivas performing with Umayalpuram Sivaraman and 'Vikku' Vinayakram at BVB in 1983)

Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan was founded in 1938 in India to promote an intellectual, cultural and educational movement.

Dr. K M Munshi, its founder was a lawyer, Constitution maker, social reformer, writer and promoter of the arts.

20 years later, a Kendra in Madras was started. It started in a small room made available by the late N. Nilakantan in his publishing firm, B G Paul & Co., on Francis Joseph Street.

Nilakantan was a follower of the Paramacharya of Kanchi.

The core team of the Kendra had met the Paramacharya when he was camping in Mylapore for his Chaturmasya and this is what he said : " We must make all people realize Indian culture particularly Sanskrit is the heritage of all Indians, of mankind. Many people think that this is the exclusive heritage of the Brahmin community only. I therefore suggest that the Chairman of the Madras Kendra should not be a Brahmin."

And the acharya suggested the name of educationist Dr. A. Lakshmanaswami Mudaliar.

The Chennai Kendra was formally inaugurated in 1958 at Rasika Ranjani Sabha, Mylapore by Bishnuram Medhi, the then Governor of Madras.

The Executive Committee of the Kendra held its first meeting in June 1959 in the Syndicate Room of Madras University under the chairmanship of the distinguished educationist Dr. A. Lakshmanaswami Mudaliar. He guided the growth of the Kendra for about 17 years.

The Kendra shifted to a spacious premises at 88, Gopathi Narayanaswami Road in T. Nagar on April 6, 1960. One of the first projects here was to host Sanskrit classes.

The Kendra then purchased land on Mylapore East Mada Street from the family of the noted criminal lawyer K. S. Jayarama Iyer through the offices of the well known industrialist Anantharamakrishnan.

The latter had almost finalised the purchase of this land to promote a kalyana mantap.

Now, K. M. Munshi, when in Madras, used to stay at 'Sudharma' on Edward Elliots Road (now called Dr. Radhakrishnan Road) as the guest of Anantharamakrishnan.

Munshi, on one such visit mentioned that the Bhavan wanted to purchase land for its local Kendra and that he had been told that Mylapore was a nice location because it would allow women and children to visit the Kendra at late hours.

The industrialist then mentioned that his deal for a kalyna mantap was in the final stage and that he would gladly offer it to the Kendra to buy the land. The sons of Jayarama Iyer were called and the deal signed. Thiswas in 1963.

A year later, it acquired some more land at the rear of the existing plot.

In Oct.1964, Dr. Radhakrishnan, President of India laid the foundation stone of the new building. The bhoomi puja was held in 1967 - M. S. Subbulakshmi sang the invocation song.

In 1971, P. V. Narasimha Rao who went on to become Prime Minister inaugurated the devotional music classes.

It was on Sept.2, 1972 that the then President of India, Dr. V. V. Giri opened the premises and named it ' Anantharamakrishnan Sadan'. The Venkata Auditorium was also opened on this occasion - M. L . Vasanthakumari sang the invocation song.

In 1990, C. Subramaniam took over as the Chairman of the Chennai Kendra.

In January 1983, the Madras Kendra's silver jubilee year was inaugurated by swami Satchidananda, founder of the Integral Yoga Centre, Virginia, USA. Tamil Nadu Governor S L Khurana presided.

In September that year, President Zail Singh laid the foundation stone for the Bhavan's Rajaji Vidyashram campus in Kilpauk.

In November that year, Vice President M. Hidayatullah was the chief guest for the finale event. Novel Laureate Norman Borlaug gave the jubilee address.

( Most information for this piece has been accessed from an article written by S. Ramakrishnan in the BVB's silver jubilee volume. Photos from BVB albums )

Palathope - A Lawyer's Enclave - Part II

2007-04-14T05:54:00.000-07:00

By Ashwin Prabhu

The Mylapore Social History project's opening article on Palathope focused on establishing the fact that Palathope (today Vedanta Desikar street) was primarily a lawyer's enclave, then went on to profile a few leading personalities who lived on the street and concluded by inviting opinion from the reading public on the sociological and economical drivers behind this phenomenon.

The Mylai Tamizh Sangam convening at Subbaraya Iyer's house for a meeting

What circumstances caused generations of legal eagles to 'graduate' from Palathope? Their 'graduation' into the world of litigation and trial linked surprisingly, more definitively to this sleepy, little lane, rather than to any academic institution of law. Was a societal creation like a 'neighborhood' solely determining the choice of profession amongst multiple generations of residents or were there more complex factors at play? Were there facets to Palathope other than the black robe and the white collar?

For this concluding article on Palathope, I meet with a group of old-time residents of the street at the gracious bungalow of Justice V. Ratnam. This article hopes to probe further, and examine why Mylapore was a force to reckon with in legal power circles, why Palathope was the fulcrum of this movement and on a lighter note, why young women in the 1940's blushed with a quiet sense of pride when they were asked 'Mylapore Vakil Aathu Ponnu aa nee?'….

Why be a lawyer?

The late 1890's and the early 1900's saw a large-scale migration of families from the rural districts of Tamil Nadu into the city of Madras. Temple priests, farm-laborers, agricultural land owners, all moved from the small towns Tindivanam, Mayiladuthurai, Thanjavur and the like into Madras. This exodus into Madras was largely fuelled by two overarching trends: The opening up of employment opportunities under the British for educated Indians and along with it, a chance to educate one's children in the academic institutions of the city. Jobs in Government departments and English Trading firms were in abundance for matriculates. A Government job carried with it, that elixir of the middle-class, an assured pension, usually proving to be the single, clinching factor in the choice of a profession.

The friendly neighbourhood Kamyuth Cricket Club team

This was also an era where wealthy city-based zamindars and landowners held sway in local business circles. Functioning as intermediaries between the British trading firms and local suppliers, these zamindars perhaps constituted the first breed of entrepreneurs from Tamil Nadu. Financial prosperity brought with it the curious matters of bookkeeping, profit sharing regulations, tax-filing procedures and associated court litigation in the case of disputes; Matters which required the assistance of trusted, capable, young civil lawyers. To add to the list of happy co-incidences, the legal system in those times allowed undergraduate degree holders in any discipline of study to opt for the legal profession. So, bright, ambitious undergraduates in Physics, Accountancy, Commerce and even Mathematics would be taken under the wings of busy, leading lawyers who had already made their mark. What followed would be an intensive, apprenticeship period of 3-4 years where the youngsters would train on real-life cases, at the same time pursuing formal legal education at the law college and court. This sequence of events culminated usually in the young lawyer gaining a thorough training in the intricacies of corporate law of the land, thus providing a springboard to a successful career as an advocate. Understanding this social backdrop will help in appreciating the Palathope story better.

Why Palathope?
Around 1908, Alladi Krishnaswamy Iyer and Subbaraya Iyer moved to Palathope from the 'Town' area to work as apprentices in the offices of the illustrious lawyers of Madras - V. Krishnaswamy Iyer (of Madras Sanskrit College and Indian Bank fame) and Sir C.P Ramaswamy Iyer (erstwhile Dewan of Travancore) respectively. Staying as tenants of Kodiyalam Srinivasa Iyengar in what is now Justice V. Ratnam's bungalow (the same bungalow where I meet with the Palathope residents); both Alladi and Subbaraya Iyer began their journeys into the world of law from Palathope. Apprenticeship under a leading lawyer in those days meant long hours of hard work in the lawyer's office (usually also his home) before and after the court sessions held during the day. Palathope, being close to the Mylapore residences of V. Krishnaswamy Iyer and Sir C.P. Ramaswamy Iyer, was a suitable choice for the young Alladi and Subbaraya Iyer. It was not long before Subbaraya Iyer bought the next-door property to where he was staying as a tenant - a verdant Keerai Thottam. A piece of land on which he constructed his mansion - a heritage bungalow today, which his descendants still live in and care for lovingly.

Charged by the success of these early achievers, the careers of other lawyers down the street were also taking off at around the same time.

A Palathope based family that had migrated from Andhra, produced a father-son duo - M.S. Ramachandra Rao and Jagannatha Rao, both of whom held the posts of Judge of the Andhra High Court during their careers. In fact, Jagannatha Rao went on to become the Chief Justice of the Kerala and Delhi High Courts as well, before becoming the Chairman of the Law Commission.

M.S. Venkatarama Iyer, a fine Civil Lawyer ran a prestigious, legal office from Palathope, which produced many luminaries - most notable among them being, R. Venkataraman, the former President of India.

M.R. Narayanaswami who started as a student in Palathope and was a junior of M.S.V blazed a trail in the field of labor litigation before ending his career as a Senior Lawyer in the Madras High Court.

Justice A.V. Viswanatha Sastri (father of Justice V. Ratnam) and T.S Raghavachari were eminent lawyers as well who set up home next to each other in Palathope.

As all this frenetic activity was happening, Madras itself, stood witness to India's historic Independence movement. The "Poorna Swaraj" campaign gained active support amongst this, by then, influential lawyer community. Womenfolk of the house voluntarily parted with all their gold bangles when Gandhiji addressed a large gathering in Madras in the 1930's and asked every person to step forward and do his/her bit for the motherland. These were happening times indeed for the nation as a whole, and Palathope and its residents were fortunate to be in such close proximity to history in the making. It was against this backdrop then, that the lawyers of Palathope went on to prosper and carve their respective niches in the annals of legal history in India. These were men who were giants in their achievements (Alladi went on to be part of the commission which drafted the Constitution of Independent India, Subbaraya Iyer was the educational institution builder par excellence), yet endearingly humble and approachable.

With such a rich heritage in varied fields of law, be it Civil law with specializations in Corporate taxation or Criminal law and its allied subjects, it is but natural for one to draw parallels of Palathope with the hoary Harley Street of London famed for its medical establishments.

The other facets of Palathope:
Producing a brigade of lawyers, not just adept at their profession, but also with a social conscience. Does that explain Palathope in its entirety then? A little further probing and a whole, surprising, new view of Palathope reveals itself.

I am pleasantly surprised to know that the inimitable G.N. Balasubramanian (GNB), that doyen of Carnatic music, took residence in Palathope in the 1930's-1940's under the patronage of the lawyer turned music lover, C.K. Venkatanarasimhan's (also one of the earliest Secretaries of the Music Academy) family. It is but fitting, that Palathope graced the list of 15 addresses that GNB was reputed to have stayed in, when in Madras.

E. Krishna Iyer, the man responsible for the re-christening of 'Sathir' as 'Bharathanatyam' was a man of Palathope as well, and lived next door to GNB. Modern day Madras and all its schools of classical dance should be deeply indebted to E. Krishna Iyer, for endowing Bharatanatyam with a sense of social respectability and acceptance and in the process revealing to the common man, the divinity and devotion associated with the dance form today.

Palathope's tryst with destiny extends to a deep passion for the 'Tamizh' language as well. The people I speak to, have vivid memories of engaging Saturday afternoons in the late 1930's when the 'Myzhai Tamizh Sangam' would convene in the courtyard of Subbaraya Iyer's house. Carrying the laudable objectives of propagation and appreciation of the Tamil language amongst the general public, the Sangam died a sad death in 1942, thanks to the World War evacuation happening in the city. At its peak, the Sangam meetings were attended by Kalki Krishnamurthy, Rajaji and were witness to many a passionate discussion on the virtues of the language and its literary epics.

Palathope - Today:
As my meeting draws to a close and we silently close the pages on a golden chapter of history, the rude honking of a motor vehicle's horn awakens us to reality and to the present.

Palathope today, is plagued by challenges of a more mundane nature; problems of indiscriminate and wanton parking of vehicles at the entrance to this narrow road, thus making the entry and exit of the owners' vehicles a veritable nightmare. There is mass littering of the street, thanks in large part to a road-side eatery which has sprung up on the main road adjoining the entry to Palathope. Visitors to the congested Mada streets, find Palathope's cul-de-sac a convenient location to park their two-wheelers while they shop around. And to top it all, in one of life's bitter-sweet ironies, the residents of Palathope good-naturedly complain to this writer that the 'Mylapore Times' newspaper never, ever gets delivered to their households.

If, along with awakening the people of Mylapore to the colorful history of this locality and imparting in them a sense of pride in the neighborhood's institutions, this project also succeeds in ensuring a certain, basic, civic sense in the residents, thereby ensuring the preservation of the heritage value of these streets and buildings, we will consider our job well done.

Written in consultation with the present-day residents of Palathope:
1) Justice V. Ratnam
2) Mr. T.R Rangachari
3) Mr. Hari Rao
4) Mr. S. Viswanathan (son of Subbaraya Iyer)

Facilitated by:
Mrs. Shobana Ramkumar (grand-daughter of Subbaraya Iyer)

THANEERTHURAI MARKET: Another Luz landmark will be wiped out

2007-03-06T03:16:00.000-08:00

This story was reported in Mylapore Times on September 23, 2006

Another Mylapore landmark will be wiped out. Soon.

Thaneerthurai Market in Luz, a neighbour of the Sri Anjaneyar Temple on Royapettah High Road is living its last days. The bull dozers are just waiting for the signal to raze down what has been Mylapore’s most favoured market for three generations of Mylaporeans.

The buzz is that a T. Nagar-based person had purchased this property some time ago and has posted his men here now to get the hawkers at the market to vacate.

Though half of them have vacated the floor space where they used to run their business after they were paid some compensation, about 40 others have taken this issue to court. Their lawyer, B. T. Arasu says that he got a court injuction that the hawkers should not be disturbed.

Arasu says that it is still not clear who is the rightful owner of this property and what documents he has to prove this.

But it may safely be assumed that the hawkers who are sticking on will also move out if they can negotiate a ‘decent’ compensation considering the buzz that a huge commercial complex is to come up on this piece of land.

Thaneerthurai Market grew out of the ‘landing’ trade that took place in this area some 150 years ago when boats used to transport goods on the Buckingham Canal ( which originates in Andhra Pradesh) and ends in the Marakkanam Lake, which you sight off the ECR on your way to Puducherry.

Perishable goods were off-loaded in the Luz area and old-timers recall times when these goods were then transported in carts to neighbourhoods like Mylapore.

Senior hawkers at the market say that the well known lawyer Bashyam Iyengar who owned properties in these parts oversaw the construction of the market as the number of shoppers began to grow. Though trade on the canal stopped once it became polluted and dried up, Thaneerthurai Market continued to be the destination of Mylaporeans.

Seniors who patronised it say that you could still shop here for a variety of vegetables at bargain prices.

Till the other day, the sale of greens on the fringe and inside this market was run at a feverish pace early in the mornings.

Many Mylaporeans would combine their visit to the local temples here with shopping at this market and hence business ran high even after dusk.

Lawyers for the hawkers who are holding out say that a Mylaporean residing in Mandaveli used to receive the rent from the hawkers but some months ago, stopped doing so. It then became clear that the property had changed hands.

This market may not boast of unique architecture for it to be conserved but it has been an integral part of the Mylapore life for over a century.

Heritage activists would argue that even places like markets and parks and bus stations whch have been an integral part of a neighbourhood need to be given a second look before they are pulled down or wiped out.

Meanwhile, many other landmarks in the Luz Corner area have disappeared or may be wiped out soon.

For another generation, the Shanti Vihar restaurant complex was the place to refresh either after a spell of shopping or for evening ‘tiffin’. Regulars say that its idli-sambar combo was great. Others say the evening snacks were hot-sellers.

This property has been razed to the ground and a towering complex has been planned here.

There is always some buzz going about the fate of Kamadhenu Theatre. Its managers though get agitated when they are asked if the property has been sold off. Movies are still screened here.

Murudis Cafe, another destination for snacks and traditional food, got subsumed some years ago.

Like the rest of Mylapore, Luz is losing its landmarks.

If you have unique anecdotes on this market and wish to share them, please e-mail to mylaporetimes@vsnl.com.

Photos from top to bottom: Business as usual inside the market: hawkers who vacated now do business on a lane outside: shop space marked with the name of the new owner of the property.

Read the previously posted report on Thannithurai market at http://my-mylapore.blogspot.com/2005/06/thannithurai-market-in-mylapore.html

PALATHOPE - A LAWYERS’ ENCLAVE

2006-10-10T04:28:00.000-07:00

(This article is the first part of a series on Palathope. This series is part of the MYLAPORE SOCIAL HISTORY PROJECT. This project aims to document stories, pictures, audio and video records of Mylapore. Of its people and colonies and institutions. This project is promoted by MYLAPORE TIMES.)

By Ashwin Prabhu
Photo by R. Saravanan

Mylapore has its stereotypes.
The ‘madisaar’ clad ‘maami’, the bustling Sri Kapaleeswarar Temple and the Mada streets, the sabhas which promote South Indian classical art forms, passionate city-league cricket clubs and the pre-eminence of its legal luminaries.

If Mylapore and its lawyers are to be talked about, then most stories and legends are inextricably linked to an enclave down a narrow, sleepy, winding street adjoining and running parallel to the famous North Mada street.
A street referred to as Desigar Swami Street, perhaps only by the Indian Postal Department.
But for a large majority of Mylaporeans, in open defiance of the Chennai Corporation’s renaming of streets and roads, an enclave still known by one name - ‘Palathope - Vakil Aathu Sandhu’.

Pala-thope - a rather presumptuous name one would think, when you consider that a jackfruit tree or two in the backyards of the houses on this street does not exactly a verdant grove make.
But then the reputation of Palathope being a lawyers powerhouse is anything but presumptuous, when one begins to draw a list of all the luminaries from this street who have graced court-rooms across India, starting from the nondescript local sub-divisional bench right up to that awe-inspiring, national seat of justice - the Supreme Court.
Geographically pinning down Palathope is a task quite easily done. Take R.K. Mutt Road (Brodie’s Road in days gone by) leading north-south from the Luz Corner towards Adyar and then turn left at the concrete eyesore that the MRTS Thirumailai station is today.

This is Palathope, a lane where the likes of Justice A. V. Viswanatha Sastri, Sir Subbaraya Iyer, M. S. Venkatrama Iyer and S. Swaminathan lived and waged epic courtroom battles in their quest for justice in legal areas as diverse as civil law to company law to criminal law. Even attempting to put down on paper the names, let alone the deeds, of all those brilliant men in their white shirts and black coats who have hailed from this little lane is an intimidating exercise, for fear of leaving out some notable personality.
For it is not just a single, stand-alone generation of great men from Palathope who lived, flourished and ruled in the courtrooms of India, but it is rather, entire families, multiple generations of star-performers spanning many decades, ALL hailing from Palathope that have earned Mylapore this famous epithet of being a ‘Lawyers’ Enclave’.

Grandfathers, uncles, nephews, brothers, second cousins, all willfully embraced this noble profession and thrived in the intellectual demands it made of them. For every Justice A. V. Viswanatha Sastri, who ended his career as a senior lawyer in the Supreme Court, there was a son - Justice R. Ratnam - who carved a glowing niche for himself as Judge of the Madras High Court, Chief Justice of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh, before finally capping his illustrious career as the acting Governor of Himachal Pradesh.

Reams of inspiring stories can be written about the philanthropy of the great Subbaraya Iyer. A senior Income Tax lawyer, he was the busiest in the street of Palathope. Not content with just leaving his mark in the legal profession, he founded Vidya Mandir, Luz, Vivekananda College, Mylapore and the Madras Institute of Technology, Chromepet, all educational pillar stones of today’s Madras.

Tales abound of the musical inclinations of senior criminal lawyer C. K. Venkatanarasimhan; a trait that saw him become a much-loved Secretary of the Madras Music Academy. Come December, his palatial Palathope house would play host to all the visiting giants of Carnatic music. Perk your ears a little and you just might hear strains of Palghat Mani Iyer’s mridangam reverberating down the street. Then.

The entrepreneurial instincts and corporate successes of advocate turned industrialist S. Viswanathan who worked in M.S. Venkatarama Iyer’s office in Palathope, is also stuff legends are made of. A protégé of M. S. Venkatarama Iyer and a contemporary of R. Venkataraman, former President of India and S. Swaminathan, renowned Income Tax lawyer, Viswanathan started off as an advocate before becoming captain of Seshasayee Paper, TNPL and Ponni Sugars, one of the few to successfully straddle the worlds of both law and industry.
As can be seen, it is but quite easy to digress and wax eloquent about the multifarious achievements of each of these great men. The focus however of this essay, remains in highlighting and archiving the remarkable saga of how the place, Palathope, has produced these legendary custodians of justice time and again through the ages.

It is also this essay’s endeavor to invite opinion from readers and long-time residents of this neighborhood to throw light on this quite remarkable sociological phenomenon. An urban phenomenon that has had its origins in the late 1800s when every educated Madras resident aspired for a clerical post in the Madras bar in the service of the British. Fully impressed with their strong commitment, their mastery of the English language and their flair for intellectual debate, the British acceded higher positions of power in the legal system to this ‘league of extraordinary gentlemen’ from Mylapore.

Is Palathope then a simplistic case of one generation’s values and aspirations being unfailingly passed down to the next, a case of professional success spawning further success or is it perhaps, some whimsical, logic-defying will of nature that caused this proliferation of giant advocates, all in one little street? Which happened first - the coming together of all these families in Palathope as a community or these men attaining unparalleled success in the legal profession and then choosing later on to settle down in Palathope.

>> Mylapore Times welcomes e-mails (mylaporetimes@vsnl.com) and notes and contacts who will share with writer Ashwin Prabhu who is working on this story, the history of Palathope and of the great men of the area. >>

Credits/ Sources
1) S.A. Balasubramanyan - Advocate. S/o S. Swaminathan (senior Income Tax lawyer & former resident of Palathope) Currently residing at Luz Avenue, Mylapore
2) Meenakshi Krishnamurthy - housewife and social worker W/o N. Krishnamurthy (senior advocate & former resident of Palathope) Currently residing at North Mada Street, Mylapore
3) Ramnarayan Krishnamurthy - professor and research scientist. S/o N. Krishnamurthy (senior advocate & former resident of Palathope) Currently residing at San Diego, California

Luz Avenue – Once Naini Thottam

2006-06-15T02:34:00.000-07:00

Feature by H. Ashwin Prabhu
New photos by R. Saravanan

Close your eyes for a moment and think of an idyllic, summer evening with swaying coconut and palm trees, the fragrance of the ‘Paarijaatam’ flower wafting over the light breeze.
Think of red mud roads criss-crossing dry paddy fields that have been cleared after the harvest, of little boys in Khaki shorts and girls in pig-tails and paavadais gaily running around and playing cricket with a home-made wooden bat.
As the man of the house drives into the garage in a majestic, black Landmaster car after a hard day’s work, the sound of the last tram chugging back to Madras Beach station can be heard in the distance. This was Naini Thottam in the late 1940s, named after Nainiappa Mudaliar who owned vast portions of land in this area.

Naini Thottam is today Luz Avenue. A quiet and graceful residential locality tucked away in the heart of the Mylapore area with wide, tree-lined roads, stately, period bungalows with front-gardens and the ever-popular Nageswara Rao Park on its fringes.

A treasure-trove of memories is revealed as I talk to Mr. Muthuraman Chettiar, 85 years old and one of the earliest settlers in Naini Thottam.
He narrates to me how he bought the plot on which his house stands today in 1950 from Nainiappa Mudaliar who then stayed at Kallukaarar Street in the vicinity.
An alumnus of Loyola College and later Annamalai University, Muthuraman Chettiar took two full years to complete the construction of his palatial bungalow. Those were the years when the ‘Nageswara Rao’ Park did not exist ; this area was only a muddy swamp called ‘Aalaatha Kuttai’ bisected by a narrow road leading in from the Our Lady of Light church (Luz Church; north of the park).
Muthuraman recollects that when he shifted out of his old St. Mary’s Road residence to Luz Avenue, Mylapore, was already a hub of top lawyers, most of whom used to frequent the Ranade Library and The Mylapore Club, which stood on land leased from the Sri Kapaaleeswarar Temple.

Luz to Beach by trams
The Madras Electric Tramways managed by the Electricity Department operated the tram service from the Royapettah High Road-Luz Corner junction up to the Madras Beach ( off the port).
Costing half an anna for every stage, this was a preferred mode of transport for the people of the locality. As Muthuraman puts it, the two-compartment tram must have presented quite a quaint sight as it wound its way slowly across town with people in black coats paired with white veshtis hopping on and off.

For the affluent, who could be the proud owners of a Ford Mercury for the princely sum of Rs 8000 or maybe even the massive Landmaster (the Ambassador’s then avatar) which cost Rs 10000, there was the petrol bunk at Luz Corner where a gallon (5 litres) of petrol could be bought for 15 annas.

Buses were few and rare, autos were unheard of and it was the friendly, neighbourhood jhatka operator who came to the rescue for evening outings to the temple or to relatives’ places in and around Mylapore. Daily provisions had to be bought at the cluster of grocery and department stores in Luz Corner. The famous Kamadhenu Theatre was to come up on the exact site of these shops in a few years’ time.

Life in those days was full of simple pleasures, recounts Muthuraman Chettiar. Like part-taking in the milking of the cows in the backyard, helping to tend the large gardens in the house. Milk from the household was sent daily to the local temples – Sri Kapaaleeswarar Temple and the Sri MundaKanni Amman temple. Domestic hands were aplenty in those days and the house constantly buzzed with activity. The children of the houses in the area either went to Rosary Matric or to the P.S. High School on R.K.Mutt Road.

Muthuraman Chettiar’s family originally hailed from Karaikudi and arrived in Madras like many other families for business opportunities and collegiate education.

Starting off with a electrical appliance business, Mr. Muthuraman Chettiar then went on to manage the then highly successful MTSV Financing firm named for the four Chettiars who came together in partnership – Muthuraman, Thennappan, Sockalingam and Vairavan. The firm made its money by dabbling in car-purchase finance and more interestingly, Tamil film financing - ‘Naadodi Mannan’ being one of the more famous ones.

Artistes of the stature of M. L. Vasanthakumari, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer and Bala Saraswathi have graced Muthuraman Chettiar’s house with their performances in the 1960’s to honor the yesteryear saint – Kodumuthi Ramamurthy Swamigal.

Rs.3,500 for a ground
Regaled by Mr. Muthuraman Chettiar’s nostalgic recounting of his youth, I knock on the imposing Burma Teak door of his neighbour of 50 years, Mr. S. A. Balasubramanyan, a practicing advocate of the Madras High Court. Representative of a typical Mylapore lawyer’s family, Mr. Balasubramanyan talks at length about how his father Sri S. Swaminathan – a famed senior advocate - came to settle in Luz Avenue and how life has evolved over the last 5 decades. Set in a plot of 4 grounds, Sri S. Swaminathan bought the land from Nainiappa Mudaliar at the then princely sum of Rs 3500 a ground.
Balasubramanyan recalls how he and his siblings were more than a little reluctant to move out of their old house in Palaathope and leave behind all their playmates (children of other advocate families in Palaathope) to come to this deserted, new housing colony.

Impeccably maintained and lovingly taken care of, Balasubramanyan’s bungalow is testimony to how a little financial prudence and an abundance of love over four generations can help in preserving a family’s heritage.
Masons from Chettinad, famed for their construction acumen were summoned to raise the walls. Teak had to be specially bought from Burma, renowned for its hardiness and regality. Sri S. Swaminathan spared no effort in ensuring that his bungalow was ‘state-of-the-art’ for its time. The concealed wiring put in place throughout the house was perhaps the first in the locality.

I learn from Balasubramanyan how the East Abhiramapuram of today was quite non-existent then. In its place were vast paddy fields and banana plantations. These fields would later come under the wings of the City Improvement Trust (CIT) of Madras and become what is today the elegant locality of East Abhirampauram.

It was thanks to the largesse of Nageswara Rao Pantulu, proprietor of the Amruntanjan Company that the ‘Aalaatha Kuttai’ got restored as a park. Nageswara Rao’s legacy stands to this day in the form of the expansive Amruntanjan factory and bungalow at the northern entrance to the park.

Balasubramanyan recollects the feisty tunes played by the Corporation Music Band in the evenings at the park and how entire families would turn up at the park to see the band perform. Higher up on the scale of familial recreation in those days was the family tour to the Marina to participate in the occasional Congress meeting. What would be an enjoyable family outing on the beach would culminate with a filling ‘Dosa’ dinner at the Dasaprakash mobile van on the Marina beach for 4 annas a plate.

Balasubramanyan reminisces about the days when the loud ringing of the phone would cause a flutter of excitement throughout the house and the congregation of the entire family at the phone table to witness the spectacle. A time when the high point of the day was the ride in the family car every evening around the neighborhood when the master of the house came home from work.

In conversation with other old-time residents of Luz Avenue like Mr. Mohan, Mr. TVS Sarma and others, I come to know that all of them uniformly share a rare affection and emotional bonding with the locality they live in and hope to pass this onto the next generation.

If today Luz Avenue retains its old world charm and remains an oasis of serenity and greenery in this smoke-spewing, traffic-crawling melting pot that Mylapore has become, it is thanks to the selfless and dedicated efforts of the Luz Avenue Residents Association headed by the indomitable June Headland and the secretary, Mathew.

Thanks to the efforts of the association, Luz Avenue today is a living example of how societal cooperation and civic responsibility can help in preserving not just a neighborhood’s physical structures but something far more valuable more than that – Half a century’s worth of treasured memories and anecdotes.

As I walk out onto the road from Mr. S. A. Balasubramanyan’s house, I turn back and look at the house. And I hear the gay laughter of children climbing up the mango tree, the cry of the milkman as he turns up at the gate to milk the cows, the tolling of the temple bell in the distance as the evening aarthi is performed. All from another sepia-tinted time and age…

>> If you have notes to share on life in and around Luz Avenue, please post them here. You can also email at - mylaporetimes@vsnl.com >>

Vidya Mandir: school which started with a single classroom

2006-02-15T00:33:00.000-08:00

When two convents in the city decided they would do away with boys, desperate parents of some of these children looked for options. The Mylapore Ladies Club came to their rescue.

Contributed by Ashwin Prabhu

It is said ‘Necessity is the mother of invention’.
Indeed, it was the sheer necessity for a quality, English-medium school for boys, that led a small group of anxious parents from Mylapore to lay the foundation for what is today ‘Vidya Mandir’, a much-reputed co-educational school in Mylapore, Chennai.
It was the fag end of the academic year in January of 1956, when acclaimed convent schools in the city like Church Park-Presentation Convent on Mount Road and Rosary Matriculation in San Thome decided that they would not admit boy students into their schools, and asked them to leave with immediate effect.

The first step
Deeply concerned that their boys would lose an entire academic year, a group of 10 parents decided to take the responsibility of educating the children on themselves. The influential Mylapore Ladies Club (MLC) headed by Mrs. Janamma, (the then secretary of the club) was approached and a single room was made available in the MLC campus on Royapettah High Road for accommodating the boys.
Mrs. Ammani stepped in as the first Principal and teacher, with the primary purpose of ensuring that the boys could see their 5th standard year to completion, without any break.
A kindergarten section was also opened in parallel, a harbinger of times to come, when Vidya Mandir would blossom into a full-fledged educational institution. A certain Mr. Statham, a Britisher in the then Education Department proved to be the kindly angel who would grant necessary formal approvals for the school to begin functioning.

The founders
As momentum was gained and things started falling into place, the trio of Sister Subbulakshmi Ammal, Mrs. Padmini Chari and Sri Subbaraya Iyer, a prominent lawyer of the time, assumed the role of founders and actively involved themselves in administration and funds-collection activities for the school.

‘Class of 1956’It was a motley mix of 10 boys who were tutored through the remainder of their standard V that summer by Mrs. Ammani. Perhaps, it is testimony to Mrs. Ammani’s teaching, the far-sightedness and able stewardship of the founding trio, and the fortitude and initiative displayed by the other parents, that the students of this first batch of Vidya Mandir are today torchbearers in their chosen professions. N. Ravi, Editor of ‘The Hindu’, R. Raghunandan, Chartered Accountant and Investment Banker, V. Ramachandran, MD of Kar Valves (Rane Group), Mr. Girija Shankar, BJP activist and Narayanaswami, Editor of The Madras Law Journal, were all part of Vidya Mandir’s ‘Class of 1956’.
R. Raghunandan of the first batch fondly recalls the first school uniform - navy blue shorts and a white shirt. He also vividly remembers the names of the teachers who taught him then, images of his grandfather A.K. Ranganathan’s palatial mansion - ‘Kumara Vijayam’ on Royapettah High Road, opposite the school campus where the boys used to throng to for drinking water and the last hour of school which was dedicated to story-telling. The immense pride in belonging to the first batch of students of such an epoch-making institution, comes across when he happily mentions in passing that his son is today a XII standard student of Vidya Mandir.

Donors and Advisors
It is while in conversation with S. Venkatraman (former secretary of Vidya Mandir) of the founding family that a multitude of little known facts about the school come to light. Like how Subbaraya Iyer, his father, willingly parted with a substantial amount of his personal wealth to help in buying the 10 grounds of land on which the Vidya Mandir buildings stand today, like the fact that the name ‘Vidya Mandir’ was chosen by K. Chandrashekar, noted music and art critic of yesteryears, and ‘sammandhi’ to Subbaraya Iyer, or the quaint fact that the first batch of students squatted on the floor and used traditional floor desks to place their books on.
A culture of philanthropy and good-will was established from the early days of the school, when a popular decision was taken that a family with two children in Vidya Mandir would have to pay only for the first child.

Apt motto
In its golden jubilee year, it is this unshaken trust and faith that proud parents all over Chennai place in its name, that stands Vidya Mandir in good stead. Quite aptly, this unique principle of partnership and cooperation between the institution and society is best mirrored in the school’s motto, “Saha Veeryam Karavavahai” - “May we both put in the effort required to acquire the knowledge”.

Landmark Mylaporean - V. Krishnaswami Iyer

2006-02-02T09:44:00.000-08:00

If you are in Luz and then move down Royapettah High Road, take time off to stop and gaze at the campus of The Madras Sanskrit College, just behind the statue of Thiruvalluvar.
Here is a landmark Mylaporeans should be proud of.
This week, this unique college kicked off its centenary celebrations.
Its goal has been this - to promote higher education in Sanskrit along traditional lines.
Over the decades, its students who come from all over the country, have gone on to become well known scholars who have been decorated in India and abroad.
The man who set the foundation for this, and many other institutions in the city, was V. Krishnaswami Iyer, a well known and wealthy advocate of his time.
Besides the college, Krishnaswami was responsible for the founding of The Mylapore Club, Ranade Library, Indian Bank and Venkataramana Ayurveda College, besides supporting institutions that remain with us today.
Here are some highlights of one of Mylapore’s most distinguished personalities.

1. Krishnaswami was the second of four brothers, born in a Thanjavur village. His father went on to become a munsiff while his mother died after her fourth delivery. While at school, he was joined by Sivaswami, the man who later became Sir P. S. Sivaswami Ayyar, a celebrity of his times and whose name is remembered in the schools of Mylapore today. After schooling, Krishnaswami came to Madras to study at Presidency College.

2. Though Krishnaswami wasn’t inclined to read law, well wishers persuaded him to become a lawyer. He then joined the ranks of juniors at the office of R. Balajee Rao, a leading advocate who lived in Mylapore. The early days were tough, life was tough and he and his wife were sustained by his brother.

3. The young lawyer’s stock went up after he began to work at the office of Sir S. Subrahmanyam Aiyar, and with colleague, P. R. Sundara Aiyar, the duo slowly began to scale great heights. Krishnaswami settled down in life and moved to South Mada Street, Mylapore. He was a busy ‘vakil’ and while being an office bearer of the Vakils Association, he played a vital role in starting the Madras Law Journal (MLJ) in 1891, on the lines of contemporary English law journals - with critical notes and obeservations on judgements. The MLJ is still being published.

4. Krishnaswami became a household name when he was the contending advocate in the famous Arbuthnot bank case, In 1906, this popular bank crashed on account of bankruptcy, depositors were aghast and had it not been for this advocate’s public spirit and professional efficiency, the powerful Englishman would have gone scot free. The event then encouraged him to set up Indian Bank.

5. Realising the need to revive interest in India’s ancient systems, he founded the free-to-public Venkataramana Dispensary and the Ayurvedic College in 1905 on Kutchery Road. (While the dispensary/clinic still exists here, the college has moved to the suburbs.) A year later, he started the Madras Sanskrit College. He suggested that students be given free boarding and lodging and even paid a stipend to sustain their families, and that teachers be given free accommodation - a practice that is followed to this day.

6. His involvement in public affairs naturally drew him to the Congress party. In 1907, the Congress had split and it was Krishnaswami’s idea to hold a convention in Madras which brought the ranks closer and made the moderates win. Gopal Krishna Gokhale acknowledged Krishnaswami’s practical idea - one which had a bearing on the history of the Congress. The two were to get very close in the years to come.

7. Gokhale laid the foundation stone in 1904 for the Ranade Library in Mylapore and the South Indian National Association was also started; conceived to promote research among students in economics and politics. Though the two institutions exist today, few people use the well stocked library and SINA’s activities are low key today.

8. Krishnaswami became a judge of the Madras High Court in 1909 at a time when he was admired in political circles. Some saw him as an impatient man keen to clear all arrears. He was judge for a mere 15 months and then, became a member of the Executive Council of the Governor of Madras, a top ranking post, offered to him by the admiring British.

9. Krishnaswami packed many things into his short public life. Working on educational issues at the University of Madras, funding the trip of Swami Vivekananda to Chicago, intervening in the management of properties of the Kanchi Math when they fell into the wrong hands when the Paramacharya, then a minor, took charge.

He was 49 years old when he died. In about two decades, he had executed and accomplished a lot. The Sanskrit College and the allied institutions in Mylapore are a living memorial to a great man.

PHOTO CAPTION : Dr. M. Rama Jois, former Chief Justice and former Governor, unveiled the bust size statue of V. Krishnaswamy Iyer, on January 25, to mark the beginning of the centenary of the college. Seen in the photograph are Dr. N. V. Devi Prasad, Principal, Dr. Rama Jois, and B. Ramamurti and B. Madhavan, both grandsons of the founder.

Memories on Sastri Hall

2005-06-23T06:18:00.000-07:00

Contributed by T. S. Gopal

Sastri Hall at Luz in Mylapore has just celebrated 50 years. Nostalgia floods my mind because of my association in the late 60s and mid70s with this hall.
As Secretary of the Forum of Free Enterprise, I had organised meetings regularly here, addressed by experts and intellectuals and attended by the young and the old alike.
The speakers and presidents of the lecture meetings were men of wisdom and knowledge. The list included inspiring intellectuals like K.Santhanam, Nittur Sreenivasa Rao, K.B. Madhava; legal luminaries like K.Balasubramania Aiyer and T. V. Viswanatha Aiyar. Journalists of integrity like V. K. Narasimhan, A. G. Venkatachari and V. P. V. Rajan and political personalities like R. Venkataraman, Piloo Mody, N. Dandeker and M. Ruthnaswamy and industrialists like M.V.Arunachalam, 'Chitra' S. Narayanaswamy, D.C. Kothari and bankers like T. A. Pai and G.Lakshminarayanan.

Members of the Ranade Library at its premises near Luz circle

A unique event was the lecture on 'Hypertensions in Indian Democracy' held in Sastri Hall in the early 70s. Given the vast scope of the subject it was delivered in two parts on two consecutive evenings. The speaker was R.A. Gopalaswamy, former Chief Secretary to the Govt. of Tamil Nadu, and a great speaker and administrator.
The meeting was presided over by the late C.Subramaniam and the hall overflowed with people on both days. Another meeting to remember was the one on 'Urban Land Ceiling'. In the middle, in walked the late actor 'Gemini' Ganesan, having read about the meeting in the newspapers. As one affected by the Ceiling Act, he shared his views. It was to his credit that instead of being a distracting film star, he proved to be a good speaker who spoke extempore.
The then dynamic Secretary of Ranade Library and Sastri Hall, N.Sridhar played a great role in ensuring that all the lighting and audio systems were in perfect condition.
The galaxy of speakers who adorned the dais filled the hall with wit and wisdom and the applause and laughter from the audience was music to the ears, so different from now when the music that fills the hall is drowned by the ever-increasing traffic of Luz.
Sridhar who could feel the pulse of the people and keep pace with the changing times, welcomed sabhas in and around Mylapore to use the hall for music performances in order to ensure continuous cash flow for Sastri Hall.
It was a hall ideal for music concerts for artistes who felt mikes were an intrusion.
The Gokhale Hall at one end and the Sastri Hall at the other, were instrumental in sustaining the intellectual activity of Chennai from the 50s to the 70s.

T. S. Gopal represented 'Forum of Free Enterprise' in Madras. He lives at 169, Luz Church Road, Mylapore. Mobile: 9840092850

Sastri Hall : Centenary celebrations

2005-06-23T06:07:00.000-07:00

SASTRI HALL CENTENARY CELEBRATIONS
The centenary celebrations of South Indian National Association (SINA) and Ranade Library, both Mylapore institutions, were held on June 2 and 3, 2005. One function was held at the GSI-K. N. Shanmughasundaram Hall in Karpagambal Nagar. SINA president A. M. Swaminathan is seen addressing the guests.

The South Indian National Association - Centenary celebrations

2005-06-23T06:05:00.000-07:00

The centenary celebrations of The South Indian National Association and the Ranade Library were held on June 2 and 3, 2005. On June 2, Dr. S. P. Thyagarajan, Vice Chancellor, University of Madras, presented the centenary address. The two bodies function from the premises next to The Mylapore Club in Luz (the place is popularly known as Sastri Hall) and were products of the pre-Independence movement.

Posted by Hello

Mylapore educationist who worked in Triplicane

2005-06-11T04:12:00.000-07:00

An educationist who came to live in Mylapore is being remembered by his family on his birth centenary.
T. Ramanujachary, Manager and Correspondent of Sri Hindu Bala Patasala, Higher Elementary School, Chepauk-Triplicane, lived in Mylapore for over thirty years.
And his family remembers him for his contribution to education, especially of the poor in the Triplicane-Chepauk area of the city.

He was born in 1905 in the village of Tirukkoilur to a Vaishnavite family. The family circumstance was such that the parents never thought that their newborn baby would one day make himself a man of some credit and standing. The boy lost his father at the very early age of nine. He was brought up by his mother. Though poor he was, he had the will to come up in life in doing something useful to his society.

This will of his to succeed in life stemmed out of an incident in his life. When he was in his early days of trying to make a living, one day he had to perform the annual rites of his father. He did not have money and had to ask one of his seniors to lend money. The senior told him that if he could not have money to perform his fatherÕs annual rites, then it meant that he was not fit to make a living.
It was from that day that this man resolved that he would start saving and building for the future so that he did not have to go to anybody for the bare minimum requirements in life.

He had his education at the then famous T. T. V. High School, Mint Street, Chennai (Madras). He stopped his education with IV form and joined the Higher Grade TeachersÕ Training at Madras.
He then secured a teacherÕs job in a pial (Thinnai Pallikudam) school in Chepauk. He managed two schools at the same time. Gradually he acquired the friendship of the then eminent educationists, A. Ramaiah Chetty, Ramanujulu Naidu, N. K. Thirumalachari and Veeraraghavan of Aramba Kalvi.

He got recognition for the pial school and gradually converted it into a higher Elementary School.
In 1934, he bought the school where he served as a teacher. The school grew but there was a dark period during the war time. In the early forties, Ramanujachary shifted the school to a big house in Mosque Street, Chepauk.

The school was at its height for three decades under the able headmasterships of N. Rajaratinam, A. V. Ramasarma, T. D. Vimala, T. R. S. Raghavan (his only son) and Aravamudha Iyengar.
The school produced good results at the E. S. L. C. Public Examination and was applauded by the Education department. A good many artists, musicians and others were the products of his school. The School existed for about sixty years (1922 - 1983).

He moved to Mylapore in 1955 after constructing a house of his own in the plot purchased at Plot No. 97 (New No. 4), Sixth Cross Street, C. I. T. Colony, where his son and grandchildren reside now.
Just before his death, he said that he started the school with the intention of giving education to the poor and the needy. But owing to the changes in the educational policy of the Government, he could not continue his service to the cause of education as he desired. His health deteriorated and he passed away in 1983.

Family and relatives have been associated with the school and its activities. They include W. R. Aravamudhan (retd. Chief Manager, IOB, Chennai), who worked in the school for a few months, M. D. Kannan (retd. Senior Audit Officer, A. GÕs Office), W.R. Varadarajan of Communist Party of India, W. K.Vijayaraghavan (Senior Divisional Manager, National Insurance, Mysore), P. V. Narayanan (Consultant, Bangalore), P. V. Jegannathan (Senior Audit Officer, A. G.s Office), his grandson T.S.T. Ramanujam (C. F. O., Serviont), grand daughter Usha Vijayaraghavan and Sheela Ramanujam.

Thannithurai market in Mylapore

2005-06-11T00:48:00.000-07:00

Thannithorai Market has been a key market for Mylaporeans. Situated on the banks of Buckingham Canal, off Luz Corner, the market sold produce brought from the land as well as by boats plying in the Canal which originates in south Andhra Pradesh and ends in the Marakkanam Lake.
Hence the name ‘thanni thorai’.
The market continues to exist today and fairly busy. The boats do not ply anymore for the canal is polluted. The city’s metro rail runs alongside the canal and this market.
G. Kuppuswamy is a vegetable vendor at Thannithorai Market. This is his story of the market.

G. Kuppuswamy Naicker’s family has been vegetable vendors for the past two generations. The market in its early days used to receive vegetables from outside Madras. Vegetables would arrive by boat along the Buckingham Canal every day. Baskets loads of vegetables would be delivered. . .

Thannithurai Market
The market place belonged to a Madras High Court judge Mr. Bhashyam Iyengar. He had a residence adjacent to the market where his sister (widowed) was living. Mr. Iyengar had provided that the proceeds from the market should go to his sister for her maintenance.
After him, his son took over but he was not very keen on maintaining and renting the place for the market. So he decided to sell the place. The vendors of the market had established good business there and were not eager to relocate to any other place. They decided to purchase the place jointly from Iyengar . . .

The 10 to 15 vendors who jointly bought the place are the current owners of the market. There are about 25 more vendors who pay rent to these people. It was built by Mr. Iyengar himself as a vegetable market. The structures for the vendors to sit, the rooms, toilets, etc were all built by Mr. Iyengar. No change has been done after that. The ‘thorai’ however is no more in use.

Thannithurai Market

But business has changed.
Business is dull. The market used to be unique in those days. All the well known people would come here for vegetables. Now there are vegetables shops in every street, every nook and corner. Things were very different then. We would not even weigh accurately. We would give them liberally in basketfuls . . .

But we carry on because we do not know any other business.

My sons have studied. In the old days, business was very good. So they got inducted into this business quite early in life. I have two sons - one studied in Vivekananda College and another studied a course in air-conditioning repair. But then they preferred to get into business – they run provision stores.

We are now old. We have given all decision taking rights to two persons among the 10-15 who jointly bought the market. At that time it seemed prudent to do so. It is quite a complicated situation. We cannot convert it to any other improved vegetable market so easily. Yes, it is a very painful decision to even think of selling this market. We were all born and brought up in this market. My mother would leave us on these very thinnai's while she was busy selling vegetables.We have literally grown up here.
So we are planning to sell and make some settlement for other vendors here . . .
My sons too do not like this business. They think vegetable vending is no more a dignified business.

When did the market start?
Can't say. Before Independence perhaps . . . We hoisted the flag on Independence Day.
Iyengar started the market in 1901. My father came in to Madras in the Tamil New Year. (could be 1916). The market was there at that time. There were four or five vendors. He also set up business there within a few years . . .

The thorai supply via boats stopped after the local bus service developed. Usually 40 to 50 kilos of vegetables would came by a boat. They were all freshly cut. The canal was clean and full of water . . .
Vegetables were grown organically without using chemicals . . .

Earlier Luz used to be a very quiet place. There were no lights in the market. We used to have oil lamps at Luz Corner!

We went to Shanmugananda Higher Sec. School now at Natesa Mudaliar Road. Then it was in Valleswarar Koil Street . . .

Mylapore had all communities living in harmony. Naikers, Mudaliars were in and around Mundakakanni Amman Koil Street. Around Mada Veedi and Nadu Theru there were mostly Brahmins. Teynampet was the popular place for the migrants from outside villages who came looking for jobs - they were mostly Rakkiars.
Slowly they settled and bought the local land. They were quite bold and enterprising. It is the Brahmin community who were not interested in buying land, houses . . ..
Somehow our business has revolved around the Brahmin community. They have patronized us throughout. We have also learnt to behave well and be cultured from our Brahmin customers. We have been very much influenced by them. They have been our guides. The current generation is of course different . . .

Did the boats carry only vegetables or did they carry people also?
No. People would go by the Adyar River and the Adyar Boat Club area was the terminus for those boats. Only goods would be ferried on Coovum boats. Beyond Adyar, were plenty of nagamaram and panamaram thoppu (orchards). We would go there by boats, have a wonderful time eating fruits and playing around. Two annas was the fare.

Nageswara Rao Park . . . Alwarpet area . . . TTK Road . . . these were all jungle areas. Most of Alwarpet was Kasturi Iyengar’s property - about 1000 grounds! Later, the government took some land(from this family) for laying roads. Eldam's Road corner always had (actor) Kamalhassan's family house.

The area around the market has changed a lot… Only ten percent continue to live here . .

>>> If you have memories of the canal, the market and of trade and life around this market, mail us. >>>
>>> We also welcome photos of this market taken many years ago. Even photos taken in this area – covering Sanskrit College, Luz Corner, etc. are welcome. >>>

Puranic Mylapore

2005-04-11T23:22:00.000-07:00

Prof. K. Sampath writes to trace a puranic reference to
Mylapore.

During the Tretayugam sage Sukrachariar lost an eye while trying to prevent king Bali from fulfiling the wishes of Lord Vishnu. He then did severe penance at Mylapore and Lord Siva restored his eyesight. Siva stayed in Mylapore as Velleeswarar (Velli meaning Sukran ). This story is enacted every year on the ninth day of the chittirai festival of Valleeswarar temple on the South Mada Street.

Goddess Parvathi in the form of a peahen worshipped Lord Kapaleeswarar at the Kapali temple. In olden times lots of peacocks and peahens lived around the temple. So the place came to be known as Mayil Aadum Puram which later was shortened to Mylapore.

Prof. R. Nanjunda Rao writes:

2005-04-05T03:45:00.001-07:00

Prof. R. Nanjunda Rao B.Sc., M.S. Sai Polyclinic, 94, Ramakrishna Math Road, Mylapore, writes about his grandfather:
Dear Editor,I introduce myself as the grand son of Late Dr.M.C. Nanjunda Rao a famous Physician and legend who lived in Mylapore. He passed away in 1918. My grand father was residing in 'Sasivilas' Mylapore - In 1893 Swami Vivekananda came to the doctors house and has had discussions before going to Chicago-Materials available with Sri Ramakrishna Math Mylapore-More over along with Sri Ramakrishnanda known as Sasi Maharaj my grand father was also helpful in establishing the mutt at Mylapore - More over Mr.C. Ramanujachariar was a family friend of ours - To start Ramakrishna Students Home whe Mr.C.R. was looking for a place it was my grand father late Dr.M.C. Nanjunda Rao gave one of his mall houses at Arisikara Street free of rent and it was started with 5 Students - this was mentioned repeatedly by Sri Nalli Kuppuswami Chetti when he spoke in the Centenary Celebration meeting. This I am writing to you for information as any activity of Sri Ramakrishna Mission was established here with only my late grand father Dr.M.C. Nanjunda Rao's help. It has been almighty's wish that my family must be closely associated with the mutt still and I had been in the management committee of Sri Ramakrishna Vivekananda Educational Mission for many years.

P. R. Vasudevan of R.K.Salai writes:

2005-04-05T03:45:00.000-07:00

We have some interesting contributions from our readers on their memories of Mylapore.
Mr. P. R. Vasudevan of R.K.Salai writes:
I was born here in 1938 in a house in the Kesava Perumal Westward Street. I read with interest your write-ups on the Mandaveli Post Office. During my study in the PS High School, 1946 - 52, it was the nearest post office to my house and the school. I remember the post card was priced at 3 pies and envelope 1 anna. Registered articles, rarely used, were at 4 annas. I could recollect the faces of couple of postal employees in the Mandaveli post office, a short peon with a chubby and ever-smiling face and the postmaster, a chatty and tall and fair Vaishnavite with prominent religious marks in the forehead. The Money Order Clerk himself used to fill in the MO form for some of the customers without grumbling. The market in front of the post office, both in the Brodie's Road (present RK Mutt Road) and Mandaveli Street remains unchanged to this day, of course with more bustle and more shops.The Mandaveli Street, leading to Santhome High Road, was more or less the southern border of Mylapore: there was no building south of it after the Adam Street - Mandaveli Street junction till it joined the Santhome High Road. It was mostly barren land, used for cattle grazing. Hence the name Mandai veli.

2005-03-01T16:08:00.000-08:00

Mylapore - 1906

Great work by Mylapore Times

2005-02-22T21:49:00.000-08:00

Hello!
This is a great work by Mylapore Times. I am sure all of us who grew up in Mylapore will have many interesting things to say about life then. I vaguely remember a long time resident whose family had close connections to Gandhiji. Apparently, Gandhiji used to stay with them during his visits to the city. The family owned part of what is now known as Nageswara Rao Park. I wonder whom Nageswara Rao Park is named after.

Mylapore social history project

2005-02-22T08:59:00.000-08:00

Hi everybody,

This is Shyamala, the Mylapore social history project coordinator.

As Vincent says, the History, Heritage and Culture of Mylapore go back into time.
When we started this project a few months ago, we had little idea what we were looking into. Even before we could scrape at the surface we were overwhelmed by the greatness of Mylapore's history and the richness of its culture.

We have an onerous task ahead.

However, we believe that this project is very worthwhile and will become a most valuable resource for information on Mylapore’s social, cultural and economic life. And we are talking of not only the rich and the famous but even the poor and humble sections of the society.

We want to create something that will continue growing forever. Will people be adding to it, twenty, fifty or even hundred years from now? Can this collection form the most powerful bond of understanding between generations of Mylaporeans?

We invite anyone who has recollections of Mylapore's rich heritage - or has friends and relatives who can recall life as it was in the late 1800s or early 1900s - to participate in this program by contributing or directing us to useful resources.

Happy bonding!

Welcome to Ol' Mylapore

2005-02-20T22:53:00.000-08:00

Mylapore ( or Meilapur - one of the many ways in which this area in the heart of the city of Madras that is now Chennai was known ) is far, far older than the city of Madras. And so, its history, heritage and its people and their lives, go back into time.

Little has been done to record the place, its people and its life.
Reason why 'Mylapore Times', a weekly free community newspaper in English, published since 1994, has started a Mylapore Social History Project on the occasion of its 10th anniversary.

The project will endeavour to document the families who lived in Mylapore and made a mark in different fields - law, music and dance, journalism, sport, education . . whatever. It will also document the physical changes that have taken place here - how areas like Alwarpet, Mandaveli and Abhiramapuram developed.

It will also document the histories of the institutions that have contributed to life in this area and the momentous events that took place here.

We hope to execute this project by collecting data, diaries, documents, books and booklets and brochures on any person or place of historical relevance and by collecting pictures and albums that reflect old Mylapore.

We invite senior Mylaporeans to write for us, stories of their family histories that trace the men and women who played key roles in the city, and to share copies of their pictures. Even pictures of a wedding procession near the temple tank in the 1920s and 30s or of people travelling in a tram to Santhome in the 1930s will be valuable records.

We invite you to use this blog to post notes of value to this project. Please keep your notes sharp and short. And provide us with additional contacts that we may wish to tap down the line.

To share information. which will add value to this project, do e mail us at mylaporetimes@vsnl.com

Vincent D' Souza
Publisher
Mylapore Times