CHENNAI
From
Sampath’s Desk:
MADRAS, now re-christened as Chennai, has always been my favourite city. Its origin could be traced to centuries back as a small village, gifted on 22.8.1639 to the East India Company by Vijayanagara King, Peda Venkata Raya of Chandragiri. A year later, the British built Fort St. George, which became the nucleus of growing colonial city as a trade and commercial hub of the then East Indian Company. Madras Day is celebrated on August 22 every year.
Turning
into a major urban centre with air and navy bases, Madras became the capital of the then
Madras Presidency consisting of the almost the whole of the present day Tamil Nadu
state, parts of Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. After independence when
states were formed on a linguistic basis, Madras became the capital city of
Tamil Nadu state. The city renamed as Chennai has traversed a long way before assuming its present
gigantic size and cosmopolitan character.
Thiruvallikkeni
(Triplicane) was one of the most congested villages of Chennai where I lived
for a long time and did my schooling. We could enjoy the breeze of early
morning from the nearby world famous Marina beach, twilight of the dawn, gentle
air and warm rays of the rising sun permeating all over, bubbly sea waves
fondling and cleansing the shore with its richness of lather, roads with a
moderate traffic, cattle sluggishly strolling along and across unmindful of and
unaffected by anything or any event(s) happening around, cluttering carts,
buses, bicycles, taxis and autos – all amidst the din generated by people – moving
around, chatting and altercating. Chennai has always been a cultural citadel
and even now the vestiges are there for all of us to see. The music festivals
being held in every winter is a pointer. Even with modernity ruling the roost,
age-old traditions, beliefs and practices still exist. Who can afford to miss
the mouth-watering Madras delicacies like idly-sambar, masal dosa, filter
coffee and the like? Though they are still available the mushrooming of pizza
huts/corners, fast food centres and kiosks, etc. cause worry among health conscious
people in general and aficionados in particular.
Earlier
we had tiled houses with a frontal porch/raised floor (‘Thinnai’ in Tamil)
where even passers-by can sit and rest, which is conspicuously and totally missing these days. Now
every inch of space is gainfully and commercially used up. Terraced houses were
the norm earlier with more than one floor being rare then. High-rise
residential flats dot the skyline today. Earlier, we had house with attached
family and detached bathroom, but now we have flats with attached bathrooms and
detached families with people shunning and spurning the joint family system – a
sign of discord, friction and rancour!
Days
have changed and so are the scenes. Chennai has become a vast and ever-expanding
metropolitan city. Machine-like life has taken the toll of good traits among
citizens like close friendship, goodwill, co-existence and hospitality, giving way to
business-like life. Residential flats are concrete jungles or man-made jails.
One knows not even his neighbours! Still worse, not to try to acquaint oneself
and interact with neighbours has become a fashion and fad.
Ritzy
malls and big department stores have become the new norm and changed people’s
shopping styles. People are rich in wealth but poor in mutual interaction,
health and culture, preferring to be choosy and aloof!
(R.SAMPATH)
(This
was published in THE ‘Timeout’ column of ‘The Indian Express’ dated 8.8.2008
under the caption ‘CHANGED FACE OF CHENNAI, ITS LIFESTYLES’.
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