Animal Farm

It was the last performance of "Animal Farm", performed by the Madras Players and the Stray Factory, at the Museum Theatre today. Had great seats (for a change) and so had a good time watching the performance!

Magic staffing

Ever wondered where to turn to when you are short of staff? If this sign is to be believed, it is just a matter of mumbling the correct incantations. I guess when you are really in a tight spot, any kind of magic is welcome!

First shot

Movie makers are by and large very superstitious and do not take many chances in the way of their movies being successful. Almost every film starts with a puja, which has become an event in itself these days. It is the done thing to can a shot at the puja. Sometimes that shot may not even make it to the final version of the movie, but it has to be done. 

The AVM Studios had a pillaiyar under a tree, which over the years became the default location for puja shot. Much later, another pillaiyar was also added on. That was in 2005, when AVM Productions split (for the third time in their 55-year history). And so this temple came up; apart from the pillaiyar as 'Selva Vinayagar', there is also a Durga and Murugan with his consorts.

When you enter the studio, this new shrine is the one that you get to see first. The split meant that it would be more convenient for each part of the studio to have a puja spot of its own!

Playful pundits

These kids are all dressed up to be a part of the procession reciting the nalayira divya prabandham at the chariot festival of Sri Narasimha Swamy at Triplicane. Once the procession started, it was difficult to spot these kids - they were lost in the fringes as the older men took over the vanguard of the procession.

While they were waiting, the boys were doing what every Indian boy would do. Discuss cricket. Demonstrating the art of bowling. And maybe reciting the vedas while doing so; that is not unusual, at least not for Triplicane's cricketers!

Legends are born?

The facade of a building when it was in the final stages of getting ready for occupation. All very Greco-Roman or whatever in its style, but have no clue of what this building is going to be used for. 

Anyone?

Serenity

The bronze gallery at the Chennai Museum is mainly given over to Hindu deities, but there are some wonderful pieces depicting Buddhist and Jain icons as well. Here is one such, showing the Buddha under the bodhi tree (it has to be the bodhi, isn't it?).

This one is from Nagapattinam and is dated to the 11th century CE. It is not usual for the Buddha to be shown with attendants, so that should make this one also a rare work of art!

Clock from elsewhere

If the design of the tiling on this clock tower seems familiar, it is because we have seen something similar here earlier. This clock tower is built on the fourth floor terrace of the building with the raised-above-road-level guards.  

Those guards seemed unusual, kind of out of place. This clock on this tower is also from a faraway place: Khambhat, in Gujarat. That should give you one more clue about where in Chennai this building is situated!

Grand spectacle

In his career spanning over 40 years, Vittalacharya made movies that brought every kind of fantasy to the cinema screen. Whether it was a story from some by-lane of mythology, or a tale of queens and kingdoms, Vittalacharya's films would bring in all those delectable horrors of poltergeists, talking animals, supernatural beings - every kind of 'special effect' that you could not think of - to the hall and all one had to do was to sit entranced.

Though he was born in Udupi and his films were mainly in Kannada and Telugu, Vittalacharya was based in Madras for most of his life. He did make a few Tamizh films as well, but I don't remember any of them performing better than Jaganmohini. It was originally made in 1951 in Kannada by one of Vittalacharya's partners in their venture 'Mahatma Pictures'. The Telugu version, also dubbed in Tamizh was made by Vittalacharya in 1978 and was a huge hit, running for nearly a year in the theatres. 

This block of flats stand where Jaganmohini's release would have been plotted. Vittalacharya lived and worked out of his house on Saravana Perumal Street in Purasaiwalkam. After his death in 1999, the house was sold and made way for these modern residences to come up. The curved balconies and decorated sunshades have surely been influenced by the touch of the master, who was once known as Mayajaala Mannan!

Back!

The 'Muscleman' is certainly one of the icons of Madras. And after a week away, it is nice to be welcomed back by the city's icons!

Small auditorium

The M.CT.M. Chidambaram Chettyar Matriculation School was established in 1981 in Mylapore. The school has been at the same premises since then. But in 2002, there was an addition to the school buildings. The Smt Sivakami Pethachi Auditorium is a multipurpose performance space, which can house about 500 people. 

It was a few Sundays ago. Nithyasree Mahadevan was performing that evening. It was open to all, so no wonder that the hall was quite full!

Self-goal?

Believe it or not, there is actually a law which is supposed to penalize those who 'disfigure' public places with 'advertisements' or 'objectionable advertisements'. The Chennai Metro has been trying to keep its pillars clean by scraping off the posters and cleaning any graffiti that appears on them. 

Wonder if this warning would fall under the purview of the Act it refers to!

Dragon-sky

Early morning, the clouds are running across the sky. And the dragonflies are also going crazy. There were hundreds of them flying around in the soft light of the morning, before the heat gets to them!

Elevated rail

At about half-past-eight on a weekday, you would expect the traffic on Mount Road at Guindy to be much denser. Maybe it was just an off-day, for it seems to be quite light. 

The tracks of the Chennai Metro are seen, at a height from the road. Once it is in operation, it is expected to further reduce the traffic congestion. On the evidence of this picture, there doesn't seem to be much need for it!

Bank office

When the banking sector was nationalised in India, fourteen commercial banks ended up in the hands of the Government of India. Of those, there were two that had been established in Madras - the Indian Overseas Bank and the Indian Bank. The latter was set up in 1907, following the crash of the Arbuthnot Bank, by V.Krishnaswamy Iyer, a lawyer of the Madras High Court. He was the moving force behind the Indian Bank, though it was sustained by Ramaswamy Chettiar and later, his younger brother Annamalai Chettiar.

Initially headquartered in George Town - the commercial hub of Madras - the bank moved to Royapettah much later. This new building came up less than 10 years ago; the bustle of Avvai Shanmugham Salai seems a rather unlikely location for the headquarters of one of India's largest banks; but there it is! 

Half and half

Half in the sun, and half in the shade. And the cows doing the same as well. This is certainly within the limits of Chennai city; don't let the cows fool you into thinking otherwise.

It is common practice in Chennai to have at least a shrine, if not a temple itself, for Vinayagar at the top of the 'T' where two streets intersect. The temple at this intersection of Vellala Street and Audiappa Street (from which we are approaching the temple) is dedicated to Karpaga Vinayagar. 

There is nothing remarkable about this temple. It is a recent one and is pretty much like hundreds of other temples in the city. Just that the half-light on it made it look interesting, that's all!

Saving water

It has been a little over a dozen years since the Tamil Nadu government amended the Chennai Metropolitan Area Groundwater (Regulation) Act of 1987. That amendment was carried through in a kind of tearing hurry, as the city's water reserves were almost exhausted. The law now required all buildings to ensure that they had made provisions for rainwater harvesting (RWH) and there was a phase of six months when the implementation was carried out vigourously. Buildings that passed muster had to have a notification indicating compliance displayed on their wall.

Most buildings displayed the notification in a discreet manner. Not this one, which has proudly proclaimed its status on this. For a moment, that basin seemed to be one of the components of the RWH process; but no, it is just a decorative piece - it doesn't even seem to hold the little bit of rainwater that has fallen into it!

Back gate

This was once the rear entrance to the students hostel of the Presidency College. The main entrance was on the Buckingham Canal, across the canal from the College itself. Of course, at the time this was constructed, the main entrance would have very scenic; open space, with the canal coursing through it. Across the water, the red-brick buildings of the College, with a hint of the beach, and the sea, beyond. 

These days, the Canal is more like a ditch. The MRTS blocks the clear view to the east of the hostel. I haven't tried the access to the hostel from the college, but chances are it is easier for the students to walk around and get in to their rooms through this gate!

Kerala cutting

Why do so many hair dressers in Chennai refer to Kerala in their names? Is it only because the founder is from Kerala? Or is there something more to it?

Oh really?

I don't know what it means. I don't know if it is a promise or a threat. I don't know what 'Singappore' is. 

You go ahead, change your food style. And wait for the plate!

By the way

"Ninaivale silai..." was a lovely song from 'Andaman Kadhali', a late 1970s film. The song was very popular in those days and it also attracted a controversy. There was a good deal of outrage over the pronunciation of the word "திருக்கோவிலே" (Thirukkovile - holy temple) in the song. It was claimed that the singer K.J. Yesudas was unable to say it correctly and that he sung it as "தெருக்கோவிலே" (Therukkovile - street temple), which somehow denigrated the temple.

It was that song which came to my mind when I saw this arch, leading to a temple. Although I did not go inside, I am sure this  would have been around in the 1970s. As you can make out, the temple does not seem to have any wall in front of it. You just walk off the street into the temple's foyer; and the main deities can be viewed - and prayed to - from the street itself, if you wish. 

The arch says "அருள்மிகு திருவீதியம்மன் ஆலயம்". (Sacred Holy-street-amman Temple), using a synonym of 'தெரு' for street; so, when it has taken over the entire street, it is okay to call it a street temple, I guess!

Buddha

The seated Buddha greets you at the entrance to the buildings of the Great Lakes Institute of Management in Manamai. Are symbols associated with the Buddha ubiquitous across educational institutions? Or B-Schools? I know one which has a "Bodhi Tree" on campus!

Corn on the beach

Evenings are cool enough these days for the grilled-corn sellers on the beach to do good business. Sometimes, just the sparks flying out of the corn griller makes the evening feel that much warmer!

Who was that?

The first thought that this must be a contracted version of Ravana Iyer; but Ravanan is not a very common name. And the only other instance that I have come across the contraction of "ier" is in the name of Veena Kuppier. 

But more interesting for me is the way in which the Tamizh form of the name is written. The third letter is written in a way that is quite different from what the modern script prescribes, which is for it to be written thus -  "ணை". Now, this change in the script happened in 1978, which gives us another of those old white on blue boards!

The name lives on

The obituaries section of yesterday's The Hindu had twenty-one identical anniversary inserts. Well, twenty were identical and the twenty-first had the same photograph as all others, but covered a much bigger area of the page. All of them paid homage to Janab Haji S. Madhar Sha on the fifth anniversary of his passing away. The largest one was from the firm that he founded - Madhar Sha Group - while all the others were mainly from textile wholesalers from various cities, including a few from as far away as Surat. 

It is still difficult to think of Madhar Sha as a person. Radio advertisements in the 1970s and 80s kept throwing the name of the firm at us so often that it took on a larger-than-life image. In those days, it was probably that large, being one of the very few retail textile and garments showrooms in the city. It was certainly the largest in Purasaiwalkam and continues to be a landmark in the area.

But for all that, it has been very difficult to find any information about the Janab. Even finding another photograph of the man seems to be impossible. Help out, anyone!

Display

At the Cholamandalam Artists' Village, visitors are not allowed to take pictures of the works inside the galleries. That is a big disappointment, but to make a mess of Keats, "...those unseen are brighter...". But they do allow you to take pictures of the exhibits and installations outside, and here is one of those. 

This one, by Keizo Ushio, and goes back to 1990. Titled 'Seven Thoughts', this granite sculpture took two years to be completed. Most likely, Ushio gifted this to the Cholamandalam Village in 1990, when he was invited to the 2nd International Sculpture Symposium in South India that year.

I am drawing a blank right now, but what do you think Ushio's thoughts were?

Level crossing?

On a rainy day, seeing the spelling on this sign makes one wonder if a train is going to pass this way!

Needs saving?

The Salvation Army has its Divisional Headquarters at Gangadeeswarar Koil Street in Purasawalkam. The Division referred to here is probably the state of Tamil Nadu; add Pondicherry, and that becomes the South-Eastern "Territory" in the Salvation Army's structure, with Territory Headquarters in Tirunelveli.

From the looks of the board and the building, some salvaging seems to be in order!

Old machine

When credit cards first came to India, these devices were used to 'swipe' the card - essentially taking a print of the details embossed on the plastic. I thought they had disappeared completely. 

But no. They are around. This one was being used in the lounge at the Chennai airport; the clack-clack of the imprinter running over the card and charge slip brought back memories. I don't think the Chennai airport is doing it for any concerns on privacy - unlike PF Chang's in the US, which, in June this year, turned to these readers in an effort to to safeguard their customers' data!

Rower

There is a short stretch of the Adayar river - not more than a couple of kilometres - where you will have a chance of seeing people using the river for recreation. The bridge over the river at Kotturpuram is a vantage point for such sights, and early morning or the evening, just as dusk is falling are the best times. 

That is when rowing members of the Madras Boat Club take their boats out for a spin. Haven't seen it being too crowded - there would not be more than four or five shells at the most, with the number usually being less than three. A single, a pair and maybe, just once in a while, a coxed four going through their practice sessions. Along this stretch, the Adayar is reasonably clean, even if it is slow-flowing.

It might not seem like much, but the practice here helps. Members of the Boat Club have gone on to represent India in several international competitions. The next time you go across the Kotturpuram bridge, watch the rowers closely. You just might end up seeing a future Olympic medallist practicing her craft!

Landmark

The building is called Cine City Hotels, firmly establishing the connection that this area has to the film world. If that is not enough, it has named its restaurant 'Kollywood Kitchen'. Kollywood, of course, is the moniker for the Tamizh movie industry, because it is centered around Kodambakkam. This hotel is right there in the middle of Kodambakkam; it has come up in the place where there used to be a landmark for movie makers, mostly from Kerala - Uma Lodge.

At the edge of United India Colony, Uma Lodge was close enough to the studios at Vadapazhani, without being so close as to the studios' presence overwhelming it. It was therefore a favourite spot for several young men - almost never women - aspiring to make their mark in the movie world. And many did make it big, even though there are likely several who continue to be on the fringes. It is not often that those who made it big talk about their time in Uma Lodge - but if I remember right, the movie Udhayananu Tharam makes a passing reference to it.

The list of Malayalam film makers who spent time at Uma Lodge, if it can be reliably compiled, will be long and distinguished. From what I have heard, it will include Srinivasan, Raveendran, Cochin Haneefa, Adam Ayub (and maybe Priyadarshan and Mohanlal as well?) and several other technicians. In the early 1970s, one of the residents of Uma Lodge - who had bagged a role in Thikkurissi Sukumaran Nair's 'Urvashi Bharathi' - would regale the others with his anecdotes from the sets; he was one of the earliest 'graduates' from Uma Lodge, who moved to a different orbit, going on to become not only a well-known actor, but, in the elections of 2014, a member of the country's Parliament - Vareed Thekkethala Innocent!

This month's theme is "Landmark": and Uma Lodge was certainly a landmark in its heyday. For landmarks from other cities around the world, head over to the CDP Theme Day Page!