As part of the Mylapore Festival, I am conducting a heritage walk down Radhakrishnan Salai, from the Mahatma Gandhi statue at the beach to the Music Academy. Now what is heritage about this stretch you may well ask. After all the road is now known for endless traffic jams, the City Centre mall, a rather peculiarly shaped multistoreyed building, several other glass fronted concrete monstrosities and a surviving bungalow or two. But in its time, this was where upper-class Madras brahmins lived. This was a tree-lined road and set far behind the thoroughfare were discreet bungalows, each with a tale to tell.
There were film producers, financiers, path-breaking widows, philosophers, film actresses and item-number specialists, Carnatic musicians, top-notch lawyers, Brahmins who converted to Christianity, judges with many children and wished they had none and judges who had no children and wished for some. There were top-order industrialists and eccentric doctors. Throw in a couple of architects, a novelist, a scientist with a Nobel to boot and his musician sister, their close friend a pioneering Montessori specialist and you have the old Edward Elliots (now RK) Road. At last count there are at least 40 historic personalities and institutions whose story is worth recollecting. And now there is practically nothing to commemorate their memory! Such is the way of the world.
If you are interested, come along and be at the Gandhi statue at 6.00 am on Sunday 9th. No registration fee as Mylapore Times wants it that way. Walk concludes by 8.30 am at the Music Academy signal.
Sriram,
My early memories of where the Gandhi statue is now. There was a lighted (color) fountain in the center of the intersection and the corporation band used to play there. There were two cement benches on either side to the beach entrance exactly where the Gandhi statue is today. There was a mobile canteen close to the entrance run by Modern Cafe with the best coffee, cashew nuts and potato chips. My great grandfather T.R. Venkataram Sastri who was then the Advocate General, lived on Edward Elliots Road and used to drive (was driven, to be correct)to the beach in the evening. Some of us kids got to ride with him in his Chrysler that had a “fluid drive” transmission. As kids, we used to marvel at the fact that there was no clutch and magically the car shifted by itself. Usually, TRV was accompanied by Rajaji and Right Honorable Srinivas Sastri. They used to sit on the bench and discuss (I can only guess now) topics like the Indian constitution, caste system and other issues of the day. Of course, we youngsters had no idea of the stature of these men or their role in the young republic. .
Best wishes for a great walk. My gues is this is going to be the best of your walks.
Girish
I wish I could go on this walk!
Dear Sriram V.
Wish you Happy New Year! I wished to participate in the Heritage walk but I was too late to know about it. I would like to be a part of your programme connected with our heritage and history.
I am now reading your book Carnatic Summer. Excellent. I am looking forward to your book on other stalwarts like Balamuralikrishna, S Kalyanaraman, Madurai Somu, MDR, Voleti, S Balachander, TNS and others.
It is a great service you are doing to the society. I wish you all the best.
If you have time, kindly read my rejoinder to the review of Abhishek Raghuram by G Swaminathan in the hindu.
Here is the link http://www.thehindu.com/arts/music/article1027192.ece
Thank you once again.
Sampat
Sriram,
Will you be writing about what exactly you covered, and perhaps throw in some pictures too? It will be great for those of us who could not be present for the walk.
Sudha