Heritage Tours conducted by Madras Musings to commemorate Madras Week 2011
20th August 2011 – Saturday – 6.45 am – The Wallajah Trail – a tour by van and foot for two hours in Triplicane and surrounding areas, to look at vestiges of the glory of the Nawabs of Arcot. The tour will be conducted by S Anwar, well-known photographer and documentary film-maker who has been studying the contributions of the Nawabs of Arcot in great detail. The tour will conclude with breakfast.
21st August 2011- Sunday – 6.30 am – The Studios of Kollywood – a tour by van and foot for two hours in Kodambakkam and Vadapalani, looking at some of the great studios in the world of South Indian films. Tour includes going into studios as well. The tour will be conducted by Mohan V Raman, veteran film and TV actor, who has been devoting hours of study into the history of Tamil films and speaks frequently on the subject. The tour will conclude with breakfast.
27th August 2011- Saturday – 6.00 am – The Magnates of Mount Road – A tour by van and foot for two and a half hours on how Mount Road developed as a downtown for the city with newspapers, jewellers, cinema theatres, restaurants and business houses making it their home. The tour will be conducted by Sriram V, Associate Editor of Madras Musings. The tour will conclude with breakfast.
28th August 2011- Sunday – 6.00 am – Meandering down Mint Street – One of the longest streets in the whole world according to some, this is one of the oldest thoroughfares of Madras. Come and see what makes it an area buzzing with life and a melting pot of several communities. The tour by van and foot for two and a half hours will be conducted by Sriram V, Associate Editor of Madras Musings and will conclude with breakfast.
All tours require booking and payment in advance. Please make your bookings through email (editor@madrasmusings.com). Charges for all tours is Rs 450 per head. Once you have made your booking, you will be intimated on where to make the payment and get further details.
Sriram,
In Ramachandra Guha’s “The makers of Modern India”, there is a brilliant essay by RamManohar Lohia in 1958 on the caste system. Mr. Lohia states ” Although only four percent of the population…. remarkable development is the the acquisition of economic power by the Tamil Brahmin. He has been increasingly buying up Mount Road from the retiring British.”
AKR (Madras Auto Service, now TVS),Anantharamakrishnan Simpson’s Higginbothams) and movie producer Narayana Iyengar (GKVale, TWA) are a few I can think of that owned choice properties.
Girish
Great to see the detailed article that let us know about our own past. Thanks for this great effort.