Last week I went back to George Town after a hiatus of a couple of years. The place seemed to have got along well without me, barring a few landmarks that have silently vanished. What was heartening was that the Government Press (the old Mint premises) seems to have had an extensive makeover. The building was practically gleaming in a bright red though I felt the architects would have done better had they managed to introduce some more white bands by way of contrast.
Beauty Amid Squalor at the Mint
Standing outside the building and marvelling at its restored façade I could not help contrasting it with the extreme squalor and filth that surrounds the place. And yet, this is also where I felt the Government could create a heritage corridor, just as it is planning to along Poonamallee High Road/Periyar EVR Salai, from old MMC campus to Egmore station. Such a walk is practically in place and will only need signage and some sprucing up.
Mapping the Route: Royapuram to Broadway, via the Mint
This could begin at Royapuram railway station. From here the route should go to Madi Poonga – the park atop the old Town Wall. A plaque here could explain the extent of that protective enclosure as it existed once. Then as we proceed on Old Jail Road, we would come to Seven Wells Pumping Station. In contrast to the present tendency of locking the place behind high walls as though it holds defence secrets, this precinct needs to be opened up so that people can understand its significance in the water supply of our city.From here, the next stop would be Broadway – how it came about and its role as a once-upon-a-time retail hub of the city.
Stories of Survival: Monegar Choultry and Stanley Hospital
Walking along, we would come to Monegar Choultry – a great location to recount the famine history of Madras, relief measures and how the name Kanji Thotti came about. Adjoining this is the Stanely Medical College and Hospital where I am told some part of the old jail, and the town wall still survive. If this is so, they too could be brought into the route. The other option would have been the Bharathi Women’s College which retained its old jail buildings till recently.
But they have all been swept away to make way for a very ordinarily designed high rise. Who will today believe that this building had within it the history of the Madras Trades School which gave birth to the Central Polytechnic in Taramani?
The Case for a Museum at the Mint
Mint, where there ought to be a small museum in the Stationery Press premises on the history of coinage and printing in the city, would be the next stop. The Government Press spans a huge area and the historic old building in the front can surely be put to good use as a museum. Certainly, restoring and then locking it up as has been done now is a wasteful exercise.
The Forgotten Wall near the Mint
My next stop would be North Wall Road – not much to look at but certainly a quaint reminder of how the wall was once a presence all along this stretch. From here, Veeraswami Street, where Ramalinga Swamigal lived is but a step. For that matter, not far from here are Bishop Corrie School and Chapel Church as well. I would then take the walk past Wall Tax Road (another wall connect) and end at Moolakothalam which as the name suggests, was once a corner bastion of the wall.
A Legacy Packed in Two Kilometres
Just imagine, all this history along a stretch of just two kilometres or so. And a simple walk at that. Sometimes I feel we don’t appreciate the abundant heritage we are blessed with.
This article appeared in The Hindu–https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/a-heritage-walk-at-mint-from-royapuram-station-to-moolakothalam/article69570934.ece