Last month, Zhayynn James called and asked if I could write a foreword for his book. I immediately asked if it was about the Nicholases. He replied that it was. The subject has long fascinated him. That is when he is not busy with his profession as a landscape architect or winning awards for photography.
You see, Zhayynn is the last of the Nicholases.
The Nicholas Family and Seven Wells
How a James traces his lineage to the Nicholases is something Zhayynn has explained to me patiently several times. Unfortunately, I always lose the thread somewhere along the way. What matters, however, is that his story takes us back to the 1780s in the history of Madras.
At the time, seven wells in the George Town area supplied water to Fort St George. Initially, bullock carts transported the water. Later, pipelines carried it directly to the Fort.
By then, the locality had acquired the name Seven Wells. This development came about through the efforts of George Baker, who profited greatly from the enterprise and eventually had a street in George Town named after him.
The Nicholas Who Saved Madras
In the 1780s, Madras faced a serious threat from Hyder Ali. The master strategist recognised that Seven Wells was the Fort’s vulnerable point. Located north of George Town, it stood some distance away from Fort St George and remained relatively isolated.
If the water supply could be cut off, Madras would become extremely difficult to defend. However, Hyder Ali had not reckoned with a Nicholas. J. Chartres Molony, in *A Book of South India*, describes him as “an Irishman of the eighteenth century, and by repute somewhat of a desperate character in his own country.”
According to Molony, this Nicholas protected the water supply during “the stormy days of Hyder’s raids.” In recognition of his service, he was appointed Custodian of the Seven Wells. Moreover, the title and its accompanying benefits remained with the family for 125 years.
The Nicholas Lineage
Molony identifies the hero as Sylvester Nicholas. However, H. D. Love, whose *Vestiges of Old Madras* remains the definitive history of the city, tells a slightly different story. According to Love, the name of the first Nicholas has been lost. Sylvester was actually the second in line.
Interestingly, Love does not mention the story of the first Nicholas defending the wells. Instead, he provides the family succession until 1905. Sylvester, nephew of the first Nicholas, served as guardian until his death in 1858. His son Joseph succeeded him and remained custodian until 1871.
Afterwards, E. A. S. Nicholas took charge and continued in the role until 1905.
Life at Seven Wells
By the time Molony arrived in Madras, the official custodianship had ended. Nevertheless, E. A. S. Nicholas, whose given name Molony records as Evelyn, still lived on the Seven Wells premises. Residence there was one of the privileges attached to the post. Another was a salary of ten pagodas a month.
In Sylvester’s day, this income comfortably supported a horse, a carriage, and even a palanquin. By Evelyn’s time, however, inflation had reduced its value considerably. There are also some inconsistencies in the historical accounts. Love states that the custodianship ended in 1905, which broadly fits the timeline beginning with Hyder Ali’s invasion in 1780.
The Nicholas family records, however, claim the period lasted from 1800 to 1925. This does not align with Molony’s account either. He clearly notes that the arrangement had already ended by the time he lived in Madras between 1914 and 1920.
The Keeper of the Wells
It was S. Muthiah who first introduced me to Zhayynn. Later, we invited him to speak during Madras Week on the history of the Nicholases. That brings me to the present. Zhayynn has now written a fictional work based on historical fact. Muthiah used to refer to this as the “faction” genre.
The book is titled *The Keeper of the Wells*. It is scheduled for release at Victoria Public Hall on July 11. In the novel, the first Nicholas finally receives a name—John. Interestingly, Zhayynn obtained this information from another Nicholas living overseas, who discovered it among family records.
Many members of the Nicholas family, incidentally, now rest in perpetuity at St Roque’s Cemetery in Old Washermanpet.
The Nicholases and Fictional Madras
When released, *The Keeper of the Wells* will join the growing body of fiction based on Madras. The earliest example that comes to mind is *In Old Madras* by Bithia Mary Croker, published in 1913. Its protagonist, Captain Mallender, arrives in Madras searching for a long-lost uncle.
S. Muthiah once encouraged me to read it. To my disappointment, I found very little of the city itself within its pages. In recent decades, however, several more works have appeared, particularly in Tamil. Madras has come alive in the writings of Jayakanthan and Ashokamitran, to mention only two.
I trust that Zhayynn’s work will add significantly to the English corpus when it appears.
This article appeared in The Hindu–https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/the-last-of-the-nicholases/article71081834.ece
My book, Chennai, A Biography can be ordered–http://My book, Chennai, A Biography can be ordered-https://sriramv.com/2021/12/27/how-to-buy-autographed-copies-of-chennai-a-biography-from-outstation/20.ece
