WE CARE FOR MADRAS THAT IS CHENNAI

MUSINGSVol. XXIV No. 19 January 16-31, 2015

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INSIDE

• Short ‘N’ Snappy

• A trail of hope

• Different villages

• Canal chronology

• The birth of MATSCIENCE

Buckingham Canalhighs and lows

(By The Editor)

� Like many other firsts, Madras also holds the record for the first ever racemeet in India. This was in 1780 and held on the Island. But it would appearthat Guindy was the area earmarked for racing as early as in 1777 when 81cawnies of land was taken from the villages of Velacherry and Venkatapuramfor the construction of a racecourse.

Almost from 1790 or so the Assembly Rooms on the racecourse were a land-mark of the city. William and Thomas Daniell did a painting of the building in1792. The racecourse stood to the left of the Assembly Rooms, where it still is,and according to the Daniells, “the amusement took place in the cool season,when the ladies of the settlement are invited to a splendid ball.” Racing in theearly years began at six in the morning and ended by ten so that people couldget to work. The sport received a setback during the Mysore Wars and wasrevived in 1804. Land amounting to 35 cawnies was added facilitating thelaying out of a second and smaller track meant for training horses.

It is not clear as to who managed the races in the early years. The MadrasRace Club was set up in 1837 and functioned till 1875 when the Prince ofWales, afterwards Edward VII, visited it. It faded thereafter, to be revived in1887 by Lt. Col. George Moore, President of the Corporation of Madras. Anew Madras Race Club came into existence in 1896, taking over the assetsand liabilities of the earlier one.

Racing suffered during the First World War but was revived in 1919 thanks tothe efforts of the Governor, Lord Willingdon. The Bobbili and Venkatagiristands were constructed a year later. The Guindy Lodge, built initially for theclub Secretary, and now the home of the Madras Race Club proper, came upin 1931.

An article on Guindy by the humorist S.V. Vijayaraghavachariar (SVV)appeared in The Hindu at around the time and this is what it had to say:

“Guindy is the place where races are held at stated seasons of theyear. On race days the whole city gets empty and congregates at thecourse, from HE the Governor of Madras down to Muniammal, thevegetable seller. A racecourse is the most democratic place in theworld. It would be nothing surprising if a Secretary to Governmentshould take Muniammal aside and request her to whisper in his earsthe name of the winner. And mind you, Muniammal knows the birth,upbringing and idiosyncrasies of every horse that runs in the race evenbetter than the owner himself. It is really staggering what an amountof money passes from the hands of visitors through the small aperturesof the ticket-selling windows. Guindy is the bottomless sink into whichall the wealth, earned or borrowed in the city, disappears withoutleaving a trace behind.”

SVV may have felt it was classless but going to the races was considered asocial grace in the upper echelons of society till at least the late 1960s. This wasalso the time when certain well-known figures of Madras society cut a dash atthe turf – M.A. Chidambaram (MAC) and the Janab Ravu JanardhanaKrishna Ranga Rao, the Zamindar of Chikkavaram, being two such. MACwas to be steward for long and it was at his initiative that classic races wereintroduced in Madras in the 1950s. In 1953 he united the five race clubs ofSouth India – Madras, Mysore, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Ooty – and formedthe Southern India Turf Club which, once again thanks to him, was recognisedby the Royal Calcutta Turf Club and the Royal Western India Turf Club. In

Madras Landmarks

– 50 years ago

The importance ofbeing smart

The water in it may be fairlystagnant at least as far as

the city is concerned but, whenit comes to news about it, theBuckingham Canal is full forhighs and lows. Within the lastfortnight we have had hearten-ing and disappointing news –there are plans for its revitali-sation and, at the same time, aninsensitive public is doing itsbest to pollute the few survivingpristine portions of the waterbody.

Late last December the Cen-tral Government announcedthat it was keen to revamp theCanal, in particular the portionthat runs between Chennai andYanam. This declaration wasmade on the occasion of theopening of the new regionaloffice of the Department ofInland Waterways, located inVijayawada. It is learnt that acomprehensive survey of theCanal will be taken up at theearliest. It is also understoodthat the Centre is aware thatconsiderable amount of moder-nisation of the Canal will have (Continued on page 8)

to be undertaken if it is to bemade navigable for ferryingpassenger and industrial andagricultural produce. At a timewhen the road network in thecountry is coming under greatstrain, the canal can be a viablealternative especially for goodsthat do not have to be trans-ported very quickly. It is to benoted that the Canal can serveto transport nearly 15 milliontonnes of goods along its route.The Centre’s survey will coverthe three States of Tamil Nadu,Andhra Pradesh and Pondi-cherry.

Preliminary studies haverevealed that encroachmentsand silting have narrowed thecanal considerably along mostof its route. Originally plannedto be 32 metres wide, it is atmany places less than 6 metres.The depth which was to bemaintained at 2.5 metres, is lessthan a metre now. The locks,which at one time maintained

water levels in the canal evenduring low tides, have mostlydisintegrated. In any case theseneed to be replaced for theywere designed for much smallervessels. But with the Centrepledging Rs. 2000 crore for therevival of inland waterways, allthis should not be an issue.What is needed is speedy execu-tion of the whole project. Muchwill depend on whether the De-tailed Project Report is com-pleted as planned by June thisyear.

And now for the bad news.As is well known, our city hasbeen one of the major contribu-tors to the destruction of thiscanal. Used as a sewage chan-nel for long, the last nail on itscoffin was the construction ofthe Mass Rapid Transport Sys-tem on the canal bed. Thatblocked the waterway for goodand destroyed all hopes of itsrevival. But with the MRTSrunning only within the old citylimits and the canal extending

It is just a fortnight since webrought you the news that a

national magazine surveyplaced Chennai at the top ofthe chart on the liveabilityindex. We now have the otherside of the tale to tell – when itcomes to the digital divide.Chennai ranks very low onInternet connectivity and alsofacilities that are availableonline.

This finding has come tolight following the expiry of thedeadline set by the Centre forthe States to nominate theirsmart cities. A national dailybased outside of Chennai hassome rather depressing statistics

to report – out of 11.64 lakhproperty owners in the city only70,000 pay their taxes online,10 per cent of electricity con-sumers pay their bills online andout of 7.35 lakh buildings withwater connections, just about60,000 use the online paymentfacility. The record when itcomes to public transport iseven worse – out of 3,600 busesplying in Chennai, only 50 haveglobal positioning systems(GPS) installed and out of 1800bus stops just a handful have

digital signboards that give up-dated information on bus ar-rival timings.

Compare this with what ishappening in other cities –Bangalore is working overtimeto meet its self-imposed dead-line of installing GPS in all6,500 of its buses within thisyear, Ahmedabad is setting upclusters where free internetconnectivity will be availableand Delhi police is workingwonders on mobile applicationsfor smart phone users – there isan app to report lost propertyand there is another one for

(Continued on page 6)

� by A Special

Correspondent

(Continued on page 8)

(Also see page 6)

2 MADRAS MUSINGS January 16-31, 2015

The Man from MadrasMusings was delighted to

see the latest initiative by theCorporation of Chennai. It hasput up signboards all along theflyovers, after it has finishedpainting them a garish greenwhich, incidentally, is said tobe the favourite colour of thosewho matter. These signboardsrequest those who paste post-ers on public walls to thinkbefore they do so, for theflyover has been painted withthe money that comes from thetaxes paid by those who pasteposters. Thus far, the appealappears to have had its effect,for the flyovers that MMM isfamiliar with have remainedposter-free.

However, MMM does havesome differences of opinionwith those who came up withthis idea for deterring theposter nuisance. Firstly, dothose who actually paste post-ers on walls pay any taxes?Highly unlikely is MMM’sview for these are the peoplewho belong to the fringes ofsociety. And so how does theCorporation aim to protectpublic walls from them? Sec-ondly, do those people whocommission these posters payany taxes? That too is highlydebatable. The biggest offend-ers are the political variety, and

leading the battle against post-ers? MMM is certain that thevarious publishing houses ofthe city definitely pay theirtaxes but when it comes toputting up posters their recordis not particularly edifying. Thelatest issues of the vernacularmagazines in particular arewidely advertised by means ofposters and these are to befound everywhere.

Lastly, by putting up thissignboard, is the Corporationstating that public propertyalone is to be spared of postersand private walls can be usedwith impunity? That is a matterto ponder over. But having said

all that, MMM is of the viewthat the latest signs are verymuch an improvement on theold ‘Stick No Bills’ or ‘ThosePasting Posters will beProsecuted’.

Driving up, and down

The Man from MadrasMusings has in the past

lamented about the state of thespeed breakers on our cityroads. The lack of standardi-sation in curve, slope, widthand texture has been dealt within detail. So also has the lack ofmarkings to indicate that aspeed breaker is lurking on aparticularly dark stretch ofroad. But before you go on tothe next article with a mutteredcomment about how MMMhas lost it and is repeating him-self, lend him your eyes a little,for MMM now writes of thenew kind of speed breaker thathas manifested itself.

MMM is fairly sure that youhave come across it. It is broadunlike the earlier ones thatwere sharply curved. But suchis its width that it gives you thefeeling that you are climbing upa hill. If you are in a car, every-one is thrown back as thevehicle makes the ascent. Ifyou are on a two-wheeler andyou hit the up slope with somespeed, chances are that youtake off like a rocket and landin the next postal district.

Pleas against postersOnce you have climbed to

the top, it is best that you tarrya while. This is to let yourheart rest and get its beat ratedown to normal. Most vehiclespause here anyway, for at aparticular spot on the summit,they attain a kind of equilib-rium, with the entire chassispoised evenly as on a fulcrum.You can also get a good viewof the scenery of the surround-ing countryside. But then allgood things have to come to anend. You can’t stay on for toolong anyway for those behindwill be coming up and wantingtheir share of the air at the top.And so you begin the descent.Here again it is advised that allregulations that apply to aroller coaster need to befollowed. Expectant mothers,elderly people or those withlumbar or cardiac problemsare advised to say theirprayers, as also those who aresusceptible to motion sick-ness. The only advantage incoming down is that it isinvariably quick and you canalways see what lies ahead ofyou, which is not always thecase during the ascent. Butthere is one thrill that awaitsyou as you come down. Thearea beside the speed breakerbeing at a lower level, aconsiderable amount of water

Eco-friendly dry toilets

“In Madras Musings, Febru- ary 1, 2005, I wrote,” says

reader K.V.S. Krishna: “Theplantation companies in SouthIndia have long been providinglatrines for workers according tothe Plantation Labour Act.

“For example, dry-pit la-trines are provided by the man-agement. A later version has a1.5’ to 1.75’ bore hole dugmanually to a depth of 15’ or20’. On top of this is mounted acylindrical concrete monobloclatrine which usually has a 36”internal diameter and is 6’ high,with the top and bottom con-crete slabs fused together. Thebottom has an opening alignedto the bore.

“These cylindrical mobiletoilets can be refixed, after thebore is filled with sullage, on anew bore within minutes.When the second bore is filled,the first bore can be cleared ofnight soil (used as manure) andrefixed on the same bore hole.

“These cylindrical toilets canbe made with just two bags ofcement, jally, sand and steelrods for reinforcement. In 1975,they cost Rs. 150 when normaltoilets cost Rs. 350-400.

“The dry pit toilets can alsobe made with Indian-style seatsfor wet use. The sullage iscleared as in the dry toilet byhaving two bores, five feetapart, and two drain pipes at-tached to each of them. How-ever, where contamination ofsoil is likely, a septic tank canbe specially designed to recoverthe sullage as manure.

“One particular design that Isaw years ago was the Chinesemodel of a mobile toilet meantfor rural areas. The toilet ismounted on a plough so as toopen a furrow. After use, thetoilet is pulled 1.5’-2’ forwardsso that the faecal matter is cov-ered by fresh soil. Everytime thetoilet is used, it is moved for-ward by about two feet. A fam-ily of five can get it to move 12-14 feet a day, or 4,500 feet ayear. This system saves water,does not produce sullage but re-sults in field manure and thereis no room for groundwater con-tamination.

“The agricultural engineer-ing departments attached to ag-riculture colleges can reinventthis mechanism. Obviously, thissystem can only be used in farmsand rural areas.”

He now adds:

These cylindrical monoblocconcrete latrines can be modi-fied by Industry for use inestates, industry or villages withbore hole or flush-out latrinesfor Indian style or even West-ern style system.

Additionally, they can beprefabricated and transportedto site and installed within a dayor two, even a few hundreds ofthem at a time.

Each district can haveseveral “Government Con-trolled Manufacturing” units, soas to reduce cost of transportand cost of each unit.

Fixing 500 million units in ayear will not be difficult, butcreating a manufacturing basein over 1000 districts or moreneeds a proper plan, which ourengineers can easily do.

Private enterprises too canbe encouraged to do this withsuitable monitoring. Then thereare those special movable toiletsmounted on ploughs for farmsto convert faecal matter tonight soil, a useful way to addorganic matter to the soil.

This was implementedduring the 1970s in CentralTravancore.

K.V.S. Krishna2A, Parkland Apartments

Kamala Bai StreetT. Nagar, Chennai 600 017

Poster culture

About ten years back thewalls along Anna Salai

from Nandanam Junction toGolf course were paintedbeautifully and I used to standand enjoy their aestheticbeauty. They depicted the ruralambience of Tamil Nadu.Gradually they got washed awayby rains and atmosphericpollution. At that point of timethe walls of Golf course werepermanent urinal spot andpeople used to stop their bikesand cycles and ease themselveson those spots.

Now these walls have beentaken over by the cinema andpolitical posters.The walls alongChamiers Road upto Turnbullflyover have the maximumdisfiguration. Cinema stars andpolitical leaders who havejoined the Clean Indiacampaign with great fanfare canperhaps do something to bringabout a better sense of aware-ness.This wall poster cultureappears to be unique to TamilNadu, unlike to other parts.

T. Santhanamtyagasanth@gmail.com

SHORT ’N’ SNAPPY

these are largely men andwomen from outstation whospend money on posters andcutouts featuring their city-based political top bosses. Theposters of the film industryclosely follow these. Thereagain, taxes are a sensitive sub-ject. Next come the postersfeaturing the dear departed.These posters, depicting twoweeping eyes around a photoof the deceased, are againsensitive subjects. MMMexpects those who order printruns on this theme to be sogrief stricken that taxes areperhaps the last topic on theirminds. MMM however is notso sure of those posters thatare put up to commemoratethe first (and second and thirdand so on) anniversary of thedeceased.

A new variety of offendersis the Sabha or classical musicorganisation. MMM is ratherpuzzled as to what joy thesecretary of a Sabha gets byputting up posters of artisteswhich are then chewed by ourfour-legged brethren or uri-nated upon by the two-leggedvariety. But this is a recenttrend. MMM doubts if tax is arelevant topic in this industrytoo. It is notorious for low feesat least on paper by whichMMM does not mean posterpaper.

What of the media whichrightfully speaking ought to be

accumulates at the base when-ever it rains. You therefore notonly descend with a splash,you also liberally douse any-one else who is around. Allthis for free. To think peoplewere paying through theirnose at aqua themed parks forthe same kind of experience.Given that ours is a welfarestate, it was but to be expectedthat the powers that be wouldgive us, apart from food, gas,medicine, entertainment andinformation, some good cleanfun also for free.

Once you are on theground there is no time torelax, for these speed breakerswere evidently designed bythose who specialised inputting up amusement parkswith thrilling rides. More oftenthan not, another of the samekind follows this sort of aspeed breaker at a very shortdistance. Like the animals inNoahs ark, these go about intwo and two.

Oh, yes, and before MMMsigns off on this story let himwarn you. There is still nostandardisation on the mark-ings for these speed breakers.Several become evident onlywhen you hit them and yourvehicle rises sharply in the air.If you do experience this, it isbest to keep your seat beltfastened and pray for freedomfrom air turbulence.

– MMM

Signboard at a flyover

January 16-31, 2015 MADRAS MUSINGS 3

The name JealousThe opening lines in The

Chief’s Madras Miscellanycolumn in The Hindu Metroplussupplement of December 15,2014 read: ‘When VirginiaJealous speaks to members ofthe Madras Book Club thisevening she might report thatmidst all the tall grass in theunkempt St. Mary’s Cemeteryon The Island she found thetombstones of Adele FlorenceNicolson and Lieutenant Gen-eral Malcolm Nicolson.’

And, as life and luck wouldhave it, that’s precisely whattravel writer, poet and essayist,Virginia Jealous, announcedthat evening at the MadrasBook Club event.

It’s great when Life decidesto show off, revealing its abilityto evoke that perfect touch ofdrama that reinforces Human-kind’s eternal belief that thereare such things as ‘special mo-ments’… unscripted, sudden,miraculous even… or just plainfun.

In the past few weeks, muchhas been written, both here inMadras Musings and elsewhere,on Virginia Jealous, her fatherJohn Jealous, and the latter’s at-tempts to unearth the story ofRaj-days poet ‘Laurence Hope’,a pseudonym used by AdeleFlorence Nicolson – yes, we’reup to speed on all of that.

Now, your own connect withLaurence Hope is almost non-existent. Almost, because,without having a clue abouttheir origin, you have comeacross the words: ‘Pale Hands ILoved Beside the Shalimar…’,the opening line of her most fa-mous poem, ‘Kashmiri Song’.Except that it was through acharacter in a P.G. Wodehouse,as he ‘…sat in the bath tubsoaping a meditative foot, andsinging, if I remember it cor-rectly, ‘Pale Hands I loved be-side the Shalimar,….’ hardly adeeply revealing introduction.

That evening, the BookClub meet was about Virginia’sjourney, a daughter’s tribute toher father’s magnificent obses-sion, following his trail, tracingthe life of Adele FlorenceNicolson, aka Laurence Hope.

John Jealous first came toMadras in 1989 on the trail ofLaurence Hope, and had, infact, found her grave, alongsideher husband’s, during that visit.

Looking back, how did thisparticular obsession ever begin?

“I went to live in Australiain ’83, and my father wasn’t re-ally interested in LaurenceHope back then,” Virginia Jeal-ous, in a pretty floral kurta, isrelaxed, smiling….she’s just fin-ished addressing the MadrasBook Club. A friend remarksthat Virginia reminds her a bitof Meryl Streep. “But, by aboutthe late 80s, he was obsessedwith the thought of finding out

A trail of hopemore about Laurence Hope. Hetravelled in the Middle East, Iremember, and he becamefriends with an Indian gentle-man, Partha, a friendship thatlasted for more than 25 years. Ithink it was Partha who intro-duced my parents to the worksof writers from India.”

Virginia, who is described assomeone who ‘lives out of asuitcase’, has travelled exten-sively, written guide books forLonely Planet, and publishedessays and collections of poetry.

Hidden World, a compilationof her poems which grew out ofa three-month Asialink writingresidency in India in 2012, waspublished by Hallowell Press in2013.

Virginia has presented talksand participated in writers’ fes-tivals in India, Singapore andAustralia.

Laurence Hope was the ‘sec-ond love’ of her father’s life, saysVirginia.

Hope’s last collection of po-ems, published by Heinemann,was put together in 1904 inMadras.

Her work dealt with passion,sex, loss, death, longing and for-

worldliness about her; yet herdirect, searing gaze must havedisconcerted the men aroundher, used to perhaps very differ-ent treatment. Her nicknamewas ‘Violet’, thanks to her vio-let eyes. She wore her hair infringe bangs, and wore bangles,sarees, and was mostly comfort-able reclining, barefoot, on asofa, while smoking.

She also liked dressing uplike a Pathan Boy.

No one knows why she chosethis particular pseudonym. Butchoose she had to, given that itjust wasn’t okay back then for awoman to write the way shewrote.

Laurence Hope, says Vir-ginia, was “extraordinarily fa-mous” by 1901.

By 1904, she was dead.The couple, having realised

that they were most at home inIndia, left their only son in En-gland, as was the practice inthose times, and settled downnear Calicut. Tragedy thenstruck, with a routine surgerygoing horribly wrong, resultingin the General’s death. Friendsin Madras looked after Adele,tried to comfort her. But on 4th

Recalling certain lines inLaurence Hope’s poems, whichspeak of a lonely place with sun-shine and the sea, Veronica saysshe had to fight back tears whilewalking around the property,gazing at tiles dating back tomore than a century, imaginingLaurence Hope walking onthem. Tender passion seems tofollow the poet, now in the formof graffiti on the old walls, tell-ing of tales of love in the presenttime: “Arjun loves so-and-soforever….”

Hope’s most famous poem:Kashmiri Song was set to musicaround 1902 by Amy Wood-forde-Finden, a composer well-known for her ability to link di-verse cultures through music,and from then on till 1945, thesong was heard in tea housesand parlours, becoming adrawing room standard. TheChief, in his welcome address,recalls hearing the song inLondon.

Rudolph Valentino has sungit. And now Finden’s great-granddaughter sings a modernversion.

The years haven’t reducedthe poignancy of the words. Thelonging remains, sighing thatwhile love never goes, it can,and does, go horribly wrong.

And Laurence Hope prefersDeath to Farewell.Pale hands I loved beside the

Shalimar,Where are you now? Who lies

beneath your spell?Whom do you lead on Rapture's

roadway, far,Before you agonise them in fare-

well?I would have rather felt you round

my throat,Crushing out life, than waving me

farewell!

The poem first appeared inHope's first collection of poems,‘The Garden of Kama (1901)’,also known as India's Love Lyr-ics. The illustrations that ac-companied her work were doneby people with little or no expe-rience of India, and so were fullof stereotypes of what the stay-

at-home British imagined Indiato be like.

Laurence Hope was thehighest selling poet in the earlypart of the 20th century, in bothUK and in USA, the music add-ing a lease of life to her poetry.Then, in 1945, she disappearedfrom the scene. The worldchanged, and she went out offashion.

Perhaps what keeps the in-terest going is the fact that sovery little is known about her.She has always been a mystery,so theories and rumoursabound. Of affairs. Of possiblelesbian relationships. Her bestknown poem had people specu-lating about a fling with ayoung, unknown Kashmiri.Somerset Maugham based hisstory, ‘The Colonel’s Lady’ onher life and work. Over theyears, there has been someimaginative writing on her, like‘That Bloody Female Poet (abook before Google)’ by TimOrchard.

Her son, Malcolm, did in-herit her effects. With access toearly manuscripts, he wrote aplay based on his mother’s life,‘An Unusual Woman’.

A very reclusive person,Malcolm Nicolson moved toMajorca.

Years later, the BBC tried tomake a documentary on the lifeof Laurence Hope, but with nosuccess. Virginia admits thereappears to have been a certain‘Family Silence’ firmly in place.

Malcolm died last year – inhis 80s. His care-giver,Alejandro, inherited all thedocuments, with little ideawhat to do with all the unpub-lished material he found inboxes in the attic.

Virginia and Alejandro arenow in touch with each other.

“I have all the facts withoutobjects, and he had all the ob-jects without the facts.”

Virginia plans to go toMajorca. Her father’s dream ofwriting a book on his pet obses-sion was never fulfilled….

� by Ranjitha Ashok

Virginia smiles in perfect understanding when you, like a million before you probably, ask about her extremely unusual

surname.“My father spent some time tracing family history, and

compiling the family tree,” she replies. “He had a theory of howwe came by this name, and believed it may have come to Englandin the 17th century with the Huguenots, who were craftsmen inwood, well known as lattice makers in particular. ‘Lattice’ inFrench is ‘jalousie’, so perhaps the name grew out of aprofession, which in time may have morphed into ‘Jealous’. It isa good story, isn’t it? Better than being given this name becauseyou were a jealous person!!” she laughs.

A search through Wikipedia reveals that slats, or louvers, inwindows, called ‘Jalousie’ in France, not only kept out harshsunlight, but also the gaze of jealous, prying eyes – la jalousie,probably so named as they permitted one to see without beingseen.

The Chief, overhearing this conversation, points out that weuse the word ‘jaali’ here.

The Laurence Hope effect – everything connected with her –seems to lead to further information-seeking quests.

– RA

bidden love. A 1910 review usesthe words ‘feverish abandon’ todescribe her writing.

Here are some lines from herpoem, Afridi Love:Some one who took last night his

fill of pleasure,As I took mine at dawn! The knife

went homeStraight through his heart! God

only knows my raptureBathing my chill hands in the

warm red foam.

You can’t help thinking thismust have raised eyebrows inEdwardian London.

Laurence Hope was bornAdele Florence Cory in 1865.Her father was Colonel ArthurCory, employed in the BritishArmy at Lahore, where he waseditor of the Lahore arm of TheCivil and Military Gazette.

Her sister, Annie SophieCory, went on to becoming theauthor of racy, exotic novels,under the pseudonym ‘VictoriaCross(e)’.

This seems to have been afamily that created, for its time,an amazingly supportive envi-ronment for its rather remark-able daughters.

In her early 20s, Adele metand married the much olderLieutenant General MalcolmNicolson, well into his 40s. Sta-tioned in India, she appears tohave re-defined the term:‘Army wife’. A photograph inVirginia’s audio-visual presen-tation shows a woman with acertain air of remote other-

October 1904, at 4.30 pm shecommitted suicide, swallowingmercury. A verdict of suicide,‘while insane’ was brought in.She was 39.

She was buried in St Mary’s,Madras, next to her husband.

While John Jealous, back in’89, had found well-tendedgraves, Virginia, in 2014, foundthe going more difficult, andhad to search for the graves ex-tensively, with the help of Rajawho, by one more of those play-ful coincidences, happens to bethe son of the old caretaker whohad once helped her father. Shefinally found them on the morn-ing of December 15, 2014….not so well-tended this time.

Virginia admits that her fa-ther had died before her owninterest in this search peaked.You get the feeling that thissearch seems to be as much forher father as it is for the longgone poet.

You are told of DunmoreHouse, here in Alwarpet, whereAdele and her husband livedbriefly. The house no longer ex-ists, and part of the propertysurrounding it became, decadeslater, Venus Studios, and is nowVenus Colony. You can’t helpthinking Laurence Hope, giventhe central motif in her work,would have been amused by thehappy aptness of this name.

Virginia followed the trail toCalicut, and found their house,10km out of town, using a 1995sketch made by her stepmother. (Continued on page 6)

Mawlynnong – Asia’s cleanest village

Mawlynnong, a small village in Meghalaya, was awarded the prestigious tag of ‘Cleanest Village inAsia’ in 2003 by Discover India magazine. Located at about 90 km from Shillong, the village offers askywalk for you to take in the beauty as you explore it. According to visitors, you cannot find a singlecigarette butt/plastic bag lying around anywhere.– (Source: Flickr).

Punsari – the village with WiFi, CCTVs, AC classrooms and more

Punsari, in Gujarat, puts most metros to shame. Funded by the Indian Government and the village’sown funding model, Punsari is no NRI-blessed zone. The village also boasts of a mini-bus commutesystem and various other facilities. – (Source: Dainik Bhaskar).

Why can’t Tamil Naduvillages aim to be like these?� India, having an agro-based economy, depends the most on itsvillages for growth. The gaon always has a distinct nostalgic charm.But as India becomes urbanised, the villages are, unfortunately,deteriorating. Poverty, lack of education, lack of sanitation, etc. arewhat we now associate with villages. Tamil Nadu, despite its ratingas one of the best States in the country, is no exception to this.

There are, however, increasing examples of villages that aredifferent. These ten villages featured here could even make metrosblush. Can’t Tamil Nadu villages emulate these, showing examplesof rural progress?

– THE EDITOR(Dr. Y. Ramalinga Sarma sent us this feature which he states was sourced from

BABA-MAIL)

Hiware Bazar – The village of 60 millionaires

Hiware Bazar, in the Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra, has transformed from being a placefraught with issues to being possibly the richest village in India. The sole reason for this fairy-tale changeis one man called Popatrao Pawar. He banned all addictive substances to minimise expense and encour-aged the villagers to invest in rainwater harvesting, milch cattle, etc. There are a record 60 millionairesin the village and barely any poor. From 168 Below Poverty Line families in 1995, Hiware Bazar nowhas just three. The villagers continue to strive to see a day when not one person is poor (Source: HiwareBazar).

Dharnai – First fully solar-powered village

Dharnai, a village in Bihar, beat 30 years of darkness by developing its own solar-powered system forelectricity. With the aid of Greenpeace, Dharnai declared itself an energy-independent village last July.Students no longer need to limit their studies to daytime, women no longer limit themselves to steppingout only in the day in this village of 2400 residents. (Source: Greenpeace).

Chappar – a village that distributes sweets when a girl is born

Chappar village in Haryana has a woman Sarpanch. But Neelam is no ordinary Sarpanch. She hasmade it her life’s mission to change the attitude of the villagers towards women, and she has succeeded.Not only do the women of the village not wear the ghunghat any more, but despite Haryana being theState with the lowest girls ratio (an abysmal 877), every newborn in this village, regardless of its sex, iswelcomed into the world with sweets and festivities (Source: Youth Connect Mag).

Korkrebellur – A village that really loves its birds

Korkrebellur, a small village in Karnataka, believes in the conservation of nature. While most othervillages consider birds a nuisance because they harm crops, Kokrebellur boasts of rare species of birdsthat fly around and don’t even mind humans much. The villagers treat their winged compatriots asfamily and have even created an area for wounded birds to rest and heal. (Source: Flickr).

Ballia – the village that beat arsenic poisoning with indigenous method

Ballia village of Uttar Pradesh had an itchy problem to deal with. The water that the villagers weredrinking contained arsenic, which caused serious skin problems and even physical deformation. What isarsenic, you ask? A harmless element on its own, but when combined with oxygen or water, it turnstoxic. Ironically, the village faced the problem after the government introduced many hand-pumps in thearea for easy water access. The level at which the hand-pumps were dug led to excessive interactionbetween arsenic and water. When the villagers realised what had happened, instead of waiting for thegovernment to act on it, they (physically) fixed their old wells and went back to an older, safer time.(Source: The Better India).

Pothanikkad – The village with a 100% literacy rate

Unsurprisingly, in Kerala, Pothanikkad village was the first in the country to achieve a 100% lit-eracy rate. Not only does the village boast of city-standard high schools, but it also has primary schoolsand private schools. Guess the number of people the village has educated? Well, according to the 2001census, there are 17,563 residents living in the village and all of them are considered literate! (Source:Deokothamangalam).

Bekkinakeri – the village that rid itself of open defecation by‘greeting’ lota-bearers

Bekkinakeri village in Karnataka has redefined the point of wishing someone a ‘Good morning’.Frustrated with the practice of open defecation, the village council attempted to curb it by requestingpeople not to do so. When that didn't work, they stationed themselves early morning near ‘popular’defecation sites and wished every perpetrator a very good morning. The trick worked! Too embarrassedto go on with their business, the openly defecating population has now stopped the practice completely(Source: World Bank).

Shani Shingnapur – A village so safe that people don’t need doors

Shani Shingnapur, in Maharashtra, is a village that defies every newspaper report you have everread. Touted as the safest village in India, this place is known for its lack of doors to houses. Not justthat, there is no police station in the village. And Shani Shingnapur has ‘broken’ another interestingrecord. The village has now the country's first lockless bank branch (UCO Bank). (Source: WomanPlanet).

4 MADRAS MUSINGS January 16-31, 2015 January 16-31, 2015 MADRAS MUSINGS 5

6 MADRAS MUSINGS January 16-31, 2015

(Continued on page 8)

In 1800, the Government (the Board of Revenue) was anxious tobuild a navigable canal from Ennore to Madras by connecting

many large and small water bodies, utilising the seasonal riverElambore. Certain people who had a monopoly in the salt tradeshowed interest, but the Governor was not in favour. However,the project was advertised in the Gazette of December 1801.

A person called Heefke responded to the advertisement and itsconditions, which allowed him to collect a reasonable toll for 45years, apart from enjoying some other privileges from the Govern-ment.

The inception of the Canal was thus due to a private enterprise.In 1801, Heefke, with one Basil Cochrane as security, obtained aconcession from the Government. He commenced the excavationof a canal, for small craft, from the northwest Blacktown wallthrough strips of land and shallow backwaters from Madras toEnnore, a distance of 11 miles.

The work was finished in 1806 by Cochrane who, in 1802, hadobtained the entire control of the Canal. This portion was namedCochrane’s Canal. This canal was soon afterwards extended by himto Pulicat Lake, 25 miles north of Ennore.

The canal remained the property of Cochrane till 1837, when

How the BuckinghamCanal was born

� Several people have over the years wantedaccurate details about the BuckinghamCanal. D.H. RAO, who has been delving inthe archival records, provides the detailedstory of the Buckingham Canal.

(Continued from page 1)

MadrasLandmarks

he left India, leaving its management to Arbuthnot & Co. It wasthen taken over by the Government, who paid CochraneRs. 14,061 a year till 1847, the date of expiry of his lease. Govern-ment then paid him compensation and took over the canal. In1852, extensive improvements to the existing line of canal andfurther northward extension were undertaken. In 1854 the firstlock was built at Sadayankuppam. By 1857, the canal had beenextended to Durgarayapatnam, 69 miles north of Madras. It wasthen called the East Coast Canal.

At the same time, a new canal was excavated from the AdyarRiver southwards for a distance of 35 miles from Madras by joiningthe backwaters along the coast.

By 1876, the North Canal had been extended to Krishnapat-nam, 92 miles from Madras. The next year, a fresh impetus wasgiven to extending the canal as a measure of famine relief to thepoor, and the canal was extended up to the Pennar River, 114miles north of Madras. About the same time, the Junction Canalwas excavated, within Madras city, to connect the Cooum andAdyar Rivers, the starting points of the North and South Canalsrespectively. The extension of the canal to the northern limit atPeddaganjam was completed in 1878, and its extension to thesouthern limit at Marakkanam was completed in 1882. The canalwas then renamed the Buckingham Canal.

Soon after the completion of the excavation of the entire canal,it was found that it was fit only for navigation at high tide by smallcraft. This state of affairs necessitated an entire reconsideration ofthe design. Between 1883 and 1891, flood gates and diversion ca-nals in some places were added. By the end of 1897, locks had beenconstructed along the whole length of the Canal, with provisionfor passing upland drainages across the Canal, so as to retain asurface water level approximating the level of the highest prevail-ing tide.

When the Canal was completed it was approximately 265 miles(420 km) long.

A chronology

North Canal

1800-02 Preparations for a navigable canal by Government.1802 Heefke given the work to ‘cut’ a canal from Ennore to

Madras. Work starts from northwest bastion of BlackTown wall towards Ennore River.

1806 Reaches Ennore Lake and then Pulicat Lake, 40 km.1837 Cochrane leaves India, but continues to get lease

amount through his agents, Arbuthnot & Co.1847 Government takes over Canal.

1854 First lock at Sadayankuppam (near Ennore)1857 Reaches Durgarayapatnam (Armagaon), 112 km.1876 Reaches Krishnapatnam, 147 km.1877 Reaches Pennar River (famine period), 182 km.1878 Reaches Peddaganjam – connecting Krishna-Godavari

Canal, 297 kmExtended upto Cooum River in MadrasCalled “North Canal” – length 315 km (196 miles)

South Canal1857 A new canal excavated from Adyar River towards

Papanchavadi and further south, joining large waterbodies, 56 km.

1878 Papanchavadi to Palar River (Sadras) completed.1882 Reaches Marakkanam lake, 123 km1882 Named ‘Buckingham Canal’.1883 Construction of flood gates and diversion canals.1897 Locks construction.1900 The whole canal (420 km) becomes navigable. Total

length 257 km in Andhra Pradesh and 163 km in TamilNadu.

1877 Link canal from Cooum River to Adyar River. Famineperiod. 8 km.

Buckingham Canal Locks

North Canal

Name of lock/ Distance from Madras Yearlocation (miles-furlongs)Sadayankuppam(near Ennore) 7 1854 (abandoned

in 1895)Ennore lake (south) 10-2 1886Ennore lake (north) 11-3 1889Chintamani 19-7Pulicat (south) 27-1Pulicat (north)

LocksPambli 65-3Swarnamukhi (south) 75- 2Swarnamukhi (north) 75- 4Kandaleru (south) 90-1Kandaleru (north) 92-5Kodur (south) 101- 4Kodur (north) 101-4Pennar (south) 114-1Pennar (north) 115-4Pyderu (south) 123-6Pyderu (north) 123-7Isakapalli (south) 125-7Isakapalli (north) 126-7Chippaleru (south) 132-6Chippaleru (north) 132-7Elikeru (south) 150-6Elikeru (north) 151-0Manneru (south) 158-7Manneru (south) 159-7Manneru (north) 160-4Paleru 168-0Musi 169-7Mudigondi 183-2Gundlakamma 187-1Romperu 194-7 (31 locks)

Link CanalCooum River – Adyar River

Cooum River – behind uty. 1901Adyar River – GreenwaysMRTS Station (north) 1884South CanalAdyar river (south)(Sadras lock) 5-5 1883Lattice BridgeCovelong (north) 20-0Covelong (south) 23-0

1966 the SITC was broken up whenit was felt that Madras and Banga-lore could be independently run andthe Madras Race Club became a turfauthority by itself. It was also underMAC that modernised tote machineswere imported from Australia andinstalled in Madras, a first in thecountry.The biggest setback to racing in Ma-dras came in August 1974 when thethen State Government through anordinance banned it on the groundsthat speculation over it caused theruin of common folk. Statues wereerected on both sides of the AnnaFlyover to commemorate this. But in1978 the Supreme Court struckdown the ordinance. There was ascare in the 1980s when the bettingactivities were taken over by the Gov-ernment of Tamil Nadu’s RacingDepartment and talks of a ban re-sumed. An arbitration panel ap-pointed by the Supreme Court votedin favour of continuing racing and ithas since functioned unimpeded.Litigation concerning various aspectsof horseracing, however, remainsendemic to the Club.Racing is conducted in Madrasmainly from November to March. Asmaller monsoon season, rangingfrom August to October has beenrecently initiated. Around 540 horsesare registered with the Club. TheMadras Race Club is also indepen-dently a thriving social club withmany amenities. Sadly, the originalAssembly Rooms, which survived tillthe 1990s, were demolished despitepleas from heritage conservationists.Imagine destroying what the Daniellsonce painted!

Virginia hopes to complete thetask, bringing closure for JohnJealous’s quest.

The audio-visual presenta-tion ends with an image ofLaurence Hope’s hands.

The poet also liked to paint,and her hands appear strong,yet sensitive…artistic, creativehands.

John Jealous, says Virginia,was equally fixated on India,and admits she carries a certain‘colonial baggage’. India, forher, is both ‘beautiful and ter-rible’.

“You have so much historyand, at the same time, you arebarrelling into the future …visitors have to absorb all of itin one day.”

Virginia tells the MadrasBook Club: “I was so happy tofind the grave today. It was as ifshe wanted to be found,” andadds that while the work of thistruly unusual woman was natu-rally of her time, in her poemsEast and West did mingle... thetwain did meet.

(Continued from page 3)

A trail ofhope

January 16-31, 2015 MADRAS MUSINGS 7

The birth ofMatscience

� NOSTALGIA

(Continued from lastfortnight)

Almost from the start of histenure at the University of

Madras, Prof. Alladi Rama-krishnan actively participatedin several conferences through-out India. At one of the meet-ings of the Indian Academy ofSciences he presented a talk onhis new work on Inverse Prob-ability. Sir C.V. Raman,founder of the Academy, wasimpressed by the presentation,and so, in 1954, had him pro-posed for election as Fellow ofthe Indian Academy of Sci-ences. Within a few weeks Fa-ther received a letter from SirRaman informing him of hiselection as Fellow.

To inspire his students, andto strengthen his own researchprogramme, Ramakrishnan waskeen to get eminent physicistsfrom overseas to visit the Uni-versity of Madras.

In 1954-55, three worldfamous physicists who werevisiting India came to Madrasfor lectures and spent time athis family home for leisurely andprolonged discussions on mod-ern physics. They were NobelLaureates P. A. M. Dirac and C.F. Powell, and Sir Mark Oli-phant.

In December 1954, ProfessorDirac, one of the greatest physi-cists of the 20th Century, gavea lecture at Senate House of theUniversity of Madras. TheSenate House overflowed andmany listeners heard the lectureon loudspeakers while in theircars on the parking lot! Diracwas the first internationalphysicist to visit our familyhome.

A natural consequence ofFather’s visit to Australia wasSir Mark Oliphant’s acceptanceto deliver the Rutherford Me-morial Lecture at the Universityof Madras in early 1955. Profes-sor Oliphant stayed at EkamraNivas and, being a vegetarianhimself, enjoyed the fare offeredat our home. Then in Decem-ber 1955, Nobel Laureate C. F.Powell visited and lectured atthe University of Madras.

The visits of Dirac, Oliphantand Powell were the informalbeginning of the TheoreticalPhysics Seminar, although theseminar formally began only in1959.

* * *In 1956 Father went on what

was to be the first of many

KRISHNASWAMI ALLADI describes thestory of the birth of MATSCIENCE, TheInstitute of Mathematical Sciences, theefforts of his father, Professor AlladiRamakrishnan, and the role of his Theo-retical Physics Seminar in the creationof this Institute in Madras on January 3,1962.

academic trips around theworld and it was to prove themost significant and influentialtrip in his carreer.

The trip began in February1956 with a six-week stay at thefamous Yukawa Hall in Kyoto,which was the Institute headedby Nobel Laureate HidekiYukawa. The atmosphere ofYukawa Hall with its steadystream of eminent visitingscientists, and the inspirationthey provided to the manyyoung Japanese scientists,greatly influenced Prof. Rama-krishnan. During the speech

bilist, I was only a novice inrelativistic quantum mechan-ics. I wanted to learn from thehigh powered seminars (atPrinceton) rather than gothrough the grinding mill ofgraduate courses. My ambitionwas to be realised a year laterwhen I received from him a gra-cious invitation.”

From Rochester Father wentto Boston and then to Chicagoto meet the great astrophysicistChandrasekhar. AlthoughFather had corresponded withChandrasekhar and had pub-lished papers in the Astrophysi-

given by Ramakrishnan someyears later at the inaugurationof MATSCIENCE, he said: “Inthe ’domestic’ environment ofthe Yukawa Hall, young Japa-nese physicists, the hope andpride of their country, justresurrected from the secondWorld War, gathered togetherin enlightened leisure to discussthe most abstruse problems ofmodern physics. That strangeenchantment... (made me) playwith the idea of creating some-thing like the Yukawa Hall inmy own home town.

From California, Ramakrish-nan flew to Rochester to partici-pate in the High Energy PhysicsConference.

There he met RobertOppenheimer, Director of theInstitute for Advanced Study inPrinceton. He later wrote in hisDiary: “It was during lunch timethat a fortuitous incidentoccurred which altered thecourse of my scientific career.Since I was a stranger to thegroup of high energy physicists,I sat alone at a separate table inthe cafeteria when Oppenhei-mer walked in, and with apoliteness characteristic of truegreatness, asked me whether hecould join me for lunch at thetable. When he asked me whatmy future plans were, I took theopportunity to express to himmy desire to spend a year at theInstitute for Advanced Study.Though I was a seasoned proba-

cal Journal, it was his first meet-ing with Chandrasekhar.There, at the University, heheard Chandrasekhar’s lectureon radiation theory and wasstruck by his thoroughness inpreparing even regular seminarlectures. Chandra, as he waspopularly known, took Fatherto Yerkes Observatory where heworked with a team of observa-tional astronomers to confirmhis scientific theories.

This academic tour had aprofound effect on Father’s ca-reer and research, as well as onhis PhD students.

* * *In February 1957, Prof.

Ramakrishnan received a letterfrom Robert Oppenheimer, in-viting him to visit the Institutefor Advanced Study for the aca-demic year 1957-58. He appliedto the Asia Foundation for thetravel grant to go to Princeton,and a grant-in-aid to defray hisliving expenses for the year.

The academic year 1957-58that Ramakrishnan spent atPrinceton was a turning pointin his career. He heard over onehundred lectures at seminars atthe Institute by the leaders ofmodern physics on the latestand most important develop-ments. T.D. Lee and C.N. Yangwere in residence at the Insti-tute and everyone was excitedabout their recent sensationaldiscovery of non-conservationof parity and wondered whether

they would win the Nobel Prize,which they did that year.

Einstein, the most cel-ebrated of the members of theInstitute, had died in 1955, andso Father did not get an oppor-tunity to meet him. Instead hegot to meet Robert Oppen-heimer whose presence domi-nated most of the seminars. Inhis Diary, Ramakrishnandescribes his contact with Opp-enheimer at the Institute: “Mymeeting with Oppenheimerfulfilled my expectations aboutthis legendary figure who domi-nated not only Americanscience, but influenced the des-tiny of the world as the archi-tect of the atom bomb. Leanand of medium height, he hadan oval head, prominent cheekbones and piercing eyes. Hecould pick his men while light-ing his pipe, each for the ap-pointed task according to histalent and inclination, from aNobel prizeman to a truckdriver. He was magnanimous inproviding opportunities foryoung scientists, and enjoyeddiscussions at every seminarwhere his very presence invitedimpartial criticism...

“His intellectual interestsranged from theoretical physicsto Hindu philosophy, and inRabi’s estimate he understoodthe whole structure of physicswith absolute clarity....It wassaid that he had two passions –physics and the desert! Hefound the one in the otherwhen at the age of forty he was

called upon to undertake at LosAlamos a task unprecedentedin its objective, undefined in itsscope, unpredictable in itsconsequences – the creation ofthe atom bomb. It was a leapinto the unchartered future ofmankind and he achieved itwith the pragmatism of anAmerican and the vision of auniversalist. Tormented bymoral ambiguities, he found hishaven at the Institute forAdvanced Study, the environ-ment to which he belonged...”

The one year in Princetonexposed Ramakrishnan to therevolutionary developments inelementary particle physics, andthe opportunity to hear aboutthese developments in seminarsdelivered by the makers ofmodern physics. In addition, hehad also the opportunity to visitother centres of learning andmake further new contacts thathelped his own research pro-gramme and the career of hisstudents.

In April 1958 after havingbeen infected with the seminarspirit at the Institute for Ad-vanced Study, Father returnedto India full of visions to createin Madras a centre for advancedlearning that would have thespirit of Princeton. This dreamthat began in Fall 1958 andbecame a reality four years laterthrough the Theoretical PhysicsSeminar that he conducted atEkamra Nivas.

(To be continued)

Author with Professor Neils Bohr.

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far beyond that, it was alwaysfelt that the rest of it stood a fairchance for rejuvenation. Butwith the city now growing rap-idly, it is seen that the samemalpractices are in full swing inthe new parts also.

Large apartment complexesand commercial establishmentshave begun doing what theywere always good at – discharg-ing untreated effluent and sew-age into the canal. The water-way is shrinking rapidly and isquite likely to end up the way ithas in the rest of the city. Fromthere to building on it is but the

next step. This is also being aidedby the dumping of garbage alongits banks. Rather ironically, thisnarrowing of the canal has comeabout after the State Govern-ment has spent a considerableamount of money in widening itto 100 metres along a distance ofalmost 13 km.

To what purpose will theCentral Government efforts togive the canal a new life be if thelocal populace works consis-tently against it? Is it not in ournature to be socially conscious?It is high time residents ofChennai woke up to their re-sponsibilities.

users to alert the nearest policestation when in danger. Hyde-rabad, which is in many waysthe pioneer among smart citiesin India, has expanded its e-sevaportal which it launched wayback in 2006, to encompass alltransactions with the public oncivic amenities and services.

Internationally, it is ac-cepted that for a city to be de-fined as smart, it needs to useinformation and communica-tion technology to� make physical infrastruc-

ture more efficient therebymaking the socio-culturalenvironment much stron-ger;

� learn, adapt and innovateand therefore respond muchfaster to changing circum-stances;

� engage effectively with localpeople in local governanceand decision by use of openprocesses and e-processes;

� make use of creative indus-tries, community and socialnetworks to achieve theseaims.

Does Chennai fit into any ofthese? Sadly, the answer has tobe no. There is no consistentpolicy for such a developmentto happen. Take, for instance,the project of fitting GPS oncity buses. This was launchedwith much fanfare and fundingfrom the Jawaharlal Nehru Na-tional Urban Renewal Missiona few years ago. A change ofgovernment was enough to en-sure that the entire process wasmothballed. Such shortsightedthinking is making sure that ourcity lags behind when all othersare marching ahead.

At a time when it is consid-ered ‘unsmart’ to be queuing upat counters to do tasks that canbe accomplished at the click ofa button, it is time for Chennaito wake up. It is certainly awaste of human resources tohave people go from govern-ment department to depart-ment to get their work done.What is needed is a policy state-ment to make Chennai smartand then having a Chief Tech-nology Officer for the entire citywhose task it will be to get itmoving quickly on the digitalhighway.

Most American cities haveone as does London. Singaporetoo has created this post. Whatis the point in claiming to beworking on becoming worldclass when the building blocksfor such a status are yet to be inplace?

(Continued from page 1)

The importance ofbeing smart

(Continued from page 1)

BUCKINGHAM

CANAL HOPES

Till February 6: Layers of percep-tion and difficulties of some realities– an exhibition of paintings bySanjeeva Rao (at Appa Rao Gal-leries).

Till January 30: All that lies beneaththe surface – an exhibition ofmixed media works featuringManish Nai (at Bergamo,Khader Nawaz Khan Road).

January 21-30: The Urban Story –an exhibition of photographs byDeidi Von Schaewen andGeorge K. Both artists explore,in the medium of photography,two different aspects of the ur-ban city. George looks at an

abandoned furniture factory as apolitical aspect of social outcastsand Deidi on the other hand ex-plores the hidden agenda of poli-tics in a series of scaffoldings as ametaphor (at Appa Rao Infin-ity).

January 17-18: Street Food Fest andGarden Show. The Friends ofDakshinaChitra and the livingmuseum at Muttukadu inChennai together present theirannual fundraiser. Upma-pesarattu (upma stuffed pesarattu),sannas with gravy, Mangloreanidlis with veg/non-veg accompa-niments, Burma noodles – SouthIndianised noodles – and manymore food items will be ondisplay. Rare and exotic plants(Petunias, Gerberas, Adeniums aswell as Bonsai of Casuarinas andFicus nurtured by professionalgreen thumbs will take centre-stage.

For more details on the StreetFood Festival contact 9884120150, on the Garden Showcontact 9677029265 (Dakshina-Chitra, 11am to 5pm).

Till January 20: Exhibition by ArtsManagement Students onTemples of South India (at Dak-shinaChitra).

Till January 28: Spectrum of expres-sions – an exhibition of paintingsfeaturing works of Eleena Banikand S. Natraj. Both artists areexpressive. While Eleena

(Continued from page 6)

Edaiyur (north) 36-2Edaiyur (south) 36-3Pudupatnam (north) 41-0Pudupatnam (south) 41-4Palar (north) 43-5Palar (south) 44-5Palar (south) 46-2Voyalur (double locks)Kaddalur (double locks)Kadambakkam (double locks)

BuckinghamCanal

Chronology

explores an inward journey inher expressionistic work, Natrajuses wit, humour and absolutefantasy in his tableaux.

Till January 30: Myth narrative andthe story – an exhibition of paint-ings featuring Alexis Kersey,Amit Ambalal, Ketna Patel,Redappa Naidu, SuryakantLokhande and UmashankarPathak (Apparao Galleries @the Leela Palace).

Till January 31: Exhibition ofpaintings and drawings byG. Ramana. His style is distinct,mostly depicting rural folk ormusicians and all aspectscelebrating life. His black andwhite drawings are well knownfor their strength and simplicityand his paintings have fewprimary colours filling in compli-cated and defined lines fillingevery bit of the canvas (atDakshinaChitra).