The snake shrine

The article on Snake worship (MM, April 1st) reminded me of Sarpakav, as it is called in Kerala, in our ancestral home (Tarvad). Although we have sold the ancient house and the land around it, the Sarpakav matter remains to be settled.

In 1989, we re-consecrated this place of worship with an elaborate pooja and a net cover was placed over the stone images. Immediately after the ceremony there was a lovely drizzle in the summer noon! A real surprise!

Now, after the sale of a small piece of land adjoining it, we, my cousins and I, hope to get the walls built and have another elaborate pooja done. Unlike other Sarpakav inmates, ours refused to move from this place. They are benign and are always blessing us.

I suppose the origin of a patch of green in every house with a figure or two of snake gods meant to indicate the preservation of the environment. The trees in that piece of land are not to be cut and hence there is always a lovely patch of greenery. In most places like this, the branches of trees look like huge snakes entiwined all over the trees and surroundings! The effect is eerie as well as extraordinary!

It is also a wonderful experience to take a walk in the Sarpakav – dry leaves crunching under the bare feet, lovely cool breeze, and birds chirping among and around the branches. It is often dark and cool even at noon when the sun is shining brightly high above.

The local people are happy that we plan to preserve the old patch of green in the name of environment! We had no choice as the invisible residents of the Sarpakav refuse to leave their abode!

Parvati V. Menon
1A, “Doshi Deepanjali”, 1, East Mada Street
Srinagar Colony, Saidapet, Chennai 600 015

Madras again?

Moving back the seat of power to Fort St. George is all well and good, but one thing that needs to be got back is the name ‘Madras’. I grew up in the city named Madras and somehow cannot identify with the city as it has been renamed now. Madras has all the glory and nostalgia associated with it; urban mess is what is synonymous with the city’s present name.

Given the current mood of the newly elected government, this may be the right time to start a campaign to get the city its glorious old name back.

C.K. Jaidev
ckjaidev@yahoo.com

Calling all alumni

Radha Padmanabhan has lamented about the sorry state of the buildings of Presidency College today (MM, April 16th). Other readers have mooted the idea of old students doing something to restore their glory.

In 2000, the College was 150 years old and a call was made to enroll old students. I became a life member at the time. One D. Roosevelt was president of the Association. With former Union Minister C. Subramaniam as head, they formed a committee and made several proposals, like scholarships, endowment, etc. There used to be annual meetings. I attended one of them some years ago. There were hardly 20 to 30 people present. I was thoroughly disappointed, as I had looked forward to a large gathering of familiar faces. The programme was held in the dimly-lit English lecture hall.

While P. Chidambaram or N. Ram as VIPs can kickstart some work, the nitty gritty of regular work has to be done by others. I wonder whether the writer or other writers are members of the Association. Of course, most of us are scattered all over the globe. I myself am not able to attend the annual functions regularly since I am away from India at those times. We can all get together and make the college regain its glory.

Dr. R.K. Natarajan
(now in SanDiego)
natarajanrk@gmail.com

Best boys’ school

Reader Dr. D. Raman (MM, May 16th), known to his classmates as Raman D. (like Normandy) because that was how his name was read out at morning attendance, is off the mark when he says that Kuruvilla Jacob, the Headmaster, used to walk around MCCHS cane in hand. In fact, it was Asst. Headmaster Mathias who was synonymous with the cane, his constant companion. His permanent frown, clenched teeth and pursed mouth together earned him a nickname which cannot be mentioned here. Whenever I see Karan Thapar on TV, I am always reminded of Mathias. Kuruvilla was, however, different, one of the kindest persons ever and loved by one and all.

I agree with Dr. Raman that the school and the grounds were in mint condition in those days. So good was the main playground that the South India All Schools Cricket Tournament was played on it. The Hyderabad All Schools Team was captained by the peerless Waheed Yar Khan who, later, with compatriot Asif Iqbal, migrated to Pakistan. Waheed was the coach of future Tamil Nadu player Abdul Jabbar and his brother Abdul Azeem (Hyderabad).

Britannia Amritraj Tennis Academy and Dennis Lillee Pace Foundation came up in the school premises in later years thanks to Kuruvilla Jacob’s upkeep lavished on the school and his extraordinary attention to detail. Under his watchful eyes the army of gardeners maintained even the hedges with military precision. We lucky boys had better school days than even Tom Brown.

C.G. Prasad
9, C.S. Mudali StreetKondithope,
Chennai 600 079

Marina memories

During my college days (1945-1950) there was not a single evening that my friends and I were not loitering at the Marina (MM, May 16th) enjoying the cool breeze, standing in the waves, playing chadu gudu or munching the monkeynuts sold by the Kodhikudhu Nilakadalai man. (He was identified even from a distance by the red-coloured veshti and a faded red towel on his bare body!) Sometimes we would sit on the small parapets (hardly one foot high and it is even now there) lining the walkers’ pathway and chit chat, mainly making fun of various walkers – behind their back, of course!

Modern Cafe’s mobile van used to come in the evenings and our favourite item was the milk-shake (just 4 annas!), but if you were late the stock would be finished! Generally, there wouldn’t be much of a crowd except on Sundays, holidays and the summer months.

We Chennaiites are lucky to still have this valuable stretch of natural heritage unscathed. And we should never let Government or any other organisation destroy or build over it for whatever purpose.

It was great reading Prabha Sridevan’s article, especially every facet mentioned therein. I was able to savour having experienced exactly the same emotions!

Cdr. R. Ganapathi (Retd)
116, Defence Colony
Chennai 600 032

Old pilgrimages

The article ‘A Chola Temple in Chennai’ (MM, June 1st) provided a lot of information on the history of the temple. It also stated that Sundaramurthy Nayanar lived in the 9th Century AD. His frequent companion on pilgrimage was said to be Cheraman Peruman Nayanar.

But, according to legends in Kerala, Cheraman Peruman visited Mecca, met the Prophet, converted to Islam, but never came back. The Prophet lived in the 8th Century AD. Adhi Sankara, Appar and Sundarar also lived in the 8th Century AD. According to certain historians, ancient Mecca was called Makheswarapuri and was an important pilgrim centre for Saivites. Perhaps, more research is needed.

For exchange of more information, interested readers are free to contact me.

S.N. Mahalingam
Superintending Engineer
Tamil Nadu PWD (Retd)
(Formerly Research scholar at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore)
P.No.64-A, Kalamegam Street Extn., SBI Colony II Street, Kamarajapuram,
Chennai 600 073