Recent practice

The Man from Madras Musings is off the mark in stating that roadside Vinayaga idols have been installed for the last hundred years or so. It is really a recent practice, introduced by certain elements and individuals in the State in an attempt to imitate the Mumbai culture. Surprisingly, the ‘Dravidian’ parties which were spewing venom on anything irrational are quiet about this. I wonder why.

I for one do not understand why our Hindu religious leaders do not advise the urchins to desist from resorting to such gimmicks on the roads in the name of worship. There are clear rules – aagama vidhigal – for installing the deities, which are held sacrosanct but no one comes forward to advise the youth. Many local elements in different areas collect money from the residents and shopkeepers and splurge it in three days of the Ganesh Chathurthi extravaganza.

I recently got a mail showing pictures of the beach taken a day after these idols were immersed. I wish they had been displayed in all the newspapers so that we the people could understand the reality.

Dr. Panchaksharam Selvarajan
5050/1, Ponni Colony
Anna Nagar West, Chennai 40

With & without legs

I refer to Rev. Mulley’s letter on snakes (MM, September 1st). Many believe that the loss of legs of the snake was due to His curse for misleading Adam and Eve.

But I have come across a research report that revealed the finding of a fossil of snake with legs!

N. Dharmeshwaran
Plot 456, II Link Road
Sadashiv Nagar
Chennai 600 091

A sad state

Your recent article(MM, September 1st) on Chepauk Palace portrayed vividly the sorry state of many of the old historic buildings in the Chepauk area. That applies equally to most of the heritage buildings in Madras that is now Chennai. Some time ago, some of the readers pointed out the pathetic condition of Presidency College, that prestigious institution from where many stalwarts, including two Nobel Laureates, passed out.

For me too, it was my alma mater, where I did my graduation in geology in the early 1960s. I had occasion to visit the department two years ago. Needless to say, I was not a happy man.

Recently, I took a morning walk on Kamaraj Road from the University buildings at the north end to Vivekanandar Illam (Ice House) in the south. From the eastern pavement, I took many photographs of the buildings. From a distance, the University building, Presidency College and Ice House wore a majestic look.

I have nostalgic memories of those good old days, when I used to stay in Sree Venkateswara Boys’ Hostel in the Ice House area and to walk to College. I was witness to the unveiling of the statue of Swami Vivekananda, near Vivekanandar Illam, during his centenary year (I think it was 1964) by the then President of India, Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan (see photos). All the other statues are on the opposite side of the road.

All these buildings deserve proper maintenance so that they do not crumble and give way to ugly concrete structures. I only hope the authorities wake up and preserve the little that we have left!

K.M. Vedapuri
JD, Shanthi Nikethan
2B, Block 141
Dr. Rajamannar Salai
K.K. Nagar Chennai 600 078

Campaign needed

While it is laudable to recall the history and heritage of Madras, it is also advisable to recall the cleanliness and quietude even of the 1950s, in spite of the excuse of urban population growth.

1. It was something unthinkable in Madras to eat on the road; people ate only under a roof in small cubicles, whereas now the roadside eateries on pavements are growing by the day with free-cooking in a dusty and even dirty atmosphere with polluted water and people eating on plastic sheets. It may be cost-effective for many, but they themselves or the tax payers have to spend money on medicines. For instance, my driver had an attack of cholera and was hospitalised for weeks.

The oldest Corporation of the country should have an imaginative plan for kiosks (the great architects should help) for each road blending with the surrounding architecture as they did in Delhi some years ago, and push these eateries inside in their own interest and in the interest of public health as well.

2. Madras traffic has become chaotic and the two-wheelers are hazardous with no discipline. On an average, at least one two-wheeler rider’s death occurs every day. Pedestrians are the second casualty.

3. Needless to emphasise the need to control the ‘loud-culture’ of Madras or plain noise pollution. This job is left by the Pollution Control Board to the Traffic Police and the latter are of the view that they have no men/women, nor the time, to control the chaotic traffic, let alone noise pollution.

The Madras Month could also arrange lectures, skits, documentaries and pamphlets on cleanliness, traffic,
lane-discipline, loudspeaker menace and noise pollution. Doordarshan did this in a small way.

I read recently in an article that the municipal councillors have made Kulithalai (near Tiruchy) a clean and litter-free town by adopting a multipronged approach. Madras Month should also aim at a clean, noiseless and orderly city.

Dr. G. Sundaram, ias (rtd)
A-601, Dugar Apartments
Keshav Perumal Puram
Greenways Road
Chennai 600028

Editor’s Note: Madras Day/Week/Month is not an ‘organised’ celebration. Participants volunteer to do their own bits. If, next year, Dr. Sundaram ‘volunteers’ and organises such campaigns, the coordinators of Madras Week will certainly list his events in the published programme.