The euphoria was too good to have lasted. Just as these columns in recent times hailed the work going on in restoring our heritage landmarks comes the disturbing news of a memorial marker of one of the city’s most prominent public spaces, the Nageswara Park in Mylapore being in danger.
The story behind the creation of the park has been well-documented. What was once a private pond (Arathakuttai) used by the families of Nageswara Rao Pantulu – noted businessman and nationalist, and a few other prominent personalities living in Luz, was filled-up and converted into a park in 1949 by the Corporation of Madras at the initiative of Durgabai Deshmukh, who was constructing a home for Andhra Mahila Sabha next door. At the entrance of the park, two memorial plaques were put up on pillars, one of which documented the names of the owners of the land who had donated it to the corporation and the other which contained the details of the opening (it was declared open by late PS Kumaraswamy Raja, Premier of Madras) and the officials of the division.
The tales of woe for the park began with a redevelopment project being announced mid-last year, at an estimated cost of around Rs 12 crores. The plans included several features such as a redesigned entrance plaza, fountains, badminton courts, interactive spaces, modern seating, etc. While the park was no doubt in need of an overhaul, with the walking spaces in particular needing to be re-laid, why a comprehensive overhaul with artificial beautification elements was deemed necessary is anybody’s guess. A significant number of old trees have been felled and the park has lost a good amount of green cover as a part of the ongoing works. But that is not the focus of this piece. It is the news of the commemorative plaques being in severe danger of being lost forever that raises questions over how safe are our heritage markers when restoration exercises begin.
As a part of the beautification work, the entrance and the pillars were demolished couple of months ago, with no sign of the plaques whatsoever. An alarm was raised by regular users of the park and heritage enthusiasts. Mylapore Times, the neighbourhood newspaper, reported on the matter and also carried a statement from the MLA, who assured that the plaques were safe. That laid matters to rest, but only temporarily, as around a week ago, a reader of the tabloid sent in a photo and a report showing one of the plaques severely damaged, lying discarded amidst the construction debris inside the park (the status of the other plaque is not known). When the matter was again raised with the MLA, he is said to have again assured that the plaque was safe and that it would be fixed when the park re-opened.
While we await the fate of the plaques and their place in the restored park (not with bated breath, for given the veracity of the MLA’s earlier statement on its status, it would require generous doses of optimism to do so), this entire episode throws the spotlight on the need for a SOP of sorts when it comes to dealing with heritage markers during renovation exercises. Readers may recollect the initiative taken by this journal a few years ago to save the Petrus Uscan Plaque by the side of the Maraimalai Adigal bridge in Saidapet. It has since received a fresh lease of life thanks to a realization of its heritage value by all the parties concerned.
While plaques in places such as parks and playgrounds may not enjoy the antiquity of the Uscan Plaque nor its historical significance, it cannot be denied that they are important recorders of events, personalities and local history. When these places come up for restoration, care must be taken to ensure that they are safely removed (if they must be), touched up and placed back once the exercise is over. Before any work is undertaken, it is imperative to make a record of these and sensitize the contractor about them to ensure their safety. We certainly cannot afford to lose heritage to basic things within our control.