On a pleasurably nippy Sunday morning in February, a group of middle-aged residÂents stand in front of a school gate in Gandhinagar, a residential colony in South Chennai. The leader, a chartered accountant by profession, brings out a yellowed book studded with photos and explains: 바카라Four decades ago, this school auditorium used to host the cultural events of this area every weekend,바카라 and goes on to list the celebrity actors who had performed there.
Three Sundays earlier, another group of curious Chennaiites had ambled along Luz Church Road in Mylapore, listening with rapt attention as a marketing professional-turned-entrepreneur strung together the names of legal luminaries who used to stay in the area. By a singular coincidence, as if united by a common purpose, all of them had helped writing the nation바카라s constitution. 바카라Though he never lived here, even Ambedkar used to stay at a friend바카라s place close by during his visits to Madras,바카라 he recalled.
The aforementioned groups aren바카라t abeÂrrations바카라they simply illustrate ChenÂnai바카라s growing affinity for peeks into its past through heritage walks. It was pioneered by entrepreneur Sriram V., who led music lovers in the first heritage walk through the bylanes of Mylapore in 1999, using his deep knowledge of Carnatic music to show them houses where musicians바카라past and present바카라lived. Anecdotes, funny and poignant, from the maestros바카라 lives enlivened the experience.
바카라The first walk gave me the confidence that Chennai was yearning for more such heritage walks. I started doing one every December during the music season and now I do one every month on different subjects,바카라 explains Sriram, who also co-edits Madras Musings, a magazine on Chennai바카라s history. Sriram has a knack of conjuring a walk around any interesting context. So when he discovered that Rajaji, D.D. Deshmukh, K. Santhanam, Alladi KrishaÂswÂÂamy Aiyar and O.V. AlagÂesan바카라all shapers of the constitution바카라had lived down the Luz Church Road, he curated the ConÂstiÂtution Walk during this Republic Day.
When demonetisation struck the citizenry like a bolt of lightening, Sriram was leading a band of eager walkers down Mint Street, in north Chennai, where the British government had located its Mint in 1830. 바카라The presence of the Mint also saw communities involved in currency exchange바카라Shroffs, Arya Vaishyas, Komitti Chettys and MarÂwÂaris바카라settle there, spreading their cultural influence over a century. British governor G.M. Pitt바카라s attempt to demonetise the old coins with MM Pagoda coins misfired so badly that the Shroffs had to melt the new coins to re-mint the old ones,바카라 Sriram recalls with a chuckle.
Such heritage walks took their rightful place on the itineraries of the packed weeÂÂkÂÂlong celebration of Madras Day every August. 바카라During last year바카라s Madras Day, there were nearly two dozen walks, organised by locals who tapped senior citizens for information about their localities,바카라 points out Vincent D바카라Souza, editor of Mylapore Times and a founder of Madras Day celebrations. Vincent, who organises walks in Fort St. GeoÂrge바카라the seat of power from the British era till date바카라says people want to know more than what a 바카라tourist-guide바카라 would offer. To ensure that there are informed people to anchor such walks, he is now training a few history majors of Stella Maris College on preparing for such walks.
Though Sriram remains the numero UNO organiser of heritage walks바카라he has done over 60 such walks, invariably enriÂching them with talks바카라others have been quick to follow. Like Sukumar the CA, who needed little preparation when, in 2013, he put togÂether his first walk around GanÂdhinagar, the first organised residential colony in Chennai. Having been born, brought up and lived there바카라in all, over six decades바카라he knew about every bungalow and its occupant. He can reel out a stream of lively nuggets, like how yesteryear movie star B. Saroja Devi learnt to cycle on the shaded avenues of the colony, or how S. Venkataraghavan used to play on the local cricket ground once. 바카라While most bungalows have given way to apartments, there are tales that successive generations want to hear. That is why the GanÂdÂhinagar walk is in its fifth edition,바카라 says SukuÂmar. The walks are also used to spread messages on rain water harvesÂting and the importance of maintaining a shallow well.
As a cultural experience, too, the walks have evolved. DocuÂmÂenÂtary film-maker S. Anwar has showcased the rich tapestry of Islamic influence through his Nawab Wallajah Trails through TriÂplicane. 바카라While reseaÂrching on MusÂlim monuments of Mount Road I discovered that the Indian Union Muslim LeaÂÂgue was founded in the RajÂaji Hall (where Jayalalithaa바카라s body lay in state). There are a lot more areas steeped in history and we would unravel it during the coming years,바카라 he says.
Corporate honcho and historian PradÂeep Chakravarthy바카라s heritage walks concÂenÂtrate on temples and how they inflÂuenced Tamil society. 바카라While exploring a temple바카라s history, I concentrate on its behaviourist influences on society. So the theme on Mylapore바카라s famous KapaleÂesÂhÂwarar temple was about the mutually supportive roles played by religion and politics in its history. While doing a tour of Parthasarathy Temple in Triplicane, I explored how even gods have their own popularity charts,바카라 he says, remembering how for his first walk 12 years ago, 30 people enrolled, 15 proÂmised to come and only nine showed up. 바카라Today, at least 30 show up and remÂain glued to the group till the end,바카라 he points out.
Lawyer N.L. Rajah orgÂaÂnises his walks through the Madras High Court campus, telling tales about judges, judgments and scintillating courthouse battles, even while exploring the historicity of the Indo-Saracenic architecture of the sprawling complex. In December, KalÂÂÂaÂÂÂÂkshetra organises its own walks바카라the stories surrounding founder Rukmini Arundale and the cultural ambience she created attract visitors from across India and beyÂÂond.
Sriram also took the walks outside Chennai, to Thiruvaiyaru, a hallowed groÂund of Carnatic music; to Madurai, where the walk wound its way around the home of M.S. Subbulakshmi; to KanchÂeepuram and to the awe-inspiring Gingee fort (in Villupuram district). Though he charges for the walks, Sriram makes sure it only just covers expenses. Having done his schooling in Calcutta, he already has 24 eager enthusiasts raring to go for a walk through Calcutta during this year바카라s Durga Puja. 바카라As long as you have an interested audience that wants to unpeel layers of the past, this genre would continue to thrive and even diversify,바카라 he predicts.
Diversify it already has. Green enthusiast Shobha Menon has her Tree Walk, 바카라Poochi바카라 Venkat has come up with an INSÂect walk, Sridhar Venkatram has a food walk and Ramanujar Moulana has a cycle heritage tour. Sriram recollects how matÂches have been made during his walks. 바카라One marriage even got unmade I think,바카라 he laughs. One couple even celeberated their first wedding anniversary on his midnight tour of GeorÂgeÂtown바카라the beating heart of old MadÂÂÂras바카라themed on 바카라Murders, graveyards, dacoities and thefts바카라, retreading the footsteps of sensational crimes, now consigned to oblivion.
바카라Heritage walks are not only about discovering your city and your neighbourhood. It is a form of self-expression too. The experience makes you an instant expÂert, something you can broadcast durÂing your talks or on your social media posts. As long as the walks are conducted by well-researched experts, heritage walks are good for health and your love for the city,바카라 observed V. Ramnarayan, editor of Sruti magazine. Solely by that yardstick, Chennaiites will hardly tire of this favourite avocation of theirs in the near future.
By G.C. Shekhar in Chennai
