The Buchi Babu Family

Chennai is as cricket crazy city as any other. While the game was introduced here thanks to the British, the credit for ensuring that Indians had facilities to play the game goes to M Buchi Babu Naidu of the family of ‘Dare House’ Naidus.

 

Moddaverapu Dera Venkataswami Naidu, the patriarch, was dubash or agent to Parry & Co (whose HQ was Dare House) in the 19^th century and hence the family name. He became enormously wealthy and acquired twenty acres in Luz, building the family home Lakshmi Vilas there in the 1830s. He subsequently built Luz House on the same property in the 1850s. He also owned shops and houses in Triplicane in the vicinity of Big Street. One of the by-lanes off Big Street is Dera Venkataswami Street.

 

Venkataswami Naidu had only one daughter who bore five sons, the eldest of whom was Venkatamahipathi aka Buchi Babu. He was adopted by Venkataswami Naidu. Buchi Babu and his brothers were brought up in the best English tradition and this included having British nurses and governesses all of whom inculcated a great love of cricket and all other sports in general in their wards. In time Buchi Babu became a fine cricketer and a pillar of the Madras United Club (MUC) which he founded and to which cricket playing Indians owed affiliation, the Madras Cricket Club then being only for whites.

 

Buchi Babu ensured that Indians were given proper kits and trained to play well. He also persuaded the MCC to have an annual match between Madras Indians and Europeans. But he died in 1908, a few months before the first match, the early widowhood of his daughter and the subsequent death of his wife sapping his will to live. Buchi Babu Street, also branching off Big Street commemorates this sportsman. The match that he instituted became an annual fixture and the MUC instituted the Buchi Babu Trophy in his memory.

 

Buchi Babu’s three sons, Venkataramanjulu (Bhatt), Baliah and Ramaswamy became great cricketers and carried on the family tradition. With independence and subsequent legislation that acted against vast landholdings, the family was forced to sell its surplus lands. Baliah Avenue came up on Luz and is today a thriving colony of houses with the gates to Luz House at one end. Lakshmi Vilas has long vanished.

 

Tucked away behind what was once the Buchi Babu property is Bangaru Ammal Street. Residents of that cul-de-sac aver that it is named after a kinswoman of the family, probably Buchi Babu’s wife. If that is true, it means four streets being named after members of one family, surely a record of sorts.

( On 11th November 2008 I have verified that Bangaru Ammal was indeed Buchi Babu’s wife. Buchi Babu’s grandson has confirmed this. Interestingly, the street for some reason is now called Bangaru Ammal Koil Street!).

The Island Grounds

The Isle of Sights

 

Come December and exhibitions, largely sponsored by the Government will be held on the vast expanse of ground near the War Memorial just off the beach. The exhibitions will continue till April or so and provide an opportunity for showcasing the local craftsman’s skills in making large cut-outs and displays of papier-mâché and other such materials. Sometimes we have circuses here and at other times of the year this is a deserted spot except when mega sport events are held at Chepauk when this place becomes a parking lot. Rather incredibly, this open area is an island! And that is how it gets its name of Island Grounds.

 

Shortly after the English were granted a piece of land by the beach to conduct their business in 1639, they cast their eyes north west, a parcel of land bounded by the river Cooum and what was called the North or Elambore River (now a part of the Buckingham Canal) being particularly attractive. This was acquired and used to make salt. Later, the two rivers were joined by cutting a channel and with this the island came into existence.

 

Thomas Pitt became Governor of Madras in 1698 and converted the place into his pleasure garden. Later this was used for military activities. In 1715, the first bridge, today’s Wallajah Bridge was built connecting the city to the island. Later other bridges including the Willingdon (Periyar Bridge) were built.

 

A part of the Island is controlled by the army. This is where we have the Area Command’s Headquarters. We also have the Gymkhana Club here, which was founded in 1885 mainly for army officers; it later opened its doors to civilians as well. Having tea on the club lawns on a summer’s evening is still heavenly, the sight of the verdant army grounds being a treat to the eyes.

 

The first Western theatre in Madras also existed on the Island. Called the Playhouse, it vanished in the 1780s. Curiously enough, almost 200 years later, a German, Ludwig Pesch, who had come to Madras to learn the flute, succeeded in getting a small thatched auditorium put up here for chamber recitals. This has sadly vanished. The extreme end of Mount Road cuts across the Island and right in the middle of it is a statue for Sir Thomas Munro, which deserves a separate article.

 

Standing in the middle of Fairlands, which is the name given to the part that houses the exhibitions it is possible to get a panoramic view of some buildings of old Madras, including St Mary’s-in-the-Fort and the High Court. The Government has recently announced plans of making Fairlands a permanent amusement park and recreation centre.

 

Sriram V

 

srirambts@gmail.com

Iyya Mudali Street, Chindadripet

This article appeared in TOI and has some photographs in this link:

 

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Archive/skins/pastissues2/navigator.asp?login=default&AW=1223268304734

Tinsel malais, thombais and kudais

 

Who Iyyah Mudali was is a mystery. But a Madras street directory of the year 1858, available on the web site www.lavocah.org mentions a business establishment- Iyyah Moodeli & Co situated at 38 Mount Road. Perhaps this street in nearby Chindadripet was named after the founder of that firm. If so, he must have been a prominent businessman of the city owning property in the street that was to bear his name.

 

The book “Madras, the Architectural Heritage”, by K Kalpana and Frank Schiffer describes Iyyah Mudali Street as an architecturally vibrant landscape. Branching off from Arunachala Naicken Street, which is the main thoroughfare in Chindadripet, Iyyah Mudali Street is full of street houses, all of them sharing common walls with their neighbours. Almost all of them are of the double storey variety with some sporting sloping Mangalore tiled roofs while others have the standard Madras roof supported by rafters. Many are built with limestone and the facades boast of rich decorative work in many cases. The ground floors in many instances have become commercial outlets.

 

The street’s shops specialise in the making of tinsel, sandal and lace garlands (malais) meant for weddings, religious offering, social events, commemorative programmes and political meetings. The huge pillar like cloth hangings known locally as thombais which find use in temple cars are also made in this street. 

 

The month of September/October witnesses a spurt in the activity. This is the Tamil month of Purattasi which is sacred to Vishnu. In Tirumala (Tirupati) Hill, the Lord’s annual festival takes place this month and the fifth day of the festival sees the Lord being taken in procession on his mount – Garuda. For many years now, the origins of this custom being lost in time, it is the tradition that various groups from Madras carry ornamental umbrellas (kudais) which are offered to the Lord on that day. These groups proceed on foot to Tirumala, the journey taking a week and more. There are halts for them on the way at various temples and wayside choultries. This tradition is strong in North Chennai and the day the processions pass through the city’s Perambur and Vyasarpadi areas is a festive one in those localities. The umbrellas for this event are invariably made at Iyyah Mudali Street.

 

Shop after shop makes these items to order and involved in the trade are members of only one community – the Shas. These families originally migrated from the Saurashtra region of Kutch in Gujarat and are among the earliest settlers of Madras. There has obviously been quite a bit of intermingling with the locals, for how do you otherwise explain names such as Kandasami Sha?

 

Sriram V

Victoria Hostel Road

Queen’s Way

 

Victoria Hostel Road, named after the Queen Empress of India during whose reign the British Empire reached its zenith, is a thoroughfare you would normally never take, for it leads nowhere in particular. It is one of the numerous roads that branch off to the right of Bharati Salai as you drive down following Kannagi’s pointed finger, from the beach into Triplicane.

 

There are just two buildings on either side of this road. On your left is the Government Kasturba Gandhi Hospital. It was founded in 1885 as the Royal Victoria Gosha Hospital for Women, thanks to Mary Scharlieb, who in 1876 was the first woman to be admitted to the Madras Medical College. It was meant for the ladies who observed purdah and was initially located in Nungambakkam before land was granted for it in Chepauk. In 1890, following munificent donations by the Rajah of Venkatagiri, the main block, in true Indo Saracenic style was built and the hospital moved in. In 1921 the government took over its management and in 1948 it was given its present name. Today it is a recognised centre of excellence for reproductive and child health issues and is a premier institution in the field of uro-gynaecology. The buildings in the campus are worth a detailed look for their architectural beauty.

 

The building that gives the road its name is the Victoria Hostel, which stands opposite the hospital. The College of Engineering operated from the Presidency College before its shift to Guindy and the Hostel was meant for its students. Built in 1900, it is now the common hostel for all of Madras University’s colleges. Construction was by T Namberumal Chetty, the leading contractor of the times. Its reading room is a work of great beauty. The entire building is fronted by a row of arches on all three floors. The building was originally designed to face the Buckingham Canal, but thanks to that water-body becoming a gutter, the entry is now from Victoria Hostel Road. The compound alos houses the Presidency College’s Poondi Ranganatha Mudaliar Block, named after one of its first Professors. The Warden’s Lodge, attached to the Hostel is an Indo Saracenic beauty and fronts the road. It was once the residence of Col. Henry Davidson Love, who wrote Vestiges of Old Madras, among the earliest compilations of the city’s history.

 

The entire road is a nature lover’s delight for the trees of the hospital and the hostel provide a green canopy. At the end, you are rewarded by a fantastic view of Chepauk Tower, across the Buckingham Canal, which thankfully remains hidden under the bushes. But there is no protection from an attack on the nostrils.

Nageswara Rao Park and its environs

Nageswara Rao Park is a landmark in Luz, Mylapore. A sylvan enclosure with broad walks, bowers and flowerbeds, it is a sight for sore eyes. In the mornings and in the evenings it is full of the fitness conscious jogging, walking and exercising. During weekends, budding Carnatic musicians perform concerts here in the mornings and many flock to listen. In the whispering hour of twilight, many couples can be seen cosily ensconced in the bowers and an eight-o-clock bell is religiously rung to warn them all to get up leave as it is closing time!

 

The Park was once a lake called Aratha Kuttai. The area surrounding this owes much of its development to two friends, both of whom came to Madras in the late 19^th century to seek a livelihood. Both qualified in law and both made it big. And when one died suddenly, it was only a question of time before the other followed suit. They were V Krishnaswami Iyer (1862-1911) and PR Sundara Iyer (1863-1913).

 

They built palatial houses on both sides of Luz Church Road. Krishnaswami Iyer’s was called Ashrama and does not exist any longer. Krishnaswami Avenue came up on its grounds. But Sundara Iyer’s Sri Bagh still survives, a vast bungalow, now a mere empty shell. After Sundara Iyer’s death, his sons sold the house to ‘Desoddharaka’ Kasinathuni Nageswara Rao Pantulu, freedom fighter, writer and creator of the Amrutanjan balm which is popular even today. He was also the first to start a Telugu newspaper, the Andhra Patrika which is still being published. Nageswara Rao built the Amrutanjan offices on the Sri Bagh grounds. In his time the house was a venue for nationalist meetings and it was here that the famous Sri Bagh Agreement was signed which eventually saw the formation of a separate Andhra state.

 

Next to Sri Bagh came up two major Mylapore landmarks – One is the Ranade Hall, named after Mahadev Govinda Ranade (1842-1901), Judge and reformer. The foundation stone for this building, which was part of the South Indian National Association founded by Krishnaswami Iyer and Sundara Iyer, was laid by Gopalakrishna Gokhale, the social reformer and freedom fighter in 1905. It boasts of a library of antiquarian books which few use. But its reading room is still patronised by many. On the first floor, many years later, came up Srinivasa Sastry Hall, named after the Rt. Hon. VS Srinivasa Sastry. This has been a popular venue for Carnatic music performances since long. Next to Ranade Hall is the Mylapore Club, founded in 1904 as the Proprietors Club by V Krishnaswami Iyer. Today, after a century it is still going strong.

 

This part of Mylapore still retains an extended tree cover with many old buildings and is a charming place to walk by.

 

(On a very personal note and this will not appear in the Times of India- this was a park I loved and still love. I have spent many happy hours here as a kid. It has a sad association for me also. When I was five, one evening I insisted that someone take me there. My grandfather, who really doted on me was not too well and yet he took me over. But within a few minutes of being there he said we should return. We did, only to have him collapse as soon as we reached home. He was bed-ridden for two years after that and passed away on May 24th 1973. )

Tanneer Turai Market and its surroundings

My article on Tanneer Turai Market appeared in the Times of India dated 13th June 2008

 

The Buckingham Canal was dug as a famine relief measure in the 1870s. Till around a 100 years ago, it was a major means of transportation with 1500 boats plying between Mylapore and Mamallapuram.

 

With the Canal running close by, a market was planned on its banks in Mylapore so that vegetables, firewood, tiles and other items could be brought in by boats. Hence the name, Tanneer (water) Turai (fronted) market. Spanning eight and a half grounds and divided into stalls, it came up as a Trust largely due to the munificence of V Bhashyam Iyengar, a legal luminary who resided nearby. Today the river is a foul gutter and bringing goods by boat is impossible, but the market thrives.

 

The best times to visit the place are in the early hours of the morning and once again in the evening. The best way to explore it is by walk and there is no space to park any vehicle in the near vicinity. Sales go on in a brisk fashion, with bargaining being enjoyed by vendor and buyer alike, the sharp Mylapore repartees being given and taken in equal measure. Today you can buy vegetables, fruits, plantain leaves and coconuts from here. Meat is a strict no-no perhaps due the largely Tambrahm nature of Mylapore.

 

Feeling peckish and in the mood for some light ‘Tiffin’? Then step into Durga Bhawan, one of the oldest Udupi style restaurants in this part of the city, just opposite the market. As for temples, there are plenty in this area. Facing the market is the Appar Swami Temple, built in 1852 in memory of a saint of the same name who attained salvation here a year earlier. Sharing a wall with the market is the famed Luz Anjaneyar Temple. Close by is a temple dedicated to Tiruvalluvar, the immortal early poet, who is said to have resided in this area. He is also commemorated in a statue next to the market.

 

This nerve centre of Mylapore is sadly under threat. One of the 18 merchants who controls it has it is said sold his share to a developer who wants to demolish the structure and build a high-rise here. Over 250 families, including vendors, labourers, handcart operators and rickshaw-pullers depend on the place. Some of the shopkeepers have gone to court against the demolition and there matters rest. Before something happens, rush along and see Mylapore in all its dynamism.

 

The author can be contacted at srirambts@gmail.com

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Daily/skins/TOI/navigator.asp?Daily=TOICH&login=default&AW=1211518563593

The article is on page 57

Guzili Bazaar

Beginning this month, I will be writing a column on some Fridays for the Times of India, Chennai Edition. This will be connected with market places of Chennai, their history and their surroundings.

 

The first is below. They have supplemented it with some lovely pics in the main edition to which I do not find any internet link.

Chances are most people do not have an opportunity to see what lies behind Central Station, for everyone is in a hurry to either get on a train or get off it and go home. But if you come out of the Central Station exit for cars and turn right instead of left, you will reach Chennai’s flea market. In any North Indian city it would be called Chor Bazaar, but here it has a strange name – Guzili Bazaar.

 

The word Guzili probably comes from the Persian “Guzl” which means secret. And sure enough in its heyday this was a place were every stolen good would be brought to be sold. It once stretched all the way to Evening Bazaar Street near Wall Tax Road, but now it is a small informal market that springs up everyday in a sort of shanty town. Today the variety of goods being sold here is not much and certainly they are no longer stolen items, but if you have a liking for the offbeat this is the place to go to. There are stalls that sell old coins ranging from the ¼ anna with a hole in its middle to those minted in former princely states such as Travancore and Hyderabad. Lampshades and ornamental bulbs are available in plenty as is a variety of hardware items including cutting pliers, garden shears and spades. If you are lucky you may even lay your hands on a Ravi Varma print made in the 1920s. A variety of telephone instruments, mostly imitations of old antiques are available. Occasionally an exquisite set of walking sticks or a camera of the 1950s will make their appearance. Haggling is an accepted method of transaction and you are expected to strike a hard bargain.

 

If you can tear yourself away from this market and if you have escaped with the contents of your pockets intact, then continue walking down the long carriageway. This ends in a sylvan park, so quiet and so green that you cannot imagine that you are near the station. This is My Ladye’s Garden, the sole survivor of 116 acres of parkland in this area that boasted of many ponds, a swimming pool and even a zoo. All that has gone, but My Ladye’s Garden is maintained beautifully by the Corporation. It was once the venue for Mayoral tea parties, annual flower shows and December Music Conference and Concerts of the Music Academy. These are no longer held, but the park is a walker’s paradise. It also has on display a number of statues made by art students of Madras city in the 1930s. The park is a complete contrast to Guzili Bazaar, but that is Chennai- a surprise at every turn.