My favorite city has been (and may be will be) Madras (not Chennai) always. My association started when I visited Madras with my parents when they went there for Thyagaraja Aradhana in the month of December when I was 11 years old. Music Academy was the venue. I was left to play with kids in father's friend,Mr. VK Balasubrahmanyam , a professor in Madras Law college. They were living in Shenoy Nagar, on the outskirts!! (Now it is such a busy center).
My next visit was a memorable one for it got me kicked out of Andhra Loyola College, Vijayawada, where I was doing my PUC (class XII). I wanted to attend the convocation and receive my Visarada certificate from Dakshina Bharatha Hindi Prachar Sabha in T. Nagar. I was denied permission by our Vice Principal, as it will mean missing 3 days of college at such a crucial time (quarterly exams). I went anyway, had a jolly time, saw Cleopatra in Safire and went back to Vijayawada, only to find that I was expelled for indiscipline.It ended happily after my father came, apologized and paid a hefty readmission fee. To his great credit and to my utter astonishment, he did not scold me. He merely said " you won't fit into such colleges." I remembered this when I went to admit my son in Bangalore when I chose MSR over PES due to the strict rules of the latter and as my son was more free spirited than me.
Safire complex hosted a theatre with continuous shows--The Blue diamond. You can buy a ticket and walk in any time, stay any length of time, see the same movie again and again. But if you come out, you have to buy a new ticket. In the later visits, I used to walk in in the middle of a movie, watch till the end, wait for it to start again, see till the point where I started and then walk out. So most of the time I knew how it ended before I knew how it started.
Once I became a student of JIPMER, I was a frequent visitor as I had to pass through Madras on my way to Pondicherry.
More to come----------------
My next visit was a memorable one for it got me kicked out of Andhra Loyola College, Vijayawada, where I was doing my PUC (class XII). I wanted to attend the convocation and receive my Visarada certificate from Dakshina Bharatha Hindi Prachar Sabha in T. Nagar. I was denied permission by our Vice Principal, as it will mean missing 3 days of college at such a crucial time (quarterly exams). I went anyway, had a jolly time, saw Cleopatra in Safire and went back to Vijayawada, only to find that I was expelled for indiscipline.It ended happily after my father came, apologized and paid a hefty readmission fee. To his great credit and to my utter astonishment, he did not scold me. He merely said " you won't fit into such colleges." I remembered this when I went to admit my son in Bangalore when I chose MSR over PES due to the strict rules of the latter and as my son was more free spirited than me.
Safire complex hosted a theatre with continuous shows--The Blue diamond. You can buy a ticket and walk in any time, stay any length of time, see the same movie again and again. But if you come out, you have to buy a new ticket. In the later visits, I used to walk in in the middle of a movie, watch till the end, wait for it to start again, see till the point where I started and then walk out. So most of the time I knew how it ended before I knew how it started.
Once I became a student of JIPMER, I was a frequent visitor as I had to pass through Madras on my way to Pondicherry.
More to come----------------
4 comments:
Very interesting narrative
Excellent, babai. On the rare occasion that I viavi Chennai, l also get that rush of nostalgia. A timeless place with an urbane outlook.
Even that small insight into Tathagaru is amazing. What a unique individual!
Nanna would tell us his childhood stories about Madras, the music academy, the books Thathagaru would read. They were my favorite stories to hear. This is my favorite post now. Please keep them coming!
Nice one, Uncle. Did you live in Chennai anytime ?
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