I arrived in Madras in 1950 to join my father P.A. Subrahmanya Ayyar who had settled in Egmore after a long career as a professor of English at Annamalai University.
Our house was in Gengu Reddi Road, Egmore, very quiet except for occasional noise from the electric trains running on the tracks. There were very few cars and motorcycles and plenty of bicycles. Buses and hand-pulled cycle rickshaws were the only mode of transport. People walked leisurely on the roads which became quieter after night fall.
Electric lights and fans were a luxury and it was my task to clean and light the kerosene lamps in the evening. Only a few houses could boast of radios sets. Radio was very popular and running commentaries on cricket Test matches were a big draw. We were thrilled to hear the eloquent Maharaja of Vijayanagar or ‘Vizzy’using superlatives to praise the performances of Vijay Hazare, Vinoo Mankad or Lala Amarnath.
Cricket was a popular game played on the streets and on the vast ground called Lake Area, near the railway tracks.
The Corporation school on Veeraswamy Pillai Street and the M.Ct. School met the educational needs of boys. Girls were sent to Presidency Girls School, earlier called P.T. School.
Studying at Madras Christian College School, Chetpet or in Don Bosco was matter of prestige. There were not many English medium schools in the 50s and 60s but parents were not hesitant to send their children to Tamil medium schools. I studied at Sir M. Ct. Muthiah Chettiar Boys School and a band of dedicated teachers taught me in my mother tongue.
Late in the ‘70s, our family shifted to Purasawalkam, which was more populated than Egmore. Yet, it was fairly quiet and blissful to walk on Poonamallee High Road with tall trees forming an unending arch.
Hotel Dasaprakash and its Cream Parlour were the favourite haunts of many youngsters.
Purasawalkam High Road was a market place, though not occupied by huge shops.
Roxy Theatre and Uma Talkies were patronised by film goers. Booking of tickets were not heard of and the poor benches inside the theatre had to bear the burden of accommodating as many viewers as the theatre owners wanted to accommodate maximum people.
The present day Vellala Street, which is now a nightmare for pedestrians, was clean and its residents were proud that the renowned R.K. Narayanan was once their neighbour. Many famous Christian educational institutions such as C.S.I. Ewart School, St. Paul’s High School and E.L.M. Fabricius, Doveton School, Lady M. Ct. Girls School catered to the educational needs of youngsters.
Changes are inevitable in the history of localities. And Egmore and Puruswalkam, the two friendly neighbours, have also changed considerably. Along with changes are losses too, like the good old tram. Nobody knows how the two localities will change in the next 50 years. Time alone can tell.
(P.S. Ramamurti runs the Egmore Samskrt School from his residence at Vellala Street, Purasawalkam)
