I was the last of 13 children in my family. When I was around 12, I decided to run away from home in Virudhunagar to find a job in Madras. A woman from a drama troupe took me with her and left me near Mount Road. I wanted to be an army nurse, since I heard that they were hiring those who had done some schooling. But when I went to the recruitment office, I didn't get the job and was really upset.
As I was walking down towards Gemini (the studio was the only landmark in that area then and was behind the present Parsn complex building), a good soul spotted me and took me under her care. I lived with her near the Thousand Lights area and she asked me to get a job in Gemini Studios. I soon joined the studio staff at a salary of Rs.150.
The one thing I will cherish about Madras is that all the actors, directors and drama artists I worked with were affectionate to me. We were a group of girls who were very close. After work, sometimes, we would take a tram to Triplicane and then walk to the beach, which was clean and not crowded.
I moved out of Thousand Lights area and four of us rented a house and hired a cook. We would travel mainly by tram. You would see boys running behind it and then footboarding on it all the time. Buses weren't popular, but hand-rickshaws were common. You could even hire them on a monthly basis; at about Rs. 20 to Rs. 30.
Theatre flourished and there were many troupes that did well. Plays were major crowd pullers. For about two decades, I worked with N.S. Krishnan's troupe and then joined S.V. Sahasranamam's company. People recognised me as a good performer and offers for films came my way.
In 1959, I bought my first home in Royapettah on Pachaiappan Nayakkan Road. Three years later, I bought my first car, a Morris Eight. I would drive to theatres and studios.
There were about 15 studios in Kodambakkam itself and most of my films were shot there. Chitra Talkies, Shanti and Gaiety theatres were those I frequented.
Keywords: Gemini Studios, Memories of Madras
May I remind readers of Haddows Road, Nungambakkam. In the 50's and 60's, it was a tree lined paradise, with Railway Houses--Blenheim, Connemara, Burlington etc. After 8 p.m. we would be afraid of cycling there in the dark!!!!
Was this the actress who acted in the rags-to-riches story of Nagesh? I always enjoy watching the black and white movies. Even the photos, as printed here, are so sharp, with the features of the actors quite visible. Yes, the old is always gold.
Mahendra Patel's reaction has touched me more than the actual column. The beauty is, Mahendra is now settled in USA, and being a north Indian who spent time in Chennai (then Madras), still checks out 'The Hindu' newspaper daily. What better proof that the Madras factor has bitten him !
Yes..it is too short.. i would have loved to hear of Mount Road in the fifties..I lived in Madras from 1953(my birth year) till 1976..i cannot forget VTI,Spencers,Kennedy book centre,Higginbothams ,Safire complex on Mount Road and Woody's drive in..I am told by my friends that most old landmarks are missing.The same is the case in B'lore where i stayed from 1976 to 1990 and the same with Bombay(no,Mumbai)where i have been since then.Old is really gold.
Too short. I wish this lady was allowed to reminisce a little more. Some of the names of the people and streets she mentions have a ring of nostalgia.
The nostalgic memories recalled by the veteran actress Mrs.S.N.Lakshxmi, are out of the ordinary. When the readers are overfed with such information about kolliwood, involving mainly M.G.R.and Sivaji, a character artist like Mrs.S.N.Lakshmi's experience with old Chennai really amuses the readers.
This is a very interesting article. It reminds me of my time in Madras between 1955 and 1960 during my high school years. I was only one of the two North Indian Students in the class at Madras Christian College High School. Hindi was a hated language. I only knew broken English and only couple of words of Tamil. It was difficult to communicate with others but I survived and enjoyed my young years there. Everywhere the population was thin. Mount Road was clean and big plywood statues of South Indian actors and actresses along the road are still in my memory. I watched Tamil movie's trailor and it was 1/2 hr long where as actual movies were 5hrs long with 2 intervals. People were very honest, helpful and friendly. I lived in Kilpauk where there were Anglo Indians. I had 2 Anglo Indian and one Maharashtrian friend with whom I played cricket. I visted Marina Beach which had widest stretch of sand before the clean ocean. I had best doasas at Das Prakash hotel for breakfast. I studied one year in Gujarati school at 'Shoukar peth' where there were lots of Gujaratis and their groceries and jewelary shops and I also enjoyed idli/vada combo with cofeee for less than a rupee. So overall I had best years of my high school life in Madras.
After I read through this story I found nothing revealing in her resume. Just a plain old rags to riches story blessed with some good luck along the way. Hindu must print only those stories of the bygone Madras/Chennai, that makes interesting and compelling reading. Not the pedestrian one I find herein and thanks.
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