We recently found hitherto unpublished photographs of the city shortly after it was bombed by the German cruiser
Archives of The Hindu can surprise even seasoned researchers and staff who deal with it. The catalogue and index are comprehensive, but there are hidden gems that regularly surface to everyone’s pleasure. Last week, archive staff, along with photo editor D. Krishnan, serendipitously discovered a cache of hitherto unpublished photographs depicting scenes of bombarded Madras in 1914.
The pictures appear to portray a city that was calm despite the shelling, but the reports reveal a different scene. The situation was similar to what we are witnessing now — people misled by rumours leaving the city in fear and great hurry.
The morning of September 22, 1914, was the third day of Navratri festival. The world was torn by a raging war, but Madras was going about its golu exhibitions as it always did. Moses and Company, the tailors on Mount Road, were advertising their woollen suits and woollen underwear for Europe-bound students. Madras Corporation was debating the closure of a road in Santhome. All this was to change in the night that followed.
About 20 minutes past nine, German cruiser Emden fired at the city and the ‘placid conditions’ at Madras were ‘violently shaken.’ There was panic and exodus. Rumour mills were active and news spread that the ship would target Madras again — and soon. Even announcements of reward for those who would help arrest troublemakers did not help. No amount of appeal worked.
Every day about 20,000 people left the city. The railway station was packed. Crowds went out of control and the railways had to summon special police. Those who could not get the train took the road — leaving on carts and on foot. Prices of commodities shot up. There was chaos and confusion.
Emden, weighing 3,600 tonnes and armed with 22 guns, was on a mission in the Eastern seas to sink commercial ships. Without any resistance or difficulty, it came close to the shores of Madras and fired a volley of shots. After striking at two oil tanks, it indulged in ‘fancy shooting.’
D. Scott, a contributor to The Indian Review, who witnessed the scene standing under the old light house battery, reported that shells lay scattered as far away as Poonamallee High Road, Choolai, Casa Major Road and Nungambakkam.
“The projectiles found many a billet in the buildings of Port Trust, Boat House of the Madras Sailing Club and facade of the new National Bank of India,” he wrote. A few unexploded shells were also lying around. In all, three died and 13 were injured.
Surprisingly, there was no report in The Hindu about the shelling on the following day or the day after. Possibly, the government had restrained the newspaper from reporting it. Such unwise moves only made things worse.
Rumours spread thick and fast. On the second night after the bombing, The Hindu reported that “an Eurasian dressed in the Madras Volunteer Guard uniform” was spotted in Mafzhurkhan Gardens, spreading false news that Emden would attack the city again. People, the paper said, “spent sleepless nights watching to hear the sound of first gun to get away from the town.”
None of this perturbed Lord Pentland, the governor of Madras, who was then camping in Ooty. He descended from the hills only on September 25, three days after the bombing. He met officials at Central station at 7.10 a.m., went to the harbour, visited General Hospital to meet the wounded, and by 10.15 a.m., was in the government house.
He assured a group of war fund contributors that Emden would not revisit the city and returned to Ooty after a couple of days. The Hindu quoted a citizen as saying, “If Madras is safe why not His Excellency remain here?”
Reports about Emden’s exploits continued to pour in: its cunning ways, audacity and ability to outwit the British Navy earned it grudging admiration and helped it find a place in Tamil lexicon.
On November 9,whenEmden was trying to disrupt cables on Cocos Island, it was engaged by Sydney, an Australian cruiser. After a fierce battle, Emden was sunk. The news reached Madras on the morning of November 11. The anxious public heaved a sigh of relief. The Hindu editorial summed up the popular mood: “Now that the Emden has been sunk, the vague fears and risks engendered in the popular mind would disappear.”
Keywords: Emden attack, exodus, German ship
Your readers might be interested to know that there is a numismatic souvenier of the S.M.S. Emden. The contents of the German raider Emden's treasury consisting of Mexican dollars were seized by the HMAS Sydney as prize money. Of the original 6,429 dollars, the Australian Navy Board had 1,000 mounted as medals, 996 distributed to the crew of the Sydney, to admiralty, distinguished persons, libraries, museums, historical societies, etc. both in England and Australia, and the remaining 4,433 melted down at the Sydney Mint and the proceeds were donated to the Royal Australian Navy Relief Fund. In addition, it is fascinating and delightful to read of the manner in which the word crept into the vernacular lexicon. I wonder whether the plaques refered to by your readers still exist?
Emden makes interesting reading.Have seen near eastern wall of Madras High Court a sign in black stone stating that a shell fell there exactly.Phrase 'enna peria emdenaa' caught on replacing 'evaru peria ladu(meaning Lord)' with street end talkers.
In the thirties and forties the word 'Emden' was a metaphor (in
Madras) for someone thought to be super-clever and go-getter.
"Avan periya Emden-da" was the expression I had heard a lot of times.
Hats off Hindu... Keep your good work going... As one of the above reader mentioned, persons away from Madras always cherish their memories of their earlier association and eagerness to know about their City which is close to their heart..
Thanks so much for this photo.
I remember when we were very young, my grandmother would tell us keep
quiet, else 'Emden varan' (meaning, Emden is coming).
For a long time, even as an adult, I always thought, Emden was some
evil man. Didn't quite know she was talking about WW1. Looking back,
she was precious.
There is a hearsay that Capt Shenbagaraman from Nagercoil or the erstwhile princely state of Travancore, who we can say is a forerunner to the thought process of India liberating itself from the British by use of armed force, had allied himself with the Germans and was in the feared ship when these bombings occurred. Did Mr. Srivathsan come across any material that corroborates this? Would be happy to hear.
This is the reason that a tough person is called an Emden.
Wonderful article, nice picture too. Thanks to 'The HINDU' for publishing this. The
photo certainly is a collector's item.
One thing however: the sobriquet Tamil lexicon generally refers to the monumental
Tamil Lexicon published by the University of Madras. This opus magnum does not
have 'Emden' listed. It is possible however that other dictionaries do have the word
listed.
A very soul-stirring article close to my heart because my
grandparents lived in the Choolai/Purasai area working as doctors
during that time and my grandpa used to tell us stories of the
conditions then prevailing and used to sing a song which goes like "
emden vetaan ghundu ayerintha tanki rendhu" The photo with the rail
tracks and bridge is the Elipstone Bridge or Elephant gate bridge as
the locals call, further down at the end of the bridge is Sattana
Naicker St where one of the shells landed, killing an old woman. Local songs composed on this bombing
theme was printed on 1 anna booklets and sold at street corners. Real
estate bottomed out during the peak bombing days; some sold their homes
at dirt-cheap prices and baled out of the city. The European elite were
taken aback by the speed and stealth of the attack, I believe, as per my
grandpa's accounts of those days. Emden was named after a german city
and was launched in the port of Danzig.
My grandfather till his death frequently used the word "You are Emden" whenever I provided a clever answer. This he said because of the German warship's clever attack on Chennai. Nice to read this article and Chennaities should know such historical events. Thanks to Hindu.
Thanks to The Hindu. I am trying to go back in time and imagine how life would have been in those few days. Keep it up!
Hindu, Well done - you rock! Thanks for such a precious sliver of
information, that too on Madras day :)
The photo at the beginning shows re-inforcement of concrete exposed. I wish to know whether Madras had cement concrete roads way back in 1914?
Thanks a lot to Mr Srivatsan and the 'Hindu for the interesting Article on Emden the German ship and the shockwaves it created among the residents of Madras City by the firing of a few shells. It was only a couple of days back I made a passing reference to someone on Emden and its significance while referring to anyone of a mischievous type ' "Avan peria Emdenakkum' jhakridai'.(He is a big Emden. Take care} With the passage of time it appears to have lost its usage.
I am now able to understand the context of using the word EMDEN by my mother - born and brought up in Madras. Your article helps us connect to yester years which were well captured by the popular usage of the words, "yenna, yamdan gundu aah" meaning someone who can stand up to challenge and challenge was symbolised by usage of the word EMDEN. I will share the article with my mother who I am sure will be delighted.
A very interesting article...it is the first time I have read a fairly
detailed account of the Emden bombing. W.r.t. Mr. S. Mundayoor's
comment, I had no idea that "yamandan" or "jamandan" (as we corrupt it
sometimes) is of such recent origin!! I would never have even remotely
suspected that the origins of the word lay with a German ship. Thank you
for that very informative tidbit!
A beautiful report, and pictures are really an antique. Belonging to the
Generation Y, Had it not been for V.Dhivakar, I would have never heard
of Emden referring to a book sans the Tamil movie. Having read the book
recently, an article on it naturally aroused my curiosity and to be
honest - The Hindu never disappoints to quench information thirst, as
always. A hearty thanks to Mr. Srivathsan for this wonderful report and
picture. And by the way, History is still loved by everyone - so a few
more insights will surely be welcome.
Germans are not stupid and naive as portrayed by the English and American movies. They are definitely far superior and inventive by nature. It was the British that miserably failed to outwit the Germans, who were and are very formidable people.
Excellent article and an amazing surprise about how Madras was in a real war zone ,
so to speak . Keep up the standard Boys!! it is always a pleasure and rewarding to
look at the pages of the Hindu, particularly when you live outside Tamilnadu!
Excellent article on world war happenings in madras during century back events.No historian could have gave a picture what THE HINDU now published.Fortunatly the present communication channels were not avialable those days which could trigger more panic than passing correct information.In this Madras day remembering those events will tell us the advancements we made in many fronts.The pictures published in this columns are virtually invaluable treasures.
The report is indeed interesting. (We in far away Arunachal are
waiitng to see the actual newspaper, whihc hopefully should reach us
in a week to ten days!)
Emden has enriched not only Tamil, but Malayalam too. Around 50 years
back the word "yamandan" was quite popular even in remote villages of
Malabar, to mean something gigantic or impressively huge. of course
one may hardly find it now in the speech of the current generation.
is this the reason the phrase was coined:
"He is an Emden"?
cheers
Nice read!
My grandmother who at that time who lived in George town remarked that she had a piece of shell as a keepsake.She also said that quite a few UPPERCLASS people moved to Banglore permanantly
I think on the backside compound wall of Madras High Court closer to Parrys Corner, there was a stone inscription mentioning Emden's bomb had fallen there.I donot know whether it is still there, I must have seen it more than 50 years back.
Thanks for a historic pictures and never seen before .Students never taught history of Madras and Naval excercise by Cholas but always about other India places , hope current Administration should add these pictures and atatck of Chennai by EMDEN in k-12 education....
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