Jaya and her friends used to hurry home from school so that they could spend as much time as possible on ‘Radio Beach’ — the stretch on the Marina bang opposite Sunkuwar Street and the PWD building. After finishing their homework, they would run to the children’s park on Radio Beach. After a round on the swing and the seesaw, the tired children would sit on the cement benches, swaying their heads to the film songs that would play on speakers fitted on lean, tall poles.
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DID YOU KNOW! Prior to the 60's, a horse cart shed, at the junction of Singrachari Street and T.P Koil Street, hired out carts for transport |
Triplicane is still synonymous with thinnais, mada veethis , cricket, politics and religion. N. Ramani, ex-president of the Srinivasa Youngmen’s Association, says that beach cricket was popular in those days. Every street had its own cricket team. “It was a unifying factor, with boys from the nearby Ayodhya Kuppam also part of the teams.”
Ranganayaki Jayaraman, popular dance guru, who is celebrating the 75 year of her dance school ‘Saraswathy Gana Nilayam’, recalls how students of the school used to perform Pinnal Kolattam and Gummi on the busy stretches of Pycrofts Road, Triplicane High Road, Mada Street for over a decade.
Triplicane is known for its effervescence. “Anything that began here has a long life, whether it is the Parthasarathy Swami Sabha, Triplicane Cultural Academy or the Kainkarya sabhas. Though situated in the city, it still retains the flavour of a village with its rich traditions and customs,” says Mr. Ramani