Eswaradoss Lala Street in Triplicane was where my grandmother used to live. As a child, I would visit her during summer vacations in the late 1940s. The rented house was very close to Marina Beach. But I remember it as Radio Beach.
Every evening, we used to walk to the beach, play for a while and then sit on the cement seats provided on an elevated circular dais. Exactly at 5 p.m., two long conical speakers would be fitted and All India Radio programmes would be broadcast. We got to listen to songs, both Carnatic and film music, news, weather reports and, at times, even drama. The trend continued up to the 1960s. Similarly, there was a Mobile Postal Van which would be stationed opposite the beach between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. We utilised this service not just for posting letters but also to buy postcards, covers and stamps. The unique feature of the mobile van was that registered posts were also accepted. It was very convenient and useful for the public.
Then my profession took me around India. When I returned, I was in for a surprise. There was no radio at our Radio Beach. And the mobile postal van had also been withdrawn.
(S.N. Harinarayanan is a project coordinator for Lions Club of Central Madras)
