A 34-year-old organisation. A project 16 years in the making. Fifty contributors, some of whom have passed on. Three volumes and one comprehensive index. The release of Madras (Chennai): A 400 Year Record of the First City of Modern India edited by city chronicler S Muthiah was held at Crowne Plaza recently with a galaxy of persons associated with the book, the British Council and the British Deputy High Commission, being felicitated.
The evening that resembled a warm, old-boy’s event had at its helm, former civil servant, PM Belliappa, who outlined the founding of the Association of British Scholars, Chennai (the oldest ABS chapter) and its commitment as a national forum to facilitate the networking of Indians who have studied or trained in the UK and harness the resources gained.
A short audio-visual presentation also explained why ABS chose to record the history of Chennai. It highlighted the city’s contribution to European-style banking, railways, defence; its courage during the World Wars; its census, public libraries, engineering schools, cinema, racing and its huge network of WiFi.
All these facets and more filled the pages of three old-world bound volumes that record in detail The Land, The People and Their Governance; Services, Education and the Economy; and Information, Culture and Entertainment. The volumes were released by Jeremy Pilmore-Bedford, British Deputy High Commissioner, with Eunice Crook, former Director, British Council South India, in whose tenure the project had been commissioned, receiving the first copies. Pilmore-Bedford called the books “the unravelling of Madras, its nooks and crannies”.
N Ravi, Director, Kasturi and Sons, spoke on the evolution of newspapers in the city -— of The Hindu , especially. He also called the recently released work a “virtuous confluence of contributors with an exacting standard”. Chellappan of Palaniappa Brothers (the publishers of the book), Janaka Pushpanathan, Director, British Council South India, who spoke on the need for an organisation such as the ABS, and N Rajendran, Vice-Chancellor, Alagappa University, Karaikudi, were felicitated.
Muthiah, who continues to pen books on the city that fills his heart, said that when the project began Madras Day (August 22) was a one-day affair and it has now grown to be month-long comprising various events. “It’s proof of how we love this first city of modern India.”
