I lived at T. Nagar between 1952 and 1960 when I walked to Sarada Vidyalaya on Usman Road. We used to walk from Venkataraman Street to school. One day, we would take G.N. Chetty Road and another day we would take Thyagaraya Road. Sometimes, we would see Rajaji [C. Rajagopalachari] drive past and we would ask for a lift. He would drop us. He would tell me not to wear my hair in two plaits, but as a single plait.
We would walk all around T. Nagar without fear. I remember wearing gold jewellery during Navaratri and visiting neighbours and friends to invite them over for ‘kolu’. Pondy Bazaar’s Geeta Cafe was a favourite haunt. Pocket money was unknown, but we would manage to sneak a cup of coffee and bonda. I saw a movie for the first time when I was in Eighth Grade. Patti [grandmother] would permit it sometimes. My brother would take me to Rajakumari Theatre, which screened English movies. We could go for the morning show starting at 10 a.m.
Nalli would come with a bundle of saris closer to Deepavali and we would buy them from the comfort of our home. There was a Nalli shop at Pondy Bazaar. It was at Twin Brothers that I used to get my jewellery for dance programmes. There was a small shop near the post office that sold threads and all kinds of sewing items. Even after marriage I used to visit the shop for threads.
N.S. Krishnan and T.A. Madhuram lived across patti’s house. Every morning, at 5.30, they would come home and say, “Mami, coffee”. Patti would brew them coffee and after their coffee they would proceed to play tennis. Actor Gemini Ganesan was a frequent visitor to the street. He would stop and play cricket with the boys. I have also played cricket with him.
I enjoyed visiting the Cherian Brothers. The owner would create portraits and I would watch him for hours. In those days there was no fear of being abused by anyone. We walked fearlessly along the streets. I have walked the entire breadth of Boag Road. Now I would be scared to send my children out alone.
There was no water problem back then at T. Nagar. Each house had a well and water was drawn from the well to clean vessels and for cooking. Water scarcity hit me hard when I got married and moved to Srinagar Colony at Saidapet. Even then, there was no water problem in patti’s house . Every house had a beautiful garden. Crotons were a common plant. There were crotons of every colour. I don’t see such large gardens any more anywhere in the city.
For the first time, I saw the mud roads leading to our houses when we moved to Adyar after my father built a house at Kasturba Nagar. The land was parched and there was extreme water scarcity. Adyar offered a plethora of characters who later became part of my stories. At that time, Karpagam Gardens was a large paddy field and Besant Nagar was just opening up with plots marked out for development. Now I live in Thiruvanmiyur which, in my mind, is still part of Adyar.
(As told to R. Sujatha.)
