“I have been coming to Panagal Park since I was nine years old. I used to study in Ramakrishna High School just opposite,” says LR Ananthanarayan, who is set to turn 73 this year. The retiree has been frequenting the park since 1955, so it’s not surprising, that when asked to recall a favorite memory of it, he and his 83-year-old friend Sethuraman take a moment before speaking.
“In those days, not every house had a radio. So during the wars in 1962 and in 1971, all these benches in the park would be occupied by the public, gathered to listen to the news. There used to be hue and cry depending on what they heard,” he recalls. But most of the duo’s memories are simpler: those of playing games and climbing trees.
As they delve further, a third friend joins them, wearing a Save Panagal Park cap.
The white cap, with two tree symbols emblazoned on, are being sported by every other person in the park. They are being given out near the gate by Mahavir Bothra and his friends, to spread word about the park’s possible change of fate. “We need the metro train,” acknowledges the diamond jewellery manufacturer, “But we don’t want the trees to be cut. These trees are hundreds of years old.”
So even though Chennai Metro Rail Corporation has announced that it wouldn’t fell the park’s trees for a metro station, residents — including a collective called Friends of Panagal Park — are taking no chances. A petition is being circulated for signatures, online and otherwise, and the green space is abuzz with nostalgic conversation.
Homemaker Usha Raju has not only her memories to share, but also those of her parents and grandparents. “I have been playing here since childhood; we planted a number of saplings here to increase the greenery,” says Usha, pointing out where her mother used to sit during old visits.
“It used to be much greener back then, and there were more gates. That building you see outside one end of the park now, used to be a clear space where markets were organised. A gate used to lead out to it, and huge crowds would gather to watch celebrities shop. Life was very nice back then, and the park was much greener,” says Ananthanarayan.
Still, Ananthanarayan, Sethuraman and their friends have maintained their routine visits to the park for about six decades. “We come here everyday, to meet old friends.”
