A steam engine regally sits outside the Perambur Loco Works. For many this is what they associate with this locality. There are those who fondly recall childhood memories of spending Sundays getting family photographs clicked with this engine. For the others, a drive around this green and calm area was a way to destress. But there are many more pleasant stories that now sit buried deep under the swanky bricks of commercialisation that’s gradually taken over this place.
Eva Fonceca moved from Perambur to Vepery when she was 14. As a 70-year-old now she’s watched the place transform over the last 55 years. “In 1961 there were still a few sand roads,” she says, as we drive along smooth tar roads passing latticed houses on one side and large walls of the Loco Works on the other. Green vines and creepers gently grow along most of the houses that take us back in time.
“Perambur is known as a hub for Anglo-Indians. A lot of them worked at the Integral Coach Factory here. The families residing here were friendly and loved music and dance,” she says. The car gradually makes its way into a bustling part of town. We pass the famous Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, The St Joseph’s Anglo-Indian School and the Railway Mixed Higher Secondary School — the two schools where many Anglo-Indian children studied and the Railway stadium that has seen numerous sports events. “Its been around since 1958,” says one of the men guarding the entry. A rusty scoreboard that has seen better days rests against the empty stands overlooking the patch of green ground. The road is flanked by biryani stalls, ATMs, stores selling clothes, and outlets stacked to the brim with footwear...
“It used to be called Main Road and there were only rows of houses before. It’s called Siravallur Road now,” says Fonceca. She believes that the exodus led to houses paving the way for commercial establishments. “In the ‘50s and ‘60s a lot of Anglo-Indians moved to England and then in the ‘70s to Australia. Their homes were lying vacant and some were dilapidated,” she says.
Meanwhile, a few people put up banners outside the Southern Railway Institute. It looks rather run-down but still plays host to functions, weddings primarily. Fonceca’s face lights up. “It used to be famous for its Saturday evening dances. There were either radiograms or live bands playing and a game of Tambola,” she says. On her 16th birthday she attended her first dance. The music and dancing started at 9 pm and went on till 5 am. “Caravelles, The Shades, Jumping Joel’s and Fabulous Pearls were some of the popular bands. They played a mix of Rock‘n’Roll, Fox Trot and Waltz. By the end of the dance people would just stretch out on the chairs and walk across to the church for the first mass,” she says. And tickets were priced at ₹5 to ₹10 per head.
Another popular event back then was the Hawkfield Binny’s Dance that took place on December 31 every year. “It stopped once the mills shut down,” says Fonceca. The sprawling ground is a construction site now with a large township under way. Tailors in the area would stitch all their fancy gowns, be it for dances or Christmas. “From October itself there was this smell in the air. We would start gearing up for the festival. By November all the dress material would have been sent to the tailors and by December first week we would all have our new clothes,” she says. Around Christmas, families, cousins and friends would get together to make kul kuls (sweetened dough rolled out on the back of a fork), cakes, dodol , and rose cookies. They would make a variety of wines from beetroot and grape. Now that’s all the more reason to visit Perambur, for its quaint tree-lined streets and of course delightful Anglo-Indian desserts.
(This is the third of a six-part series that looks at various neighbourhoods in North Chennai, as part of Madras Week)
