Only two people in Chennai — Syed Feroz and S Anthony — entrusted with the keys to the city’s oldest, most prized clock towers of today. Fitted with mechanical clocks that are barely in production in India, a simple wrong twist of a screw or a missing cog, would mean that time would effectively stand still at these locations. These custodians. However, they are vigilant about the clocks’ every movement and their meticulous history. Meet the timekeepers of Chennai.
Syed’s mornings begin at 5am with phone calls from various officers of the Corporation and the Southern Railways, alerting him about time-bound quick-fixes of the clock as he is a contracted employee now. He maintains a roster to attend to the clocks at the Ripon Buildings, St Mary’s Church at Fort St George, St George’s Cathedral and a clock at the neighbouring US Consulate. S. Antony, a technician from P Orr & Sons, has been fixing clock towers for 10 years now.
Report by: Sanjana Ganesh
Camera: Johan Sathyadas, S. Shiva Raj and Thamodharan B.
Production: Thamodharan B.
Published - August 30, 2024 05:31 pm IST
