It is exactly 100 years (22nd September) since the German ship Emden made a sporadic bombardment of Madras. The above picture of the plaque where one shell landed was taken by me 7 years ago. The plaque is on the Eastern wall of the High Court not far from the Rajaji statue.
In fact, there is an expression in Tamil 'Peria Emden' for braggarts and wannabe dadas.
For more information on the Emden attack, see the link to this blog by Lakshmi Sharath: http://www.lakshmisharath.com/2011/08/13/madras-special-the-bombing-of-madras-by-emden/
The good old rag picker seems to be doing more for garbage clearance than the official contractor in Chennai.
Many years ago, NB Nirmal of Exnora trained and equipped the rag pickers and converted them into 'street beautifiers'.
An old building in Royapettah being demolished with scant regard for the safety of the workers as well as the pedestrians and other road users. The debris and the demolition materials also occupied a good part of the narrow road.
Thannithorai vegetable market, adjacent to the Luz Anjaneyar temple was very much part of the lives of most residents of Mylapore and surrounding areas. The market used to hum with activity in the morning when fresh vegetables were haggled over and traded. Personally, I had, an almost ritualistic association with this market when my daughters were students of the nearby Vidya Mandir School. Sundays were their day of Girl Guides at the school. I would drop them at the school grounds early morning for their weekly activities and go across to Thanni thurai market for the weekly supply of vegetables. Those were the days when Rs.30 or 40 could fetch you enough vegetables for a family of four with a coconut thrown in. The market has changed hands and it is bought over by a real estate developer, I am told. The above is view of the pulled down market (Oct. 2012). Probably it will make way for a large store or shopping complex, increasing the congestion of this area.
A procession of women devotees at Padur, a village on the IT Expressway, popularly called Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR). The official name of this road is Rajiv Gandhi Salai. Many IT companies and other Hi-Tech ventures in addition to several engineering colleges are situated on this road.
An M F Hussain masterpiece being exhibited at Ashvita art gallery as part of their decennial celebrations.
During Ayudha pooja, all craftsmen, artisans, professionals, students and businessmen pray to their books and tools of the trade. Here, an autoriksha with Christian icons is cleaned and ready for the pooja in front of the Anjaneya temple, Luz. Near the (now defunct) thannithorai vegetable market.
