Smell the Kapi

Pages: 158

The book under review,tagged A Short Biography of Madras,is a welcome addition to the steady stream of non-fiction books about Indian metros offered to the reading public since the early 1990s.

There are at least two reasons for the surfeit in this genre. Until recently,we have not had the opportunity to develop local narratives about our metros,to reflect on our urban history free of colonial baggage. These books are a way of owning and acknowledging that history from the vantage of a free nation. Second,the recent transformation of our cities with the advent of globalisation is turning them into homogenous zones of global production and consumption. The unique history of their creation and passage into an era of genteel optimism needs to be set down for posterity.

Nirmala Lakshmans book serves these two objectives admirably. First on that list of what makes Madras special is the citys history spanning both the ancient,multi-faceted culture of the Tamil country and its heyday as a centre of colonial power forged by traders and conquerors from distant lands. Madras was also an important centre of the countrys freedom movement. In 1956,Madras became the capital of Tamil Nadu. It was renamed Chennai 40 years later. The authors recounting of this widely-known history through her personal encounters with what has remained of it old localities and heritage monuments brings it alive for us in a more intimate way. Conversations with

eminent historians of the city also enrich the account.

A large city must still remain imaginary even for a native resident. For writing this book,Nirmala Lakshman explored the many localities and layers of the city first-hand with the intent to relearn,to realign memory and fact and ended up recasting the city in a new light, an engaging way of coming to terms with the citys present. Madras is acknowledged as a gracious city,anchored in tradition and,at the same time,comfortable with the new. In a chapter titled The Layered City,the author catalogues these impressionistic but genuine attributes of the city. The effects of this enlightened attitude on the citys evolution are salutary. Any recent visitor to Pune or Bangalore will console herself that this particular paradise has not been entirely paved overat least,not yet. In what has become Chennai,a global city on the make,gracious Madras lives on as pentimento,indelible and enduring as a shaping influence.

The pleasures of living in Madras,which has evolved into a world-class venue of the performing arts,and its pre-eminence as a centre of film production are described with a measure of pride. The knowledgeable Chennai crowd enjoying the vagaries of a Test match is the stuff of legend. The citys quiet achievers stand testimony to the citys credo of combining excellence with simplicity. There are notes here,too,about the citys food culture,leisure spots and the one and only Marina beach.

As the author discovers in the course of writing this book,there were as many iterations of the Chennai story as there were people to tell it. Any individuals view of a large city can only be partial,shaped inexorably by her personal vantage and scope. Some may find Degree Coffee…patrician in its

outlook,but we need it as much as we may need A Peoples History

of Madras in the years to come. After all,it is such personal affinity and commitment on the part of its citizens that bring energy and value to a city.

N Kalyan Raman is a consultant and translator from Tamil