August to October abound with Festivals and a new entrant to my calendar is MADRAS WEEK which starts immediately after the Independence Day Celebrations. I love this time since it talks of the Madras I grew up in wide eyed wonder, went to college and later made it home. Everything about Madras is perfect for me even the then quarrelsome taxi and auto services at Central Station. Every family has stories of their escapades with these belligerent gentleman, in spite of grave warnings sent ahead on closely written postcards.
The event I participated in and enjoyed was an early morning walk into Fort St George led by Sriram V. Sriram is an eclectic mix of relevant history and intriguing trivia that conjures up a drama before your eyes. Valour, treachery, lusty passions, intrigue, pious worship, discipline, snobbery, merchants of fortune, scallywags who courted respectability and above all the lure of wealth and fortune come alive in the early morning light as we walk the streets and alleys of the township Fort St George. Crumbling ruins mock us, daring one to dismiss the high column structures in classical proportions.
At the entrance to the Fort St George is a pretty cupola begging for a statue. It had the statue of Lord Cornwallis Governor General of India built by the then grateful citizens of Madras to commemorate his improbable victory over Tipu Sultan. The statue and cupola then roved around the Fort premises and Madras city, till the statue was finally housed inside the Fort Museum, leaving the cupola empty. Cornwallis resigned his post and returned to England but a few years later accepted Governor Generalship this time in Calcutta. He survived barely a year in his new command and was buried at Ghazipore in keeping with his dictum, "where the tree falls, let it lie." The gentry of Madras were once more roused to honour their hero. This time it was a "Cenotaph" and it was duly installed on the road leading to Adyar and this road came to be called Cenotaph Road. Cornwallis make have had a belief of having his bones undisturbed, but his memorials were not so fortunate. The Cenotaph travelled to First Line Beach,where it stands empty of its statue.
Fort St George, a 375 year old township with an unbroken tradition of garrisoning the rulers and their army remains much the same today. The streets are clearly marked with interesting names- Snobs Alley, the roads well laid, the beautiful Protestant St Mary's Church (where Clive was married and services continue even today), and the large Parade Square,The Kings Barracks of 100,000 sq ft. where the soldiers lived in the largest barracks in the world and made a fine sight as they drilled and presented arms at Parade Square.
During the walk we heard fascinating recounting of the skirmishes between the Portuguese at Santhome and the English at Fort St George, two European powers separated by 3 miles, and the chasm of religion, Portuguese was Catholic and England was Protestant. Their exchanges included kidnapping the clergy who then served in the Catholic Church as well as St Mary's depending on where the priest was in residence.
A last titbit that I have pieced together from some delectable throwaways shared by Sriram.
Lord Cornwallis first served Britain in America and fought in the American War of Independence. Defeated, dejected he returned to England till he was offered the command in Madras where he subdued Tipu and regained his stature. The story of his Statue went earlier.
Arthur Wellesley brother of Lord Wellesley who was the Governor General of India, served as a Col.in the army engaged in the the battle against Tipu Sultan and the Marathas. Growing tired of India, he returned to England, stopping en-route at the island of Saint Helena, with a considerable fortune thus paving the way for his marriage to his sweetheart. In 1809 Arthur Wellesley was elevated as Viscount Wellesley for his campaigns in the Peninsula and Denmark. But it is as The Duke of Wellington we know him, the man responsible for defeating Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Napoleon was exiled to Saint Helena and spent his days in the same building Arthur Wellesley had stayed.
There was considerable traffic between the America growing itself, Europe seeking fortune and India enticing the fortune seekers with its wealth and resources. Elihu Yale working with the East India Company arrived in Madras as a low ranking official in 1672. He rose up in position as well as in wealth and by 1687 he was appointed as the second Governor of Fort St George. Assisted by his friend, the shrewd and capable Mrs Catherine Barker Nicks, he built a fortune trading in commodities and gems till charges were brought against him for corruption at the company's expense. Yale challenged the charges and was exonerated and returned back to England in 1699 to a life of leisure and philanthropy. His gifts of books and cloth to The Saybrook College in New Haven were sold for eight hundred pounds to fund the building called Yale College.
Sriram V is a raconteur who stimulates interest and imagination. As exciting as a historical drama, as absorbing as a literary reading. Simply captivating.
This was the kind of morning we had.
The event I participated in and enjoyed was an early morning walk into Fort St George led by Sriram V. Sriram is an eclectic mix of relevant history and intriguing trivia that conjures up a drama before your eyes. Valour, treachery, lusty passions, intrigue, pious worship, discipline, snobbery, merchants of fortune, scallywags who courted respectability and above all the lure of wealth and fortune come alive in the early morning light as we walk the streets and alleys of the township Fort St George. Crumbling ruins mock us, daring one to dismiss the high column structures in classical proportions.
At the entrance to the Fort St George is a pretty cupola begging for a statue. It had the statue of Lord Cornwallis Governor General of India built by the then grateful citizens of Madras to commemorate his improbable victory over Tipu Sultan. The statue and cupola then roved around the Fort premises and Madras city, till the statue was finally housed inside the Fort Museum, leaving the cupola empty. Cornwallis resigned his post and returned to England but a few years later accepted Governor Generalship this time in Calcutta. He survived barely a year in his new command and was buried at Ghazipore in keeping with his dictum, "where the tree falls, let it lie." The gentry of Madras were once more roused to honour their hero. This time it was a "Cenotaph" and it was duly installed on the road leading to Adyar and this road came to be called Cenotaph Road. Cornwallis make have had a belief of having his bones undisturbed, but his memorials were not so fortunate. The Cenotaph travelled to First Line Beach,where it stands empty of its statue.
Fort St George, a 375 year old township with an unbroken tradition of garrisoning the rulers and their army remains much the same today. The streets are clearly marked with interesting names- Snobs Alley, the roads well laid, the beautiful Protestant St Mary's Church (where Clive was married and services continue even today), and the large Parade Square,The Kings Barracks of 100,000 sq ft. where the soldiers lived in the largest barracks in the world and made a fine sight as they drilled and presented arms at Parade Square.
During the walk we heard fascinating recounting of the skirmishes between the Portuguese at Santhome and the English at Fort St George, two European powers separated by 3 miles, and the chasm of religion, Portuguese was Catholic and England was Protestant. Their exchanges included kidnapping the clergy who then served in the Catholic Church as well as St Mary's depending on where the priest was in residence.
A last titbit that I have pieced together from some delectable throwaways shared by Sriram.
Lord Cornwallis first served Britain in America and fought in the American War of Independence. Defeated, dejected he returned to England till he was offered the command in Madras where he subdued Tipu and regained his stature. The story of his Statue went earlier.
Arthur Wellesley brother of Lord Wellesley who was the Governor General of India, served as a Col.in the army engaged in the the battle against Tipu Sultan and the Marathas. Growing tired of India, he returned to England, stopping en-route at the island of Saint Helena, with a considerable fortune thus paving the way for his marriage to his sweetheart. In 1809 Arthur Wellesley was elevated as Viscount Wellesley for his campaigns in the Peninsula and Denmark. But it is as The Duke of Wellington we know him, the man responsible for defeating Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Napoleon was exiled to Saint Helena and spent his days in the same building Arthur Wellesley had stayed.
There was considerable traffic between the America growing itself, Europe seeking fortune and India enticing the fortune seekers with its wealth and resources. Elihu Yale working with the East India Company arrived in Madras as a low ranking official in 1672. He rose up in position as well as in wealth and by 1687 he was appointed as the second Governor of Fort St George. Assisted by his friend, the shrewd and capable Mrs Catherine Barker Nicks, he built a fortune trading in commodities and gems till charges were brought against him for corruption at the company's expense. Yale challenged the charges and was exonerated and returned back to England in 1699 to a life of leisure and philanthropy. His gifts of books and cloth to The Saybrook College in New Haven were sold for eight hundred pounds to fund the building called Yale College.
Sriram V is a raconteur who stimulates interest and imagination. As exciting as a historical drama, as absorbing as a literary reading. Simply captivating.
This was the kind of morning we had.
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