Every one in Kalakshetra, irrespective of their age, will resemble Buddhist monks, as all of them will be clad in white clothes. We will feel that authority, position or wealth cannot bring about any blemish to them. Even now they might continue to be like that. But today, like any other organisation, Kalakshetra is a public organisation, where the workers have formed a union and had even stayed away from work.

Kalakshetra got shifted to Thiruvanmiyur only as a mark of protest. It was previously a part of the Theosophical Society. A misunderstanding between a president and her niece led to the shifting of Kalakshetra as a separate institution. There was a time when the impact of the Theosophical Society was evident in the Adyar-Besant Nagar-Thiruvanmiyur areas. People with smiling faces and cleanliness, striving hard to preserve the natural environment in all places, including houses, streets and other public places, could be seen everywhere. It was a common sight to see elderly people riding a bicycle calmly. But today the impact created by the increase in population, residential apartments, dirt and filth has superseded the impact created by the Theosophical Society. Taking the present day situation into consideration, the least difference can be seen between the Triplicane and Thiruvanmiyur areas.

Today Thiruvanmiyur has more trees than any other area in the city. But for the bus terminus and the few streets only residential buildings cover all the area . The Sannithi Street closer to the temple still remains in the 19th century. In the past I used to visit the Marundheeswarar temple on my bicycle quite frequently. But today, when I think of the congested roads, I feel that it safe to reach the temple only by bus.

The Rajagopuram of the temple is half done and stands erect as a concrete structure. When the temple?s administrative board took up the job of finishing this work, the head of this board passed away and such an incident happened twice. So no one has an inclination to finish this gopuram. So we can see a ruined two-year-old concrete structure in front of the two thousand-year-old temple. If any one wishes to take a group photograph, then even a group of fifty persons can pose standing in the different tiers of the gopuram and bring about eternity to themselves. But the group leader should really be a gutsy person!

Ashoka Mithran

Retro Chennai from Asoka Mithran looks back at Chennai, in fact the Madras as it was known and existed. The column traces the city's lifescape at various points of time.