Our Lungi man keeping an eye on the foreigners.
From The Chennai Photowalk – Harrington Road
Lungiman
Month: August 2017
The Indifferent, the Involved and the Curious
It is Madras Day.
The hot news of the day is the merger of the two factions of the ruling party and related realignments. The attitude towards this news is amply reflected in the body language of these three.
The old man seems to be indifferent with a ‘I-have-seen-it-all’ attitude.
The middle aged man is deeply involved in the news.
The younger guy is curious.
From the Madras Week Photowalk in Mylapore today.
Superman’s Abode
A young man with a Superman T-Shirt in front of a humble abode. Near Arulmigu Kothandaramar Temple, Manapakkam
Muneeswaran
The Muneeswaran statue towers about 40 feet at Burma Colony Angaleswari Temple, Ekkattuthangal.
From a Photowalk in 2016.
Vinayaka Chathurthi
Vinayaka Chaturhti (or Ganesh chathurthi or pillayar chathurthi) is around the corner. I am longing to see the array of clayey and colourful Ganeshas in the market. More exciting would be a visit to the place where they are made. In Trivandrum, I could easily locate and visit centres where the pillyars were made. Can someone give me some locations in Chennai? I heard someone say, ‘Kosappet’.
Pattanam Podi -Snuff
How can a blog about ‘Pattanam’ (Madras City) be complete without reference to ‘Pattanam Podi’ or snuff?
It was once very common to see men (and some women) snorting the tobacco snuff into their nostrils and sneezing: An agony for those nearby. The most salient brand was TAS Rathinam Pattanam podi. Tulsi Badrinath, in her book ‘Madras, Chennai and the Self’ dedicated a whole chapter to a family that was in the snuff business and still manages to survive.
The above image from Fort St.George indicates that the Snuff {Pattana Podi} is very much part of the city’s history.
11 days more for Madras Day
PS: Retailers used to dispense the snuff from specially designed porcelain jaadis with a special spatula.
Government Stationery Store
This is on the corner of Arbuthnot Lane and Rajaji Salai. Obviously it is a relic from the British era. I could not get much information about it. Does anyone have any information on its history?
Terracotta Bulls
Terracotta horses and bulls are a common sight in Ayyanar shrines in Tamil Nadu villages.
This image is from a 5-star resort near Madras.
Free Urinal
The blue sign in Tamizh says, ‘ Municipal Corporation of Chennai – Free Urinal’. I will not blame you if you think it proclaims that the whole city is one big free urinal.
The Chennai Photowalk
Just 16 days to Madras Day.
Madras Nalla Madras. A photo blog on Madras, that is Chennai 