Memories come a tram-full

'OLD AAN, old aan!' an elderly couple would shout, taking hurried steps towards the stand. It was a familiar sight in the 1940s when electric trams were in vogue in the city.

There were more than 100 trams connecting residential and commercial areas those days. Some trams took slightly longer routes like between Custom House and Mylapore, Custom House and Barber's Bridge, Washermanpet and Purasawalkam, Royapuram and Egmore. Other were shorter like Central to Elephant Gate on Waltax Road and Simpsons to Chintadripet along Harris Road.

As a child, trams were always a source of excitement for me. I could never tire of simply gazing at the slow juggernauts winding their way though the city. The whines of the trams which prominently displayed ads such as Amrutanjan, Ovaltine and Kesavardhini, are still vivid in my memory.

I lived in George Town and often took the tram to visit my grandfather, who lived in Royapettah. I would board at Washermanpet and go via Purusawalkam and Broadway to Pachiappa's College (the old location). Then I would catch the tram that went to Mylapore.

While waiting at Pachiappa's, if I took a stroll down China Bazaar, I would behold some beautiful buildings...the light house (not the one that was shelled by the German submarine, Emden in 1914), the High Court and Law College.

Further down one could spot the Corporation fruit market, Central telephone Exchange, Flower bazaar, Parry's and Co's Warehouse, Ramakrishna Lunch Home, the YMCA building and Modern Cafe... landmarks that are still standing straight.

From Pachiappa's the tram would make a journey passing the General Hospital, over the Cooum, past the Railway Booking Office and Ripon Building, and into Mount Road to Royapettah before reaching Luz. The ride would take less than an hour. The tram was quite a popular mode of transport with the bus service not being nationalised. In fact, at that time, buses ran on charcoal power, not petrol!

The ticket to Mylapore was just two annas and a return ticket, three annas! On Sundays, you could travel throughout the day to any chosen destination, for just six annas! The monthly season ticket was Rs. 6 for a specific route while it was Rs. 10 for any route.

The tram was driven by electric motors with power fed from overhead cables. The conductor and the driver wore khaki uniforms and once in a while, an Inspector would board the tram for ticket checking. When he finished his task, he would wait for another tram to pass by in the opposite direction and skilfully swing from one tram to the other... an event we youngsters would wait for!

Trams were inaugurated in Madras in 1885, and were run by a U.K.- based company. In 1904, the Madras Electric Tramways was formed which operated till 1953, when labour problems led to its closure.

Those were wonderful days when life progressed with an even tenor, no rush or speed and not much crowds on the streets. The cost of living was very low and public facilities fairly reasonable. Above all, people were understanding and sympathetic, respected one another and led a simple life.

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Mechanics involved

- The tram was driven by electric motors with power fed from overhead cables.

- it had small diameter wheels, their rims running along grooves on steel rails embedded on the tarmac road.

- there was no horn. The driver would bang his floor on the pedal which would produce a clanging sound. That was the warning signal.

- there is a control handle for accelerating and a brass handle pivoted to the tram floor for applying brakes.

-The tram rails were never removed. They have been interred deep down by successive laying of roads.

- there were two tracks, one each for to and for transit and one overhead feeder wire per track.

- Trams were introduced in the U.K. six years after they were introduced in India, and 10 years later in the U.S.

Trams were a popular and cheap mode of transport in Chennai during the 1940s. Take a long-forgotten journey on the slow juggernaut ...

R. GANAPATHI

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