Pulse of the past

It was an era when life was quiet and peaceful... when there was time to stroll, gaze and reflect... PREMA SRINIVASAN recaptures the spirit of Luz as it was 35 years ago.

TO THOSE of us who have spent their childhood in the area called Luz, many a beloved landmark may have been erased by the passage of time and might remain a piece of memory. Thirtyfive years ago, the long straight road called the Luz Church Road, where the shadow of the church erected by the Portuguese, tries to reach out to the other venerable shadow of the Mylapore temple, was the main artery of Mylapore. The Luz church tucked away in a side road, was constructed in 1516 and there is an interesting story behind it. The Portuguese Franciscan missionaries sailing from Goa, seem to have encountered a severe cyclonic storm for which the Coromandel coast had always been quite notorious. As the missionaries prayed to the Virgin Mary to save them from the storm, one of them spotted a welcome ray of light. Rejoicing, they called the area in which they made a safe landing "Luz", which meant 'light' in their native tongue.

Ruminating over this intriguing piece of historical fact, one comes alongside Nageshwar Rao Pantalu park in the road, adjoining the Andhra Women's hostel, recalling an era when life was quiet and there was time to stroll, gaze and reflect. Once the park was crossed, the scent of Amritanjanam used to assail our senses, for tucked away amidst the greenery was the place where this precious concoction was prepared for the sake of millions of sufferers of migraine or common cold. Even though the board bearing the name can be seen today, no pleasant fragrance greets the passer-by.

Beyond this was the famous spot in which the evening "mail" van used to stop and many a family living in Luz Avenue would rush to drop their letters in the van. I remember my grandfather despite his sixty odd years resolutely walking up to catch the evening post so that his letters would reach their destination early. Speed Post or the ubiquitous courier service had not yet made their appearance.

We also remember the person selling second hand books in that area, which continues to be a veritable storehouse for college and school students looking for treasures at throwaway prices.

The Srinivasa Sastri Hall and the Ranade Library still continue to thrive, although the building is in sore need of a fresh coat of paint.

On the other side of the road is the Kamadenu theatre which exists in a somewhat ramshackle condition today, unable to keep pace with the state-of-the-art cinema houses which have sprung up all over the city. But there was a time when there used to be a lot of hustle and bustle when a new movie was screened.

Popular epic movies like "Sampoorna Ramayanam" drew a lot of crowd and the theatre was a scene of screaming children, scolding mothers and youngsters in their finery, enjoying their entertainment in a noisy fashion.

Close by was Fashion Silk House where our family used to make weekly trips to meet the "tailor". Going to the tailor was an outing by itself and one that was likely to be continuous, for either the tailor was usually absent during our visit or the desired custom-made garment would not be ready.

However, it was with pleasurable anticipation that we would set out to the store and if the tailor by chance delivered the goods, we could always saunter across to the restaurant called Himalayas which served the most wonderful grape juice one could ever get.

India Stores, I think did exist and the other shops were all in their nascent stage slowly realising that the area had tremendous potential as a shopping mall. PMP Corner Shop was definitely there, where one could get everything - from the proverbial pin to an elephant.

Perhaps, this is exaggerating a bit, but the shop remained a landmark for decades. Past PMP shop was Flex, which sold genuine leather footwear and one felt comfortable sporting those made-to- order chappals.

Shopping in that area had an additional advantage - one could savour the aroma of the biscuits from the Universal Biscuit factory in the close-by building. If you turn right after PMP towards the 'mada veedhis', there was Guptas State Hotel. Rava dosai in Guptas was a welcome treat after the shopping spree.

Across the road where one turn to go to Royapettah there was Sundaram Stores, patronised by many a Mylapore family to buy their essentials.

Beyond Sundaram Stores was the National Leather Works where one could buy suitcases and footwear, sturdy and likely to last a lifetime. Very often, one side-stepped the fancy stores in favour of the National Leather Works to order the kind of shoe one fancied.

It was possible to saunter in those areas haggling over the price of mangoes or jasmine yardage on the pavements which were fairly uncluttered, where vendors conducted brisk business.

Carts of fruits would be stationed all over the place as we see them still; only now they have to compete with the air conditioned outlets where shopping can be done without the pleasures of bargaining! My mother always believed that we got a better bargain with the cartwallahs rather than the snooty stall owners.

Even shopping for medicines was done in an informal fashion, chatting with the chemist in a leisurely manner, generally getting more information on the availability or the non- availability of a particular drug.

Today efficient young people are posted to calculate in their machines, to tackle the serpentine queues and send the customer on his way, at the earliest. Today, the Mylapore Pharmacy and R.R. Pharmacy are still doing good business although we miss the orange glow of Chander's pharmacy near Vidya Mandir School.

Everywhere in the name of progress there is a rampant kind of consumerism apparent and this seems to be steadily increasing.

One realises that it is not possible to put back the clock, but there is more to life than rushing around like headless chicken quite forgetting that we are missing out on the more vital aspects of "living".

The practical consumer admonishes such nostalgic reminiscences by the reminder: "Places and events usually seem rosy in retrospect." Be that as it may, one can always take heart, by the fact that Ford Ikons and Opel Astras (Ambassadors and Fiats have become anachronisms) jostle for parking space near the famous Luz Ganesh temple. This area founded on religious faith, continues to be sustained by the piety of the people which has remained a "constant" over the decades, despite the distracting physical changes.

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