என் எண்ணங்கள்

MADRAS, namma MADRAS. PURASAIWAKKAM. A small obit advt in today’s (6 th Nov) paper caught my eyes and took me back 15 years, to the time when my wife and I landed in Chennai in December 2001. That obit note was the remembrance of Haji Madharsha the owner and founder of a great cloth store. The name kindled many sweet memories of Purasaiwakkam, a beautiful locality. We lived in Kilpauk first, halfway between Anna Nagar, and Purasaiwakkam. On the third side was the Poonamalee High road, another fabulous road. Also, Vepery was nearby. Having never been to this part of Chennai earlier, I was pleasantly surprised to see many roads named after English gentry. Landons’ Road, Harleys Rd, Ormes Rd, Taylors’ Rd, Halls Rd, Strahans Rd, Waddle’s Rd, Kellys’ Rd, Barnaby Rd, Flowers’ Rd, Millers’ Rd, Balfour Rd, … the list continues. Starting from our house at Aspiran Gardens, we come to Rajaji Vidhyashram, then proceed along Balfour road, come to the Kellys corner; the r