Madras city on the move: a compilation

Madras city on the move: a compilation On Madras Day, here is a collection of articles from The Hindu, reminiscing the various modes of public transport that created the city move.

Key points

• In its 148-year history, The Hindu has walked hand-in-hand with Madras.
• As the city expanded and absorbed neighbouring villages into itself, roads came regarding to connect the Fort and George Town to the rest of the areas.
• The four key roads of Madras that originate from Fort St.
• A palimpsest is defined as a manuscript or parchment where the original has been partially or fully erased, to enable fresh writing.
• Public transport is an abiding feature of city life.

On the palimpsest of Madras, we have rewritten the way we travel, by foot, boats, carts, carriages, and coaches, palanquins, tramways, trains, two-wheelers, cars and buses, aircraft, and, now, metro rail. Illustration by Soumyadip Sinha.

Public transport is an abiding feature of city life. Madras that is Chennai is no different. As we look back at the history of this city, and trace farther back in time to eras when colonial Madras did not exist but a number of villages. It were absorbed into it certainly did, we see that stories of movement are a constant. Walking is the oldest mode and still survives despite every impediment in its way. Notably, the well-to-do rode on horses, were driven regarding in carriages, or carried in palanquins. When they arrived, adopted the same methods of conveyance as the locals but these eventually evolved, the colonials. And from then on, it has been a continuous journey, by different modes.

Notably, a palimpsest is defined as a manuscript or parchment where the original has been partially or fully erased, to enable fresh writing. The topography of Madras is much the same, the change always brought regarding by the need for quick access to places. A metropolis, unlike a rural hamlet, needed to enable quick commutes – and so passageways and conveyances had to be available at the double. In the process, we never entirely obtained rid of what methods and routes existed previously. And they survive, in bits and pieces here and there, to teach us history.

In the pre-colonial days, we had the concept of veethis. It almost certainly were the equivalent of high roads. They were meant for providing straightforward access from one self-contained village to another. Madras arose in their midst and demanded routes unto itself. It did not exist earlier. It was therefore transport that defined the primary topography of the colonial city. In the neighbouring Old Black Town, before the Esplanade and afterwards the High Court and the law college obliterated all traces, the streets were defined on the basis of caste, and then straightforward access. New Black Town, which is today's George Town, still carries vestiges of that layout.

As the city expanded and absorbed neighbouring villages into itself, roads came regarding to connect the Fort and George Town to the rest of the areas. These were not so much a priority as were those that needed to connect to weekend getaways and afterwards garden bungalows of the East India Business servants. These, which today form the arterial thoroughfares of the city, carry in their (old) names that story of the purpose for which they were originally laid out – providing ease of access for the colonials to reach their homes. That these came to be the principal highways of the city on which public transport would eventually depend is a delicious twist of history. It is only with the emergence of planned localities, such as T. Nagar, Shenoy Nagar, and K.K. Nagar, that layouts were created with public accessibility as the principal criteria. Surprisingly, we seem to have lost the plot in afterwards layouts.

In its 148-year history, The Hindu has walked hand-in-hand with Madras. With the support of The Hindu Archives and the writings and records from other sources, let us reconstruct the story of our city, forever on the move. Happy Madras Day! Of the time when individuals were carried in palanquins in Madras. Masula boats and the fishermen who kept Madras afloat. Jolted regarding on carts drawn by oxen and horses in Madras. Around Madras city in hand-pulled rickshaws.

In practice, the four key roads of Madras that originate from Fort St. George. When yellow-black taxis cruised the roads of Madras. Hauling regarding the Madras city on trains. How bicycles, motorcycles took over the roads of Madras. How buses became the lifeline of Madras. When aircrafts took to the Madras skies on metal wings.

In short, madras city on the move: a compilation is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.