Registered with the Registrar of Newspapers for India under R.N.I 53640/91
Vol. XXVI No. 14, November 1-15, 2016
How we coped with WW II
by N.S. Parthasarathy
The World War II is just a piece of history to the present generation. How Madras coped with this upheaval is no longer common knowledge. Books tell the larger story of the War from a historical standpoint, but how families reacted to the difficult demands of those times and how they managed to remain afloat is an altogether different story.
As a boy of eight when I could somewhat understand what was happening around me, I was rudely introduced to the outbreak of war. While living at Sripuram then, I noticed at a newspaper kiosk at the junction of Royapettah High Road (today’s Thiru Vi Kaa Salai) and Edward Elliot’s Road (today’s Radhakrishnan Salai), a poster screaming out in large black letters, nine inches big, ‘War Declared’!
Stirring events were reported in the newspapers and on the radio every day – of battles won, battles lost, the capture of critical posts and bridges, the fall of enemy cities, and stories of heroic deeds of individuals. The atmosphere was surcharged. Children could not help but being overwhelmed by the sensational news of defeats and victories in battle overall and of strikes and satyagrahas nearer home. War on the one side and agitation for freedom from British rule on the other side!
To the younger generation, the great heroes were Jawaharlal Nehru who had a captivating personality, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose who fled India disguised as a sadhu and believed that the British rulers should be fought and defeated if India was to gain freedom from their rule – and, strangely, also Adolf Hitler. Hitler’s exploits of annexing Poland, over-running Czechoslovakia and humbling France to submission in the very early part of the War, his fiery speeches, his smart turnout and the massive units of Nazi troops in perfect formation made a deep impression on young minds that could not see the war as a battle between good and evil. It was to them just a big game in which the more ferocious was the hero in the combat. Boys, in their innocent games, kept poster pictures of Hitler and decorated them, while they shot arrows at pictures of Churchill! Elders were above such immature passions. When they discovered Hitler being idolised, they would admonish the youngsters and have the offending posters destroyed.
Everything was in short supply and the immediate consequence of the War was acute living conditions with high inflation and shortages. Mother had everything recycled for re-use. Every essential was rationed. War demanded huge supplies of food, medicines and other essentials. Due to shortage of rice, it was imported from Brazil. Brazilian rice was gooey and inedible. There was no option but to put up with it. It was said that in many cases its consumption led to scabies on fingers and toes which had to be treated with a sulphurous powder called Cibazol.
For clothing, the only available material was what was called ‘standard cloth’, unbleached, thick and rough, made and supplied by Binny, whose capacity was almost entirely dedicated to the making of khaki. All of us boys and girls were dressed in the very same standard cloth and we all looked like the Von Trapp family of singers without knowing how to sing.
The breadwinners of households had to work very hard to bring up families the sizes of which were growing regardless of the outside crisis. They would work late and quite often take up more than one job to bring home enough to feed and educate the children.
Air-raids over Madras became, imminent especially when the eastern theatre of war was opened after Japan entered the War on the side of the Axis powers (Germany and Italy) and began overwhelming east Asian countries in menacing rapidity. Japan established a commanding presence in Burma. ‘Black-out’ was enforced in Madras to make it difficult for the enemy to identify the targets. ‘Black-out’ required that public lighting had to be covered by cylindrical black coloured hoods to ensure that light was confined to just the spot below the lamp post. Houses had to use only a limited number of light points and window panes had to be either opaque or made so by black paper covering.
A massive programme of civil defence was designed and enforced. It consisted of a siren warning to citizens of imminent bombing, air raid shelters in streets, and underground trenches in house compounds. The air raid shelters were semi-circular-shaped concrete shelters in every street where people could take refuge at the sound of the siren. Those in homes were required to stay their trenches till the all-clear was given by the siren with a different tune. I remember the trench in our Sripuram house compound with enough space to accommodate 10-12 persons which our landlord, Pattabhi Raju, was kind enough to provide. There was a voluntary cadre called A R P Wardens who were uniformed and trained to guide and enforce the air raid precautions.
There was no TV in those days. Radio gave news of the progress of War. The 9 0’clock news was eagerly awaited not only for the latest news but also for the baritone voice opening the broadcast majestically: “This… is… All India Radio. The News read by Melville deMello.” Keeping a radio at home needed a licence. A strict watch was kept by the authorities to prevent traitorous use of the device to establish enemy contact.
In 1942 Madras was evacuated. Households moved to towns and villages some safe distance away from the city. Only citizens required for maintaining essential services and for support services to the large army camp in Avadi had to stay on in the city. Avadi was a vast camp of tents and temporary and semi-permanent structures. In most families the women and children had to move out while the men stayed on in the city.
It is shuddering today to think of how Madras became a ghost city. But then the citizens accepted the difficulties and survived this crisis to fight yet another day if it occurred again. And, I think, such a time did occur during the floods last year. Three cheers for Madras!
