Madras as seen 75 years ago

by Andrew Hasson

Mount Road 75 years ago as seen by George Hasson. More pictures and story on pages 4 and 5.

It was around a month ago that we received an email from Andrew Hasson. His father had served briefly in India during the Second World War and had taken some photographs while here. He wanted us to identify the places. Going through them we were ­delighted to discover six ­pictures pertaining to ­Madras. Andrew was kind enough to share with us high-resolution copies of these pictures so that we could carry them in Madras Musings. He has also penned a brief note on his father that we publish here.

It’s often the way, isn’t it? The questions you want to ask of loved ones only really occur to you after they have died.

So it is with my father.

In my case, it’s because I recently found a box of old photos when clearing out the house after his death. The pictures were taken in India in the late 1940s, but I had no information about them. No names, no locations, no clues.

I am sure this is a common experience.

He served in the Royal Air Force just after the war and found himself posted to India for a year or so. In one of the few conversations we had had on this subject while he was still alive, he told me he adored India, and regretted never going back.

Here then, is the sum total of my knowledge about my dad’s service time in India. He was a radar operator who flew there on several different planes, sitting on the floors of many unknown aircraft. It was loud and bumpy and felt dangerous. He saw the Taj Mahal. He crossed the country on a crowded train. He once woke up, he told my mother, unaware of having been shaved while he slept by local men who catered for the airmen.

The Central Station minus its cap owing to war security

The Southern Railway (then M&SM) headquarters with Dr. Rangachari’s statue outside GH.

That, I am sad to say, is pretty much it. And now he’s dead, I can’t ask him and discover the details hidden within the photos that I would like to know.

The one thing I am able to do with any degree of expertise, is restore the pictures and make them look presentable. I am a professional photographer by trade, so I was able to use my very best Photoshop skills. When I got hold of them, they were wrinkled, scratched and covered in dirt. They were also very small; I am sure he would have appreciated the results.

In another nod towards the wonders of science and modern technology, I was able to appeal to the internet for help in identifying the locations of these pictures People responded positively and it turns out many of the pictures appear to have been taken in Madras.

Moore Market

My favourite appears to be of Mount Road. It must have been taken from a reasonable height; maybe on top of a nearby building or something. It’s the details in this kind of photo that I love and this one doesn’t disappoint.

There is a crowded tram in the foreground and the New Elphinstone cinema on the left. The pavement is well-tended and clean. Men on bicycles are going about their business. A group of children stand chatting on the road, one of them with a laundry basket on his or her head. I think I can see a policeman up the road in a pith helmet and shorts.

Among the businesses visible, there is the E.N.T. Surgery, Odeon Hairdressers, The Madras Swadeshi Emporium and A. Subramanam & Co. At the far end of the road is the Casino Stores and, below that sign, in large letters, are the words Tobacco Shop.

A suburban train outside Egmore station.

Some of these photographs have been noted as having been of buildings and views that no longer exist, such as the late lamented Moore Market, or the Central Station with its cap removed, and I am pleased to be able to present the pictures to people who may appreciate them for their historical value.

When he was alive, my father would watch any and all TV programmes that featured India and would say, with a faraway look in his eyes, “God, I loved India.”

Looking at these photos, I can see why. My father’s name was George Hasson. He was born in Glasgow in Scotland in 1925. He died at the age of 84, having lived a good life.

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