Featured Articles

• Vol. XXXIV No. 18, January 1-15, 2025

Another phase of a new modern market

-- Pictures by Thamayandhi R.

Loop Road has been witness to innumerable stories. A new chapter has dawned with the modern fish market newly established by the Greater Chennai Corporation at ­Nochikuppam. The facility costing Rs. 9.97 crores was inaugurated by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin in August 2024 and hopes to change the face of the fishing business in the […]

• Vol. XXXIV No. 18, January 1-15, 2025

Memories from Covid Years – Part I

-- by Karthik Nagappan

Thirupurasundari Sevvel directed our attention to two pieces written by Karthik Nagappan during the covid lockdown. The period evoked in the author fond memories of Chennai’s suburban trains and the vegetable market at T Nagar. Though covid has now been relegated to the past, we thought readers would enjoy the affection that shines

• Vol. XXXIV No. 18, January 1-15, 2025

Reviving Anakaputhur’s Weaving Legacy: A Journey Towards Sustainability

-- by Geethanjali Rajakkannu

Anakaputhur is a suburb of Chennai that is home to a community of handloom weavers. It is especially well-known as the source of the famous Madras handkerchief, a nine-yard piece of colourful plaid cotton. For centuries, the fabric – now known the world over as Madras checks – was widely used by the populace in and around […]

• Vol. XXXIV No. 18, January 1-15, 2025

Meet the Carrom world champion from Chennai: Khazima M. Basha

-- by V. Venkataramana

It would not be amiss to declare that 2024 has been a creditable year indeed for Tamil Nadu as far as sports is concerned. Even as the 18-year-old Grandmaster Dommaraju Gukesh cemented the city’s enviable status in Chess, a young Carrom player from Chennai brought international honour to the country last November. Khazima M Basha […]

• Vol. XXXIV No. 18, January 1-15, 2025

Treasure Trove of Postcards on Madras 

– by Prasanna S

As the city gears up for the TANAPEX 2025 philatelic exhibition, the Philatelic Bureau on Anna Salai showcased a unique collection of postcards that celebrates different facets of Chennai through art, literature, movies, books, and more. Located opposite the iconic Devi Theatre, the Philatelic Bureau is a hub for stamp collectors and history enthusiasts. The […]

• Vol. XXXIV No. 17, December 16-31, 2024

Mysore Vasudevachar at Kalakshetra

-- by V.R. Devika

Three generations of ardent connoisseurs of the Kalakshetra Ramayana productions say they feel a thrill when the first lines of the Balakanda of the Ramayana are sung at Kalakshetra’s Sita Swayamvaram in the Ramayana series. ‘When Veena Sambasiva Iyer heard this song, he said to Vasudevacharya, “If only I were a Maharaja, I would present […]

• Vol. XXXIV No. 17, December 16-31, 2024

Portrait of a Chief Justice

(Continued from last fortnight) The Memoirs of Justice Natarajan, Part III The fourth Judge, but by no means the least among the eminent personages with whom I had sat, is Chief Justice K. Veeraswamy. He succeeded Chief Justice M. Ananthanarayanan in the middle of 1969. While practising as a lawyer, he had served as Government […]

• Vol. XXXIV No. 17, December 16-31, 2024

When W.V. Raman broke a 44-year old record

-- by Partab Ramchand

In 1944-45 Rusi Modi amassed 1,008 runs during the Ranji Trophy season while playing for Bombay. It was a stupendous feat for he played only five matches. This not only set a new record for the premier national competition but also turned out to be `Mission Impossible’ for the batsmen who followed. Over the next […]

• Vol. XXXIV No. 16, December 1-15, 2024

A Second World Chess Champion from Madras?

– by Manuel Aaron

The possibility that Madras, now known as Chennai, is likely to produce India’s second World Chess Champion in the next few weeks would come as a surprise to some. But it should not be, if one considers the two hundred year long association of Chess with Madras revealed through the journalistic work of Howard Staunton […]

• Vol. XXXIV No. 16, December 1-15, 2024

Searching for a Street Sign – My Arcot Road Adventure

-- by Lashman

Last month, when the Editor of Madras Musings asked me one evening to head to Arcot Road “urgently” to take a picture of the street sign bearing its name, I thought, well, this isn’t the most absurd or impossible request he’s thrown at me thus far, and set off on this straightforward (I assumed) quest […]