Short ‘N’ Snappy

-MMM

Creative City and all that

What would your reaction be if someone complimented you on something that you have truly worked on? Thank them with all the happiness that you feel for praise that you richly deserve? Or, if you were shy, turn a bright cerise and shuffle your feet and mumble “Thanks awfully” or some such thing feeling all bucked up inside? Sadly that does not appear to be the Chennai way. Here the reaction appears to be one of “Oh, why were we credited with anything?” followed by a round denial of any achievement. Perhaps it is a way to ward off the evil eye.

The Man from Madras Musings on the other hand rejoices. The city he loves and the one that he is proud to call home has been recognised by UNESCO as one of three Indian metros that can be labelled “creative”. Worldwide, Chennai that was Madras is now part of a select band of 64 cities so recognised and it gets this label for its fostering of music. Nothing could have delighted MMM more, for as is well known among those who follow this column, MMM has much music in him and is therefore unfit for treasons, stratagems and spoils.

How would any city celebrate such a tag? With fireworks? With a sense of bursting pride and a resolve to live up to the recognition? That is what any normal metropolis would do. But we were always anything but that. The first reaction among a certain group of Cassandras has been one of shock. “What? Us? No way! And for music? But that is exactly what we have been criticising all along. That it is elitist, casteist, non-inclusivist, isolationist, Methodist, Baptist, Seventh Day Adventist, obscurantist…”, runs the reaction of these naysayers (and in that MMM may have added a couple of irrelevant words, but that is exactly the way these people write). They have therefore taken it upon themselves to write in detail as to how and why we do not deserve such a tag. Left to themselves, they would probably lead a delegation to UNESCO demanding withdrawal of such recognition for the city.

The next category is the one that denies the existence of any music in the city. “Music? What music? This is a city of immigrants who brought in culture from elsewhere and so nothing belongs here” is their lament. Well, for a city of immigrants we appear to have done extraordinarily well for 378 years. And if everyone was an immigrant, the populace appears to have stayed on for rather long. And during our ‘temporary’ stay here, we have fostered the arts and, in particular, music, and in this MMM includes classical, folk, cinema, theatre and liturgical, for a long time. True, the December Music Festival may be catering to a miniscule but high-profile section of society, but it cannot be denied that it has been going on for ninety long years and almost entirely funded by private means at that. Surely that is something to be proud of. Sure, there are several aspects that need improvement but that that is no reason to decry a great tag when it is given.

If at all any section of Chennai society rejoiced at the tag, it was the political class, the last group you would associate with music, fit as it is only for treasons, stratagems and spoils. But then this is a group that will celebrate any positive outcome, always with an eye to taking credit for it. Thus it was that we saw many of our men in power tweeting about the creative city tag. MMM could not help smiling, for if at all music has survived here, it is, as noted earlier, because of private initiative and no support from any Government organisation. True, we have State-run music schools and colleges, but they have produced no performing talent whatsoever. They are also mired almost completely in bureaucratic procedures that can strangle any creativity.

Be that as it may, MMM feels it is right to celebrate the Creative City tag and what better time of the year to rejoice in it than in the December Music Festival? Come and join MMM in one of the Sabhas. Let us listen to music, feast at the canteens and laugh at gilded butterflies. That is the way we are and let us not be apologetic about it. (Ed: Also see Page 5.)

Rain, Rain, come and stay

And so, one of our ministers, in an unguarded moment looked all smug and said that the rains could pour till they were blue in the face, but we as a city were better off than many international metros when it came to preparedness against the monsoon. The Man from Madras Musings and many others like him wondered as to which city the minister had in mind. Could it have been some war-torn and disease-ridden capital of some battered country run by a tin pot dictator? As though in answer to this rather offhand remark, the skies opened up briefly and showed what the rains could do. As a city we surrendered at once. MMM uses the word ‘briefly’ because we still have a month and more of the monsoons to go and we appear to have no strategy in mind beyond capitulation.

The schools were asked to close, and they remained closed for almost a week. The children were absolutely delighted and, had they the eligibility to vote, MMM is quite sure that this Government would be repeatedly ushered into power. Of course, for that matter, all political parties of our State can lay equal claim for popularity on this count for none of them has in any way worked towards preparing us for rains. Their sole talents lie in declaring holidays for schools and, worse, appealing to all industrial and official establishments to close as well. While the former makes sense at least to a degree, though there are other cities of India that have much longer rainy seasons and manage to keep schools open, expecting offices to shut really takes the cake. Are those in power intent on reducing the private establishments to the same levels of efficiency as Government offices? If all working entities were to remain closed for days on end expecting the skies to clear, what happens to the State economy? Oh wait, that is really doing fine isn’t it, judging by the number of people getting by on subsidised everything – from rice to liquor not to mention grinders, laptops, goats and cows?

But in retrospect the general view is that the boys in power did not do too badly this time and when compared to what happened in 2015, their record is exemplary. To MMM however, the police force was the real hero and the way they braved flooded roads and chaotic traffic to remain on duty was worthy of praise. If only the Corporation, Metrowater, the PWD and other such backsliders took a leaf from our police’s book, we would truly have a great city to live in.

Tailpiece

Harking back to the rains, which do you think was the area that truly lived up to its name? The Man from Madras Musings is happy to announce that it was Boat Club Road, flooded to an extent where only boats could ply on it. Well, almost. Those who were in charge of naming the place truly did so in an inspired moment. We may have Lake Areas in Chennai with not a lake in sight, but our Boat Club area does need boats.

Please follow and like us: