It was while researching the history of the Nataraja temple in Chidambaram that Liesbeth Pankaja Bennink came across Jacob Haafner, a Dutch accountant who lived and worked in India from 1772 to 1786.
Bennink, a historian and Bharatanatyam dancer, found Haafner’s accounts of his travels in India were translated into many languages. She has now finished his biography in English and is looking for a publisher.
Haafner, reveals Bennink, began on a ship trading around the Bay of Bengal, worked as a clerk for a company in Nagapattinam and became an accountant in Madras. During the 1881 madras famine, he was a British prisoner of war, fled to Ceylon (Sri Lanka), lived in Calcutta, and travelled down the coast to today’s Puducherry. Haafner finally left for Amsterdam after the tragic death of his beloved, the dancer Mamia. “After falling on hard times financially , he started writing about his experiences in India to make a living. His work was translated into many European languages, but only one, about his travels in Ceylon, was ever translated into English. He was a much read author in the 19th century .But he was forgotten later,” says Bennink.
What attracted Bennink to Haafner’s works was his deep respect and love for India and its people. “He is a great storyteller, at the same time sharing all kinds of information about the way people live, their festivals, about nature and agriculture, the landscape,” she said.He spoke fluent Tamil and some Hindi and Urdu. “He had enough knowledge of Sanskrit to translate and recount the Mahabharatha and Ramayana into Dutch.”
Haafner, says Bennink, also wrote a lot about Indian dance and dancers. “He inspired many Romantic artists in Europe. For instance the ballet La Bayadere, choreographed in 1877 by Marius Petipa to the music of Ludwig Minkus, was inspired by Haafner’s writing.”
Haafner’s life was extensively researched by Dutch historian Paul van der Velde who also wrote Haafner’s biography , Wie Onder Palmen Leeft (Those living under palm eft (Those living under palm trees), both in Dutch. “As I feel his work is relevant today I started translating some parts, beginning with his chapter about the Devadasis. In 2015, Velde asked me to translate his biography of Haafner. It was challenging. The difficult part was to translate 18th century Dutch to 21st century English, without losing the intent and emotions of the writer,” says Bennink. ” As a historian his work is invaluable to me. He was a staunch anti-colonialist.It would be great if all his work would become available for English speaking readers. He has so much to tell us about this crucial period of India’s history,” she said.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News > City News> Chennai News / M.T. Sajul / TNN / November 11th, 2016
In recognition:Tyagis and leaders being honoured in Dindigul on Tuesday during celebrations to mark the 58th anniversary of Tamil Nadu Formation Day.— PHOTO: G. Karthikeyan
Tyagis and leaders, who had fought for the retention of Tamil-speaking areas in Tamil Nadu at the time of reorganisation of States, were honoured as part of Tamil Nadu Formation Day celebrations here on Tuesday.
Honouring the district-level leaders at a function held here, Tamil Scholars and Tyagis Association State president Ramu. Ramasamy appealed to the State government to increase the pension being disbursed to those who fought for the formation of Tamil Nadu as the existing amount was fixed by the government 10 years back.
They had sent several appeals and requests in this regard, but the government did not consider them, he also said.
Former president of District Congress Minority Wing A. Abdul Jabbar said the government should extend new medical insurance scheme meant for government employees and teachers to tyagis and persons who fought for Tamil-speaking areas at the time of reorganisation of States.
Several fighters for Tamil cause, including Ramu Ramasamy, K.V.A. Rajan, N. Govindarajan and K. Muniappan, were honoured at the function. Several persons, mostly octogenarians who struggled to walk, participated.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Tamil Nadu / Staff Reporter / Dindigul – November 02nd, 2016
An ancient urban civilisation existed in the recently excavated site in Keeladi which archaeologists compare to Harappa
The Indus Valley Civilisation was part of the cop per age which dates back to 6000 BC but, interestingly, man was still in the stone age in southern India during that time, notes P D Balaji, head, department of history and archaeology, University of Madras . “In peninsular India, the chalcolithic (copper) age deposits overlap with the neolithic deposits of the stone age. There is neither pure neolithic culture nor pure chalcolithic culture in south India ,” Balaji said during the 23rd annual session of the Tamil Nadu History Congress at Periyar University in Salem on Sunday.
Balaji said the reason for the absence of the pure copper age in southern India still intrigues many archaeologists.At one point of time in India, both copper (in north) and stone (south) were used as raw materials for manufacturing tools. This might be the reason for the presence of copper implements mixed with the neolithic deposits, he said.
“The inverted firing technology used for manufacturing black-and-red-ware pottery had emerged in north India during the copper age itself. In many chalcolithic sites, including the later Harappan sites, black-and-red-ware sherds are found in plenty. However, the same technology took more than 1,500 years to reach the southern part. When it reached peninsular India, people were in the iron age,” he said.
The chalcolithic-era pottery of north India eventually became the characteristic pottery of iron age culture in south India. “Perhaps this sort of divergent chronology leads one to interpret that development first took place in north India, from where it penetrated to other parts,” said Balaji, who was speaking on ” Archaeology in reconstructing the past: Problems and perspectives”.
The iron age of south India is considered important as there was an extensive horizontal mobility of society during the phase. To prove his point, Balaji said microsettlements began to emerge all over the ancient Tamil country at this time. “The people of this period followed a megalithic culture that synchronised with the end phase of iron age and preSangam age. That vouchsafes for the references to megalithic burial practices in the Sangam literatures literatures,” he said.
The Sangam age between 300 BC and 300 AD was significant as it was during this period that major townships, capital cities and port cities came into existence for the first time in the ancient Tamil country, he added.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City News> Chennai / M T Saju / TNN / October 04th, 2016
The Madras of 200 years ago was a place of beautiful architecture, Nature and women, in equal parts — at least in the eyes of Dutchman Jacob Haafner (1754-1809). A traveller in the latter part of the 18th Century, Haafner’s record of works shows that he had been in Madras for a year and a half; in Negapatam for six years; and in Calcutta and Pondicherry among other places, for a few months. In all, he spent 13 years in India and Sri Lanka between 1771 and 1787. All through his travel, he sketched and wrote whatever he saw, in its rawest sense — all in Dutch.
Enter Bharatanatyam dancer and historian Liesbeth Pankaja Bennink. After her arangetram in 1981 in Amsterdam, and graduation from Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht (The Netherlands), she came to India to research on Indian culture and dance. She joined Raja Deekshithar (1949-2010), an independent researcher and a scholar belonging to the Chidambaram Nataraja temple. It was during her research on the temple, around six years ago, that Liesbeth chanced upon Haafner’s writings.
Two worlds, two centuries apart, collided.
During a recent lecture at The C.P. Ramaswami Aiyar Foundation, Liesbeth, who is translating Haafner’s biography into English, spoke about what hooked her to his works, and how his writings present a glimpse of the India of the past.
Excerpts:
What happened after you discovered Haafner’s works?
I had just finished translating a piece by a Frenchman about the Chidambaram temple, written in 1734. Then I came across a piece on dancers by Haafner. He had written about devadasis or temple dancers, and also dancers, who travel in troupes from place to place and perform for the public. His writings offer great insight into their lives in this period, as he had a passionate love affair with one of them named Mamia. He includes details of their dress, music and make-up. I didn’t stop with the dancers though; I read all his works {books on his journey from Madras to Ceylon via Tranquebar, his sojourn in Negapatam, journey along the Coromandel Coast, journey to Bengal and return voyage to Europe}. Most of them have been translated into German, French and Swedish. English, not so much. But, I didn’t find anything about the Chidambaram temple.
Any other structures of today that find mention in his works?
In his book, Travels by Palanquin {he journeyed comfortably in them, for most part}, he writes about the science and art that went into the making of the seven temples of Mahabalipuram. He calls it ‘one of the most beautiful and largest palaces of our time’ and compares it with the ‘miracles of Egypt’. He also mentions the small choultries that hosted visitors for free, soothsayers, the ritual of Naga puja, children engaging in group study, the different kinds of snakes {he suffered a snake bite during his stay} and temple tanks. He had also sketched a scene of Mamia rushing towards him, in the background of the temple tank, and a group of women clad in wet clothes. But I haven’t been able to trace the temples with the names mentioned by Haafner.
Does he delve into politics in his writings?
He was clearly against colonisation and looting. He considered the English greedy, and argued for the complete withdrawal of all imperial powers from their respective colonies {probably the reason why his books weren’t translated into English}. Not just that, he had great respect for Indian culture, and was actively involved in the study of Indian languages {he knew Tamil, Urdu, Hindi, Sanskrit and Telugu}. He has translated a part of the Ramayana into Dutch, a 300-page book that was published in 1823.
Do you find all the accounts to be true?
I wish I could find his diaries. They would have more content, in its truest sense, than the books. I think that the writer might have taken the liberty to exaggerate the situations on a few occasions. Like one where he describes falling into a dark tunnel, somewhere near Vizag, and walking through carcasses in the dark before coming out the other side into a whole new land; his description of a snake that is 70 feet long, that is about to swallow him; or Mamia dying in his arms in a very cinematic way; or him engaging in an action-packed fist fight with the locals and defeating them (laughs).
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> Metroplus / by Naveena Vijayan / Chennai – December 22nd, 2015
A long with over a dozen students from Beta Matriculation School, we board the Chennai Express – TNIE’s double-decker bus (sponsored by NAC Jewellers) near the famous Gandhi statue. The youngsters were eager to learn more about the history of the city, and were surprised when Suresh Sethuraman, convener of INTACH Chennai Chapter joined us.
Suresh, a numismatic expert and one of the very few with a doctorate in this field, has written over 30 books. Cheerfully greeting the students, he began talking about the heritage buildings along the Rajaji Salai – Wallajah Road stretch.
Student aboard the Chennai Express P Jawahar
“The DGP office to your left was built in 1839, and the Queen Mary’s College in 1914 was the first women’s college in South India…,” were some of the interesting nuggets he announced on the mike. As we cross several other buildings on the stretch, including the Ice House (Vivekanandar Illam), Presidency College and the University of Madras, Suresh quizzes the students. “Why was the ‘Ice House’ called so?” Pat came the reply from a 15-year-old, “The British imported ice from America and stored it here,” and Suresh continued, “Yes, from Boston! And the ice crossed the equator twice and never melted!” he added.
Across the Napier Bridge, we reach the War Memorial and take a detour via the railway office building and notice a few more heritage buildings like the Curzons. “It was built in the early 20th Century and they are wonderful furniture makers. In fact, they made the furniture for the Madras University library,” shared Suresh.
After a satisfying tour, we caught up with Suresh for a small chat about being an archaeologist. “Archaeology has always been a rare subject. But now it’s getting rarer,” he explained. “People are not taking to it due to two main reasons — lack of awareness about the subject and the wrong notion that archaeologists have to live in the forest digging and can’t make money. Senior archaeologists are retiring and we don’t have youngsters with technical qualifications to occupy the post. So, we are trying to spread awareness through career counselling sessions.”
Though foreign governments are giving scholarships to Indian nationals to hone their skills in archaeology, Suresh rued that the number of eligible applicants is few. “This is why engineers and doctors corner the scholarships. We don’t have good archeologists who apply for them!” he said, and added that heritage clubs in schools and colleges could be used to create awareness among the youth. “You can graduate in any discipline and pursue a masters in archaeology,” he said. The oldest teaching institution for archaeology in India is the University of Madras, while Deccan College, Pune and MS University, Vadodara are colleges that match international standards. “Sadly, we don’t have many Indian students studying the subject in these universities. But, people from abroad come here to study. That’s the sad state,” he sighed.
Scholars have pointed out that before 1947, Santhome, Kilpauk and Chetpet were sites of archaeological digs. “There’s a lot of scope for excavations in Chennai. The irony is that India is rich in archaeology but poor in archeologists,” he averred.
Suresh explained about a little-known piece of history — Roman trade in South India. “Romans and Greeks came here 2,000 years ago. They reached Poduke (Arikamedu) and came to Pondicherry. From there they travelled to Melange (Mahabalipuram) and finally reached Mailarfa (Mylapore). They used the ECR route even before we built it!” The Romans took Indian textiles, gems and spices for gold and silver coins and accidental discoveries have shown that their presence was strong in areas like Mambalam and Saidapet. “Excavation is still on in some rural parts like Kodumanal,” he said.
But the most astonishing fact is that scholars and archaeologists from abroad aren’t aware of the Roman trade in South India. “It’s our fault too. We discover something but we don’t publish it in international journals. Even in books about Romans, the trade is either mentioned in merely a line or there’s no reference at all,” he rued.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Roshne B / August 29th, 2016
Murasoli is an integral part of the Dravidian movement and its history precedes that of the DMK
When DMK president M. Karunanidhi launched Murasoli, a handwritten manuscript mouthpiece of the then fledgling Dravidian movement on August 10, 1942, World War-II was still on. The DMK itself was not launched then. Murasoli— which has since graduated, first from a hand-written magazine to a weekly and then to a daily — is now into its platinum jubilee year.
Recording the landmark moment, Mr. Karunanidhi. writing in the party organ recently, describedMurasoli as his “first child” and said he cherishes its founding day more than his own birthday.
The veteran politician had for long used the mouthpiece as a medium to communicate with his party cadre. In fact, during the Emergency when media was subjected to stringent censorship, he subtly conveyed to the cadre about the list of leaders who had been jailed under the draconian Maintenance of Internal Securities Act (MISA). Knowing well that the Press Information Bureau would not allow these leaders to be named, he, instead, published the list of leaders who would not be able to pay respects to party founder C.N. Annadurai on the latter’s death anniversary.
“The DMK and the Murasoli are inseparable and the contribution of the paper to the growth of the party is immeasurable,” said former Minister Duraimurugan, who has been reading the paper since 1962. Few leaders had the passion of Mr. Karunanidhi when it came to running a party organ, he said.
“Our leader has the capacity to write what will please all sections of the society. He will proof-read what he had written even at midnight and always ensure that he read the paper in the morning before others read it,” said Mr. Duraimurugan.
Former School Education Minister Thangam Thennarasu, a second-generation leader, said, Murasolihas adapted itself to technology and it is now available online to reach a wider audience.
“The first issue of Murasoli had four pages and Kalaignar wrote the contents under his pen name ‘Cheran’,” said Dravidian Movement’s historian K. Thirunavukkarasu. “It became a weekly in 1948 and Kalaignar suspended its publication after joining Modern Theaters. He resumed its publication in 1954 and Murasoli became a daily on September 17, 1960,” he added.
Murasoli has since become the only newspaper of the Dravidian movement to have weathered many a political storm and Mr. Karunanidhi had ensured its existence by forming a trust to run the paper. “He was a hands-on editor and never hesitated to spend his money to run the paper. Murasoli is a guide to the party leaders as well as the cadres,” said Mr. Thirunavukkarasu.
But the admirers of the Dravidian movement, who pointed out its role in demolishing feudalism and upper caste domination in the society, are sceptical about the role of the Murasoli. “While the Dravidian movement ensured that democracy percolated and reached sections of society that were hitherto impossible to reach, Murasoli has become a weapon in the hands of neo capitalists, particularly the family of the DMK leader,” felt V. Arasu, former head of Tamil department at the University of Madras.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Tamil Nadu / B. Kolappan / Chennai – August 15th, 2016
As the country celebrates 70 years of Independence on Monday, the day marks another glorious chapter in the history of the Indian Railways. One of its legendary trains, the Chennai-Howrah Mail, completes, on this day, 116 years of ceaseless operations.
Introduced in 1900 between Madras (Chennai) and Calcutta (then the national capital), it continues to serve as a crucial link for millions of travellers. It has, in fact, become a brand with rail enthusiasts recalling the interesting stories woven round it from its glorious days. Through rain and shine, it has transported in its weather-beaten coaches literally everyone -from casual travellers, holidayers and migrant workers.
Through its more than a century run, the train has a number of firsts, according to members of IRFCA, a forum for railfans.
After being hauled by steam engines for decades, it became in the 1960s the first passenger train to be hauled by a diesel locomotive. “Initially , it was on diesel traction between Howrah and Bhadrak [in Odisha]. Soon after, the entire run was on diesel traction; that cut more than four hours from the journey time,” says Kamal, an IRFCA member recalling his experiences.It also had the maximum stoppages en route, ensuring that people in the smallest of places had a rail link.
When the Telugu film industry thrived in Madras, multitudes of its members, especially those hailing from coastal Andhra relied on it. Senior railfan Vijayaraghavan recalls seeing in the 1950s film stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Anjali Devi hurrying into the first coach. Over the years, many trains on the Chennai-Howrah route have been withdrawn, but the Mail continues.
A senior railfan and IRFCA member Vijayaraghavan recalls seeing in the 1950s famous film stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Anjali Devi hurrying into the first coach.
The Mail was also popular among people in northeastern Andhra Pradesh.”It was very convenient because of the timing. It would start from Chennai late at night, and travel throughout Andhra Pradesh for most parts of the day ,” recalls a resident of Lakkam Diddi, a tiny village in Srikakulam district.There are several stories about locals pulling the chain as the train neared their villages and getting off there. “The checks were not stringent then,” he adds.
This ties in with S Venkatraman’s recounting of how it took a long time to reach its destination. The 93year-old former railway employee and railfan who has written books on the history of trains in the country remembers it as being the only train from Chennai to Howrah for more than 30 years. “It had eight wooden coaches in the olden days.Travelling used to be tough.There were bed bugs… There was no catering, no food at the wayside stations.It took more than 36 hours to reach the destination,” says Venkatraman, speaking of the numerous journeys he made in it.
In the late 1970s, the railways introduced Coromandel Express on the same route with limited stops to cut down on travelling time between the two cities, forc ing the Mail to play second fiddle. But, the old warhorse has shrugged aside the challenge of its brash, young competitor and soldiers on. It remains THE train on the route for the countless who have travelled by it. Its various features, particularly the evergreen mail van (railway mail service), continuing to embellish their memories.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Chennai / by T Francis Sundar Singh / TNN / August 15th, 2016
A man dressed as MGR standing near an exhibit at the Hindu Spiritual and Service Fair | Sunish P Surendran
Chennai :
THOUGH the Tamil Isai College was established 60 years ago, only about 150 students have enrolled. The college offers courses in ancient Tamil musical instruments. College authorities decided to spread awareness about the school at the Hindu Spiritual and Service Fair on Wednesday. N Padmini, a Bharatanatyam lecturer at the college, said, “This is the first time we are setting up a stall here. We feel that nobody knows that such a college exists.”
The college was started in 1932 by Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiyar in Chidambaram and eventually found its place at the Raja Annamalai Mandram. Besides music and dance, the college has classes in Tamil history and literature. The college is on the top floor of the hall, but the teacher claimed that not many know of its existence. “People attend shows there, but don’t know what happens at the hall. We don’t have a proper board too because the Metro barricades and settlements outside hide the signs,” said Padmini.
Tamil musical instruments like veena, mirudhangam, nagaswaram and thavul are taught at the college. Moreover, the college has rare instruments from the 18th and 17th centuries like the kinnari yazh, mayura veena and pancha muga vadhyam. “We have instruments that only some museums might have; we restore them, but don’t have students willing to learn or even try their hand at them,” said another teacher at the stall.
The institution also has an evening college for students, who are interested, but cannot afford to attend the day college. The college offers three-year diploma courses and invites students of all ages. Padmini said that since the youth are hesitant to pursue music as an immediate career choice, many do other courses and then come back to music, while others wait their whole lives and choose to learn music or dance much later in life. “We have no age bar; anyone can choose to learn. No restrictions,” she added.
Apart from the music college stall,another stall at the fair displayed over 25 Tamil musical instruments collected from around the State, from a cow-horn to several types of mirudhangam. S Sivakumar, who runs the stall, said the display was an effort to get visitors to learn about the instruments and get a idea of how vibrant Tamil music was. “It is believed that there was less illness and there were fewer health issues in the past because there was music to listen to and music healed diseases. Nowadays no one listens to anything classical,” he said.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service / August 04th, 2016
For the `gora sahib’ travelling to inspect the pride of the British Raj – the railway, the glass windows once framed the undulating arid landscape of the Marathwada region. Close to 100 years after it first trundled down the line connecting Nagpur to Jabalpur, the same coach has now been restored to its former glory and rests in the regional railway museum in the city .
For more than 50 years, the coach lay in a railway yard in Moti Bagh, Nagpur, before two officials from Chennai chanced upon it in the midst of mangled metal and splinters of glass and wood in 2010. “We went there to inspect another coach that the Railway Board sanctioned for the museum in Chennai, only to find that it was sent to a museum in Pune,” said Jagadeesan N, senior engineer, planning and furnishing at the Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai.Jagadeesan and his colleague then came across a century-old coach, which served as a saloon for railway officers. “It was part of a narrow gauge train. The wood had rotted, leaving gaping holes, we could vaguely make out that the coach once had a bedroom, a kitchen and a bathroom,” said Jagadeesan.They identified three other coaches, which was part of the rich history of the narrow gauge lines: A postal coach, a first-class compartment and a guard-cum-luggage van. These coaches were part of the trains that ran between Nagpur, Chhindwara and Jabalpur.
While narrow-gauge lines are now restricted only to a few hilly routes, there were once more than 100 narrow-gauge lines in the country . Until 2015, narrow gauge lines covered 2,000km of the total 1.15 lakh km of the railway network.With a 622-km network, the Nagpur division of South-East Central Railway is one of the biggest narrow gauge routes in Indian Railways at present.
The coaches were brought by road on three trailer trucks.But it wasn’t until six years later that the railway museum officials here got funds to refurbish the coaches. “We first renovated the 1906 coach as it required extensive work,” said Arun Devraj, curator of the museum. The wooden walls were painted, the metal floor welded and colonial furniture introduced to recreate the era when narrow-gauge trains were a lifeline. The postal coach is now being renovated with the help of private players, following which work will begin on the other coaches, which were manufactured in 1968.
Arun said the 100-year-old renovated coach has been thrown open to visitors. “Visitors can sit inside a coupe and relive a bygone era,” he said.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Chennai / TNN / August 04th, 2016
A bicycle café, active clubs and more than 100 super randonneurs. The author explores Chennai’s vibrant cycling culture
As a culture that now celebrates all things quantifiable — a fitbit to track your steps, an app to count how far you’ve run — fitness is at the epicentre of our tech-focussed lives. From the calories you’ve consumed to the weights you’re lifting, there’s a number that makes it all worthwhile. If you didn’t Instagram a screenshot of your Runtastic app, have you even really worked out?
You’d assume then that this cycling fad that seems to be sweeping the city is just that — a fitness phase. Is cycling the new running? The new boot camp? Surprisingly enough, for all the avid bikers we spoke to, fitness came at the very end of their list of priorities. Whether it’s waking up at 5 a.m. to cycle, or spending the weekend on long rides, many of them may have started cycling to get fit, but they all agree it is way more than exercise that they are out to get now.
Creating culture
“Please don’t call it a themed restaurant,” Ashish Thadani clarifies at the very beginning of our conversation. Too many people have misunderstood what Ciclo (pronounced chee-klo), India’s first bicycle cafe, is attempting to do, and Ashish is eager to explain. As someone who cycles every day, Ashish admits that Ciclo was not conceived as a revenue spinner, but is more passion than business, as he’s excited to promote a lifestyle that he has grown to love. The cafe is a place where Ashish is hoping to build a common platform for the various cycling clubs in Chennai — there’s an entire wall where the jerseys of six reputed clubs are framed and proudly displayed.
The team jerseys displayed at Ciclo Cafe. / Photo: M. Vedhan / The Hindu
The cafe’s other speciality is the cleaning and repair services it offers bikers, who can have a snack while getting their rides fixed. And it’s not just pro-bikers — the cafe offers all customers a chance to rent cycles at the nominal rate of Rs. 200 a day to try their hand at cycling. With other Ciclos set to open in Gurgaon and Hyderabad, this time with shower and locker facilities, Ashish is hoping the bicycle cafe culture catches on all over.
Suresh Kumar likes to believe he called the cycling craze way back in 2006. Having grown up watching his father run Balaji Cycles, a 100-sq-foot shop, which launched in 1975, Suresh and his brother expanded the business. In 2012, they opened Pro-Bikers, one of the first high-end stores to sell professional bikes in Chennai. From five bikes a month to about a 100 now, Suresh says sales have peaked in the last four years, which is also why he set up a tech workshop with mechanics trained in Taiwan to service these high-end bikes. Suresh is also one of the founders of the Tamil Nadu Cycling Club (TCC), which began in 2010. They organise about 40 events a year, like endurance races, timed trials and workshops, where all the cycling clubs in the city participate. According to Suresh’s estimate, the cycling community in Chennai is about 10,000 people strong, and growing.
“When I started Chennai’s first biking club in 2009,” says Suhail Ahmed, “there were just 10 of us riding on the ECR.” Called ReaXion Cycling back then, their most popular event used to be a ride from Chennai to Mahabalipuram and back. This casual club soon grew to become an information portal called choosemybike.com that helped people find information about bikes in the market. Suhail now works for TI Cycles, where, he admits, he doesn’t get enough time to ride.
Another big draw for cycling is that, like running, this too is a social experience. It is easier to stay motivated when you’re in a group, and while you may start off concerned about fitness, what you’ll get hooked to is the company. Just ask Divagaran Thiagarajan, who started WCCG (We are Chennai Cycling Group) in 2012, as a neighbourhood cycling group. Today, WCCG has different chapters in different areas in the city, where people in the same neighbourhood ride together. Unlike a racing group or randonneurs, WCCG focusses on getting people together and creating themed rides to keep the regulars excited.
For the love of the race
For Aarthi Srinath, the party starts at 5 a.m. All days, except Mondays, you’ll find her at Madhya Kailash at the crack of dawn, geared up and waiting for her team — the MadRascals — Tamil Nadu’s first amateur cycle racing team. They ride for an hour and a half every day and three hours on weekends. Being the only woman on the team doesn’t deter her. “When people ask me why I do it, I tell them cycling is more than an activity — it’s a lifestyle choice,” says Aarthi. It’s a tough choice, considering the commitment one needs to keep up with the team. While there is only one winner at the end of the race, cycle racing is a team effort. There are positions like sprinter (who keeps up the speed), the climber (who takes care of the elevated bits) and even domestic (teammates who get in formation to protect the finishers from wind resistance). “When you’re in a team, you need to trust each other because often, when you’re riding at high speeds, all you can see of each other are the wheels,” she adds. The rest is intuition.
There’s also a need to be entirely self-sufficient when riding long distances. “You need to learn to fix a flat tyre, a fallen chain — when you’re riding alone, you’ve got to help yourself,” explains Aarthi.
On the fitness front, cycling is a great idea, since you tend to burn close to 850-900 calories on a 50-60 km ride. Also, it’s low-impact with no stress on the knees. For Aarthi though, it’s much more than fitness. It’s the love of the race and the adrenalin rush that keeps her — and many like her — going.
It’s the journey that matters
To win the title of Super Randonneur, as defined by the Audax Club Parisien, Partha Datta had to complete a series of brevets (rides that were 200, 300, 400, and 600 km long, in a fixed time limit) in one single year. He has won that title a number of times — and so have more than 100 others from Chennai as of last year, according to Partha. If cycle racing is a test of speed, then randonneuring is the ultimate test of endurance.
A fixed route, control points at regular intervals and a time limit is all you get when you attempt this sport; you need to have the discipline, stamina and time management to make it to the end point in time. With a minimum of 200 km, and a maximum of 1,000 km (in Chennai) brevets, this is no joyride, and yet more than 153 people completed the ECR Classic brevet held by the Madras Randonneurs on June 28.
What kept Partha going when he started off in 2011, is the fact that every ride he organised and took part in, was making history for randonneuring in India. Then, of course, there was that amazing feeling of completing each brevet. He recalls one brevet where it rained for eight hours straight and he even had to deal with a puncture, but managed to make it in time. Of course, there’s also the fact that he enjoys riding. “I enjoy explaining the concept of randonneuring to the strangers I meet on the road, and they never fail to ask me why I don’t just buy a motorbike,” he laughs.
At 65, Sundar Rajan holds the title of Grand Super Randonneur with great pride — but congratulate him on it, and he’s quick to tell you that it isn’t amazing, and anyone can do it. After a childhood of cycling every day to school and college, Sundar says he got back to it only in 2008, when he moved back to Chennai and decided to adopt a healthier lifestyle. Regular cycling soon became a habit, and he was looking for a challenge when randonneuring came into the picture in 2011. “I am not a speed guy. I can’t race, but I can manage long distances thanks to my stamina.”
“The best part is that randonneuring demands nothing extraordinary of you — if you put your mind to it, and focus, it’s easily done,” explains Sundar, whose daily routine is now cycling to Mahabalipuram and back in five hours every evening.
The book cover of Cycling in Madras. / Illustration By Akshayaa Selvaraj
A century of cycling
Probably the only city to have documented its connection with cycling over a period of 100 years, Chennai seems to have started its affair with the two-wheel ride right after it was invented.
The effort of a cycling club that calls themselves Cycling Yogis, led by Ramanujar Moulana, Cycling in Madras — from 1877 to 1977 documents every possible connection between cycles and the city. “I was always inquisitive about how the cycle, invented in far off Western countries, came to Chennai, and how it ended up in this form,” says Ramanujar. For him, the booklet symbolises the culmination of his two loves — history and cycling. In fact, the Cycling Yogis came together mainly out of Ramanujar’s love for sharing Chennai’s history as he rode along with friends.
Filled with little gems like the fact that the first bicycle in India was assembled in Madras, the booklet is the Yogis’ way of documenting how the city embraced the humble bicycle.
From indispensible when invented, to relegated to secondary status around the time motorbikes were invented, and now, back in vogue again, the bicycle seems to have come a full circle (pun intended) in Chennai.
Popular cycling clubs in Chennai
ReaXion Cycling – Chennai’s first cycle club, started in 2009
Madras Randonneurs – Pioneers of randonneuring in Chennai
MadRascals – Chennai’s only amateur cycle racing team
WCCG – Chennai’s neighbourhood-based cycling group with five chapters
Cycling Yogis – They enjoy cycling to heritage sites and historic locations
G3 – Chennai’s first all-woman cycling club
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> Metroplus / by Elizabeth Mathew / Chennai – August 05th, 2016
