Heritages from heart of Chennai

The Chennai has number of historical building built during British administration still standing as landmarks of Chennai - the then Madras. The Chennai celebrated its 374 birthday on August 22, which commemorates the founding of the modern city by establishing Fort St George on a small piece of land acquired from the last King of Chandragiri in 1639 by the British East India Company. Here are few important landmarks from the heart of Chennai:

The Chennai Central Railway Station, the main railway terminus in the city is a renowned landmark of Chennai and home to the Southern Railways - the most important rail hub in South India beside other major stations (Chennai Egmore and Tambaram). Trains from here connects almost major cities of India including the capital New Delhi, is also the main hub for the Chennai suburban railway system.

The railway station designed by Henry Irwin was built in 1873 at Parkown Chennai and it is a Gothic Revival style of building. The original station was designed by George Hardinge and consisted of just four platforms. The station was later modified with the addition of the central clock tower and other changes by Robert Fellowes Chisholm. The redesign was eventually completed in 1900 was further strengthened after the construction of the headquarters of the Madras and Southern Mahratta railways which is now known as the Southern railways of India adjacent to it in 1922.

The Ribbon Building is an all-white structure, stands tall proudly on the west of the Chennai Central Station is the house of office of Chennai Corporation. The building is a fine example of Indo-Saracenic style of architecture, a combination of Gothic, Lonic and Corinthian is one of the landmarks left by British. Built in the early 1900s has been aptly named after Lord Ribbon, who can be considered as the father of local self government.

The building took a massive renovation in 2012; to preserve the original grandeur of: the walls were constructed with stock bricks, plastered with lime mortar and roof supported with teak wood joists. One of the main attractions of the building is the Westminster Quarter chiming clock which was installed by Oakes and Co.  in 1913. The clock has a mechanical key system, which were cast by Gillet and Johnston  has four bells.

Victoria Public Hall or the Town Hall is another historical building in Chennai, named after Queen Victoria. The hall, an example of the Indo-Saracenic architecture was designed by Robert Fellowes Chisholm in the Romanesque style is built by Namperumal Chetty between 1888 and 1890. The hall located on the current EVR Periyar Salai, between the Central station and Ribbon building was opened to public by Lord Connemara in 1887.

The hall was built to accommodate 600 persons, while a wooden gallery in the eastern end has seating arrangement for more than 200 persons. The structure consists of arcaded verandas, a square tower that is three storeys high and a carved pyramidal roof. There is also an intricately carved terracotta cornice, which resembles Islamic calligraphy atop the tower.

An unknown heritage building on Mt. Road, Chennai

PS. Sorry for the quality of photos, because they were shot from the moving car amid the interruption of Metro Rail Project across the view. (Source of info: Wikipedia)

Tree houses @ Top Slip

While my visit to Top Slip at the Anamalai Tiger reserve near Pollachi, Coimbatore, I got to see tree houses where man could stay and enjoy the wildlife tourism. The tree houses are houses exactly built not on top of trees but comprise of wood and wood related materials and built at an elevation in support of pillars and tree trunks. Other than tree houses, there is a bamboo hut and number of tiled roof houses to accommodate tourist, and while coming around we saw two foreigners leisurely taking rest by sitting at their bamboo hut portico.

The tree houses were surrounded by woods of teak and eucalyptus and since it was autumn the leaves were crushing down to wind and being afternoon, the silence and cool breeze carrying us through woods. We stayed at the Bison Lodge, opposite to the tree houses across the road to Parambikulam after failed seeking accommodation at glass house (due to some renovation work), on a hill top with meadows all around. The bison lodge is a cement roof house, situated at a T junction and very close to meadows with better chance of watching animals that come to feed on grasses.

The Bison Lodge is built in 1959 at the elevation of 744 meters above MSL - which was carved on a stone on the wall of the house, is a series of 5 suites with 2 beds at each. It was an experience stayed at this place and going through strange silence at night and uncertain noise to tremor, and to add fear, we brought our pet dog along with us (we would be the only pet owners in the world to bringing it to wild) because dogs are favorite prey of leopards. Waking up to dawn we find bison dung left at front of the house; making it clear their present and perhaps it may be the reason why the house is named after Bison due to their frequent visit and being close to meadow.

Bison Lodge

My first meeting with tree houses was at Pondicherry, when we visited to Chunnambar boat house on the road to Cuddalore in year 2000. Those tree houses were climbed only through rope ladders and they were little ones just for kid’s adventure and fun. I really want to be at Top Slip some other time with advance booking on glass house to have more such adventure thrillers. The only problem I think with tree houses are, they have narrow and steep steps which is hardly possible for someone to support me to stay. 

வர்ணிப்பு / Describe

கேட்டவார்த்தைகளும் கவிதையாகும்

உன் குரலில் கேட்கும் போது;

துயரமும் துவண்டு போகும்

உன் கூந்தல் கோதும் போது.

கால்கள் நடனம் ஆடும்

உன் கை வளையல் ஓசைகேட்ப;

இதயதுடிப்புகள் மாறும்

உன் காது வளையம் அசைவுக்கேற்ப.

சத்தமில்லா சங்கீதம்

உன் கை அசைவில் அரங்கேறும்;

வரிகள் இல்லா பாடல்

உன் இமைகள் போடும் தாளம்

வர்ணிக்க வேண்டும்

உன் இதழ்கள் உச்சரிகும் அழகை;

தவம் நிறைவேறும்

உன் பார்வை படும் நேரம்.

Translation follows: i tried my best translating my Tamil poem into English.... even i am not that good in it. but i don't think i could convey the feeling exactly how it is in Tamil. Hope u understand J

Bad words become poem
when hearing from your voice;
Distress itself will get upset
when fingers through your hair.

Feet tap to dance
respond to your bangles din;
Heartbeats transition
respond to your ear loop motion.

Noiseless music
is debut in your hand moment.
Song without lyrics
bounces rhythm in your eyelids.

It begs to describe
the beauty in your pronouncing lips.
The penance fulfills
the time your vision fall on thee.

PowerShot Sunday - Fossil Tree

The fossil tree trunk displayed at the Ooty Botanical Garden, is from 20 million year old rocks. The trees carried by rivers and deposited in inland lakes were transformed with replacement of the woody matter by silica give rise to fossil tree trunks.  The fossil tree was presented by the Geological Survey of India, from the National Fossil Park in Tiruvakkarai, Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu.

Race against time - awareness on organ donate

It all began in year 2008, when a doctor-couple decided to donate their 15-year-old son’s all functioning organs, after doctors declared him brain dead following his motorbike accident at the outskirt of Chennai.  The organ donation took a new leash of life in the state. The incident turned as an eye-opener for many, has witness drastic increase in number of organ donations lately and moreover the films (Traffic and Chennaiyil Oru Naal) made on this real-life incident has taken a step further enhanced the level of awareness on it.

There are number of movie made for entertainment but only few film releases on social concern, like Traffic and CON that communicate the struggle of transplanting heart, not by surgery but transporting in time. Unlike any other organs, heart can’t keep for more than 30 minutes after it has been removed from the body. But in case of Hithendran - the only son of the doctor-couple, the donor and recipient being part of different hospitals within Chennai at 45 minutes driving distance (considering the number of volume in traffic at city) the heart reached the hospital in astonishing 11 minutes.

The challenge in transporting the heart has been commissioned by the city traffic police; diverted the other vehicles on the route and turned all the traffic signals green. As a result, the heart reaching on time and saved the life of a nine-year old girl, who was being treated in a private hospital in Chennai as recipient of heart. This is a system practiced by the Chennai City Traffic Police, called Green Corridor.  Apart its precious help in transporting heart, Chennai has a reason for patients seeking treatment for heart because of the condition that the government machinery is highly efficient here.

In fact the Tamil Nadu government has the most streamlined transplant programmers in the country, by making the organ donation process transparent and setting up stringent rules for private hospitals, has drastically brought down the instances of organ trafficking in the state. From October 2008 to April 2013, 55 hearts and 362 heart valves have been donated and transplanted in the state. 18 lungs, 310 livers and 623 kidneys have also been donated and subsequently transplanted, in addition of 526 corneas and a case of skin donation.

The heart transplantation is usually done on patients whose life expectancy is seven days to a few months in a priority recipient, who is below age of 60 to maintain a maximum survival benefit and improvement in quality of life. The donor and recipient should also match with blood group and size of heart and even after surgery, the patient have to be on medication life long, so that the body doesn’t reject the new organ. But with certain patients, the rejection comes down after two-three years of surgery to reduce medicines.

Heart is one of the precious organs on body and source of living; and to donate, one really needs a heart in itself. Being a doctor couple, the Hithendran parents understood the wealth of life and it is not an easy decision to take anyone but their sacrifice has inspired and impressed a lot alike. It’s so good to see the awareness of organ donate taking a deep root into our heart and lives. Thanks to those realized the worth of life and spread the message through media, which has greater responsibility where people watch it closely. It seems taking care of our health does not only help us sustain but by donating we live beyond death supporting someone to survive.