#madrasinmini

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#MadrasInMini | 24 | Madras Literary Society | Part- 1/2 I first saw this library in one of my most favorite movies of all time: Mouna Raagam. I fell in love with the place then and there (I mean who wouldn’t want to be proposed to in an ancient Madras public library?) The Madras Literary Society is Madras’s oldest functioning public library. Located inside the DPI Complex on College Road, this is a portal to old-world charm with it’s beautiful high Madras terrace roof, clearstory windows, and those incredibly high stacks of shelves. One can access those old books through steep, narrow metallic staircases (don’t look down!). This library was established in 1812, under the auspices of East India Company as an auxiliary of the Royal Asiatic Society. The English used to learn local languages on this college campus. The Cooum river that runs along this campus served as a well-functioning canal; people used to take a ferry ride to arrive here. Imagine that! I had wanted to sketch the ‘library from Mouna Raagam’ for a really long time and was contacted in perfect timing by the Society’s Hon. General Secretary Ms. Thirupurasundari Sevvel inviting me to join them as a guest. I must admit I grabbed at the chance to do so and landed here the very next day. We went on a full tour around the old campus, climbed terraces and all that one can access only with the permission of PWD. It was amazing! There are over 83,000 books in this library and a lot of them need preservation and restoration. Some of the rare books here include Aristotle’s ‘Arretolis Opera Omania QVAE Extant Graece and Latine’ (published 1619), Isaac Newton’s ‘Philosophie Naturalis Principia Mathematica’ and Robert Boyle’s works Volume III (1772). Special thanks to Sundari, the librarian Mrs. Uma Maheshwari, asst. librarian Mr. Vinayagam, Sundari’s colleague Devika, and a darling of janitorial in-charge, 70 year old Ms. Martha. Mrs. Uma has been with the library for the past 20 years and more, while Martha-ma has been here since British times! I spent my entire day drinking a lot of chai, listening to stories and having meaningful conversations. (Part 1/2) #Madras #MadrasLiterarySociety #OldLibrary (at Madras Literary Society)

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#PressDay alert! I’ve been featured in today’s The New Indian Express’s Digital newspaper (you can see it in the print edition on May 28), as well as in May 18th’s DTNext’s epaper! This is all exciting! ❤️🙈#MadrasInMini doing its rounds... (at Columbus, Ohio)

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Honey I shrunk the city! Among one of the recent features of my work and myself was @scroll_in covering my #MadrasInMini project. I am really excited and honored at the recognition this project is receiving, especially when the content matter is my beautiful city. Also, please remember to like/follow me on Facebook as well for direct links (that I am unable to attach here) and keeping in touch! See you on FB (too!). https://scroll.in/magazine/873098/honey-i-shrunk-the-city-chennais-quirks-and-charms-get-a-miniature-tribute-from-a-young-artist (at Columbus, Ohio)

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These Must-See ‘Madras In Mini’ Sketches Are An Artist’s Ode To Her City!

From cart vendors on streets and local strays to heritage buildings and sandy beaches across the city, 'Madras in Mini' will give you all the right feels!

The Better India publishing media interviewed me for my work with my #MadrasInMini series. I’d love for you to let me know what you think! :) 

I’m in the press on women’s day, this makes me very happy. 

Find me a Face

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#MadrasInMini | 50 | Madras International Airport Here is my last mini-sketch in this series, from MAA, the fourth busiest airport in my country. I have been having a very interesting time back here in Madras. I came in with a lot of apprehensions and worries, some of which have been wiped clean while some remain; and as I write from here waiting to board my flight back to Columbus, I am full of mixed emotions. Madras has always been nice to me, full of learning. I literally bid farewell to my family, the dogs, the auto-men, the grocers... I'll miss the familiarity Madras gives me but am also looking forward to getting back to the community I am a part of in Columbus. These 30 odd days were a treat, a break from hectic, continuous, back-to-back work (i kid you not!). I realise how much I have missed of my city and what I yearn for that Columbus has been able to give me. I guess this will be an emotion that sits with every immigrant. I'm learning to navigate through it. I am grateful for everything I have so far and am looking to be stronger in the coming year. Until I see you again, Madras...all my love to you. <3 I'll be back soon (especially to do two particular sketches I missed doing : Marghazhi music season of Madras, and the Kollywood scene). Soon, my love. Soon. Columbus, here I come. #Madras #byeMadras #MissYou (at Chennai International Airport)

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#MadrasInMini | 49 | Share Autos Madras has many means of public and private transportation. I've already told you about autos in a previous post, this one talks about 'share autos'. It's a brilliant idea of running larger autos in the city with the concept of carpooling, like a super mini-van. They have fixed rates for certain distances and the frequency of these autos make for a good private transportation alternative, and lesser costs when compared to auto-rickshaws. This concept of carpooling autos is almost exclusively a madras concept as it's not really found in other Indian cities in the same manner. Its size and its efficiency is wonderful! #Madras #shareauto #transportation #localculture

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#MadrasInMini | 47 | Maligai Kadai Here is another extremely Madras and Tamizh an aspect of my city: the local maligai kadai (grocery store/departmental store). Unlike the western world, we have a higher population of local grocery stores than supermarket/hypermarkets in my city. They’re usually family-owned businesses that cater to the local grocery needs of the people in the neighborhood. Madras (like the rest of India) has a system that follows ‘Maximum Retail Price’ or MRP. This basically means that company packaged products (local and MNC) can only be a fixed amount of money. Across all these stores, those products remain at a fixed price while other ‘loose’, locally-procured items like rice, pulses, fruits and vegetables etc, are priced at the will of the local business. Maligai Kadais become an easy part of your everyday life, as they are ubiquitous with each area/street having about 3 or 4 of them. This allows us to replenish provisions with a small shelf life easily 9about 3-4 days once). These store owners, and employees tend to know you very well, will know details about your life, and your families. It’s not an isolated, alien, shopping experience but that of a local, everyday activity that runs on trust, community-relations and happy conversations. Some of these kadais also allow you to have an ‘account’. This basically means that these shops have a record of what you may buy from them in their log books as and when you buy them. This is later paid off as a complete amount on a weekly/bi-monthly, or a monthly basis. My local maligai kadai annachi always inquires after my sister and myself, to my parents. He addresses me as ‘Chinna papa’/‘Papa’ which translates to ‘the younger baby’ (of the family) or just plainly ‘baby’. I address him as ‘annachi’ which means ‘elder brother’. In my culture, everyone is addressed using basic familial relationships like elder brother/sister, grandpa/grandma, aunty and uncle. That way of addressing one another allows for an internalized sense of simple bonding in the community. This comfortable, natural familiarity is one of the more beautiful aspects of my city. #Madras #MaligaiKadai #localculture

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#MadrasInMini | 46 | Chetput Lake Eco Park The Chetput Lake Eco Park has been a recent development in the city in an attempt to save the water source and promote local economy here. The Chethupattu Aeri, now called the Chetput Lake is a lake spread over 16 acres in Chetput, Madras. It is the only existing lake at the centre of the city and it belongs to the Dept of Fisheries of the TN Government. This eco-restoration park showcases its colorful flowers, a children’s park, a food spot, and colorful statues of local species. It is set around the 18’ deep lake that is home to a variety of fish like Rohu, cutla and pangasius. They are fed and fished for by professional anglers, with visitors being allowed to use the equipment for a fee, thereby promoting local economy. You can also enjoy a boat ride here, looming up close to the tiny island in the centre. This lake serves as a groundwater recharge source in the city. Madras has not taken care of her water resources, and rivers well. Heavy encroachment and the demand to cater to housing needs has led developers to built atop lakes, tanks and marshlands. This is also one of the primary reasons we were hit so heavily with the floods (if the water sources were in place, Madras’s water drains easily). This is a step in the right direction and I hope we restore more of our local parks and ecosystems (I don’t even know where to start on our River Cooum!) I forgot to bring my watercolors for this visit and so, did this sketch with whatever pens I had with me. It was nice to just chill here yesterday with one of my very good friends from high school. We talked a lot and had meaningful conversations as the sun set on one side, and a near full moon rose on the other; both on the horizon…all at once. It’s a good way to begin tapping out before I leave the city tomorrow. #Madras #ChetpetEcoPark #localculture (at Chetpet Eco Park)