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Triplicane and the glory
Tradition and modernity converge here.
WITH COOL sea breeze wafting across the narrow and crowded lanes of Triplicane, it is said that residents there hardly feel they are in a cluster of the closely built houses, the huddle in temples during festivals or the chaos during cricket matches. "All the hustle and bustle is a cool and euphoric delight," an old-timer says. For, a test match at the Chidambaram stadium is as pious as a Brahmothsavam at the Parthasarathy temple for the locals, one hears. It is simple pleasures such as these and a modest outlook in the area that strikes you, in spite of the fact that Triplicane has been the seat of some achievements of remarkable men, let alone some illustrious landmarks written down in history.
If the simple folks of Triplicane leave you astonished, there is one more aspect in the area, which is equally mind-boggling! The soaring sprit of the Srinivas Young Men's Association (SYMA)! It has been more than two-and-a-half-decades of toil for the members of the social service organisation, who, as graduates, fresh out of college, had sown the seed of selfless service to society. This year, the association completes 27 years of dedicated work towards bettering Triplicane and making a difference to the people's lives in general.
Senior members of SYMA reminisce: "It was the drive by the elderly in the area, who had urged us to take up social service, instead of wasting the evening time in empty talk, that pushed us into taking up social work." Tackling civic problems were what the `young men' initially started off with (EXNORA was also not in existence then), but as time went by medical, educational, spiritual and cultural benefits were spun across diligently.
Says the president of SYMA, T.J. Ramani, "One of the first achievements of the association was to have the Parthasarathy temple tank cleaned, as it was being misused by the public. Everybody would agree that spirituality and hygiene are interlinked; after all, cleanliness is godliness! We even named the association after the presiding deity of the temple, Lord Srinivasa."
Another important work was a short film on rainwater harvesting (steered by the secretary Vittal Narayana) in association with the Corporation of Chennai, which was released by the Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa.
Every one, from the president to the long list of committee members, renders honorary service. How do they find the time, energy and inclination to do this?
"It was an inner urge to bring about a qualitative change in people's life at Triplicane. A sense of pride and duty overwhelmed us. It is an area with a list of luminaries ... some of them are Mahakavi Subramania Bharathi, mathematical genius Srinivasa Ramanujan, advocate Kesava Iyengar, who had four generation of lawyers in the family, physician P.T. Raghavachary, social worker Ambujammal, advocate Pakshi Rajagopalan, wicket-keeper S.V.T. Chari, sports legend M.J. Gopalan and art promoter, Venkatakrishnan. Star musicians, who had spent appreciable years in Triplicane are violinist Dwaram Venkataswamy Naidu, G.N. Balasubramaniam, M.S. Subbulakshmi, flute Mahalingam, Alathur Srinivasa Iyer, Dr. S. Ramanathan, T.N. Krishnan, N.C. Soundaravalli, flautist Prapancham Sita Rama Rao, etc. Our social work is also extended to distinguished landmarks such as Bharatiyaar Illam, Chidambaram Stadium, Vivekananda Kendra, The Hindu High School, Parthasarathy Swamy Sabha, the Parthasarathy Temple and the Big Mosque."
Says Mr. Ramani with optimism: "We are trying to inculcate this spirit of service in children, as today's students barely find the time."
The yearly activities of SYMA are diverse which include the distribution of uniforms to the poor, collecting old books, cleaning streets in Triplicane, conducting a host of medical camps, developmental programmes for students, culturals and competitions for children and women. Its latest endeavour is the `Police Boys Club,' a personality-enhancement workshop for slum boys, conducted at Bharathiyaar Illam that includes guest lectures by well-known personalities in different fields, yoga and discipline.
A spirit of festivity is what the young-spirited men are trying to bring in at Triplicane, all year round!
By Ranjani Govind
Photo: K.V. Srinivasan
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Life
Bangalore
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Coimbatore
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