In the past, the Mambalam locality consisted only of the present day West Mambalam. When the electric trains started plying in the 1930s, the Mambalam Railway Station's main ticket counter was on the western side. The eastern side became East Mambalam, New Mambalam and later on came to be called as Theyagaraya Nagar. The development of Theyagaraya Nagar resulted in the original becoming old Mambalam. Under the stewardship of certain prominent politicians, the Chennai Corporation started functioning in full swing in Theyagaraya Nagar and transforming old Mambalam into barren Mambalam. The railway line proved to be the stumbling block to the development of the whole area. The drainage system and the drinking water supply, which started functioning in Theyagaraya Nagar, became a far-fetched dream for West Mambalam. The vehicles had to pass through Doraiswami Road to reach old Mambalam. But the railway gate on the way was always kept closed.

When I came to reside in Chennai in 1952, I was successful in getting a house only in West Mambalam. There were two rooms for a meagre amount of Rs.28/-, of which one was a small shed in the corner of an open terrace. The assistance of an umbrella was always required to reach the room, be it sun or rain. I liked the house a lot. But the very utterance of a house in West Mambalam made my Headmaster scream. He yelled, "Oh no! A house in West Mambalam?" I asked, "Why Sir?" He replied, "The whole area is infested with Elephantiasis." "But I could see nothing like that," I said. The Headmaster threatened me, "Observe well, it would have affected either the legs or the hands. This is a common occurrence in West Mambalam and Saidapet. Both your hands and legs will not remain in the fittest way for long, don't worry," he remarked.

To be frank, when I initially saw the house and paid the advance I didn't notice any thing properly. When I went to my native town and brought my family to West Mambalam, I found that whatever my Headmaster had told was true. In 1952, out of three persons, one was affected by Elephantiasis of the leg or hand. It was quite natural because drainage water was flowing everywhere. There was an ill-maintained lake and the Lake View Road was adjacent to it. The Kodhanda Ramaswamy temple tank was one of the many despicable tanks. Wherever you saw people, Elephantiasis of the leg or hand was visible. Along with the people there were a number of cows and pigs. The residents of this area either belonged to the low-income group or lower middle-class group. Nearly half of the residents were priests who were carrying on their livelihood with a meagre income. The other half of the crowd, were cooks. But ironically in those days there was not a single restaurant in that area. Even to have a cup of tea/coffee one had to cross the gate and come to Theyagaraya Nagar. The Mambalam Railway station too was devoid of a restaurant.

Adding to this was another information of dismay. Till the year 1955 there was not a single doctor in this area. Due to the sincere efforts of certain persons, a doctor visited the area for an hour every day. His clinic was a small shed in the corner of Lake View Road where he examined the patients and prescribed medicines to them. The medicines could be procured only from New Mambalam for which one had to cross the gate. The conditions that prevailed were congenial for the occurrence of elephantiasis and also "hippopotamusiasis", "rhinoceresiasis". The burial ground was at Kannammapettai. So the dead bodies had to be carried across the railway line for burying or burning. Till 1955 even a single car was not visible there and taxis refused to go to that place. The reason was the railway gate! So the Egmore and Central railway stations could be reached only by "Jatkas" (Horse-driven carts).

Let us scan Chennai again�

Ashokamitran
(Translated by Sujatha Pradeep)