Writer G Azhagiriswami lived in Triplicane. He hailed from a very modest family. He came up on his own efforts and not only became a writer of fiction but also a very great scholar. He used to say, "A person living in Triplicane, if forced to shift his residence, will return to Triplicane again." No other place in the world would appeal to him as Triplicane did.

Sometimes, very rarely, Triplicane residents do move out. Three persons known to me shifted out to their own houses - one to Chromepet, another to Raja Keezhapakkam and the third to Maraimalai Nagar -- for the sake of unpolluted air, good water and calm surroundings.�

But within just one year, they let out their houses and returned home to the small lanes of Triplicane paying higher rents than they were getting. One of them is the poet Gnanakoothan.�

What is so attractive about the lanes of Triplicane? Even though there are five or six broad roads in the area, the residents prefer houses in the lanes. Sometimes ten different families live in one building. They share the same main entrance from the road and make simple arrangements for complicated matters like locking the main entrance in the night and opening it in the morning. A characteristic is that people living in one building will not talk to others in the same building. They will go to the next lane and engage in long conversations with residents there and return.

Let us scan Chennai again....

Ashokamitran
(Translated by Sujatha Pradeep)