The Hon’ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu released a coffee-table book on the Greater Chennai Corporation last week. It was penned by me quite a few years ago in the face of a tight deadline. However, just before going to print, the project got caught up in administrative hurdles. I am glad that it was made up-to-date and finally saw the light of day, thanks to a determined team at the Corporation, led by its Commissioner J. Radhakrishnan. Seated at the book launch, I could not help reflecting on the way in which Shobha Menon, Karthik Bhatt, and I sourced our information for the book. We had a tight deadline and thanks to S. Muthiah, the excellent entries that Shobha had penned on the history of the civic body for the Madras Gazetteer project (published by the Association of British Scholars and printed by Palaniappa Brothers) were made available to us. That got us off to a good start. But what turned out to be a treasure trove was the archive of the Ripon Buildings, which is at the rear of the premises.
Detailed statistics
Nothing prepared us for the sight that greeted our eyes. It rises almost to the same height as the Ripon Buildings itself and is a hollow shell that has a three-storey steel framework within where all the printed records of the Corporation are kept. There, we found the Administration Reports of the civic body since the 1860s. Prepared with infinite care each year, these bound volumes gave us an idea of how what we now know of as the Greater Chennai Corporation graduated through various stages — from municipality upwards. There were detailed statistics in each volume on houses, streets, population, and civic amenities. Unfortunately for Karthik and me, we were on a tight deadline and so managed with what I would say was a cursory study. Sometimes I dream of going back there to sift the information year by year, but then I know it is just that — a dream and nothing more.
Maps and souvenirs
The Administration Reports were kept going till the 1990s when they ceased, which is a pity. Surely, with all the conveniences of the digital age, the Corporation can resume this excellent practice, thereby continuously recording its history. Apart from the reports, there were maps — surveys of Madras taken over the years that recorded the ever-changing topography and contours. There were souvenirs commemorating landmark years of some institutions such as the Waterworks and the Madras Zoo. The latter was a collector’s item, for it had photographs taken by Ellis R. Dungan, the American-born Tamil film director. To us, the archive was like Ali Baba’s cave. And it had its resident genie — Saravanan — who was in charge of the Records Room and was delighted that two people were visiting the place regularly and making use of what it contained. We lost touch thereafter and I hope whoever is in his place takes the same joy in the archive.
It is high time the Corporation began digitising and putting up its archival material for public access. It would be doing a great service to research scholars. An agency, such as the Roja Muthiah Research Library, would, I am sure, be delighted to assist in the task. At present, a few of the Administration Reports, dating to the 1880s, have been made available by U.S. universities that hold copies, but these are a mere fraction of what is available at the Ripon Buildings. Will the Corporation consider this under its Smart City initiative?
(V. Sriram is a writer and historian.)
