The Fabulous 40s, A Decade in Madras History, R Venketesh, 5th August 2017


Tamil Heritage Trust
presents
THE FABULOUS 40s, A DECADE IN MADRAS HISTORY
(40களில் நாம் கண்ட சென்னை)
by
Venketesh Ramakrishnan
5th August 2017, Saturday 6:00 PM at Arkay Chennai Convention Center,
146/3 R.H.Road, OMS Lakshana (Above Shah Electronics), Mylapore, Chennai

About the Topic:

Some decades have the dullest assortment of events; they are swept into the backyard of forgetfulness. Some are not. These are years when the newspapers habitually keep sending out their errand boys to buy extra ink- to print bolder headlines in close succession day after day. The 1940’s were one such ink guzzling decade. Throughout the world in fact. And very much so in India and city of Madras.

40’s started with a flourish. The tercentenary of the city had just been celebrated. The finale of a century old freedom struggle was nearing   and a world war clouded all history from the background. Political landscape of Madras and to an extent Andhra state was shaped in this decade. Advances were made in art and film stars and singers who dominated the next 50 years took their baby steps in the 40s.  And then scandals too were many. Superstars were arrested for murder, Movie moguls were created, singing demigods were banned from sabhas, girls from Madras became queens elsewhere and sitting judges were arrested for manslaughter.  And Madras changed too geographically. Lakes were dug, rivers killed, bridges built and art deco buildings crowded the streets.

40’s was a decade of achievements and losses, gains and forfeits, laughter and tear. Some amazing events happened in those ten years in Madras. Some even laid the footing for grander things to follow. Having the calendar as a common thread, this talk will focus on happenings in close succession over a decade. Basically a storytelling session filled with trivia, it would help  a clear picture emerge on what our city was like  70 years ago. This Madras Month let us revisit the past, where the seeds for today were sown.

About the speaker:

R.VENKETESH  is a historian and novelist. He writes a weekly column for DT next and lectures frequently on historical topics in both English & Tamil. His KAVIRI MAINDHAN a sequel to Kalki’s Ponniyin selvan was his first book. He is the founder of 2 history social groups called PONNIYIN SELVAN GROUP and the MADRAS LOCAL HISTORY GROUP with huge members. His cultural mapping projects of the Cooum and Adyar river made the city sit up and take notice  of what it had previously thought of as sewers. An avid traveler, Venketesh  makes frequent trips to historical and temple sites.

Entry for the event is absolutely FREE; No registration required. The event will also be available on LIVE.


RSVP:
S. Swaminathan - sswami99@gmail.com; 2467 1501
Badri Seshadri - Kizhakku-p-padippakam - badri@nhm.in; 98840-66566
A. Annamalai: Gandhi Study Centre - gandhicentre@gmail.com;
S. Kannan - musickannan@gmail.com; 98414-47974
R. Gopu - writergopu@yahoo.com, 98417-24641
T.Sivasubramanian - siva.durasoft@gmail.com, 98842-94494

Tags: Video