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Tales of Old and New Madras: The Dalliance of Miss Mansell and 37 other stories of 375 years
This collection of 38 tales, one for every decade, is a personal tribute to Madras, 375 years old in 2014. These vignettes of an untenanted sandy spit that grew into one of the great metropolises of the world range from romantic Nostalgia to Crime, from Sport to Journalism, and from Language to modern-day Politics. The tales, some serious, some tragic, some humorous, some descriptive, help, as a collection, to create both a portrait and a reflection of the character of a city which has, over the years, deserved better. They are tales that may help Madras that is Chennai gain a new recognition; or they may, in the end, just be tales that were fun to read.
- GenresHistoryIndiaNonfiction
450 pages, Paperback
First published August 23, 2014
39 people are currently reading
211 people want to read
About the author
S. Muthiah
42 books13 followersSubbiah Muthiah MBE (13 April 1930 – 20 April 2019) was an Indian writer, journalist, cartographer, amateur historian and heritage activist known for his writings on the political and cultural history of Chennai city. He was the founder of the fortnightly newspaper Madras Musings and the principal organizer of the annual Madras Day celebrations. Muthiah was also the founder-President of the Madras Book Club.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
November 22, 2020
S. Muthiah is best known for his cultural pieces in The Hindu. A native of Chennai (erstwhile Madras), Muthiah has been involved in heritage conservation of Chennai landmarks of historical significance and has written several articles on the history, culture, and politics of the city. Tales of Old and New Madras is an anthology of his own writings on the city of Chennai spanning over the period of 375 years.
The author has selected a variety of topics to include in this book. I found some of them informative and entertaining while others were of no interest to me and some were actually irrelevant. I did enjoy the snippets about the history of The Hindu, the political scene in Tamil Nadu, the biography of S. Ramanujan, etc. The second half of the book was much more interesting and informative in general for me. However, I did enjoy a couple of stories from the first half including the story of how the city was formed and named.
But despite this, I found the author's writing style extremely dry and unemotional. Where there was not much previous interest, the author was unable to engender interest despite detailed research on his topics. There were places in the narrative which were basically information dumps without much journalistic writing on the part of the author. This is the main reason for the low rating. The section about politics, which consisted of seven parts, the editor had not bothered to do any editing. There were redundant repetitions, and the article did not flow together well. The editing in this book is overall slipshod. Many parts should have been rewritten to fit together into a book form.
I would not discourage anyone from picking this book up but I would raise a warning. If you can handle dry text-book style books about interesting subjects, be my guest!
The author has selected a variety of topics to include in this book. I found some of them informative and entertaining while others were of no interest to me and some were actually irrelevant. I did enjoy the snippets about the history of The Hindu, the political scene in Tamil Nadu, the biography of S. Ramanujan, etc. The second half of the book was much more interesting and informative in general for me. However, I did enjoy a couple of stories from the first half including the story of how the city was formed and named.
But despite this, I found the author's writing style extremely dry and unemotional. Where there was not much previous interest, the author was unable to engender interest despite detailed research on his topics. There were places in the narrative which were basically information dumps without much journalistic writing on the part of the author. This is the main reason for the low rating. The section about politics, which consisted of seven parts, the editor had not bothered to do any editing. There were redundant repetitions, and the article did not flow together well. The editing in this book is overall slipshod. Many parts should have been rewritten to fit together into a book form.
I would not discourage anyone from picking this book up but I would raise a warning. If you can handle dry text-book style books about interesting subjects, be my guest!
August 15, 2020
Mi had gifted me this book long back when I asked her about the book. I had a false start in 2016 around the time she gifted. Finally thanks to this book being on Kindle Unlimited, I tried to go back to the paperback and the Kindle versions 2-3 chapters a day and I finally read it.
Madras is not a city I particularly like. I understand it has a rich culture, lots of history and there are active parallel lives unlike Bangalore. But due to really bad experience with people from the city in my grad school and also its sticky weather the city failed to impress me. However in the last seven years, I have visited the city more often and made good friends and been to certain parts of the city which I do feel deserve a lot of story-telling. This book was the answer to that.
Encompassing the occurrences over the last 375 years of Madras, this book touches upon multiple things in its 37 chapters - my favourite ones included the one on Guindy college, Chepauk, Indian Bank, The Hindu, and Bharatanatyam to name a few. The 18th and early 19th century stories didn’t really draw me in.
What I missed reading in this which according to me also defines Madras: the music season, Mahabalipuram, Chennai Central station (and the railways in general) and the hotel scene (Woodlands was touched upon but I’d have loved to read about HSB).
Madras is not a city I particularly like. I understand it has a rich culture, lots of history and there are active parallel lives unlike Bangalore. But due to really bad experience with people from the city in my grad school and also its sticky weather the city failed to impress me. However in the last seven years, I have visited the city more often and made good friends and been to certain parts of the city which I do feel deserve a lot of story-telling. This book was the answer to that.
Encompassing the occurrences over the last 375 years of Madras, this book touches upon multiple things in its 37 chapters - my favourite ones included the one on Guindy college, Chepauk, Indian Bank, The Hindu, and Bharatanatyam to name a few. The 18th and early 19th century stories didn’t really draw me in.
What I missed reading in this which according to me also defines Madras: the music season, Mahabalipuram, Chennai Central station (and the railways in general) and the hotel scene (Woodlands was touched upon but I’d have loved to read about HSB).
May 1, 2018
I am so glad that I picked this book Tales of Old and New Madras by S Muthiah for reading. And what a compelling and enjoyable reading it was! I spent my first 18 years in Madras/Chennai and I could visualize things about the city as the narrative unfolded.
The author is, of course, a well-known authority on Madras/Chennai and his deep knowledge and understanding about the city, its history, heritage sites, culture etc. makes the book a veritable treasure. I read the Kindle version, but I think that this book deserves to be on my bookshelf (as well as yours) and certain chapters to be read again and again.
This year, Madras turns 380 years. The book chronicles the history of Madras with 38 tales, one for each one of the decades. Starting from how the name Madras came about, the book just captivated me.There's so much information that many do not know about Madras. The contribution of the Armenian community is something that not many people who live (or have lived) in Madras would be aware of. My favorite is the tale about Chepauk, the cricket in the 1960's and 1970's (before I moved out of the city). Every single tale is compelling in more ways than one. I loved the footnotes that explained certain words/terms specific to the region and the times.
Thanks, Mr. Muthiah, for making the history of Madras/Chennai come alive for us! I would like to first recommend this book to my family, and then to my friends who have lived in Madras.
The author is, of course, a well-known authority on Madras/Chennai and his deep knowledge and understanding about the city, its history, heritage sites, culture etc. makes the book a veritable treasure. I read the Kindle version, but I think that this book deserves to be on my bookshelf (as well as yours) and certain chapters to be read again and again.
This year, Madras turns 380 years. The book chronicles the history of Madras with 38 tales, one for each one of the decades. Starting from how the name Madras came about, the book just captivated me.There's so much information that many do not know about Madras. The contribution of the Armenian community is something that not many people who live (or have lived) in Madras would be aware of. My favorite is the tale about Chepauk, the cricket in the 1960's and 1970's (before I moved out of the city). Every single tale is compelling in more ways than one. I loved the footnotes that explained certain words/terms specific to the region and the times.
Thanks, Mr. Muthiah, for making the history of Madras/Chennai come alive for us! I would like to first recommend this book to my family, and then to my friends who have lived in Madras.
May 5, 2016
The Tamil & Sanskrit words / honorifics could have been better translated
Keechaka Vadham (pg 250) isn't from Ramayana as far as I know
Keechaka Vadham (pg 250) isn't from Ramayana as far as I know
July 2, 2019
I bought this book from the Chennai Airport while coming back from the city. Have been an ardent Chennai fan from my teens as I had my uncle staying there so we used to visit him.
For the last four years every year I had the privilege of visiting the city due to work purposes.
The book having stories in which the city serves as a characters takes you on a 350 year long ride.
From the city's foundation with the naming as Madras and Chennai to the its politics, arts, literature and even scandals which happened are part of this treasure collection. The wit and simple narrative of the author is a treat to breeze through the stories.
My only regret - Netaji Subhas Bose, a loved figure amongst Tamilians does not find a mention in any of the stories which mentions Swami Vivekananda, Gandhi, Nehru, Rajagopalachari, Ramnath Goenka, Annadurai, MGR, Kalaignar amongst other icons.
A nice read.
For the last four years every year I had the privilege of visiting the city due to work purposes.
The book having stories in which the city serves as a characters takes you on a 350 year long ride.
From the city's foundation with the naming as Madras and Chennai to the its politics, arts, literature and even scandals which happened are part of this treasure collection. The wit and simple narrative of the author is a treat to breeze through the stories.
My only regret - Netaji Subhas Bose, a loved figure amongst Tamilians does not find a mention in any of the stories which mentions Swami Vivekananda, Gandhi, Nehru, Rajagopalachari, Ramnath Goenka, Annadurai, MGR, Kalaignar amongst other icons.
A nice read.
August 14, 2018
Landing upon this book was a pure chance. I was randomly browsing through the Amazon's monthly kindle deals and ended up purchasing this gem for a cheap price. The book is authored by S. Muthiah the famous Madras writer and the man behind the organization of Madras Day celebrations in the recent years. This is not a book written in a single flow, but is a collection of 38 articles written by the author in various instance at various lengths. Strewn together, the book brings the stories of Madras from its founding days to the recent fiasco of the new Assembly building.
The first chapter starts with how Francis day got the land for Fort St. George by combining two villages back in 1639. To placate the Village headman Madarasen and the ruler Chennapa Nayak, he decided to name the fort as Madarasapatnam and the surrounding colony as Chennapatnam - the names of which has created controversies in the later years. After this interesting chapter, the book enters into a few articles on how rules were established in the settlement based on first reported Murder, a Rape Accusation and how Sheriffs were setup in the settlement. These chapters appear extended and creates a lull in the book, given the disconnect with the modern day.
After this comes the articles of late 18th and early 19th centuries, which are interesting. They cover pieces of famine relief (Cyclical rains seems to have been a eternal worry for the state), a few historical buildings, the Club House and the beginning of Engineering institute in the city. The author seems to have a critical remark of how the College of Engineering, Guindy has been let down off late, given how great it was an institute in the early days.
Then comes the tales of late 19th century which is the most interesting part of the book given that the city has attained a remarkable shape in this part and most of them remain intact today. These parts covers the tales of the Indo Sarcenic architecture of the old buildings, the formation of the Marina Promenade, construction of the Madras Harbor, the formation of Theosophical society and my most favorite part of the book - the Chepauk Cricket Stadium. It is indeed sad that the local cricket administrators have ignored the history of the ground completely in the name of modernization. How great it would have been to have an antique cricket museum or hall in the ground reflecting the long tenure of cricket here.
The book deals with various firsts in the city - Telephone Exchange, Bank, Movie Theaters, Studios,
Newspaper, Magazine and looks into the history of how a few failed, while a few went on to become household names like Ananda Vikatan or The Hindu. The book then looks into the life of few famous personalities to have come from the city - the math genius Ramanujam and how prodiogious and unfortunate he was (he died when he was just 33), Kalakshethra founder Rukmani and how she found discovered and made Bharata Natyam popular, the Woodlands hotel founder K. Krishna Rao and how he setup the entire business, Thiru. Vi. Kalyanasundaram and his tryst with Labour Unions.
In the final part, the author briefly touches upon the major political events of the recent times - the death of CM Annadurai and MGR - their rise to power and in the process he covers the history of Justice Party, Dravida Kazhagam, DMK and ADMK. It is certainly indulging to read about the party in 1940s and 1950s and how they came to the current state.
The flipside of the book is that the author has just compiled the articles he has written at various points of time. This drives the lack of continuation at certain points of time and also lack of depth in some articles. The other effect is that certain portions keep getting repeated like there are lot of instances where the establishment of Justice party is meted out.
The book gives lots of interesting anecdotes all along. An entire chapter is dedicated to the rise of Indian English and how even the the Britishers had established a dictionary for that. The author keeps lamenting the fact that we have forgotten the Englishmen who established various institutions and facilities in the city. He is also critical of the modern day governments for not preserving the history. The author also brings the fact a lot of rules that forms the core of our country were actually established in this city in the founding days.
There is so much of history in Chennai, but so little a current generation Chennaite would know. This is a must read book for any History buff from this part of the country.
The first chapter starts with how Francis day got the land for Fort St. George by combining two villages back in 1639. To placate the Village headman Madarasen and the ruler Chennapa Nayak, he decided to name the fort as Madarasapatnam and the surrounding colony as Chennapatnam - the names of which has created controversies in the later years. After this interesting chapter, the book enters into a few articles on how rules were established in the settlement based on first reported Murder, a Rape Accusation and how Sheriffs were setup in the settlement. These chapters appear extended and creates a lull in the book, given the disconnect with the modern day.
After this comes the articles of late 18th and early 19th centuries, which are interesting. They cover pieces of famine relief (Cyclical rains seems to have been a eternal worry for the state), a few historical buildings, the Club House and the beginning of Engineering institute in the city. The author seems to have a critical remark of how the College of Engineering, Guindy has been let down off late, given how great it was an institute in the early days.
Then comes the tales of late 19th century which is the most interesting part of the book given that the city has attained a remarkable shape in this part and most of them remain intact today. These parts covers the tales of the Indo Sarcenic architecture of the old buildings, the formation of the Marina Promenade, construction of the Madras Harbor, the formation of Theosophical society and my most favorite part of the book - the Chepauk Cricket Stadium. It is indeed sad that the local cricket administrators have ignored the history of the ground completely in the name of modernization. How great it would have been to have an antique cricket museum or hall in the ground reflecting the long tenure of cricket here.
The book deals with various firsts in the city - Telephone Exchange, Bank, Movie Theaters, Studios,
Newspaper, Magazine and looks into the history of how a few failed, while a few went on to become household names like Ananda Vikatan or The Hindu. The book then looks into the life of few famous personalities to have come from the city - the math genius Ramanujam and how prodiogious and unfortunate he was (he died when he was just 33), Kalakshethra founder Rukmani and how she found discovered and made Bharata Natyam popular, the Woodlands hotel founder K. Krishna Rao and how he setup the entire business, Thiru. Vi. Kalyanasundaram and his tryst with Labour Unions.
In the final part, the author briefly touches upon the major political events of the recent times - the death of CM Annadurai and MGR - their rise to power and in the process he covers the history of Justice Party, Dravida Kazhagam, DMK and ADMK. It is certainly indulging to read about the party in 1940s and 1950s and how they came to the current state.
The flipside of the book is that the author has just compiled the articles he has written at various points of time. This drives the lack of continuation at certain points of time and also lack of depth in some articles. The other effect is that certain portions keep getting repeated like there are lot of instances where the establishment of Justice party is meted out.
The book gives lots of interesting anecdotes all along. An entire chapter is dedicated to the rise of Indian English and how even the the Britishers had established a dictionary for that. The author keeps lamenting the fact that we have forgotten the Englishmen who established various institutions and facilities in the city. He is also critical of the modern day governments for not preserving the history. The author also brings the fact a lot of rules that forms the core of our country were actually established in this city in the founding days.
There is so much of history in Chennai, but so little a current generation Chennaite would know. This is a must read book for any History buff from this part of the country.
June 17, 2020
Documents the stories of events that made Madras what it is. Since this book is a compilation of the stories published in many sources by the author, the stories marrum seem repetitive.
The read is not entertaining. Its not presented in a way that is brlieved to keep the attention of the current or the immediate previous generation of readers.
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The read is not entertaining. Its not presented in a way that is brlieved to keep the attention of the current or the immediate previous generation of readers.
Join my Telegram group for reviews, discussion and sharing knowledge on books
https://telegram.me/books_ReviewRecomm
May 2, 2015
History in a fiction form .... could have been more narrative. Few areas given more importance.
August 26, 2018
Many factual inaccuracies - I would not take the historiography of this book at face value, although the stories are interesting.
(James Augustus Hicky mentioned on pages 40-42.)
(James Augustus Hicky mentioned on pages 40-42.)
May 18, 2019
This book is a must read for all chennai people as many of them may not know the facts presented in this interesting book. From being the first settlement of the british to many firsts including the first women medical professionals centre for social justice. Moreover the author has attempted to bring the facts and circumstances which made madras what it is. I hail from north madras george town area and i already knew some of the details mentioned in the book. However reading this book made me feel proud of my city.
March 5, 2026
Interesting tidbits.
Till Covid 2020 disrupted daily newspaper delivery I have read The Hindu everyday.
A few of these stories or tidbits I have seen before. I had bought this book when Madras(Chennai) became 375.
Started reading only now.
Early sections were interesting, but as the years kept adding, the stories or rather reading became a bit monotonous. Some chapters were very laborious to read. Unnecessarily and excruciatingly detailed, or should boringly lengthened.
Am sure there are a lot more stories where this came from. Hoping a follow-on.
Till Covid 2020 disrupted daily newspaper delivery I have read The Hindu everyday.
A few of these stories or tidbits I have seen before. I had bought this book when Madras(Chennai) became 375.
Started reading only now.
Early sections were interesting, but as the years kept adding, the stories or rather reading became a bit monotonous. Some chapters were very laborious to read. Unnecessarily and excruciatingly detailed, or should boringly lengthened.
Am sure there are a lot more stories where this came from. Hoping a follow-on.
May 3, 2020
A lovely read if you, like me, grew up reading Mr Muthiah's Madras Miscellany columns in The Hindu. Fascinating vignettes in beautifully crisp language about the city that will forever be home.
November 23, 2020
A good collection of stories associated with Madras. An enjoyable read
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews