Armenians in Chennai

With a population of around 4 million, Armenia is a small Country in central Asia which once was a mighty empire. It gained independence and became a Republic after the dissolution of the former Soviet Union in 1991. India’s Armenian connection could be several centuries old for one Thomas of Cana is said to have visited South West India sometime in the 8/9th century  CE. He is said to have been an Armenian and was accompanied by several families. Though not much is known about him, he is some times referred to as a merchant and sometimes as a Bishop. A group of Catholics in Kerala also claim to be his descendents.  Incidentally Armenia happens to be the first country in the world to officially embrace Christianity way back in the 4th century CE.

 

Unlike Jews and Parsees, the Armenians did not look to India for asylum or shelter, they came in  to trade and  make money.  During the 16th century CE, Mughal Emperor Akbar invited Armenians to settle down at Agra with all trading rights. Over a period of time the population grew and  Agra had a sizeable Armenian population. They also settled down at Surat and became renowned merchants. Likewise they spread to other cities as well,  trading mainly in precious stones, jewellery, silk and spices.

 

Chennai has an Armenian Street and still is known by that name. However there are no Armenians to be found as such. All that remains is a beautiful Church dedicated to St. Mary, reminding their glorious past. In this business area of George Town they lived peacefully, with their own houses,  lower portion of which served as a store house for their merchandise. The said Church is amongst one of the heritage buildings of Chennai. During 1668 they had a temporary Church built of timber within the precincts of Fort St. George. In 1712 they had a permanent structure but immediately thereafter the city of Chennai came into French possession for some time. During the French reign the Armenian Church is said to have been demolished but some say that it was done by the British. Eventually in 1772 the present Church came to be constructed on a piece of land belonging to a wealthy Armenian.   It had his private chapel and cemetery. It is only because of the existence of this Church that the City could connect to those Armenians who once roamed around. Incidentally their population all over India is around 350 only and the largest number being at Kolkata. It is their Church at Kolkata which takes care of the Chennai Church and its upkeep through a resident care taker.

 

Existence of an Armenian Street and a Church thereat was well known to me and possibly I have passed through the street many times  when I was young. But then I did only loafing around. Peeping into the past as an obsession developed much later. But even when that dawned, my stays in Chennai used to be too short and confined in a particular area. This time, I had plenty of time and could bank on my brothers help to move around with a personal conveyance. I landed on the Armenian Street one day and looked around. Yes there were the doors that lead to the Armenian Church as I could gather from what was written above. Unfortunately the door was closed. On enquiry a pavement vendor asked me to come at 5.00 PM but while I was conversing I found the door being opened and a watchman coming out. On enquiry the watchman told that I need to come between 9.30 AM and 2.30 PM. He frustrated all my pleas and attempts to get in. Incidentally the door and the walls were so high that one can not get even a glimpse of the Church behind.

A week later I once again visited the street but this time the doors were pretty open and I was well within the time span prescribed for visitors. A gentleman who was sitting inside welcomed me with all courtesies. He was Mr. Trevor Alexander, the caretaker belonging to the local Anglo Indian community.

 

The above one is the Bell Tower

This is the Church  (from Wikimedia)

Immediately upon entry, the imposing structure that greets you is that of the Bell Tower and it is the one  which gets portrayed to denote the Church. The real Church is a humble one with practically a flat roof just on its right side. There was a wooden ladder leading up to the tower but people are not being allowed for fear of the ladder crumbling down. Mr. Alexander took pains to restrain me suggesting that apart from being old, the ladder is too steep and one may encounter fatal falls due to giddiness. Perforce I thought it would be wiser to go by his words.

 

Erected in memory of Mrs. Coromsimee Leembruggen

On the right there is a corridor adjoining the Church. Some wall hangings could be seen with a marble plaque embedded into the wall to commemorate the visit of their Patriarch in 1963. It was serene inside the Church with St. Mary at the Altar and a candle kept burning. I was at peace with myself and relished the quietness. Beneath the Altar there were miniature paintings depicting the scenes from Jesus’ life. At the other end there was a balcony for the Church Choir group to be seated.

 

Once again outside the Church, the area is covered by a number of Frangipani trees bearing large white flowers. Probably the decomposed bodies of around 370 Armenians buried under the soil are providing extra nutrients to the trees there to grow so well. All the graves are at the ground level and it would be difficult not to walk over them unless some one cares to see the inscriptions they contain. As an exception there is a well elevated and well maintained grave of Reverend Harutyum Shmavonian who breathed his last in 1824. It was he who brought out the first Armenian journal in the world  "Azdarar" in 1794. I was curious to have a look at that journal, alas!, not a single copy exists at least at the Chennai Church. It was here that the Armenians of that time prepared a draft constitution for an independent country in 1781. Ironically  Armenia became independent only after the dismemberment of the Soviet Union in1991.

 

It would be of interest to learn that Armenians unlike other Christians do not celebrate X’mas on the 25th of December. They are Eastern Orthodox Christians and claim to have been celebrating X’mas on the 6th of January much before the date was prescribed  in 325 AD. They continue that tradition. So are the  Orthodox Church of Russia but their date being 7th of January.

While returning home, I was too sorry for not having climbed the Bell tower which still has 6 large bells weighing between 150 to 200 kgs. The oldest one was cast at London in 1754 by the makers of Big Ben which was recast at Chennai (known as Madras at that time) in 1808. This bell is said to bear an inscription in Tamil. 

Incidentally the Armenian Association of India is planning to celebrate the 300th year of the Church during this year.

 

Chennai - Koyambedu Market

While going to or coming from deep South, I make it a point to make a prolonged halt at Chennai to corner some comforts at my younger brother’s place.  Apart from my rendezvous within and around the city with a chauffer driven vehicle, I enjoyed going to the market with my sister-in-law and my niece as well on few occasions. I am not talking about the Super Bazaars or Malls but the real Indian market selling vegetables, fruits and flowers. Did I mention that my brother stays in the SAF Games Village in Koyambedu (an upcoming suburb), perhaps I forgot in my anxiety to let you know the kind of treatment I had.  So there I was and very close to the largest Market in Asia.

Koyambedu is a wholesale vegetable/fruit/flowers market on which the whole Chennai city depends. The market itself is spread out in 295 acres (1.19 km²) and is named as "Koyambedu Wholesale Market Complex (KWMC)". The market has two blocks for vegetables and one each for flowers and fruits. In fact the activity begins here with the arrival of lorries/trucks with perishable goods around 3.00 in the morning and by 4 or 4.30, thousands of retailers from the city come and get the stuff for their own outlets within the city. There are more than 3000 shops within the complex and during the day time, it’s the retailers there who take over while wholesalers have a nap. On an an average some  1,00,000 people visit this market everyday.

Some kind of religious function was organized at home and a variety of vegetables, fruits and flowers were needed. This kind of shopping is generally in the domain of the 'Lady of the House' but she was kind to take me along. I was also too eager  lest the opportunity of taking some photographs gets lost.

To begin with, we entered the sprawling complex (not in terms of imposing structures but area wise), from its left side which was closer to the Vegetable blocks. I was just amazed. I could not believe that there could be such a large area only for vegetables. I got reconciled soon for they needed space for parking trucks in the morning and in fact some were still there. There were rows of shops outside as also within and you need to seek directions for a particular item because they seem to specialize and feel comfortable in dealing in a single item  as the photographs here would suggest. 

Pumpkins of various kinds

We needed pumpkins but not as large as those displayed. They were also reluctant to make a piece out of one to serve our limited purpose. We moved out and saw watermelons at one place but here again they were too big.

Then we sought directions and finally reached a place where we could get in smaller quantities.While finding our way we had to pass through a line of shops where the pathway was full of filth. They are the left overs after the morning sales. I felt too bad for this kind of littering but later on discovered some information which consoled me.

When I talked to the people sitting there, they apprised me that the collection van is yet to come who will collect the waste and clean the pathway.

A bio-methanation plant at the market complex set by Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority generates power from vegetable and fruit waste collected from the wholesale market. The plant has the capacity to convert 30 tonnes of waste per day into 2,500 units daily. About 150 tonnes of waste is collected daily and after meeting the requirement of power generation, the rest is converted into manure for which a separate area of about 1.75 acres is made available. Some of the waste like banana stems gets recycled.

After making our purchases we summoned our vehicle and drove to the other side where the fruit market was located. Since it was midday there were not many people around. Although many photographs were taken, I am placing them selectively. The fruits follow.

When we came out of the fruit market, there was a person selling the above stuff on the outer pathway. We could not understand what it was and the explanation given was too inadequate. On a reference being made to one of  my nieces working with All India Radio, Chennai,  she advised  “they are the roots of the  palm tree. People generally dig under the roots of the palm  or when the palm is cut they take out the tuberous roots. Palm roots are tuberous as tapioca etc. and they sell them. I my self have eaten them. It is said the palm roots are cheaper but richer dietary supplement, richer in in fibre. It is steam-boiled to  cook.The outer layer of the skin is peeled off and is taken. Not particularly delicious, but ok. In Tamil it is called 'panam kizangu' ”

Once again we move to a different wing which is square in structure with pathways as usual but you will only find flowers. Incidentally South Indian ladies are very fond of flowers which they use for dressing up. There is a lot of demand for worship in temples as well. This too is one of the largest flower markets in India.

The vendor is hiding his face

Now it was time for us to move out and stood outside waiting for the vehicle to come and fetch us. My niece trying to shield her from the scorching Sun with that piece of cloth known as Dupatta. Probably she did not relish being photographed in that attire.

We did not venture into visiting all the wings as it seemed to be formidable at that time. May be we were hungry.

Temple festival at Tripunithura (Kochi)

I happened to be in the native town of two of my blogger friends. One is Mr. Joseph Pulikotil, a man on the move and Ms. Chitra who writes about her pilgrimages. She is also a fashion jewellery designer who hails from that place but presently resides at a place known as Dindigul. I am talking about Kochi an important seaport on the south western coast of India previously known as Cochin which falls in the state of Kerala, also known as Gods own Country.

There is a suburb known as Tripunithura which is on the mainland and was the residence of the medieval kings as also their capital. Their family deity was the Hindu God “Vishnu” for whom they created a temple which is referred to as “Poornathrayeesa”. Amongst all temples in Kerala, this one is significant. Here the Lord Vishnu is seen to be seated under the hood of his adorable serpent known as “Sheshnag”. The sanctum sanctorum is round in shape wherein bronze idols of all the incarnations of Lord Vishnu are also kept. Childless couple come and pray here and there is a strong belief that they have children thereafter.

Round the year there are many temple celebrations but the one that is dearer to the hearts of the people is known as “Vrishchikolsavam”. This festival lasting 8 days falls in the month of November/December. Last year when I was there, it commenced on the 23rd November with the holy ceremonial temple flag going up. Incidentally elephants are an integral part of temple festivities in Kerala and on the 26th November they were dressed up in their outfits made of Gold. It was a special day known as “Trikettai” (Planetary position and not based on English Calendar) and many rituals followed. A Gold bowl is placed wherein the devotees drop their offerings termed as “Kanikya”. Thousands of people were queued up awaiting their turn. Though it seemed that it would take a long time to reach the Golden Bowl, the clearance was much faster.

Normally Foreigners are not allowed to be in the temple precincts but things have changed and I found quite a lot of them enjoying the cultural extravaganza. As a matter of fact tour operators to remain in business discovered a way out.  There is an organisation known as Arya Samajam and they help converting people to the Hindu fold with proper certification. Some visitors opt  this method to gain entry into temples as a temporary measure. But now, barring the sanctum sanctorum, in most of the temples, all other areas are accessible to all.

During temple festivals, the replica of the main deity (Tidambu) is carried around in a procession and every temple has at-least one Elephant over which the deity is seated. The temple at Triupunithura, I am talking about, engages some 25 elephants out of which 15 take part in the festivals and others are stationed as stand byes. The elephant at the centre performs the duty of carrying the deity (Tidambu) over its head along with a “shield” known as “Kolam”.

During these eight days, and for various rituals, various renowned groups of artists exhibit their talents in handling a plethora of musical instruments. The performances have different styles  are known as “Tayambaka”, “Melam”, “Panchavadyam” etc. They last for over 3 hours at a go with a slow beginning gaining momentum with faster beats and the climax is nothing but ecstasy. Thousands of people enjoy the performances and some of them seem to be well acquainted with the intricacies of the rendering. The mob frenzy is some thing to be seen to believe.

On one night the famous “Kathakali” was scheduled and the artists were busy dressing them up while a Bharatanatyam performance was going on within the campus. It was interesting to observe the intricacies of the Kathakali make up which takes couple of hours to complete. It looks like a sort of endurance test for the artists for their facials to be completed. In between there was also a performance of vocal music (Carnatic) in a separate hall. The variety of things going on within the temple campus was most intriguing as there were many options to choose from which was not too easy. Interestingly, there is no entry fee to savour any of these performances.

Tripunithura has thus become a cultural centre where you find all sorts of cultural activities year round with emphasis on cultivating and continuing the various art forms to which Kerala is home. 

Here is a small video just to enable you all to appreciate "Melam"

Tees from Tirupur

Last time when  my younger brother visited me, I happened  to purchase few vests (Banians) for  my personal use. After having looked at the price tags,  he declared that they are available at half the price at his place i.e. Coimbatore. I was a little bit amused but I knew that what he is talking about were the factory outlets. I told him that I will get them when I am at his place. On my return journey from Kerala I happened to stay with him for a fortnight. One day even before I could remind, he casually asked me if I have any plans to purchase vests any more. I replied in the affirmative adding that I would also like to buy few Tees (T Shirts) as they too are said to be cheaper there. He nodded and suggested for a visit to a knitting factory at Tirupur with whom he had friendly connections. Very next day we were on our way.

 

The city of Tirupur with a population of over half a million, lies 55 kilometers North of Coimbatore and happens to be a major manufacturing centre of hosiery. The knitwear industry here accounts for around 80% of knitted garments in the country. Their exports stand at Rs.12,000 crores (120 million) annually and the domestic supply is said to be over Rs.5000 crores. There are around 10 to 12 factories where everything is done under one roof including dyeing. Every factory employs around 1000 to 3000 skilled workers. Most of the industrial units come under the category of ‘Small Scale’ barring the few bigger ones. There are around 500 units engaged in spinning and weaving and some 3000 in stitching. Practically every household contributes in one way or the other. There were several units engaged in dyeing but due to the  pollution they emanate, many of them closed down because of judicial intervention. Now it is understood that they have equipped themselves with non polluting technologies and are into convincing the courts for their revival. All the smaller units here are engaged in some kind of job work for one another. The factories of Tirupur produce knitwear for all the major brands across the world. Indian brands like Lyril, Lux Roopa etc. get manufactured here but one may not say “exclusively” for this is a kind of job work which is outsourced.

 

Exported hosiery some times gets returned on certain technical grounds or due to the inability of the importers to pay for them. Such goods get sold at  throw away prices, a kind of distress sale, in Khadarpet market near the local Railway Station.

 

After an hour’s drive, we were at a Hosiery Factory where one of it's directors was a friend of my brother. In addition to Tees, this factory manufactures Tops, Inners, Slips, winter wear etc. for women and children. We were welcomed and provided with play cards to be worn around the neck to indicate our VVIP status before we could venture into their manufacturing areas. I wanted to see the entire process from the very beginning i.e. from raw cotton onwards. The factory had their  independent spinning  unit which produced yarn out of raw cotton. It was interesting to see the large machines spinning cotton  and rolling/wrapping the thread in many ways onto the spindles, small and large. Some of the spindles were larger than gasoline drums. There were hundreds of parallel thread streams getting collected on those drum like spindles. We were told that those spindles are sent to other weaving units who manufacture cloth (not knitwear). In the backyard of the large shed, the open courtyard was strewn with bales of waste cotton which get sold out as cattle feed. Part of it goes to paddy fields to improve soil fertility.

  

Back in the main factory building we were taken around the knitting section where we found the end use  of those smaller spindles. The round machines of various dimensions were engaged in churning out knitted cloth cylindrically.  The knitted cloth then finds its place over large tables in several layers. The specifications provided by the Importers/principal companies owning particular brands are stored in a computer. While cutting the cloth some amount of wastage becomes inevitable. The computer throws out various options and when the wastage level is around 18% (that is said to be the tolerable level) the automatic cutting machines receive commands from the computer operator, which in turn cuts the knitted cloth as per the design specified.  Sleeves, Collars and the main body parts are stacked separately which go to the stitching sections. The whole process gets accomplished in minutes.

 

As said above for stitching the different pieces together, which includes buttons/fasteners, hundreds of people are engaged working in different teams. After the stitching the Tees emerge in one piece. They then travel to people who press them and fold them. Finally they are sent for packing but before doing so they are labelled (Branded!). Thereafter they get wrapped in pre-printed polythene packets with logos and all other things as desired by the Importer. Even price tags (In Euros are US Dollars) are affixed. In some cases the packaging of individual Tees are provided with hangers as well. The importer has nothing to add on and they are ready to be hanged in show cases. Now is the time when they get into card board cartons but before that the representative of the Importing Company ensures that all the standards specified have been adhered to. The cartons move to large containers and get  placed appropriately (pre-determined space), ready to be shipped.

 

Around 2.00 PM we completed our learning mission and instead of a few Tees we could not resist filling our cart with not less than 2 dozens of them. They were at much much below the market rates. Of course, they did not bear any brand as such but were otherwise genuinely manufactured for an internationally acclaimed brand. The factory is not supposed to provide branded garments locally, however they are allowed to manufacture 10% over and above the contracted volume. This comes in handy for the factory to entertain their valued connections locally.

 

Incidentally, we forgot about Vests altogether.