Today is 2nd October………….. and Nation celebrates the birth of the Man
from Porbandar, a coastal city in Gujarat……………
this is also known to be the birth place of Sudama [Kuchelar for South
Indians] ~ the famous friend of Lord Krushna.
The Chola dynasty ruled Tamil land with glory. Their heartland was the fertile Cauvery and
stretched to farther points of India. Under Rajaraja Chola I and his
sonRajendra Chola I, the dynasty became a military, economic and cultural power
in South Asia and South-East Asia. Rajaraja Chola conquered peninsular South
India, annexed parts of which is now Sri Lanka and occupied the islands of the
Maldives. The Cholas left a lasting legacy. Their patronage of Tamil literature
and their zeal in the building of temples has resulted in some great works of
Tamil literature and architecture.
My Fortune,
Chennai is a five-star luxury hotel located at Cathedral Road in Chennai; if
you do not know it, sure you would know it by its earlier name – Hotel Chola………….
[WelcomHotel Sheraton Chola] ~ now under ITC – has 10 stories and 90
rooms. Hotel Chola Sheraton as it was
known then, was opened on 18 October 1975, and not many know that it stands on
a landmark………….
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
was born at Porbandar, on the 2nd October 1869. He was the youngest child of
his parents, Karamchand and Putlibai. Today most papers carry articles on him
as people recall their reading his autobiography, ‘My experiments with Truth’ - one of the most
popular and the most influential books in the recent history. It appeared in
the Weekly ‘Navjivan’ during 1925-28. It covers Gandhi’s life up to 1920. He
did not cover the period after that as it was well known to the people and most
of the concerned persons were alive. Besides he felt that his experiments in
that period were yet to yield definite conclusions. The autobiographies
normally contain self-praise by the authors. They want to criticize their
opponents and boost their own image in the people’s eyes. Gandhi’s
autobiography is completely free from all this.
We all know that Gandhi’s
life turned totally after his visit to South Africa – some may not know that he
went there at the insistence Abdulla Seth – Dada Abdulla, a business man there
who had migrated from Porbandar. It was a case where one of his business partners
had done some fraud. By some accounts,
the dealings had been in Gujarati and Gandhi’s assistance was
sought. That was in 1893………….
Miles away, the vast
expanse of Marina Beach in Chennai has some Gandhi connection. Today, people
pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi’s statue opp to IG Office / Queen Mary’s
college. This is a statue sculpted by Devi Prasad Roy Chowdhury.
I had posted earlier on
the plaque installed opposite to Marina after great battle by a freedom fighter
Sri PN Srinivasan who breathed last, last month. This is the place visited by many great leaders
including Mahakavi Subrahmanya Barathiyar, Balagangadhara Thilakar, Lala
Lajpath Rai, Bipin Chandran Paul,Subash Chandrabose, C.R. Doss, V.O. Chidambaram Pillai, Subramania Siva and Gandhiji.
I had seen another plaque
in Triplicane High Road – which was earlier Nelson Kalyana Mantap, then changed
into some other… briefly Pazhamuthir Solai [during which time] I saw this
plaque proclaiming Gandhiji’s visit…. Now there is another famous sweet shop…. The
board is gone ! Chennai has a hospital
named after the wife of Gandhiji - Kasturba Mohandas Gandhi situate in
Triplicane, known as Gosha hospital,a synonym for the hospital which once
catered to women wearing purdah.
My Fortune
Hotel [Chozha Hotel] stands at Radhakrishnan Salai [earlier it was 2 Cathedral
Road] – was the famous place of Chakravarthi Rajaji. Gandhiji reportedly stayed
here in Mar 1919 and famously met the Mahakavi Subramaniya Bharathiyar here……….
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar.
2nd Oct 2013.
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