 A second century cinema theatre!
 An interesting information! But for one or two houses the others in West Mambalam did not have electricity connection. Wells supplied water but ninety per cent of them contained turbid water. One or two wells here and there had water fit for human consumption. From these wells one or two pots of water were to be brought. A big wooden barrel with wheels pulled by a bullock was brought everyday to collect the drainage water. While collecting, the drainage water would spill everywhere. Adding to this, drinking water carried by women would also spill here and there, thus making the street slushy. The only tar road of those days, in that area was the Lake View Road.
In spite of the hardships in West Mambalam, it was a crowded place. The two main reasons for people crowding that area was the low house rents and the electric train services. So the people belonging to the low-income group just thronged that area. The only emblem of the twentieth century was a cinema theatre. But the state of the theatre would make us all speculate whether this was constructed in the twentieth century or second century. In 1967, the railway gate was removed and a function was held to mark the commencement of the construction of a subway over there. This was the last public function attended by the then Chief Minister, Sri. M. Bhakthavathsalam. Later on the popularity of the Congress Party started abating in Tamil Nadu. Old Mambalam became a rejuvenated West Mambalam and started developing. Now, the old lake has totally disappeared. The lake has been covered and filled by garbage and roads & houses have been built over the lake.
Even now certain streets in West Mambalam are very narrow. But when compared to other areas of Chennai this area is much cleaner and tidy too. We have a wonderful hospital there - Public Health Centre - only to help the poor and needy. It is a trendsetter in Chennai. The water supply and drainage system is complete here. But multi-storeyed dwellings and cars are not in plenty in this area. But you can find a lot of motorcycles and mopeds plying about. Most of them of the priest lineage are now employed in private companies. The working force consists of equal proportion of men and women.
There are still some priests living here. They meet everyday in the evenings at Ayodhya Mandapam, the only bus-plying road in West Mambalam. Even though there are no star hotels, certain small restaurants have sprung up. A number of marriage contract specialists can be found in West Mambalam. This area also houses some compact marriage halls.
Let us scan Chennai again…
Ashokamitran
(Translated by Sujatha Pradeep)
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