A cultural explosion

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Padma Subramaniam may be a globetrotter, but Chennai is still the place she calls home. “This is my home, my solace, I was born here,” she says. “Though Chennai has gone through phases of transition, the essence of its being is still

unadulterated. My earliest memories of the city are of the trams that would run from Kucheri road via Lus and Santhome, and my growing up years were spent in the area near the kalyana mandapam around the Buckingham Canal.”
Born to a filmmaker father and musician mother, Padma grew up amidst the “sabha culture”: “In those days, we had only three festivals during the dance season, with hardly three sabhas in place. I remember I had my arangetram in 1956 at the R.R. Sabha. If we were to compare the past and the present, music and culture have evolved in the city in terms of exposure. Now the (places where the) same art forms (are performed) are bursting at the seams and have reached the very periphery of the city and beyond. Earlier, Kalashetra dancers were not allowed to interact with dancers from, or witness the performances of, other sabhas, now, with the concept of free exchange, there is a case of knowledge explosion. I think this is the biggest, most positive change the city has witnessed.”
Padma’s school years, as well as those she spent pursuing her higher education, were all spent in Chennai. She takes a trip down nostalgia lane, saying, “I started my schooling in Rosary Matriculation in Santhome, after which, my parents moved to Adyar. We were among the first to occupy Gandhi Nagar, along the seams of Kalashetra. After school, I went on to do my college at Stella Maris College, and later, Madras University. We would spend those days trying to sneak into the Woodlands drive-in restaurant for a quick munch. But my favourite spot in the city without a doubt, was — and continues to be — the Marina beach, which stretched by the side of my university campus.”
Musing over what makes Chennai so wonderfully unparalleled, she says, “It’s the astonishing amalgamation of modernity and culture. Undeniably the culture capital of the country, Chennai’s richness of culture and art has sustained over changing times and testing periods, making it the most ethnically exotic city in the country. The only downside to all the change and progress has been the signature greenery of the city taking a beating. Nonetheless, there’s something special about this city that has Chennaiites hooked to their roots. So much so, that no matter which corner of the world they go to, Chennai is sure to pull them back.”
When there are divas like Padma, who are only to willing to support the beautiful city they call home, then truly, Chennaiites have much to be proud of.