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Mahatma's memorial in Madras runs to seed

The elegantly-built Gandhi Mandapam, the memorial crafted at Guindy in Madras in 1956 as a grateful nation's tribute to the martyr, has been dwarfed and kept under relative neglect in preference to the later-day landscaped memorials of Dravidian leaders on the Marina which have sprawling lawns and graceful gardens.

As dusk falls over this teeming metropolis, the two memorials to Dravidian leaders C N Annadurai and M G Ramachandran on the Marina, awash with designer lights, draw faithfuls and tourists, but the Gandhi Mandapam located on the Adyar-Guindy Sardar Patel road near Raj Bhavan presents a picture of silence, with a few fluorescent lamps and a lone watchman.

The scenario at the daytime is somewhat better, with the Mandapam drawing curious visitors including tourists arriving at the nearby children and snake parks, as against thousands of visitors who throng the Marina day and night.

The relative neglect of the Mandapam can be understood from the fact that even Congressmen, who made a hue and cry over the non-lighting of the Kamaraj statue on the Marina, had forgotten the Mandapam.

With Gandhi Jayanti nearing, the Mandapam has witnessed some change in the last few weeks with round-the-clock work going on in frenetic pace to erect another structure, a martyrs memorial, which would be inaugurated by Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on October 2.

Despite the recent construction activity, the Marina and the Guindy memorials present a picture of stark contrast. The Anna and MGR memorials have been landscaped with well-maintained lawns and gardens, as against the ups-and-downs and haphazard growth of weeds in the space reserved for lawns around Gandhi Mandapam where the litter and the garbage strewn by the tourists is cleared daily, but only in the evenings.

Over the years, the Mandapam has lent space for memorials of nationalist leaders from Tamil Nadu -- Rajaji, K Kamaraj and M Bhaktavatsalam -- which were built in 1975, 1976 and 1998 at the initiative of Karunanidhi as chief minister.

In 1993, a pillar-like structure, with an eagle seated on it, was unveiled near the Mandapam entrance by the then chief minister J Jayalalitha to mark the 50th anniversary of the Quit India movement. Also seen is a bust of Gandhi atop a fountain, hiding the Mandapam structure itself. Both these structures mar the symmetry of the Mandapam and clearly do not blend with its elegant architecture.

On the other hand, the Marina memorials have undergone periodic expansions with every successive regime of Dravidian parties. Curiously, the Anna Memorial space even includes statues of two of the greatest Tamil poets, Kamban and Ilango Adigal, who seem to be standing like two guardians immediately after the entrance.

During the previous AIADMK regime, a tall arch shaped like "folded hands" was constructed at the MGR Memorial entrance and the Anna Memorial acquired a new huge gateway-like arch last February. On September 15 last, Karunanidhi opened a museum at the Anna Memorial depicting important events in the leader's life.

In contrast, the Kamaraj Memorial in the Mandapam was renovated with new fluorescent lamps after some Tamil Maanila Congress legislators recently raised the issue of the neglect of the Kamaraj statue in the state assembly.

Proper arches for the Rajaji and Bhaktavatsalam memorials are still under construction and the Gandhi museum and library, inaugurated in 1979 in the presence of M G Ramachandran, the then chief minister, is being given a facelift only now, prior to the Gandhi Jayanthi celebrations.

While the entrances to the Anna and MGR Memorials are being maintained well, a host of petty shops dot the Rajaji Memorial entrance adjacent to the Mandapam.

A correspondent who visited the Mandapam saw tourists and medical personnel working at the nearby cancer hospital, sipping tea on the platforms inside the Rajaji Memorial and hangers-on crowding the environs of the Mandapam.

Since there is no regular vigil was maintained at the Mandapam as has being done in the other memorials at Marina, the Mandapam draws lovers and vagabonds, apart from regular visitors like tourists and school-children.

Part of the 50-odd workers now engaged in constructing the martyrs' memorial and renovating the Mandapam stage, including some in the 12-17 age group, are staying at the Mandapam itself. A pandal is also being erected for the inauguration function on October 2.

The Kamaraj and Rajaji Memorials have lawns, but the Mandapam itself has no lawn worth its name. However, the auditorium in the Mandapam, recently fitted with chairs, courtesy the public sector Indian Bank, provides a serene atmosphere for functions on several social and cultural themes dear to the Mahatma's heart. In fact, some functions are being held with the prior clearance of the Raj Bhavan which is in charge of the Mandapam complex.

From ancient times, memorial stones are known to be erected in South India, by the common people who are overawed by the spiritual powers of saints and martyrs. The Mahatma being both, it is up to the present and future generations to ensure that the memorial built to honour him survives the vicissitudes of time.

UNI

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