Virugambakkam of the bygone days is etched in memory

N. Subramanian, a retired Southern Railway employee, shares memories of Virugambakkam village and his community involvement.

A Southern Railway employee, N. Subramanian settled in the locality in 1977. He does a lot of social activities. Retired and in his eighties now, he says Virugambakkam village of the 1970s and 1980s was covered with a carpet of green, agricultural fields irrigated by Virugambakkam and Koyambedu lakes.

It was a residential colony. Because of the lack of amenities like paved roads, drinking water supply and street lighting, the area would come to a standstill after 6 p.m. There was no great connectivity to the city; the residents had to be content with the only one bus service — Broadway to Virugambakkam (route no. 17A) — which made only four trips a day.

While Virugambakkam has changed in topography and improved in civic amenities, one perennial problem is the Virugambakkam Canal, referred to as the ‘Sorrow of Chinmaya Nagar’. Every monsoon, the nightmarish memories of streets and houses getting inundated after heavy rain haunt the residents.

But the locality is still much loved. Being a small, close-knit community, residents join in all the initiatives. One such initiative was stopping a builder from taking over a portion of a temple land at Kumaran Nagar.

The efforts of all residents also resulted in the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) introducing a mini-bus service between Arumbakkam and Chinmaya Nagar (no. M2). While various amenities have come up in the backyard of Virugambakkam, including the Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus, Metro Rail, the Koyambedu Wholesale Market, SAF Games Village, and widened roads to access these facilities, the calmness of the area, which the residents cherished and made the locality a paradise, has been lost.

In those days, the only school that was functioning was Chinmaya Vidyalaya. The school, which had bare minimum amenities and classrooms with thatched roofs, was never an issue for students or parents.

Mr. Subramanian has also donated small plastic chairs to the anganwadi and helped the drop-out children restart their education by paying the school fees for them.