AFVOA Newsletter 03 of 2020

Section 5 - Memoirs CV 2 No. 03 / 2020 Page 89 of 167 memory as a distant war lore. By 1943, British India was geared to full war mode. The British strategic heads had anticipated Madras to be a vulnerable target for an important reason. Our Avadi was then the largest military base for British in India. Avadi was militarily very important with multiple air strips, internal rail lines, three transit military hospitals, a huge ordnance depot and repair facilities for tanks, guns and even amphibian aircrafts, which the Japanese would like to demolish and weaken. The British on the other hand were strengthening their defenses in Madras against possible air raids. The war was on in full swing. The Second World War, in its wake, had brought untold miseries to the citizenry of Madras in every front. Here are a few samples. Let us start with the problems related to food, the prime need of every living being. For one thing, arrival of rice from Burma to Madras had ceased. Of what left, the British had siphoned off much of it for front line troops. With the result, traditional staple items of Idli and Dosai vanished from homes and from hotel menu. The Chennaiite (Read,Madrasi ) would rather commit suicide than to go without the staple Idli and Dosai !! Marriage invitations were restricted by stern government order to a mere thirty guests. It was not uncommon those days to hear the apologetic “Cordially invited, but please do not attend “!!! To add insult to the injury, the British offered rationed volumes of wheat in lieu, to which the local public were unaccustomed, as a staple. They were bewildered. What to do with wheat in place of rice? Therefore, street corner cooking demos were organized. This lead to the entry of wheat dosa ( ேகா�ைம ேதாைச ) and Rava Idli ( ரவா இட்� ) in Madras menu, which stayed put to this day. Another hard hit area for the Madras gentry was film production, which the film crazy population of Madras could not stomach. (Next in importance for them only to Idly - Dosa) Those days, the Japanese dominated the raw film production. Britain banned film imports as a part of war efforts. It was a double whammy for the poor Madras populace - No Idly, Dosai ; and, no new films ! What is life worth living for !!! The shortage of metals, particularly copper and brass, caused no less problem. Copper goods were available only in black market at sky high prices. With the result, people saw an opportunity to hoard ubiquitous copper coins ( காலணா ) The government had no way of dealing with mass hoarding of beggarly quarters. So, they had come with an ingenious alternative. The smart government started minting copper coins, with a hole in the centre, ( ெதாண்� காலணா ) reducing the copper content! ( எம்ட�க்� எம்டன் !!). And, brass locks were in huge shortage. Meanwhile, the British government ordered mass evacuation out of Madras. Even otherwise, people wanted to lock their homes in Madras and escape to their little towns and villages till war would end; but could not safely lock their homes. Cases of theft and looting were on increase. Poor guys neither could stay in Madras nor leave for their native places. What a Hobson’s choice!