Mid-winter Day’s Dream

 (Due apologies to William Shakespeare for plagiaristic gimmick of the title!!!!!)

‘Would one be paid wages for eating sugarcane’!!- a poor translation for a famous Tamil maxim ‘ Karumbu thinna kooliyaa’? It was one such instance in November’22,when my childhood buddy- a Senior sitting Judge of the Madras High Court His Lordship PN.Prakash invited a small group of his friends with their families for a Heritage Tour of the Madras High Court. Further he asked me whether we would be available on that day and  interested to partake in that tour! Who would not snatch the wonderful opportunity of being part of an elite group! Am I not justified in starting this travelogue with that maxim?

After quick coordination with the rest of the group, there we-Nambi, Shanks & Gomathy and Gowri & I, were promptly at the appointed time and place. The personal security guard of ‘His Lordship’ met us at the high security sesquicentenary gate and we drove past with a glee, the gun-toting CISF personnel who were swarming the place!! The HC now is not what I have known – this is in a sharp contrast to what I have seen about forty years ago when any Tom, Dick and Harry can walk-in to any Court and witness the proceedings. I was one such T, D, H who would stray in the Court premises whenever possible during my articleship days when I was in Broadway area for Bank audits!

The PSO walked us to the statue of Manu Needhi Chozan- a just king who had his son run over by the chariot as a punishment. The history is that the righteous king was ruling the Southern India as per the dictates of the Manu Sasthras and features in the great epic Silapathigaram of Tamil literature. Though the incident may sound as a mythological story, it is a recorded history! He had hung a giant bell  called the “bell of justice” outside his courtroom for any aggrieved party seeking justice to ring. He used to swing into action at the sound of the bell and stood by justice at any cost. One day a teary-eyed cow kept pulling the rope of the bell and it was continuously ringing. He did not brush aside it as a stray incident and quickly ordered his aide to find out the cause. To his dismay, he realises that his son had negligently run over the cow’s calf and he could sense that the grieving cow was seeking justice. He wasted no time and immediately ordered for executing his son the same way the calf was killed – had his chariot run over him. Since then, he is considered as the metaphor for fairness and unbiased justice. Nothing could have been more appropriate than erecting his statue at the seat of justice of one of the oldest courts in India. The escort had a very interesting information about the statue- it seems no birds fly over it and unlike statues being the (bird) dropping zone anywhere in the world, not even once has this statue been defaced. Even in the few minutes we were standing in front of the  pedestal, randomly  saw few people offering their prayers there-so much reverence is attributed to Manu Needhi Chozan.

Mr.Aravind,the personal assistant to the Judge, cheerfully received us at the palatial chamber-he had deputed a personnel who knew the topography of the premises as back of his hand to take us around. We were ready with our cameras – it was going to be hours of continuous shooting without a shot being fired inside the fortified area! The camera shutters click sound started right outside the chamber- the lengthy courtyard tastefully tiled with emerald-coloured porcelain tiles bordered with multitude of flowering plants. Our first stop was the old lighthouse built in 1844 – built at  zero sea level and one of the nine points to measure  the elevation of hills and mountains. This is one of the two lighthouses in the complex!

Once we step in through the narrow door, we are greeted with multitudes of historical information of the luminaries of the judicature of Madras High Court adorning either side of the walls. These are treasures of detailed information – an encyclopaedia by itself. It brought goosebumps while reading about the first native Indian Judge of the High Court Sir Tiruvarur Muthuswamy Iyer, First Public Prosecutor in India Sri. Subramania Iyer, First Advocate General Sri. Bashyam Iyengar and many such stalwarts of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

The amazing thing about this structure is that, it was unbelievably cold inside when compared to the humid atmosphere of Chennai.There are small ventilators which allows cross ventilation, but at the same time not even a small cockroach can enter the premises. The climb on the steep narrow spiral staircase seemed to be eternal- it was like walking across the inversion tunnel in Myrtle Beach in South Carolina (see my 29^th blog Southward Sojourners-Part 1). The indigo lights along the stairs were hypnotic. No handrails to support the ascend or descend…the only recourse was the rough rugged side wall. Half way up, my worried thought was how at all  was I going to climb up the rest  and much more worry was how would I get back without hurting myself or be the cause for others to hurt themselves!  At last we were in the top- that is what I thought- but, it was a vertical ladder that greeted us there- to be climbed up to take us further. I was expecting a breathless view, but yes, I was already breathless after scaling up the stairs all the while looking for avenues to safely descend! Even while the escort kept warning about the slippery surface on the top due to overnight rains, our hero Nambi, without the slightest hesitation was in the top rung of the ladder- a habit for him from his school days being the topper always!!! It was he who captured the awesome photos of the minarets and domes of the majestic structure that were waiting to pierce through the sky, the mighty frothing Bay of Bengal and other landmarks dotting the High Court in a birds eye view.

I was only too happy to set my foot on the solid ground. The next stop was the Court Museum. Although it was a small enclosure, it was pregnant with immense historic information which I never knew all these years though being in Madras all along. The Madras High Court was founded in 1862 by a Victorian Charter. The black and white, grainy photograph of the inauguration welcomes us inside. A replica of the photo in sculpting, captivates the eyes. The frescoes of the landmarks of the then Madras Presidency captivate the hearts. Gallery after gallery detailed information were overflowing. Not to be left wanting, I captured every piece of information through my camera. At that moment I took a vow that I will dwell in depth reading the history once I get home and truthfully so, I now know ample details of not only the HC, but also of many of the great personalities and stalwarts of the gone by era of the legal profession. When I could get goosebumps reading these historic facts and the patriotism, would it not be a great inspiration to the coming generations? I put this ‘appeal’ to Justice Prakash to moot the idea to the concerned Authorities in opening the Court’s museum and archives to School children. To that he said except for the exhibits in the light house which comes under the high security zone, the rest are open for all interested. It is for the Schools to utilise this opportunity.Who knows, there may be a budding Bashyam Iyengar or a Basheer Ahmed or a Ethiraj in the sapling!

The various chairs including a gigantic single-seated cushioned sofa of the judges used over the years , the replica of a courtroom , the variety of decorated rods-the silver plated mace that is carried in front of judges as a symbol of their authority, the umpteen mementos of the chief justices and judges donated by them to the Museum over the years are all beautifully exhibited.

It was past noon and the Court premises was swarming with black coats and eager clients. The parking lots were full with array of vehicles. The symmetrically lined squares with mighty trees and the red-brick mammoth buildings that have stood as witness to the Indian Legal history greets us back to the present. The air was filled with the interspersed cawing of crows, the cooing and grunting sounds of the fluttering ubiquitous pigeons, the noise of continuous honking of horns from the major road intersection in the yonder.

The PSO took us through the judge’s gate to the eastern side of the complex- in fact, we were puzzled as to why he was taking us outside to the main road.. He took us to a plaque in the periphery of the Court border which narrated the incident of bombing by a German ship Emden in World War One- the bomb took away a part of the compound wall. Thankfully that commemoration tablet is not an object to sacrilege for the poster pasters and it remains intact.

We moved inside passing through the heavily guarded passage lined with tall trees with rustling leaves. The entire area was filled with lush greenery- a very well maintained lawn, an astonishing thick pasture of grass in the heart of Chennai- an unbelievable thing….It was a matter of pride for me to bear in mind that a person close to my heart, PNP, walks through these corridors day in day out to discharge his highest obligation to the Society.

We reached the huge portico and entered the building through the Sheriff’s entrance and on to the magnificent corridors to the Courtrooms. The astonishingly crafted hollow chamfered stone carved brackets, the elegantly designed and painted glass panes in the rectangular windows takes us back in the time machine. The princely corridors constructed in such a symmetry is really astounding. The staircase in virgin granite is a replica of what is seen in our ancient temples- true- this is a temple of Justice. The escort took us all again to the second light house- this time I walked in silence up a flight of stairs… Half way through we could see the Indian National Flag fluttering majestically – hoisted from the terrace. This place gives us a panoramic view of all the minarets and domes of the Complex. Luckily for me, as maintenance work was happening on the elevated areas, the climb was restricted.

Our next destination was the Courtroom where Justice PN Prakash  was the sitting judge. It was pin drop silence in the Hall and the advocates both of the prosecution and defendant were arguing their cases with occasional questioning by His Lordship. They were speaking through the mic. It was amazing to see how fast the Judge was pronouncing judgements, passing the decrees. In the 20 minutes we were inside, 4 cases were decided and 1 adjourned for a subsequent day. The Court recessed for lunch . By the time we could reach the Judge’s chamber, he already was there waiting to greet us. He hosted us a good Lunch. It was time for us to bid adieu to him, but not before clicking photos to our heart content with him. Not everyone gets a childhood buddy in a Judge and that too, a very learned, upright, respected person adorning the post.

The visit was a revelation in many ways to me:

• I didn’t know that the High Court has this much history behind it.
• not a place that could be strayed at will.
• that there are so m..a..n..y… advocates in Chennai.
• a person wielding such an authority as a Senior High Court judge can still be friendly and not grim in Court with both the parties.
• a busy person like Mr.PNP still had time to think about his friends and gave them once in a life time opportunity to tour the restricted place.
• how a place dealing predominantly with papers and stationery and with innumerable foot falls every single minute of the Court functioning hours could still be immaculately tidy- hats off to the housekeepers!

We were escorted out to our vehicles- it was a very special day for me/us

and will be remembered for years to come…

Till I lace for the next…

J. Ram