The Wall Less Fort

The postal index number for Avadi reads 600 054 and 600 055. I was surprised when I saw that a specific area had 2 PIN codes. A single PIN code is the norm for any given area and even Nungambakkam where I live has only one code and that is 600 034. Since Avadi was only 20 numbers behind my area code, I thought it to be very much part of Chennai and by that I meant to be a bustling suburb with the same make up like in Tambaram and Kelambakkam. Why I chose these two suburbs are for the simple reason that they are both places which are about 25 kms away from Chennai, with Tambaram being to the west and Kelambakkam to the south. I have been to both these places and to me they were just extensions of Chennai with the same chaotic traffic and hustle and bustle. With no inkling as to what lay ahead, I accepted when asked by Kumar to accompany him to Avadi. I had not been there earlier and the only Avadi I knew was the railway station which we used to pass in the early hours of the morning on our return from Kerala. The train would just slow down and we could only get a glimpse of a deserted platform. Since it was too early for the commuters, there was absolutely no one in the vicinity.

So with a minds view of Avadi, I set out from my house. Being a Sunday, the traffic was light and so within 40 minutes we had passed Thirumullaivoyal and were approaching Avadi. In my mind’s eye, Avadi was a barren land and hence I assumed the temperature would be much higher than what it is in central Chennai. How wrong I was proved, here was an oasis of greenery with lovely avenues and many open spaces planted with saplings. On both sides of the avenues were the central government establishments which started of with the Heavy Vehicle Factory, and then there are the Ordnance Factory, the Ordnance Clothing Factory, the MES (Military Engineering Service) unit, the Air Force Station, a Naval Unit, a CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) unit and a MSP (Madras Special Police) unit. With so many uniformed personnel in one place, it goes without saying that there would be orderliness and cleanliness. To serve these communities there are 2 hospitals and 3 Kendriya Vidyalayas. I am sure there are innumerable subsidized military canteens in all the campuses to provide provisions for the staff. These were however not visible to the man on the road. The roads and the side walks were well laid and there were a number of people moving about in bicycles and two wheelers. I also saw a lot of families from various parts of India taking a walk or engaged in some activities in the various play grounds that spotted the route. I was surprised. Little had I expected to find a slice of India in a miniscule suburb of Chennai? Here was I with the pig headed view that I knew Chennai like the back of my hand only to be proved wrong by a visit to a place that had been in prominence even before my birth. The 60th session of the Indian National Congress was held in Avadi in the year 1955 and ever since it has been in the news. I was ashamed that I had not even bothered to visit this place earlier. I was of the view that once you have seen a place in Chennai, you have seen them all. Once again I became a student in search of all that my city had to offer. Another surprise I had last evening was when I saw the statue of Babu Jagjivan Ram. I have never ever seen his statue anywhere in India and it seemed like a co-incidence that I had to see his statue on the very same day that his daughter’s name has filled the print and electronic media. It was the day when the United Progressive Alliance had decided that Meira Kumar, a Congress Member of the Parliament, would be the Speaker of the 15th Lok Sabha.

Thus Avadi proved a bag full of surprise for me. I just got a passing view of all the vast campuses and never got to enter any one of them. The purpose of our visit was to meet with some clients who had retired from the Indian Air Force. I gathered that a whole lot of retired military personnel choose to live in this vicinity. They say that they enjoy the quietness that this ambience provides added to the pollution free air they breathe. From them I learnt that the temperature in Avadi was always a couple of degrees less than what it was in Central Chennai. They continue to get the feel of the regimental life style and all their needs are taken care of by the various hospitals and canteens that the area boasts off. I realized that the two PIN codes were needed because the area was so vast at least ten times the size of my Nungambakkam.

It was foolish on my part to have expected Avadi to be like any other suburb of Chennai. Avadi has always had a special status and the name is an acronym for Armoured Vehicles and Ammunition Depot of India. Being aware of its special status, now I feel I should not have waited 52 years to visit this Wall Less Fort.