CHENNAI: Outside Agarwal Bhavan, a large crowd of people gathered on the small, crowded street. Curious motorcyclists looked on as they wove through the other two-wheelers, people and street vendors. The heritage walk on Mint Street titled Navarathiri with the Gujaratis of George Town was hosted recently by Chennai Past Forward and conducted by historian Sriram V.
Under the evening sky, Sriram took the crowd down Mint Street, named after the minting factory the East India Company built there. “In 1639, the East India Company began minting coins on behalf of the Raja of Vijayanagar, and in 1727, the mint was moved out of here and set up in various places, and was in Chintadripet at one point. The mint was located at the extreme end of the road, and was repeatedly modernised,” said Sriram. Mint Street, one of the longest streets in Chennai, was also called Washers Street when East India Company’s weavers came to the city in 1639, due to its proximity to the Elango River.
The Gujaratis and Maharastrians in George Town were called Shroffs, and handled the exchange rate. Siram explained that there was no standardised rate of currency for trade and enormous fluctuation of the currency. “The first reference to a Gujarati in Madras, although we initially thought it was in 1756, was actually in 1726. There was a peace accord signed between two warring communities here in Black Town, and the witness was Amir Tax Thakur. Interestingly, many of them had south Indian names like Ramanathan or Ragunathan,” said Sriram.
The Zaveri Purushotamadas Harilal Gujarati Matriculation School, which was established in 1919 and will celebrate its centenary year in 2019, was also established by the Gujarati community settled in Madras at the time. In fact, Sriram said, they were extremely charitable, and were known to donate money towards causes and built many schools and hospitals. The Parvatiben Trikamji Bhatt Gujarati Sahayakari Hospital was established as a charitable hospital that charged only two annas for all treatment.
Sriram dubbed the area as ‘Little Gujarat’, and explained that Madras had seen a number of Gujarati Governors in the past. “There was Prabhudas Patwari, a Gandhian. He was known for a truly Gandhian way of defecation; While in Chennai, he would not use any of the toilets at Rajaji Bhavan, and would rather go out onto the fields, dig a hole, and do his business. He was therefore known as ‘Pee’wari for a long time in Chennai,” said Sriram, to a round of chuckles from the group.
At the end of the walk, Sriram led the group to a Navaratri celebration by the local Gujarati residents. After the puja and aarti, mixed with music and singing, the men, women and children put together a garba performance, wearing red, green and white clothes with little mirrors stuck on, which picked up the light of the stars in the midnight sky.
Philanthropic Gujaratis
The Zaveri Purushotamadas Harilal Gujarati Matriculation School, which was established in 1919, was established by the Gujarati community settled in Madras. Sriram said, they were known to donate money towards causes and built many schools and hospitals. The Parvatiben Trikamji Bhatt Gujarati Sahayakari Hospital was established as a charitable hospital that charged only two annas for all treatment.