Though a miniscule part of the city’s populace, Chennai’s Maharashtrians have a rich legacy that they have passed on to the next generation through the Maharashtra Mandal.
The Mandal was established in 1929 to celebrate all national and Maharashtrian festivals. Founded with 25 families, who were settled here, it now has around 350 Maharashtrian families, taking part in its cultural and social activities. The organisation also provides rooms at a very nominal cost for all Maharashtrians visiting Chennai.
Known for their academic ability and integrity, the Maharshtrians in the South settled predominantly in Thanjavur and Chennai, at the turn of the 20th Century. Many of them achieved eminence in the civil services, administration, academics and other fields. A few prominent Maharashtrian names include Subanthore Vasudeva Rao, who served as deputy Collector of Madras and was one of the first Indian administrators in the British service, R Balaji Rao, the first Secretary of the Madras Mahajana Sabha and T Rama Rao, who served as an Indian civil servant.
However, a lack of leadership and enterprise account for the decline and fall of Smartha Deshashtas and Madhwas — the two major clans who migrated to the South. “A major set of Maharashtrians are Hindus and they celebrate a variety of festivals including Ganesh Chathurthi, Akshaya Tritiya, Guru Purnima, Gokulashtami, Dussehra and so on,” says Snehalata Datar, who has lived in Chennai for more than five decades. But there is one festival that they go all out for, just like they did back home, “We celebrate Ganesh Chathurthi for about 10 days on a very grand scale. This is one festival we give the most importance to every year and our families are together, the entire time,” she says.
One other very important festival for this niche bunch is Dussehra, which again lasts for 10 days. “On the tenth day, we exchange the Shami pathra which is the leaf of the Shami tree with our sons and sometimes others, to show our love,” says Vinay Kumar Apte. The main difference culturally is that the Maharashtrian calendar starts with Ammavashya while the Tamil calendar starts with Poornima.
“The only problem for me was the language as people in Chennai don’t speak Hindi. One can’t survive in Chennai without knowing Tamil, but I am safe as I got used to it quickly,” says Tanmay (25), who is an ardent fan of the Chennai Super Kings.
He adds, “I have been living here for more than a decade now and I love Chennai, as it is extremely safe when compared to other metros. There are quite a few differences in culture but one thing that unites everyone is being a Chennaiite,” he says ardently.
Certain communities are synonymous with professions that they have plied for years. But the younger Marathis here claim that they try to be good at whatever profession they take up. Anil Dagade (24) says, “In Chennai, you can’t find Maharashtrians in a particular profession or line of work. But, they give their best towards whatever they do. You can see Marathi people as IT professionals, doctors and teachers.”
(With inputs from Tushara Ann Mathew)