CHENNAI: In Thalankuppam, as fishermen traverse a treacherous section across a sandy ridge, they whisper prayers to Sembada Thatha for protection. In artist M Elavarasan’s graphite depiction of the guardian, a lone fisherman safely travels past the rocky waves under the watchful gaze of the bearded, cheroot-smoking thatha. “These shoals were made by Sembada Thatha. Elders used to say, you shouldn’t think about anything else, otherwise, the boat can capsize” explains Elavarasan.
Over the years, as the port dredging has dislocated the shoal formation, people believe Sembada Thatha has grown wrathful. “The ridge under the sea that protects the coast takes the energy of the waves. But now there’s more turbulence and causes salinity intrusion,” says activist Nityanand Jayaraman. Elavarasan’s careful sketch — sourced from 76-year-old fisherman Duraikannu’s story — was among the 16 artworks and four-odd maps of the Ghosts, Monsters & Dreams exhibition at Ashvita’s art gallery.
A month after the ammonia gas leak and oil spill in Ennore, four artists from Government Arts College delve into local stories, collected over six months, using art as a medium. Drawing attention to the government’s `40 crore People’s Plan for Eco-restoration of Ennore Wetlands, the exhibition also stems from oral narratives which are inextricably linked to the ecosystem that is fast-vanishing and destroyed by years of ongoing industrialisation.
M Adhithya Mohan’s sculpture of a hand carrying a golden-wired tree illustrates how companies have destroyed Athipattu’s tamarind trees and livelihoods; Dhavalya Sagar’s work with augmented reality focuses on a river mouth — once filled with oysters and prawns — transformed into a hot-water discharge; various missing posters of aquatic species including ‘Vari Matti’. Other artists include S Kirubavathi, M Rajesh, Benisha, Aafreen Kabir, and John Cook.
The room holds the dreams, deities, ghosts of the past and stories passed on through generations, says Satwik Gade, independent artist and curator, adding that monsters can be interpreted as industries of the present. “This exhibition is a story of Ennore, specifically for residents of mainland Chennai. This is for us to listen, and understand for our benefit, other areas are being sacrificed and recognise how within these areas too, there are sacrifices for some zones to be good or developed. Conventionally, when the government, or scientists, or when there’s a plan prepared, there is a tendency to use colonial language, where the nearby land and landscape are referred to as resources and the view of what they can extract from that. Our view is no land is just a land,” he says.
Plans for the people
What makes a good city? To this question, there are answers pointing to good infrastructure, water, roads, access, and so on. As for north Chennai and Ennore, their narratives are filled with struggle to access. From the 1975 stir against Ennore Thermal Power Station drying up a river to the 2023 one opposing the discharge of effluents by CPCL into Ennore Creek, artist Benisha’s map depicts the long history punctuated by protests.
“For the past 50 years, people have been protesting here. After 2010 or 2013, there’s a lot of evidence (of struggles) but before that, there’s oral history. So to map the 70s and 80s, we spoke to the heads of villages and picked a few main ones,” she says.
As Nithyanand says, “In the imagining of a good city, when it comes from positions of dominance… you automatically have a sacrifice zone for the development of a good city.” Recalling his childhood in Ennore, relishing dishes of fish, and being surrounded by cattle, chief guest filmmaker Gopi Nainar, says, “While looking at the exhibition, I felt fear, like I’ve gotten caught in the jaws of an animal. In today’s world, we are all consumers and have gotten caught by the corporates.”
In ‘Once There Was A River’ — a play co-written and performed by students of Arunodhaya Children’s Sangam — the parai beats took the audience to Vada Chennai, through time. From a child yearning to play kabaddi with industry-induced breathing issues to a paati yearning for the sweet taste of the water from a depleted canal, the nine-member cast’s dialogues told the tale of pollution and loss of livelihood in this sacrifice zone. “Vada Chennai has 32 red-zone industries, My dream is to remove all of them,” says Nagulan, a member.
At this moment, as industries continue to pollute north Chennai, Sembada Thatha’s wrath persists and his waves continue to eat the shore. Ennore’s ghosts, monsters, and dreams urge citizens to reimagine what a good city for all can be.