Documenting history and heritage of Madras

-Madras Inked: Conversations with an artist and an architect-

Athira Elssa Johnson

Madras inked: Justice (Retd) Prabha Sridevan in conversation with Manohar Devadoss and Sujatha Shankar

Organised by the Press Institute of India

Venue: Press Institute of India Conference Hall

The Press Institute of India,Chennai set the stage for a series of ' Madras day' events . Madras day event held on 21st August 2022  at 5pm celebrated the newly released book by artist, writer and Padma Shree awardee Manohar Devadoss  and  architect Sujatha Shankar .  Madras Inked : Impressions of an  artist and an architect -details an account of illustrations by Devadoss in Sujatha's narratives.

The book recounts the history of Madras. Sujatha Shankar, renowned architect from Chennai who has attained awards and recognition for her works in the field of architecture  has scripted the details that follow every illustration by Manohar Devadoss in the book. The event organised post book release  at the press institute commenced with a welcome note by Shashi Nair ,the event organiser. Retd Justice Prabha Sridevan moderated and interviewed  artist Manohar and architect Sujatha. Prabha Sridevna’s book ``Karappan poochi nagaikkumo” (Will the Cockroach have the last laugh?)  2015 -carried Manohar’s sketch as the cover.

Manohar's drawings in the book Madras Inked show a detailed and intimate history of Madras , places ,people and buildings. It is a culmination of random drawings he did in the course of his life also through his diminishing eyesight. His wife Mahima who lives with quadriplegia contributes highly to the work  .In the conversation with Prabha Sridevan, Manohar and Sujatha opened up about the genesis of the book to the purpose of it. 

Sujatha recollects her student times  when she used to admire Manohar’s drawings. She talked about the joy of opening a new year card ,a letter in the mailbox and the memories that's carved in her mind opening up a card that had Manohar’s sketch in it. Little did she know that years later she would be scripting his illustrations . Manohar had another interesting take on how he and his wife Mahema were passionate about making cards,covers and postcards to sell ,he said that his wife did all the marketing and selling and he was there to draw and pack them all into card letters. 

It was during a casual chat about one of his books 'Perspectives ' that documents Madurai, the talk about 'Madras inked’ came up. Sujatha asked then, " There is Madurai here but how about My Madras?'' '.The very thought made Manohar and Sujatha drawn to compiling Manohar’s existing drawings of Madras into a book that is today released as the Madras inked. Manohar had no purpose of making his drawings into a book ,his drawings were mostly for commissioned works, personal or as greeting cards. He wasn't keen to keep a registry of his work too which was disciplined after Sujatha's involvement .

 The session at the PTI on discussing the book went on with the chats and presentation on some of the important drawings like the major institutions, and buildings of Madras. Some of the buildings in Manohar’s drawings are no longer functioning structures . Colonial buildings and details of people are also part of his works. As a person from a science background Manohar explains on how the intricate details and dimensions in drawing had always fascinated him. 

While drawing the Clive House ,a colonial bungalow built by the British ,Manohar’s eyesight was deteriorating and he could only reach the periphery of the building .He sketched it from what he heard from his daughter about the building . The descriptions on clive house and his excitement in making the drawing is evident in the nuanced detailing of the work in the book. 

"When Mahema,my wife gave birth to our child, I gifted her this card "the triumph of labour " capturing the labour of people '' recounts Manohar knowing that the event has screened the drawing.  The details on people, their labour and  structures of architectural importance in the book are study materials on Madras .The chat also mentioned various environmental and legal fights to initiate the preservation of some of the major monuments .

Manohar recollects his people whom he couldn't  meet at the event ,like his late friend and writer S Muthaih . “The pandemic affected the events of the Madras day sessions and this chat happened to be the first face to face interaction after long”, commented event organiser, Shahsi Nair.  

One of the main challenges faced by Sujatha and Manohar in completing the book was research and sourcing of details of the architects of the buildings Manohar drew. “For instance we couldn't find the architect  of The college of engineering Guindy which is a famous building - we had to get to research papers and teams to get to the architect whom we found is no more, but today we know the name, it's all in the book”,said Sujatha pointing at the drawing in the book.

‘Madras inked’ documents Madras through Manohar’s detailed sketches that hold history; not many buildings in the book hold the same shape in reality today. Sujatha and Manohar said that they feel this should be a handbook for the future generations  to be aware of what their cities hold , the heritage even if differs from one place to another it's important to record the truth. 

The book also holds interesting stories about people. “ Renowned singer M S Subbhalaksmi sent me a handwritten letter. I remember how I felt reading through the lines and how our home was a meeting place of many moments like these in the book” , said Manohar. 

The book The Madras Inked that is available for sale will contribute the revenue of the sale for communities in need like  (i) Mahesh Memorial Trust for the Paediatric Oncology Centre at Cancer Institute, (ii) Govel Trust for the Mahema Devadoss Endowment of Aravind Eye Care System and (iii) The C.P. Ramaswami Aiyar Foundation for SaraswathiKendra Learning Centre for Children.