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Going round the Mada Streets of Mylapore during the Festival, I couldn’t help but think that in any other part of a heritage-conscious world, these would be made ‘Walk Only’ zones. Make the four streets ‘Walk Only’ ones and get the shops and houses and other buildings on them to spruce themselves up and you would really have a route where the visitor as well as the locals could enjoy the sights and sounds of an ancient town - and shop without a crush! Namma Mylapore has succeeded in a small way towards this end; the street leading to the Kapali Temple they’ve got made a ‘Walk Only’ zone on pradosham evenings - and even High Court judges have begun to respect this informal rule. How can we take this further?

Another success in Mylapore is the ‘mikeless’ concerts in the Nageshwara Rao Park, first introduced by the Festival and now a monthly feature. One or two other areas in the city have picked up the idea, but this needs to be done elsewhere in Mylapore - perhaps even on the Mada Streets.

Speaking of the Mada Streets, a rather ugly brick-and-mortar shed has been built for the thér on East Mada Street. A discussion with architects and landscapers might have brought about a happier result, but now that it is done, can’t something be done to make the structure at least minimally attractive? Perhaps some of the city’s leading artists - indeed, why not that doyen S. Rajam himself, a Mylapore man to the core - can come up with some answers.

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