Two roads merged in the urban jungle that was Madras, and offered adolescent memories to cherish. Opposite Rajarathinam Stadium on Marshalls Road, now known as Rukmani Lakshmipathy Salai, Montieth Lane and Montieth Road started out as distinct entities before linking up to meet Pantheon Road at the other end of the spectrum. In the Madras of the past, well before malls and multiplexes sprung across as oases of distractions, hangout spots for teenagers were few and far between.
But the three Ms existed: Marina Beach, Montieth Road and Mahabs, as Mahabalipuram is popularly known then and now. There was a lovely feel to Montieth Road. If the lane going by the same name was more residential with a few high-rises, the road was a blend of commercial hot spots and apartments. Alsa Mall, Cisons Complex or Fountain Plaza on the nearby Pantheon Road drew the youngsters.
A rite of passage
These were the places where first-love dalliances and one-sided crushes had full play. A date at Hot Breads with their cakes and savouries was a rite of passage. Even just sitting on the stairs leading into Alsa Mall was all about coolth, the kind the then heart-throb Karthik exuded in movies like Mouna Ragam and Agni Nakshatram. People-watching as a thing to do was par for the course. “Macha let’s meet at Montieths da,” was often the springboard for shooting the breeze.
At times, the walk stretched towards the Ambassador Pallava Hotel with its aspirational value. The coffee was priced beyond anaemic teenage wallets but the hope was that one day its walls would be breached and some caffeine imbibed. Much has changed over the years but a walk down these pathways does have an old olfactory link: the smell of fried eggs blended with diced onions and some chillies.
The sandwich sellers still do a brisk business, especially after twilight leads into the night. An indulgence, be it in Madras then or Chennai now, would be to ask for an egg sandwich with extra cheese. The old apartments and commercial buildings still remain, like sentinels of a frozen past. Alsa Mall still has a buzz and for many, this locality remains part of an older Madras, further embellished within the warmth of nostalgia.
This is where inter-college romances brewed, be it a Loyola-Stella bond, or high-school furtive hand-holding thrived like a Don Bosco-Asan Memorial exchange. In a city that has grown by leaps and bounds, Montieth Road offers a joyride in a time machine leaping backwards. Welcome aboard.
