How Madras made me a ‘Jambajaar Jaggu’
The HinduOne balmy Madras morning in September, I was born at Madras Military hospital; and thus I began my love for the phenomenon called Madras. My grandmother and I lived in a 2-floor ‘ottu veedu’ whereas my neighbour Prince Asif Ali lived inside a fort, in a palace surrounded by sprawling open grounds and greenery. We still marvel at the Indo-Sarcenic architecture of Amir Mahal built in 1798, as we walk down Zam Bazaar with its cubicle-sized ‘palasarakku’ shops one after the other for a long stretch. Our ‘Aachi Manorama’ croons a song “Vaa vathiyaarae ootanda…” in a classic BW movie, the song has a line “Jambajaar Jaggu, naan Saidapettai kokku,” which very loosely suggests that you are the best and a master. After living in the same area since I was born I am convinced the title ‘Jambajaar Jaggu’ befits me, not because my name is Jagan, but because my journey as an advertising copywriter to theatre actor to TV anchor to radio jockey to movie actor to digital marketer to purveyor of Madras foods, all come about after my first experiences in Royapettah.
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