Icons celebrated by the Chennai streets they hail from

CHENNAI: The faces staring back from Chennai’s streets are not distant legends anymore. The Greater Chennai Corporation’s idea to paint the murals of home grown heroes in the Vyasarpadi flyover is turning heads. DT Next traces some of the stories to bring you their journey.

“I was a great player in Kasimedu back then. But, I didn’t know what playing carrom can yield. My daughter is now not only a world champion, her painting is in our city, our locality. What more do I need?” Mehboob Basha, the proud father of M Khazima, said with pride.

Basha spoke at length about how his locality has always brimmed with talent, but never quite had the force to break through and gain the limelight. “Now, we’re being noticed,” he breathed.

North Chennai has borne every stereotype. So much so that even pointing them out will be redundant. Now, the pillars of Vyasarpadi flyover, a key location in the area, paints its own truth. Of the 20 pillars, nine have been completed. From footballer Nandhakumar, a Padma Shri recipient and the ₹5-doctor late Dr Thiruvengadam, defence scientist V Dilli Babu, DJ Black, singer Isaivani – the faces are many, but the thread is one.

Eighteen-year-old Khazima, the youngest Carrom World Cup winner, is one of the youngest faces on the flyover. Not much of a talker herself, she said simply, “I am proud, happy, and it’s the result of all my hard work.” She also shared how Nandhakumar, who is now a serving Indian Revenue Officer posted in Gujarat, made efforts to guide her.

A graduate from Dr Ambedkar College of Arts and Science in Vyasarpadi, Nandha is also featured on one of the pillars. While he couldn’t be reached, this reporter spoke to another Nandha Kumar who is featured on the murals. And his mother, S Sarasu, couldn’t hold back her excitement.

“My son has kicked football in Vyasarpadi since he was five, broke his knee many times, and still keeps ice cubes at home…” his mother wept when she saw her son’s mural. Nandha is the only player from Tamil Nadu to represent India at the recent Intercontinental Cup.

“Vyasarpadi is a mini Brazil. We play football everywhere. My journey began on a playground here. I’ve seen many annas who got government postings through the sport. Football has grown here. Many youngsters are taking it up seriously now. So I’m really happy to see myself featured there,” he said.

Dilli Babu recalled the days in the 1980s when his entire colony in Vyasarpadi did not have electricity. “My area was a congested place with poverty as an identity. So, many parents will send their kids to work at a very early age. Most kids of my generation studied using a kerosene lamp only,” said the scientist from Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), who attributed his fondness for books to his rise. “But, now Vyasarpadi is vibrant. The murals painted on these pillars symbolise it. No matter how many books you read, inspirations borne out of blood and flesh give you a boost. I hope the murals will do that to the kids.”

Regional Deputy Commissioner (North) Katta Ravi Teja, who oversaw the project said, “The idea was to show what’s possible and offer some guidance. We spoke to several stakeholders in the locality to finalise names. It’s fulfilling to see the initiative get its kind of attention.”

For DJ Black aka Sudhan Kumar, the murals aren’t just inspiring, it’s as necessary as breathing. “Our area has faced so much stigma. People continue to judge us when they hear where we’re from. So when a youth here sees me on the wall, someone they’ve seen around, maybe they feel, ‘If he can, I can too’. That’s all I want,” he said.

Along with some others in the neighbourhood, he runs the Dr Ambedkar Football Club to train youth in sports, and has plans to expand into education and arts. “Today’s youth, even school kids, get access to drugs. We’re trying to keep them engaged in sports but the government needs to step in too,” he opined.

Farhana (70) lit up, recalling the late Dr Thiruvengadam. “He was our saviour. He never asked for money. There’d be a box. We’d leave whatever we could.”

Whether it’s footballer Nandha Kumar, who travelled the world, or Dr Thiruvengadam, who stayed with his people, everyone had a common theme, which 18-year-old Khazima echoed: “We wanted to transform the face that was made out of locality before.”

One of the painters who is working on the murals said, “People started to ask who they are. I wondered about that too. Because, usually I know whom I am going to paint. But, I don’t know them and I started asking my son.”

This project has surely struck a chord. The streets, perhaps for the first time, see themselves. Not through the self-proclaimed messiahs or borrowed icons, but their own.