Paul Jacob lives in Veteran Lines in Pallavaram, a cantonment area on the outskirts of Chennai. When we met, he was standing outside the single-storey house which has been the family’s home – or more precisely, the home of his mother’s family, the Soans – for more than 60 years. And he believes the building dates back a few decades before that.
As the name suggests, the locality was developed for Indian military veterans of the two world wars. In the 1960s, most of this area was the home of Anglo-Indians, a small and distinct community of families that have a European parentage in their ancestry.
There are now not more than about a dozen Anglo-Indian households residing in Veteran Lines and the old houses are slowly being replaced by brash new mansions. So, the heritage walk I went on recently with Madras Inherited was an opportunity to see something of a disappearing vernacular architectural style and certainly a disappearing lifestyle.
The Jacobs’ home.
The Jacobs’ home has a big covered verandah which, once upon a time, was able to receive visitors and host social events so central to the Anglo-Indian identity. There is a huge mirror hung on the back wall which adds to the sense of space.
On the table in the centre of the verandah, there’s a small bust; I asked who it was. Lenin! A gift from a visitor not a token of political allegiance, yet not at all what I was expecting.
To one side of the main building, there is a more basic structure: the tuck house. Traditionally, this was where cooking was done, particularly in the summer, and where food was stored at other times of the year. It is a remarkable architectural survival which is still very much in use at the home.
The tuck house.
Paul Jacob, 56, is a distinguished rock musician now involved in organising international music festivals. His family are huge animal lovers. They feed 50 – yes, 50! – cats and dogs, who of course have the run of the place. The cats in particular cast a suspicious eye on curious visitors.
Cats of Veteran Lines, Chennai.
The area around Veteran Lines continues to have two institutions often associated with the Anglo-Indian community – though the Anglos now are only a small proportion of those using them.
Just down the road is St Stephen’s English Church. It was consecrated in 1935 after years of campaigning and fund-raising by four military widows from Veteran Lines – all of them Anglo-Indians.
St Stephen’s English Church in Veteran Lines.
Interestingly, while the definition of an Anglo-Indian is based on patrilineal descent, the community is matrilocal: women have always been the backbone of the community, preserving its identity and organising its social activities.
Paul Jacob.
A little further away are the vast playing fields initially set up by the English Electric Company, a private concern which gave work to quite a few Anglo-Indians.
Unfortunately, the area is changing. As Anglo-Indian families sell up and move out – many have chosen to migrate to Australia or the UK – the new buyers more often than not demolish the old buildings and construct ostentatious mansions.
Within a decade or two, there may be nothing left of the old Veteran Lines to be seen. That is sad. Till it lasts, it is wonderful to have a glimpse of the community as it is, and was, and to meet a veteran of Veteran Lines.
Andrew Whitehead teaches at the Asian College of Journalism in Chennai. An earlier version of this article was posted on his personal website.
All photos are by Andrew Whitehead.
