They saw Chandigarh as it took shape

CHANDIGARH: Far away from the homeland, thousands of Tamils in Chandigarh have been striving to keep their culture and traditions alive for over 50 years now. In an attempt to co-exist and acquaint the local population of the City Beautiful with their rich, colourful and varied traditions, a small group of distinguished people from the South launched the Tamil Sangam in 1968.
An old photo of the Tamil Sangam members

Tamil families migrated to the Tricity back in the 60s as mainly class IV employees in the Chandigarh administration. They settled here in colonies, around in and around the municipal limits. Most of them moved to the city by employment transfers like Indian Air Force, army, government banks etc. In the recent past, higher studies in PGI, IT companies and pharma companies in Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab have been bringing Tamilians to the Tricity.

Back in the 60s, the population of Chandigarh was minuscule compared to the present day, and during the Tamilians’ advent, the city was still taking shape. “Around 20 families had come here to make Rock Garden and all of them were Tamilians. Even today, 80% of the families living near Rock Garden are Tamilians,” said SP Rajasekaran, general secretary, Chandigarh Tamil Sangam.

By the 70s, there were hardly 3,000 families residing in Chandigarh, a number that rose to include 40,000 Tamil residents in and around the city today.

A priest prepares holy 'bhog' for the deity

In those days, they use to organize social gathering at each other’s homes or at a temple which at that time was nothing more than a shed in Sector 31. For them the only place for entertainment was a cinema hall where they would to book 10am shows and invite all Tamil and Malayalee residents to watch movies, said NS Radhakrishnan, a Tamilian who came to Chandigarh in 1978. Having retired from his job which brought him to Mohali, he has shifted back to the South, but returned for the golden jubilee celebrations.

Govindvel, vice president of the organization, came to city in 1976. “There was a drought in the South which forced me and many like me to go out and look for employment. I came to Chandigarh and settled here. There used to be only 4-5 temples of different gods where we used to go and worship every day. During festivities, Tamilians living in the same colonies would build temporary temples to celebrate the occasion. The association grew following word of mouth and turned Chandigarh into a home away from home by celebrating all festivals and holding gatherings for various activities.

BHARATI BHAWAN

In 1973, the Chandigarh administration, considering the aims and objectives of the Tamil Sangam, had allotted a piece of land in Sector 30 B for the construction of a building where the association could conduct various activities. The building is named Bharati Bhawan.

THEY RUN SCHOOLS TOO

The Chandigarh Tamil Sangam had started a Tamil-medium primary school in Babu Dham colony, Sector 26, for the children of contractual employees of the MC belonging to the economically weaker sections of the society. Later, the UT administration took over the school. The administration is running a Tamil-medium primary school in Maloya Colony.

I NTEGRATING WITH PUNJABI CULTURE

Hindi wasn’t their cup of tea when they came to Chandigarh. But their children are half Punjabis. “It is only with time that we learnt Hindi. Today, we cook and eat north Indian food and our children are well versed with the culture of the place. We are glad for we have a temple and an association to keep our kids close to their roots,” said Bhagyalakshmi, a Tamil resident who has been living in Chandigarh since 1982.