If you are from Chennai, you should definitely read this book. And, if you have read this book, there is no need to look for any other book about this city. This book covers everything about the city – literally everything! Politics, culture, heritage, cinema, industries, food, fashion, architecture, music and so on!
It may be easy to list the chronology of events and call it history. But, such books could be used only for reference purposes. It may be common to find the so-called history books about the monarchs and their battles. However, they would not reflect the true history of the region. This book from V.Sriram is entirely different and a genuine biography. It touches on every aspect of the city.
Packed with loads of compelling nuggets, the author has woven an engaging text with his language proficiency. It’s a meticulously and exhaustively researched material composed of a fluid-writing style, added with the required quantities of humor and sarcasm.
Let me repeat! No one could have written this book so well! It’s incredibly a mammoth task. Besides spending considerable time and effort, one would need enormous knowledge in various subjects to author this kind of book. Be it Kamban’s reference about mosquitos or IoT, Alwar’s Pasuram, or Ayodhidasar’s movement, and the author is well-versed in everything.
As much as I enjoyed the book, I also feel that the author could have dedicated a few pages covering the city events related to the independence movement and the residences/localities of personalities who made this city their homes.
It would have been preferable had he restricted himself to providing factual information rather than being judgmental in certain instances. He could have avoided providing his views and opinions about some people and media houses.