Chennai: Ever wanted to cycle around the original old Madras? Has traffic and pollution stopped you? Cycling Yogis, Chennai’s very own community of cyclists, have set out on a mission to revive Fort St George’s old charm through a book launched on Saturday, kicking off the celebrations leading up to the Madras Day celebrations on August 22.
Called George Town Bicycle Trails, the book has recorded the important landmarks in the area such as St. George Museum and Mary’s Basilica. The unique thing about the book is that it is QR coded, which means if you scan the code using your smartphone, details about the landmark, its significance and other details would be provided. “The path we've traced in the book is for cyclists and pedestrians,”says Ramanujar Moulana, founder of Cycling Yogis.
The event was inaugurated by Palam Kalyanasundaram, former librarian of the Thoothukudi district library and adjudged as “one of the 20th century's most outstanding people” by the United Nations. Joining him was Dr Sylendra Babu, Additional Director General of Police, Railways. The booklet was released by the two, along with Sunder Rajan, touted the ‘Godfather of Cycling in India’.
In his address to the audience, Sylendra Babu said that of all the work he has done, he is most proud of cycling 4,500 km from Kashmir to Kanyakumari with Sunder Rajan.
A vintage bicycle exhibition was also part of the event where bicycles from as old as 1942 were displayed along with the name of the brand and its owners. “At the time, the British-made cycles were popular here. Owning a cycle then was like owning an Audi or BMW now,” said Sunder Rajan.
