In Chennai’s throbbing vein that is Anna Salai, still referred to by many as Mount Road, history has marched on with twists. Institutions, commercial and recreational establishments were all set over decades. Some lasted, others withered and while change is part of evolution, a city is also an amalgamation of memories.

Recently, Geetha Cafe, a corner hotel near the bustling Ritchie Street, lapsed into silence. The shutters are down, and the sprinkling of water on banana leaves before customers tucked into their idlis, dosas, and meals, has stopped. This was a restaurant that lacked the hype of its neighbouring rivals, and yet there was good food at reasonable prices.

The waiters unfailingly remembered customer preferences and regulars were acknowledged. Quaintly on the wall, there was a board that dealt with one new Hindi word daily. The meaning and the Tamil equivalent were all neatly written down. A tiny linguistic oasis in these times of extreme sensitivity.

And just as Geetha Cafe moves into the realm of the past, it is also time to look back a touch wistfully at those various outposts that once lit up Mount Road and added value to the eternal high street of Madras. Readers of a certain vintage, especially those who fancied toys as children, would surely remember M.S. Store.

Located right next to the iconic Buhari Hotel, M.S. Store drew in enthusiastic boys and girls while their anxious parents worried about their wallets turning thinner. The shop had toys catering to different price points and interests. Miniature trains chugging on circular paths, animal and bird figures in plastic, snakes and ladder boards, tiny containers from which soap bubbles could be blown, were all part of the mix.

In those syncretic times, a visit to the Dargah opposite would be followed by an amble into M.S. Store for some toy-indulgence and then the ritual was capped with a chai and mutton samosa or bun-butter-jam at Buhari. Sadly the shop no longer exists as a slew of other restaurants now rub shoulders with Buhari, while children these days fiddle with mobile phones.

In those days when green spaces were more in Madras, the Government Estate was a sprawling landmass of trees and had a few important places to linger around. Marathadi Pillayar (a tree’s roots that acquired the shape of Lord Ganesh) was a must-visit spot and then there was Hotel Annapurna, known for its sweets and savouries. At that time, it was one place for the best carrot halwa in town.

Annapurna too made way as Government Estate changed and sprawling buildings popped up inside. This city’s cinephiles would also regret the shutting down of Gaiety, Alankar, Wellington, Safire, Anand, and other theatres over the years. Anna Salai remains a pulsating heart, ushering in new spaces while also whispering a goodbye to old joints, with Geetha Cafe being the latest to join that list of nostalgia.