10 things that refuse to change in Chennai

[passion_unlimitedd]

They say Chennai has changed a lot in the last 10 years. For proof, they point to the glittering glass skyscrapers that have sprouted up in its once uncared-for suburbs, the jazzy life style of the new workforce and the high standard of life of Chennaiites.

But do all these truly count as change? I wanted to find out and gather some proof of my own. Armed with a digicam, I set out to explore the changing city. This is the saga of my short journey around the city and the 10 things that (I found) refuse to change in this fast-growing and changing city.

Ten years ago, sewage was flowing through the roads in many parts of the city. We protested. We got rid of it in many places with underground sewages. A great change, indeed.

But what will happen when there is a blockage in the underground sewage? Do we have some kind of machinery to eliminate the blockage? No we don’t. Some poor bloke has to enter the dirt and remove the blockage manually. And we get people like him in the picture who would do this menial job, stripped to their underwear in full public view, to make a living.

Tailpiece: The man let me take his pic, expecting it will bring about a change. After all he is living in a city which, as they say, is fast changing.

[passion_unlimitedd]

Don’t call it child labour

If Chennai has benefited from the outsourcing pie, this mode of business seems to have reached the roots too. It will benefit everybody – both the giver and the taker. This boy in the picture, who is handling the garbage, has gained from the work ‘outsourced’ to him by the man who watches him. It will help him earn a few bucks.

The boy is definitely a school dropout. But he is also contributing to keeping the city clean. Don’t call it child labour for that usage is clichéd in this fast changing city.

Tailpiece: The man saw me taking the snap. He almost manhandled me. But I managed to escape with the camera.

[passion_unlimitedd]

In search of food

It is not a picture taken in the ’70s when man and beast competed to get a piece of bread from the waste bin. It still happens in modern Chennai. The old lady is scrounging for a meal in the waste bin and a dog is patiently waiting. This sight greeted me at Kolakaranpettai, Royapettah.

[passion_unlimitedd]

The silent witnesses

I have come across them in the same spots at the various local stations between Beach and Tambaram for the last eight years. The stations have undergone mega changes, including metre gauge trains giving way to broad gauge trains. And these veterans have been silent witnesses to the changing life style of the commuters over the years. They have watched the passengers keenly, expecting alms from them. And they remain where they have been while the city, as they say, has been evolving.

[passion_unlimitedd]

The unknown great

They are not beggars. They are the moving musicians of Chennai. They have been singing and playing musical instruments in Chennai’s EMU trains for years. Some of the musical instruments they use are crude, yet they manage to produce symphony. Their music is familiar to the commuters. Many people love their music and are happy to drop some change into their folded palms.

Tailpiece: But I miss some of the talented musicians whom I used to see a few years ago. Their music may have vanished unrecorded with them.

[passion_unlimitedd]

When nature calls

The city, as you may know, has introduced mobile toilets recently. And we have started to claim of our changing civic sense. But when nature calls, the passion to return to open nature remains unchanged. Here is a scene in front of the city’s much-lauded international airport.

[passion_unlimitedd]

Competing with sedans

The latest sedans could not push the older modes of travel off the city’s royal paths completely. Bullock and horse carts, cycle rickshaws and fish carts do remain here as viable means of transport.

Watching a weak old man pulling the cycle rickshaw or a bullock pulling a cart full of rice sacks (complete with foam dripping from its mouth) may make you uneasy. But don’t mind. You are at home in a city that’s fast changing.

[passion_unlimitedd]

An unnoticed spark

He posed for the camera as he returned after a day’s sale in the trains. He was happy. He was inquisitive. He wanted to know why I was taking his photo. He was eager to see the camera and how it worked. Who will make use of the spark in this little sweet vendor? Or will it remain unnoticed behind the colourful sweets?

[passion_unlimitedd]

A bundle of brooms

They make brooms for us and help us keep our houses and surroundings clean. But these broom-makers don’t have houses or huts to stay in. They sleep on the roadside, where they make the brooms for us. The changes that the city has witnessed have not reached them.

[passion_unlimitedd]

What is in store?

“So what’s in store for you saar, don’t you wish to know?” Thus goes their opening line of attack. These astrologers near Tambaram station have interpreted the future of thousands of worried and credulous city-dwellers. Everything is written in their tarot cards! We might have made progress. But we fear of the uncertainty looming over us. And our belief in certain superstitions or faith will never change.

[rocky1976]

Originally Posted by passion_unlimitedd

When nature calls

The city, as you may know, has introduced mobile toilets recently. And we have started to claim of our changing civic sense. But when nature calls, the passion to return to open nature remains unchanged. Here is a scene in front of the city’s much-lauded international airport.

lol ths problem is all over india

[mamu.zi]

tfs.........

[roseboy11]

thx ........ an eye opener thread

[passion_unlimitedd]

Originally Posted by mamu.ji

tfs.........

Originally Posted by roseboy11

thx ........ an eye opener thread

Thanks ...

[Isotope A10]

Touching.....