Manchester United branded Fast Food kiosk on Marina Beach
Football and Fast Food
Month: December 2019
Unofficial Guard
Some of us were hesitantly exploring the area near the St. Antony’s Church under the Park Town flyover [adjacent to the Commonwealth War Cemetry] when this boy approached us with a request to be photographed. He decided on the pose and insisted on the venue – the burial grounds where he seemed to be quite at home. He looked like a guardian angel to me.
Public Transport – MRTS 2
A station that is closest to me is this Indira Nagar MRTS station.After 10.am. the crowd is not much and one can have a comfortable ride up to Beach station. Some trains are extended to Gummidpoondi.
Public Transport – MRTS
Chennai has many modes of public transport. The suburban trains from Tambaram – Beach and beyond, The Mass Rapid Transport System (MRTS) from Velachery to Beach and beyond besides the METRO and the bus service.
Of all these, I am familiar with the MRTS, a very convenient way to commute from one end of the city to the other (almost) for a mere five rupees. Above you see the CHintadripet MRTS station on the banks of the Cooum. It looks very picturesque but one had to close one’s nose due to the stench.
From The Chennai Photowalk: Retrowalk #70
Clay Lamps
Karthikai, the festival of lamps is on. The small diyas made of clay is an important part of this festival.
A wayside vendor selling clay lamps in Pondy Bazaar.
Multi-denominational Horse
Elsewhere, people are fighting over communalism and secularism. This horse, or rather its owner seems to be spreading his bet by displaying symbols from all three major religions.
A scene near Bodyguard mosque, Chennai.
During the British regime, the sepoys of the Governor General’s bodyguard brigade were housed here. Hence the name for this area. At some point in time, the predominantly Muslim sepoys put up a mosque [1904?] and a home for the Mullah. After independence, the property was handed over to the Provincial Government and in turn to the State Transport Corporation for their offices and depots. The mosque still exists.
This court case gives some more details: https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1748519/
Today, the road has been renamed Pallavan Salai and is known for the Transport offices, the worker union festoons, posters, and banners and for the Muneeswaran Temple, fondly called Bodyguard Muneeswaran.
The Commonwealth War cemetery is close by.
Look the Other Way
“Look the Other Way”, the mother seems to be telling the son as they pass the showrooms and posters of Pondy Bazaar, now converted into a Pedestrial plaza under the Chennai Smart City project.
Faces of Pondy Bazaar
Covering the Pondy Bazaar Pedestrian Plaza during our last photowalk, we came across this gentleman who was willing to pose for us. We photographers avidly used this photo opportunity converting the plaza into a studio.
Relaxing with Ronald
Ronald McDonald is the official mascot of McDonald’s chain. Ronald sitting on a bench is a common sight in front of most of Mac outlets. In Pondy bazaar, it is a place to relax for the boys and to catch up on the phone for the policewoman.
The Chennai Photowalk Retrowalk #69
Old Stationer
Meet Mr.Sukumar, the 69-year owner of G.D.Sekar & Co. Stationers on Pondy Bazaar. The shop was started over 60 years ago by his father for selling paints. A few years ago, the paint section was closed and Sukumar is happy with his stationery business.
He also volunteered the information that he was interested in photography which he no longer practices. His passion now is travelling. He has recovered most parts of India and neighbouring countries. He uses the services of a T’Nagar based travel agent.
From The Chennai Photowalk Retrowalk #69
Madras Nalla Madras. A photo blog on Madras, that is Chennai 