The merry-go-round fascinated you when you were a child.
It still fascinates you as now as a photographer.
Marina Beach, Chennai.
Merry-Go-Round
Month: November 2022
Bureaucratic Blindness
Another site falls to bureaucracy.
The park/plaza under MRTS in Indiranagar / Thiruvanmiyur is one of the better things that have happened in the city. I go there often, many times with the camera and I have some memorable pictures of this place. When I went there 2 days ago with my granddaughter I was told by security that cameras are not allowed, but “mobile photo is Ok”. When asked for details he said that this is recent order of the Corporation probably due to ‘the lovers coming’. What he probably meant was pre-wedding photography. (I haven’t seen any here, though). It is ironic that the project which is sponsored and maintained by a Matrimony site discourages ‘lovers’.
Permission to use the camera here has to come from the Area office of the Corporation according to the helpful but partially informed security guard. One can imagine the red tape involved in the process of getting a permit for casual /tourist photography.
Why don’t the authorities realize that photographs can popularize the project and can also act as useful feedback for the higher-ups?
Benign Look
Behind green chicken mesh, Krishna keeps a benign eye on his devotees emerging from the Peyalwar Sannidhi in Thiruvallikkeni.
Taken during the Manavala Maamunigal utsavam at the Sri Parthasarathy Temple.
The Chennai Photowalk #151
Service Providers
It has been raining heavily this morning. I could have only a glimpse from my window. Our street had about 5 inches of water. Yet some diligent service providers like maids, sanitary workers, newspaper and milk vendors, and health care workers were making their way to work.
I salute these anonymous service providers.
Gajalakshmi
A stucco bas releif of Gajalakshmi on an old building in Mannady, Chennai. Wonder how long this old building can withstand the onslaught of development!
The two cherubs with wings (angles?) look rather unusual in an Indian design. Or do they?
Newspaper Vendor
This magazine vendor off Armenian street stocks an array of dailies and periodicals in many languages and genres. He also stocks items of stationery to untilise the shelf space optimally.
From The Chennai Photowalk – Armenian Street
Arubathimoovar
Idols of the 63 Saivite saints at the Dhandeeswaran Temple, Velachery.
We had taken the permission of the priest here to take photographs. As we were taking photos, another person who claimed to be a staff member said that photography is forbidden even in areas outside the main prakaram
Intense Devotion
Steel bars are no barrier for devotion for this lady in Triplicane. During the temple procession and Ghoshti .
From the Chennai Photowalk #150
Temple Umbrella
Kovil kudai (கோவில் குடை) is a ceremonial umbrella or parasol and is one of the ‘aacharas’ or service offered to the deity in certain Hindu temples. It is made of a particular type of silk cloth. The colour of the umbrella for the Perumal temple is different from that of other temples. Ceremonial parasol making is an ancient art confined to certain Saurashtrian families in Chindathiripet.
The above scene is from the Manavala Maamunigal utsavam at The Parthasarathy Temple, Triplicane. The procession had 18 umbrellas representing the 18 works of the Saint-Scholar.
The annual procession of Tirupathi Kodai is also famous in Chennai. Every year, devotees from Chennai send 11 ceremonial umbrellas to Tirupati Sri Balaji. These are taken in a procession with a lot of devotion around areas in Chennai and Andhra before presenting to the temple at Tirupathi. These ‘ Thirupathi Kudais’ are treated with great reverence by devotees along the whole route.
“Annie Get Your Gun”
It is Sunday morning. 7 a.m. at Marina Beach. This lady has already laid out the balloons and air rifles to invite clients to try out their shooting skills.
Madras Nalla Madras. A photo blog on Madras, that is Chennai 