Beach.
I decided to visit Marina beach to walk and unwind ,nearly after a year and spend time in solitude.
I inadvertently chose one of the noisiest days to do so .The auto driver smirkingly deposited me near Kalyani Nursing home secretly applauding himself in getting the better off the bargain since police men had cordoned off the road leading to Ghandhi statue. That day was the dress rehearsal to the oncoming Republic day celebrations.
I had quite a walk .The roads were sanitised and empty but for men in khaki who were spilling around. The roads were lined with columns of police vehicles.
As I neared the Ghandhi statue I saw the newly installed statue of Shivaji Ganesan .He was a great actor . The best in the whole world . Yet to place his statue in such way so as to eclipse the simple grandeur of Ghandhji seems sacrilegious.
I was assailed by the sound of a loud band and folk music blaring from stereos. Some school girls were dancing. I crossed the empty streets and walked towards the sea. Thankfully the noise of the loudspeakers couldn't be heard ,the sea being nearly 1 km inside . That wave of 2004 must have been huge to have swept upto Vivekanandar illam!
There were very few people near the water ,couples,families and fishermen mending their nets. They looked curiously at me . I remember reading a bout an 19' th century American female writer who abandoning horse drawn carriages would walk along roads and country sides to get a feel of real life , when such unchaperoned journey of a lady was unheard of.
I also remember a white woman 50 -60 or maybe 40 -50 Caucasians seem to age quickly dragging her suitcase to the lift , all alone in a hotel where my husband and I stayed at the temple town of Chidambaram, when I decided to take a break from routine life 4 years back . I wondered at her wander lust .How did she overcome the hassles of travelling alone across oceans and disembarking in a land whose culture ,and language she was totally unfamiliar with?Was this lonely journey outcome of economic Independence or was she escaping from problems and sorrows , to sort it outin solitude?I also saw her taking a boat ride in the back waters of Pitchavaram famous for its mangrove forests all by herself!
Though Chennai is a metropolitan city very few women travel on their own. [barring those who return from shops or BPO's after work late at night]Women making a solo trip to beaches , parks museums, tourist spots can be counted on the fingers. The male dominated society exempts temple visits by single woman but frowns upon other solo sojourns or is agog with curiosity .And this is 21' st century !
The waves crashed rhythmically and a small black fish was swimming and jumping horizontally. The sun sparkled into 1000's of stars on the waves and cast a mesmeric spell on me.The vastness of the ocean and the tireless motion of the waves stirred my soul . Why ? What for this parody of the puppeteer?
Then I heard the laughter of a group of young men pushing and shoving one another in the waves and taking photos .It was a reassuring sound.I see only young faces everywhere. on the road ,shops buses and on the beaches. An old civilisation populated by young blood . Fresh and new! A black butterfly with red spots flitted by . It flew just a little above the waves . I was anxious at its apparent self destructive flight and wondered whether I should catch it and release it near the greenery a good 1 km away?Had it strayed ? It looked so fragile.Then I recalled reading about Monarch butterflies that migrate 3000kms each fall from Canada its place of birth to Mexico ,its winter retreat and flies back !All that appears fragile is not really fragile and all that appears tough is not really tough .Probably it was on the right course .
I walked back to the road and it was getting hot . The rehearsal was slowly winding up .I hadn't brought my parasol and I had to walk another km to get a transportation .In the name of beautification the axe that falls is always on trees .The heat was unbearable without the shade of trees and I trudged on .
The traffic started to stream back . Apparently the rehearsal was over and I saw a private auto with words 'foundation of blind women ' painted across, stop near me and the driver politely offered to drop me at my place.He had dropped few blind girls in a nearby college and was on his way back.Paradoxically the blind came to my rescue ! Small mercies of life !The driver dropped me off at my house and accepted my tip graciously.
I inadvertently chose one of the noisiest days to do so .The auto driver smirkingly deposited me near Kalyani Nursing home secretly applauding himself in getting the better off the bargain since police men had cordoned off the road leading to Ghandhi statue. That day was the dress rehearsal to the oncoming Republic day celebrations.
I had quite a walk .The roads were sanitised and empty but for men in khaki who were spilling around. The roads were lined with columns of police vehicles.
As I neared the Ghandhi statue I saw the newly installed statue of Shivaji Ganesan .He was a great actor . The best in the whole world . Yet to place his statue in such way so as to eclipse the simple grandeur of Ghandhji seems sacrilegious.
I was assailed by the sound of a loud band and folk music blaring from stereos. Some school girls were dancing. I crossed the empty streets and walked towards the sea. Thankfully the noise of the loudspeakers couldn't be heard ,the sea being nearly 1 km inside . That wave of 2004 must have been huge to have swept upto Vivekanandar illam!
There were very few people near the water ,couples,families and fishermen mending their nets. They looked curiously at me . I remember reading a bout an 19' th century American female writer who abandoning horse drawn carriages would walk along roads and country sides to get a feel of real life , when such unchaperoned journey of a lady was unheard of.
I also remember a white woman 50 -60 or maybe 40 -50 Caucasians seem to age quickly dragging her suitcase to the lift , all alone in a hotel where my husband and I stayed at the temple town of Chidambaram, when I decided to take a break from routine life 4 years back . I wondered at her wander lust .How did she overcome the hassles of travelling alone across oceans and disembarking in a land whose culture ,and language she was totally unfamiliar with?Was this lonely journey outcome of economic Independence or was she escaping from problems and sorrows , to sort it outin solitude?I also saw her taking a boat ride in the back waters of Pitchavaram famous for its mangrove forests all by herself!
Though Chennai is a metropolitan city very few women travel on their own. [barring those who return from shops or BPO's after work late at night]Women making a solo trip to beaches , parks museums, tourist spots can be counted on the fingers. The male dominated society exempts temple visits by single woman but frowns upon other solo sojourns or is agog with curiosity .And this is 21' st century !
The waves crashed rhythmically and a small black fish was swimming and jumping horizontally. The sun sparkled into 1000's of stars on the waves and cast a mesmeric spell on me.The vastness of the ocean and the tireless motion of the waves stirred my soul . Why ? What for this parody of the puppeteer?
Then I heard the laughter of a group of young men pushing and shoving one another in the waves and taking photos .It was a reassuring sound.I see only young faces everywhere. on the road ,shops buses and on the beaches. An old civilisation populated by young blood . Fresh and new! A black butterfly with red spots flitted by . It flew just a little above the waves . I was anxious at its apparent self destructive flight and wondered whether I should catch it and release it near the greenery a good 1 km away?Had it strayed ? It looked so fragile.Then I recalled reading about Monarch butterflies that migrate 3000kms each fall from Canada its place of birth to Mexico ,its winter retreat and flies back !All that appears fragile is not really fragile and all that appears tough is not really tough .Probably it was on the right course .
I walked back to the road and it was getting hot . The rehearsal was slowly winding up .I hadn't brought my parasol and I had to walk another km to get a transportation .In the name of beautification the axe that falls is always on trees .The heat was unbearable without the shade of trees and I trudged on .
The traffic started to stream back . Apparently the rehearsal was over and I saw a private auto with words 'foundation of blind women ' painted across, stop near me and the driver politely offered to drop me at my place.He had dropped few blind girls in a nearby college and was on his way back.Paradoxically the blind came to my rescue ! Small mercies of life !The driver dropped me off at my house and accepted my tip graciously.
posted by K.C. Sujata at
9:30 PM
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