Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Sea of humanity

Not really, it is more like a small pond.

On our way back from Mamallapuram on Sunday, we had stopped at the Elliots Beach in Besant Nagar. We tried to get off our vehicle close to the spot where I had taken a photograph of 6th Avenue a few weeks ago; but today, there was no place to park and so we drifted down a bit further towards the southern end of 6th Avenue. It didn't get any better, so we just went ahead and jumped on to the sands and walked the short distance to the waterline. As we got closer, I realized that the soft roar was not the sound of waves, but the chants of those getting their feet wet in the waves. It is not usual for people in Chennai to go swimming at these beaches; the bottom apparently drops abruptly after about half-a-kilometre, and the resulting undercurrents can be dangerous. So, there were only a few men who had ventured more than 10m into the water - and they were the ones most excited by the waves tumbling them over.

I saw this as a chance to build up the average number of people-per-photograph. It is also a nod to those like Kris, Ravindran, Ram, Magiceye and Sherry, who found their perceptions of Chennai being shattered by that earlier photograph - folks, there are still some crowds in Chennai!


6 comments:

LVISS said...

Crowds love to gather at all places in chennai.
It is dangerous to play in the sea water. Once drawn inside the person will end up a few days in some other part of the globe upside down.
Few realise this danger. The sea for me is only to admire from a distance - safe distance.I just touch the water with my feet , for the record.

Anonymous said...

This is Chennai and good amount of pushing & jostling makes it more interesting.

Kris McCracken said...

This is more like I imagine Chennai!

Hustle, bustle and busy, busy, busy!

magiceye said...

thank you for reassuring us that chennai still maintains its 'crowded indian city'status! ;)

Anush said...

actually i have reason to bliv tat the floor actually raises itself again after a 75 metres or so... saw tat wen a bunch of guys went to immerse the ganesha idol... maybe the floor is uneven? highly unlikely though...

Shantaram said...

>> Ravindran>> Come on! There must have been a time when you had to be pulled away from the water!!

>> Ram>> Doesn't look like there's space to push :D

>> Kris & Magiceye>> Haha! Now I'll try to lull you into believing it is not what you think! ;)

>> CB>> Does it, now? That certainly makes swimming more complicated!! :)