Crowdless

This is a sight that one might not get to see any more. The stretch of road between Panagal Park and Thanikachalam Road appears to have gained width over the past two or three weeks. And no, there has been no road-widening effort during this time. It is just that a major cause of congestion on this road has been shifted away. 

That's right. Walk along that stretch of Thyagaraya Road today and you will find that the walking is easy. Where even going single file on the pavement was a struggle, folks now walk three or four abreast. Nobody leaps into your face with - pretty much anything under the sun. Clothes, cutlery, lingerie, music, whatever takes your fancy could be found in the pavement shops of Pondy Bazaar. 

Those shops have now moved to a single building, a little closer to Anna Salai. Maybe the aisles in that building mimic the footpath the shops have been used to. However, the casual passers-by have no real reason to walk into that building; it will only become one more of the stores on the street. The charm of walking along and ending up buying a couple of those thingamajigs on impulse will no longer be felt along this shopping street, robbing it of most of its character!