Driving through arches

McDonald's was very late in coming to Chennai. Their first outlet in India was set up as far back as 1996, when they opened their Connaught Place outlet in New Delhi. Their first outlet in Chennai was opened a dozen years later, when they took up space inside the food court at Ascendas, following with the standalone store at Anna Nagar a short while later.

The third outlet was in Velachery. Those who know Chennai from a decade ago would wonder at this - Velachery was at that time a sleepy suburb, where good folks wouldn't think of eating outside their houses, let alone get to a McDonald's at that. But Velachery has changed considerably and even for McDonald, it wasn't enough to just put another outlet there; it had to be a shade above the others in Chennai.

And so it is that Velachery boasts this family restaurant, supposedly the "only Drive-Thru' restaurant" in Chennai. Well, with the Woodlands Drive-In gone, we have to make-do with such substitutes!

Bar-Stool Bus-Stop

Alliteration is so much a part of life in Chennai, so I couldn't help but doing it when I saw this strip of concrete with the mushroom like contraptions on them. It is evident that it is a waiting area of some kind; but my experience of Chennai has led me to believe that folks waiting for a bus to arrive would have some kind of shelter overhead. And then I remembered all those bus-stops in the 'mofusil' areas; they are bus stops because a couple of generations have grown up putting their hand out for the bus to stop there. There are no concrete structures, no signs, nothing. Just a convenient tamarind tree by the side of the road to protect the waiting passengers from the skies above.

Santoshapuram, where I saw this, is most likely halfway house; it would like to think of itself as part of Chennai city, but hasn't yet been able to solve for all the amenties that are needed. Maybe they thought it is more important for people to take the weight off their feet - no guarantee of seats in the bus - than it is to shelter them. The budget for the bus-stop has therefore been used to provide these bar-stool like seating. Of course, people being optimists feel that it is more important to escape the sun than to rest their feet - the next bus will have enough seating, you see. And so, they find a nearby tree, wait in the shade, the bus stops there and these typewriter keyboard-like seats continue to dare you to come, sit down and feel the warmth of the sun.

Whatever it may be, there seems to be someone who is determined to make a splash of colour at this bus-stop; that orange ribbon may be eye-catching, but it certainly won't make me wish to take shelter under it!