A few good reasons to get lost in Chennai
Armed with a camera, the best times are when you forget where you are.
It’s not easy to get lost, especially if you are going to rely on the signboards above your head. Consider how a board (near Guindy) once succinctly guided commuters to Trichy with just an arrow and absolutely no mention of the distance.
You could have thought it was just around the corner. Head straight and take a left, and there you are. And, five hours? That’s probably the time it would take for you to reach the Airport, silly. You have to travel 10 whole kilometres.
But for those with a stern resolve, no task is daunting, and getting lost is only a matter of putting your wanderlust-tinted glasses on, asking absolutely no one for directions, and in this case finding joy in spotting the unfamiliar in the familiar. And, since you got to get home safe from this planned serendipity, why not carry a camera with you to leave some digital breadcrumbs? They might help both you and your city retrace its steps back.
“Consider how a board (near Guindy) once succinctly guided commuters to Trichy with just an arrow and absolutely no mention of the distance.”
If history is any precedent, getting lost, be it in the wilderness or on the world wide web, has its fair share of incentives. It could lead to the discovery of something unexpected, and even potentially path breaking in the end. Christopher Columbus stumbled upon the Bahamas, Robert Bruce Foote found a stone tool from the Palaeolithic Age in Pallavaram, and for the uninitiated, here are some crash blossoms (http://www.crashblossoms.com/).
Where Chennai began
Shall we begin where the Chennai as we know it today, arguably, began? Chennai — 600001. Agreed, it’s not easy to find a spot to stand here without the fear of gently being nudged this way and that by criss-crossing cycle rickshaws or stepping over a roadside hawker’s meagre fare.
If you had a color each on your shoes, you’d make a stellar, psycho-analysis –worthy doodle — an accurate Pedestrian’s Guide to Broadway, perhaps? But, there is no other part of Chennai that is quite like it. Its chaos is unique. If Chennai today is like a river in spate, north Madras which continues to keep alive its history, is probably the fountainhead.
Stray inside the Madras High Court Complex, and you will, with some difficulty, find the second oldest lighthouse in Chennai that is now over 170 years old. One glance at the modest structure, which is now overpowered by taller buildings and, you will wonder how this was once the brightest, and tallest sight from the sea.
Cross the road, glide with the crowd, and walk further down to find the city’s connection with Armenian merchants. Step into the quaint Armenian Church (picture above) that dates back to the early 1700s and the blaring horns and buoyant energy of the streets will be swallowed by the calm inside.
Walk down NSC Bose Road, and you will spot the school started by Pachaiyappa Mudaliar. Gandhiji, was believed to have given a speech here. Drift into the Broadway’s many by-lanes, and soak in the method in the madness −an entire street lined with stationary shops, another with traffic barricades and safety gear and other with electrical and electronic items. If you keep your ears to the ground, you might even spot someone furiously typing away with a typewriter.
“If Chennai today is like a river in spate, north Madras which continues to keep alive its history, is probably the fountainhead.”
Hop on to a share auto and discover some colorful old houses in Washermanpet, see one of India’s oldest railway stations at Royapuram, and travel in a bus that takes you along the north Madras shoreline. And, these are just a handful of neighbourhoods up north. Chennai, has well over 60 neighbourhoods, each with its own quirks and hidden histories. The Chennai Metro Rail stations, for instance are a good vantage point, and yet unexploited.
The beauty of Chennai through a lens
And, with a camera in hand, there is nothing that can stop you from becoming the city’s chronicler. With scant regard for the city’s built heritage, and the ageing giants being felled one by one, photographs are perhaps the only way to keep them alive. To fill the gaps in the city’s narrative, and tell the coming generations, that we were not always about uninspiring assembly-line high-rises.
We had courtyards that welcomed weary travelers and birdbaths that fed thirsty pigeons. We had markets teeming with small merchants, but old made way for the new in such a hurry. Photographs of the city, its people and the lives they live, serve not just has futile vehicles of nostalgia. If done with discipline, they are a visual archive of the city, and a necessary reminder of its churnings and changes, of its daily routines and age-old customs.
Bring back home a bit of the city with you each time you venture out. But, setting out all alone can surely be intimidating. For those who want to make beginning, there are several photo walks that are organised in the city by groups such as Chennai Weekend Clickers, The Chennai Photowalk and Madras in Motion among others. Choose a group depending on what you’re more interested in −the walking or the photographing.
Most of the groups post details about their walks on their Facebook groups or pages. Whether you want to explore the city on foot, or get into the nitty gritty of photography, these groups can be a great way to ease you in.
They also offer the comfort that comes with being part of a large group — it’s easier to shed your inhibitions, get clicking in an unfamiliar surrounding, and you will collectively be responsible for making the subjects who are being photographed a tad bit more comfortable (or uncomfortable).
And, with groups having both experts and novices, you might find your place somewhere in the spectrum. Not only will you get feedback on your photos, but also get to see how differently others, for instance, captured how the first rays of the sun lent its light to the same roadside stall. And, having an expensive, high-end camera is no prerequisite. What’s more? You might even get to meet people who share other interests with you.
Join one of the groups, and you’ll see great photographs of the city streaming into your feed. The next one could be yours.
About Brigge
Brigge is a new platform that helps you find activities to do with other like-minded people.
Check out www.brigge.co
