Morning Steeplechase

Location : Chennai, Event – Steeplechase

It rained all night … but the morning was clear enough for us to try and do our morning walk. We walked through Chinnayah Street, crossed G.N Chetty Road to Dr.Narasimhan Road, turning into Vijayaraghava Road, and joined G.N Chetty Road again. We then went towards Raghavaiah Road, which joins Bazulla Road and the real steeplechase started.

Till the point where Raghavaiah Road meets Bazulla Road, we had water pools, but the platforms were wide or we could side step the pools. At the point where Raghavaiah Road meets Bazulla Road, there was hardly any point where we could cross without stepping into dirty rain/drain water 😣.

Our plan was to see if a particular store on Arulambal street selling organic milk was open so that we could pick up some milk. No luck. We really felt like we were in a steeplechase, as we tried crossing Bazulla Road at different points. One of the streets that has a coffee shop in the corner, looked like someone’s private swimming pool !!!!

Don’t you miss the young PedalYatri in a saree in the above picture ! But jokes apart, roads have caved in, there are open drain holes and lots of water logging in T. Nagar, the shopping district of Chennai.

Chennai has always been a big city, with wide roads, fantastic public transport, good civic services and citizens who followed all the traffic rules. Krishnan would proudly say in Delhi that no one would jump the signal in Chennai. He hasn’t uttered a word during these ten days here …. the way the two wheelers drive, its a surprise that we don’t see many more accidents :(.

People driving on the wrong side, not wearing the helmet, and bikes weaving crazily through dense traffic are regular happenings. Some bike riders come so close to you while you are walking that if I take a step two inches to my left or right, I will get hit. We just got back after visiting a friend who has been hit by a bike rider exactly because the rider was rash and in the wrong side. Our friend is still walking with a limp.

Going out for a walk in Chennai is like participating in a steeplechase event !! There are several obstacles that you need to steer through – there is water, open drain holes, uneven sidewalks and most of all crazy stunt riders waiting to hit you. Hmmmm miss the staid laid-back Chennai that I came to as a new bride 30 years back.