See-through

Its foundation stone was laid in 1971 and it was inaugurated on July 1, 1973. It was the first 'flyover' in Madras, and for a long time, it remained the only flyover in the city. And now, close to the Golden Jubilee of its opening, the Anna Flyover is going through some kind of a makeover. 

The idea seems to be to open up the space quite a bit. Earlier, most of the space below the arms of the flyover were closed; apparently they were used to warehouse... well, something that was important enough. It seems to have been ages since such stocking has been given up, so the authorities decided that the walls should go, and there should be other attractions in the space. 

What those attratctions are, we will have to wait and see. I am guessing we won't have to wait long. The Golden Jubilee of its inauguration, on July 1, will be a good day to unveil the new attractions under this flyover!

 

On the bridge

Not as often used as the Central Station or the LIC Building, but this view of the Raja Annamalai Memorial Hall and Rani Seethai Hall is also an instant identification of the city.


From the top of the Gemini flyover...

Southward bound

On a lazy Sunday afternoon, when most of the roads are empty, the Anna Flyover sees a ghost traffic jam. And that only on the south-bound roads. Thought migratory season was over, everyone go back north!

Hold your horses

If ever there is an award for irrelevant statues, this one (and its brother, on the other side of the flyover) will win it, time and again, in a canter. Horse racing, in one form or the other, has been around in Chennai for many years. The Madras Race Club traces its origins back to 1777, though it's formal shape was given only in 1896.

Through the 1960s, there was growing criticism about horse racing, that it was driving working class people into a cycle of gambling, debt, poverty, alcoholism and ruin. The strident demands to do something about it led to the Tamil Nadu Government issuing an ordinance on August 14, 1974, banning horse races in the state. Being very pleased with themselves, they decided to commemorate this achievement and commissioned the twin statues of a-man-and-horse. Nagappa Sculptors - then run, in all likelihood, by Jayaram Nagappa - delivered on the commission and these statues have been flanking the Gemini Flyover for the past 30 years or so.

But the original ordinance was challenged in the courts, and the implementation of the ordinance was stayed by the Madras High Court - that allowed the Madras Race Club to conduct their bicentennial races in 1978. However, it was only sometime in the early 1990s that the Supreme Court of India struck down the Government's contention that horse racing was to be banned. In some sense, racing never went away from Madras, though it was on hold long enough for these statues to be installed!

Lumber yard

Incongruous - a yard that stocks a lot of casuarina poles and quite a few tyres, right on Mount Road, just as you get off the southern end of the Gemini Flyover. Scaffolding may have gone high-tech, with baseplates, transoms and guardrails; but there is still enough demand for the 'traditional' scaffolding within Chennai to justify the presence of this yard.

And yes, the milestone says that Chennai is 5 km away. That actually means 5 km away from 'zero stone', which was near Fort St George, at Parry's Corner. (is the zero stone still standing? - must look that up sometime).

Wonder how much longer this business will go on; casuarina scaffolding is well on the way to joining the Madras Terrace and suchlike classics of yesteryear construction technology - we can see some of the latest being deployed whenever this lumber yard gives way to a new building.

A vision in white

It just gleams in the heat. Now that it is peak summer in Chennai, it just gleams most of the daytime. And having the rather dull tones of the Gemini Parsn complex next to it, The Park just stands out if you glance up from the midst of trafffic at the Gemini Circle. The outside of the building is very straightforward and very simple. It is a theme that the hotel has tried to mix with the silver screen legacy of the place it stands on - the site of the erstwhile Gemini Studios. The total effect is bewildering: simplicity sandwiched with over-the-top bling, a combination that can take a while to get accustomed to.

Check out the tents right on top of the building - they're around the pool on the roof and if you're so inclined, you could have lunch inside one of those tents. With the heat being what it is, you would be mad to try it these days. And you'd be mad if you passed up a chance to be there by the poolside after sundown - the view is terrific, the breeze has set in well and.... well, what more do you want? Just ask - this was fantasy land once, after all!

Of things gone by

This started off as a picture to say:

"I think that I shall never see
a billboard lovely as a tree.
Indeed, unless the billboards fall,
I'll never see a tree at all"

just to highlight once again how, with the hoardings gone, so much more of Chennai is visible now. To those looking down from the Gemini flyover, the greenery provides a welcome relief from concrete.

But this space has been subject to a double blow; after 46 years, the Agri-Horticultural Society took back this land, which had been leased to Hotel Woodlands. They plan to build a botanical garden and merge it (through overhead walkways and subways) with their large gardens across the road. It is good to hear that this green patch in the heart of the city will remain as such. But then, it is not easy to digest the loss of what was a unique Chennai phenomenon - the Woodlands Drive-In restaurant.

It could have been an elite joint when it opened in 1962; not many cars, or even 2-wheelers, then. Yet, it was never snobbish and never had time for any bandha. One went to Woodies because the food was good, the prices economical and one could stay there for ever. When your car is your table, you don't worry about people drooling over your shoulder, waiting for you to finish.

But Woodies is gone, and the 200-odd people (including the only vegetarian Mr. Madras) who worked there must have been accommodated in other branches of the Woodlands chain. Many of them supposedly began work - as 10 to 12-year olds - when the new concept restaurant opened in 1962 and have forever been called 'boys', even after they had had children and grandchildren of their own. I do hope they are taken care of.

Woodies is gone, and the Government is getting plans for the botanical gardens ready. I hope they do not think that having a coffee shop in the middle of the planned gardens is a good idea. That would be an insult to the institution that was the Drive-In and a sore spot in the gardens themselves.

The poem is "Song of the Open Road", Ogden Nash, from 'Happy Days' (1933)