My neighborhood of Gandhi Nagar, Adyar

Today I was going to write about our trip to the Ideal Beach resort, but I decided instead to write a bit about my neighborhood. This morning before the school bus picked us up, I went for a walk around the immediate neighborhood in hopes of beginning to get acclimated to my surroundings. Then after we were dropped off in the afternoon, I did the same. I didn’t reach one of my destinations I was thinking of perhaps reaching, but I had a memorable experience nonetheless.

My neighborhood is rather residential. As I walk outside the open gate to the apartment entrance, I see the kolam (a decorative symmetrical design made from rice flour) on the freshly cleaned driveway. This symbol of prosperity looks different than the one I saw outside my apartment neighbor’s door, and I look forward to seeing if more variety occurs. (I will talk more about the kolam in another entry, as I think it deserves more attention).

Motorized rickshaws, called tuk-tuks, putter by and sputter, narrowly missing each other. Bicycles, mopeds & motorbikes also fight for space with the smaller cars, many of which are Korean brands and made in Chennai. The sound of a variety of horn toots and honks punctuate the air, each standing for something different – “I see you, get out of the way, I’m going to make a move, ….” Some of the bike/motorcycle drivers are wearing the required helmets, which makes it harder to talk on the cell phone – a good thing considering the dangerousness of the common practice. Many bikes and motorcycles carry several riders, sometimes an entire family. In between this seeming chaos and defensive driving are the pedestrians. One man carries a few knives and a special wheel, calling out something in Tamil which I surmise is an announcement that he is there to sharpen knives. Street dogs of medium size can be found on most streets, but they seem rather passive so far. Although the roads are paved, they are not in top condition. The occasional pothole, cow, speed bump, or darting pedestrian slows down traffic a bit.

Continued tomorrow...

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