Chennai Times

What greets you in Chennai? Wikitravels gives the image of the man with the horse statue in anna salai (next to gemini fly over). It is the most ironic statue, erected by the current CM in one of his earlier stints to celebrate the banning of alcohol in the state. This was consequently lifted, but the statue remains to this day. Look up http://wikitravel.org/en/Madras for a high resolution image of this Chennai irony.

Chennai can be reasonably proud of its statues in the marina, it is supposed to have inspired the late NTR to do a similar venture in the tank bund at Hyderabad. But the new age artists who seem to manage Chennai corporation and their many 'novel' ventures beat me completely! A case in point is this eyesore you cannot miss if you were to pass by the Spur Tank Road signal in Chetpet. It is cast in cement, doesn't look like anything and sits in the centre of the road with no reason at all. Why did this eyesore come up, in who's honour, for what purpose, who was the Mahatma at the corporation that decided this master piece (he must be some one related to the other eyesore monger who decided to place plastic deer and rabbits in the midst of the highly dusted green median that runs in Poonamallee High Road and Nungambakkam High Road). Some suggest the resemblance to the other occupant of the signal, the traffic police man, but, with the traffic police men rapidly changing to

Another rush day in the Chennai traffic, mid morning, despite recent rains the August heat is oppressive. A traffic signal with red light on and all the bikers stop a few metres before the yellow line! Surprise is this Chennai, such discipline? They are all in the shade of one of the few remaining trees in the main roads of the city, it is so much better under them than to go upfront and inhale the dirt along with the heat of the road. This happens not in one junction, but, in quite a few where the trees are still left. Is there a lesson for our traffic managers? It seems such a nice way to impose the yellow line rule in the signal by providing more comforts to the motorists, like the shade of the tree (and an occasional breeze) rather than to impose it through the unfortunate cop.