Chennai Times

With no self-delusion, the first smell that I can recollect of Chennai (particularly as I am away from town right now) is the repulsive smell of sewage. The visual of men stepping out of open drainages completely covered with muck to empty in the roads with complete nonchalance open garbage extracted from the bowels of the 'cultured' city in whichever part can be easily accompanied with the stomach churning stink of the contents that thousands will step over, drive over with their noses covered never to care as to how they cause it. Most people stepping into Chennai city for the first time will either encounter the overwhelming smell of urine of the central station (go there late night or mid-morning to watch the splendour of a lady cleaning shit from the rails with her hands) or the smell of dust, sweat and cigarette as they step out of the airport or the smell of polluting vehicles if they have to step down from a bus at Koyembedu. The other prominent smell is the smell of ...