Net repair in the cooler evening air of Chennai Beach
Joggers nearing the beach
The City of Chennai (Madras in Imperialist times) has a five mile beach front offering the cooler fresher air of the sea within easy reach (indeed joggable) of the city. Here fishermen work on their boats and nets on return from the sea. These shots date from the 1990s when the population was around 4 million, it is now estimated to be above 10 million, so the city has changed greatly in that time, but hopefully the spirit of simple fun, sitting comfortably beside gentle work, still prevails.
The flats were built for the people in the line of huts, canny people that they are, realising the concrete bunkers were far less comfortable than their old houses, rented them out and rested on the proceeds
Ubiquitous to southern India are these concrete bins provided for organic waste which is then eaten by the goats that wander throughout the land
A goat occupies a comfortable place on the sands near the bin, families, students, children and workers are spaced out beyond
The beach at dusk hosts work and play; fishermen finish their day hauling their boats out of the water, while students, and children relax in the relative cool of the setting sun
The boat is held upright with the oars in the sand
These boats are made of six logs which dismantle
These log boats are heavy and have to be levered up from the water
- alternate ends being lifted and swung up the beach
Familiar in shape but the panels are sewn rather than riveted together.
And no, Tamil reads from left to right, "evoL si doG" is curious!
One of the log boats being unpacked
and ready hauled up the beach
Once above the water line, the logs are untied and left to dry separately
Tidying up after the day's work
The sun sets leaving workers and friends to talk in the cooler air
Fishermen with a passing interest in the foreigner
Trailers...
The next page has
a walk through the side streets of Chennai.
The next page
of the Mosaic Section is headed:
'Thought's Clothes'.
Or go to the contents of the Mosaic Section.
The last page had images from the beach at Alleppey in Kerala
To a page on sea boats in northern Vietnam
To a page on a beach by Mumbai
