Cattle Herds of Chennai

When you see the title of this post, you might think that I am going to talk of the numerous goats and cows freely roaming the streets of Chennai.

But NO !!! I spare those poor creatures.

I am talking about the cattle-like herds of people clogging the buses, trains, and subways during the peak hours of the weekdays. And for non-Indian people who do not know what peak hours are ... The peak hours are those hours of the weekdays when the whole mass of working people are going for work in the mornings and returning home in the evenings at the same time. The peak hours are like 8- 10 in the morning and 5-7 in the evenings.These are those times of the day when the whole population of Chennai seems to be stuffed into the public transport systems of the city.

I struck upon this topic as I was rushing to my office today morning. I catch the 9M bus at 8.20 which has its terminus right next to my house. So, i get a place to sit. But its the onward journey that is tedious. Even though i got a place to sit, i felt as if the whole crowd of the bus was spilling over me. By the time I got down at Guindy station, i felt pooped even though I got a comfortable seat in the bus. Imagine the plight of the others who were cramped and jostled together in the bus with hardly an inch space between them.The crowd was so intense that there were guys who dint have place in the footboard also. One guy deftly climbed up the bus, and was having a one-man show hanging precariously from the bus, with a secure foothold on one of the windows.

Getting out of the bus took a lot of effort. I had to push through scores of sweaty, tired bodies, and a couple of insolent mouths too.I almost swooned looking at the crowd in Guindy station. A train had just deposited its load of people, and the mass of people was working its way through to the top of the overbridge. The mass appeared to me as cattle being driven through by the cowherd. Unfortunately, I was a part of the cattle herd too.

To reach my office, I have to cross the busy Mount Road (or Anna Salai as it is called now). I use the subway to cross the road. The subway, again, is filled with a herd of people moving slowly. The already slow movement of the herd is further impeded by hawkers and vendors trying to sell off their wares.

But there is a sadness in this. The reflects the thousands of people who tire themselves out to earn that extra rupee for the family. The workers, the vendors, the hawkers are all struggling to earn a living and make their lives a teeny weeny bit more comfotable.

Well .. Thats our Indian scenario for you !!!! :-)