After trying to see the sights in Chennai with little success we went to Marina Beach to see the sunset. It was full of people. If there are 80 lakh* people in Chennai, at least 10 lakh were there, enjoying a Sunday afternoon.It was so nice to see families, children, friends, couples walking around, buying sweets and food, getting their fortunes read (either by a parrot or by stones), riding the merry-go-round, getting their pictures taken next to cardboard images of their favorite Bollywood actors, buying jasmine garlands for their hair, shooting darts at balloons, getting their feet wet in the surf, or just strolling the length of the beach.
No matter where in the world you are I think all popular Sunday afternoons have the same feeling. It is a moment in time where all is well, the work week is starting in a few hours, but it is still far away and there is time to enjoy that little free time with no obligations. The beach or the plaza become the central public space that re-enforces social ties, that allows people to come in contact with each other once again in ways that the city does not allow. People become a little less alienated from each other and laugh and are something else than just their weekly activities.
Then Monday comes and work starts again.
*a lakh is a unit in the Indian numbering system: 1 lakh=10,000; 1 crore=100 lakh=10,000,000
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