Construction & decay

Concrete is the primary building material in this part of the world.  Much of it is mixed with a hand shovel on the ground, put into buckets, then transported around the jobsite balanced on the head of a laborer, often women. 

Men climb around precariously on scaffolding that is typically made from dense hardwood that is lashed together.









In this country of contrasts you do see concrete trucks, steel scaffolding and sky cranes on the big high rise buildings going up everywhere on the outskirts of the city.

Due to the harsh tropical environment and the inconsistent and generally poor quality of building materials, it is not long before the humidity, sun and vegetation take their toll on structures.

A ride through Chennai

In our travels about town on my motorcycle I am constantly dodging and manuvering around buses, pedestrians, cows, bicycles, sinkholes, goats, autorickshaws, other two wheelers, oxcarts, and anything else you can imagine. So when we took a trip across town with some friends in their car, I took the opportunity to snap these photos of a typical ride through the city.

The Indian traffic police have to be some of the bravest people in the world, as they stand out in the swarm of drivers and pedestrians, trying to create some sort of order out of apparent chaos.

Murals like these are scattered throughout the city on the walls that often line the streets.  From this picture you can not see the detail, but the artwork on these murals is very good.  The paintings are typically of scenes from the area.

We see an incredible array of things and any number of people being transported on the typical 100cc motorcyle.  These guys are loaded down to play a music gig.  Char made a comment to me the other day that we were probably photo worthy, as she climbed onto the back of our motorcyle with a guitar on her back, drum hanging at her side, and holding a mandolin in her lap.

I have seen as many as six teenagers on one of these little workhorses.  One on the gas tank, two on the seat, one on the rear luggage rack, and one on either side standing on the rear foot pegs.

Looking at this picture through the car window and you will see the father driving with a bundle on the tank, mother in back and daughter sandwiched in between.  Look a little closer and you will see the feet of an infant the daughter is holding in her lap.

Tricycles and bicycles are abundant in Chennai, and many goods are transported throughout the city by human power.  Sometimes it is hard to see the bicycle through all the wares a peddler may have strapped to it.