An incessant drizzle. Terminal boredom. Post a harrowing night-duty – insomnia. You would not think any of those would set the scene for an ideal photo shoot. You are right.
But throw in the idyllic setting that the Theosophical Society, Adyar is, and suddenly the grim picture takes on a rather lyrical, even rhapsodic tone.
Watchmen scare me. (Actually all men scare me). I expected this guy to turn me away from the gate, under some annoying pretext like it was a Sunday or cameras were not allowed or I did not look appropriately theosophical.
To my surprise, he didn’t seem to mind me in the least. In fact, I doubt he would have stirred had a plane come crashing down there, so deep was his slumber.
Being the dutiful taxpaying citizen that I am, I woke him up and made him grudgingly open the register to mark my entry. The weather was brilliant. It was pleasantly cold and windy. The sky was slightly overcast, threatening to open up any moment. Thankfully, the downpour I half expected did not happen. \
My eyes – CFL light assaulted from the night’s duty, feasted on the verdant vistas. It was lusciously green as far as I could see. I was surprised and grateful that such a prime chunk of real estate had yet to catch the fancy of some developer.
I shot as many pictures as I wanted – leaves, raindrops, flowers, trees, doors, locks. No humans, mind you. (I am still mastering the tough skill of walking up to a total stranger and asking them to ‘say cheese’, without the fear of being slapped). An ecstatic hour and a hundred pictures later, I called it a day.
So if you live in Chennai or happen to visit, I strongly recommend a stroll through these parts, before some greedy politician turns his attention here for some ambitious land deal. Oh, almost forgot. Carry a tube of mosquito repellant.
Text & Photos By Sriraam Kalingarayar
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email: sriraamk9380@gmail.com
