CHENNAI: As the sun rose over the eastern horizon Tamil film music wafted from a radio set belonging to some homeless men who had spent the night on the sands. Passing the Kannagi statue we spotted a few gypsy families sleeping on the sand with children and pets – a few monkeys. But it was the regular visitors coming from places like T Nagar, Royapettah, Mylapore and Triplicane who provided the bustle and spectacle. A group of old men discussed the day’s news sitting around with newspapers in hand.Not far from them were others of their age busy with yoga. With eyes closed, engrossed in anulom vilom (alternate nostril breathing), they didn’t even realise we had taken a picture.Walkers and joggers came in different attires and forms. A man, possibly in his sixties, walked briskly and was sweating profusely even at that hour, others swung their arms in wide circles as they walked. Lone walkers stopped to greet acquaintances and continued their walk in groups. Some were in tracksuits and wearing earphones, there were middle-aged women in loose-fitting salwar kameezes or saris with the pallu tucked at the waist. There were men in white dhotis and two women in burkhas. However, all of them wore running shoes.These people had come in cars and on two-wheelers, which are not allowed on the walkway along the sand in the morning, though cars are parked on the road in the evening. Unaware of the rule, a motorist tried to enter the road and was stopped by a policewoman on a horse.On the sands we saw young boys enjoying a game of badminton, four men playing with a frisbee, a group of men passing a ball and other young boys skipping, some in pairs. Suddenly we heard a ‘tring–tring’ and turned to see a small boy on a big cycle carrying a container of tea. A foreigner in complete protective gear whizzed past on a bicycle and a young girl in a green T-shirt and track pants went swiftly by on roller skates. A little further we could see the Corporation skating rink where children, some as young as five, were learning to skate. All had on protective gear –headgear, elbow and knee guards strapped on. Parents watched from outside the rink while an instructor went around giving the children instructions.As we neared the Gandhi statue we saw a group of young boys engaged in Kung Fu. We learned from one of them that their activity started at dawn and that they had been practising at that spot for 12 years. We saw some young children in the group. Beyond a tree were boys hitting a punching bag hung from a branch. They all had bright red boxing gloves and a tough look.There were dog lovers in the morning crowd. While some walked their pet dogs, one man was busy feeding street dogs. We found out his name was Ramadoss and that he does this daily, spending around `100, and takes care of their medical needs. M Parthasarathy comes there every morning at 6 to give visitors a head massage.Some people were jogging close to the waves and a few stopped to buy fresh fish that the fishermen had just brought in. Three fishermen pushed their boat out against the tide to set off on their fishing voyage, and some admiring teenagers on the shore took a picture of them.Chennai Corporation’s garbage cleaning tractor plied on the sand. Talking to R Kapali, a worker, we learnt that this cleaning process starts at 6 am and goes on till 10 am.From the Gandhi statue we could hear the sound of laughter. “We are the happiest people in the world. We are members of the laughter club,” the group declared, after their laughter session which takes place here every day. “Vai vittu chirithal, noi vittu pogum (Laughter is the best medicine),” said Manohar Bakodia, founder of the Chennai Chapter of Laughter Club International, speaking about the benefits of laughter. The day was by then turning hot and the crowds were disappearing. Marina would have to wait till evening for the next tide of humanity to flow in.
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