Where the streets have no name

Quite contrary to the title (I just chose it because it happens to be the name of a very famous song of U2 and had the word 'Street' in it!), the subject of my latest blog is a street whose name is known by every resident of Chennai. You guessed it, it is about that most congested of streets, none other than our very own Ranganathan Street (RS).

The mere mention of Ranganathan street springs forth visions of a sea of humanity on the road with no end in sight. I remember, on my first trip to RS, my mother described the experience as a 'walk down the streets of hell.' (Ok, those weren't her exact words, but you know what I mean! :) ). And yes, for the uninitiated, the road is a nightmare waiting to happen. What, with the ever-present crowds, the constant pandemonium and the distinct pungent smell emanating from the road, it is enough to drive even the most pugnacious of souls into delirium.

So what is this blog about? You definitely did not need me to tell you that RS was one of the most busy and ugly roads in the city. Let's look at this from a different perspective. Imagine RS with no shoppers, no crowds and no off-putting odours. Imagine a RS, which is absolutely devoid of the hustle and bustle that we know oh so well. Imagine yourself on RS, with nobody in sight, shopping all alone. Do you think you'll enjoy it?

I'm sure you won't. I wouldn't! You see, one of the charms of RS is the out-pouring of people who throng the street. In fact, the biggest crowd-puller in favour of RS is the crowd itself. People come to RS to not only shop for clothes or jewellery, they come to have the 'experience'. Shoppers get a lift out of seeing fellow humans enjoying a day out in the sun, shopping to their hearts' content (In fact, this is very potent business strategy for luring in unsuspecting patrons, employed to great effect by the various shops on RS).

I am one of those countless other people who invariably find themselves on RS come every Saturday for one reason or the other (with me, it's usually games). Over the course of my numerous visits to the place, I've begun to stop looking at all the negatives of RS (you know what I'm referring to) and started to see the positives. There's a real energy and buzz to RS that can make even the most slothful of beings sit up and take notice. The whole street reverberates with an undefinable but unmistakable sense of urgency and activity. There's quite nothing like it.

So folks, the next time you go to Ranganathan Street (I'm sure you will go, at least after reading this blog!), take a step back and look again. You might be surprised by what you see.

PS. Feel free to comment on your own unique RS experiences in this blog. I'm sure you have one! :)