Lockdown scenes are so different in different zones of Mylapore.
We are on Madha Church Road; the Kosmed pharmacy here is open, on its glass door, a poster that says a Oximeter’s price is Rs.1800.
Metres further down, we spot a group of men chatting. We spot a hole-in-the-wall fast food joint, some 6 x 4 feet. Two men are busy packing tomato and lemon rice; these will be on sale at noontime. There is a demand for food at lockdown time, it seems.
Further down this road, we spot a policeman who has moved away from his post at the junction, shooing away men standing under a tree – when we get closer we notice that these men were grabbing a cup of tea from a teashop wallah who had downed the shutters but was selling tea from a tea-drum.
We drive into the narrow street of Dooming kuppam, on the opposite side. Deep in, we spot a small group fo women making packets of rice and curry.
In this area, in ordinary times at lunch time, some women cook and sell fish curry rice and fish fry at home and this draws many people to their makeshift stalls. Now, the women seem to be catering to the kuppam’s needs.
Marina Loop Road is empty save for some women who have put out salted fish in the sun, to be made as karavadu. They will sell these locally and earn some money during these trying times.
