Groups of police men and women hung around the pavement of the Marina as dusk fell; people did their walks and some sat and stared, while seated on the lawns. This was Friday evening, January 7.
There was not a soul in the sands. The Marina is again out of bounds to people, following new pandemic time regulations. Barricades are back again.
But as you motored down the Marina Loop Road, the scenes changed.
Seafood shoppers crowded the fish stalls, driving bargains. At some stalls, the catch had just come in.
Further south, where there are hardly any fish hawker stalls were a line of push-carts selling bajjis, ice cream, snacks and sundal.
Each stall had some clients. And across the sands, lots of people enjoyed the evening as the mist began to get stronger.
There was no one here to shoo away people who just cannot live without the beach. The people’s Marina had made temporary shift.
