An unbroken link with the past
It is anachronistic with windows that are noticeably antediluvian — the windows are jallis slotted into the structure. But this bus shelter — a carryover from Madras — is holding up well, as do many other brick-and-mortar shelters across the city that have been retained. Except for a small patch on the roof, the structure is intact. Located on the edge of Thiruvalluvar Salai as it meets Arcot Road in Alwarthirunagar, Valasaravakkam (the landmark being Aavin parlour that forms the backdrop), it goes unnoticed except when a lone bus service — route number 26 — lumbers to a stop in front of it. Habitues of the area remark that the bus service operates with one bus that makes the trips, and this arrangement matches the patronage.
Only a small clutch of commuters can be found around the bus stop when it is time for the bus to arrive. This bus stop was established in the 1980s, when the M-series, the small buses of that age, was introduced.
M8, a small bus, would pause at this stop as it wended its way between the Vadapalani bus depot and Mougaliwakkam. M8 gave way to a regular-sized bus, 17G which would later be replaced by 26.
A view of the bench on October 13, 2023.
| Photo Credit:
PRINCE FREDERICK
A slide for a bench at a bus shelter on Butt Road
At this bus stop on Butt Road — its coordinates close to War Cemetery on one side and BEL Army Road on the other — commuters find a “slide” being forced on them. It consists of two long metal benches clamped into concrete legs. Apparently having got “unclamped” inadvertently on one side, one bench sits on a lower rest on one side, making it more of a playground slide than a bus-shelter bench. The situation has to be remedied for this bench and the commuters, giving the former dignity and the letter the comfort of a basic, well-fitted bench as they wait for their buses.