As I was leaving Tidel Park for home, my wife called and asked me to pick up something for her from the Indira Nagar market. So off, I went, dutifully turning left at the Tiruvanmiyur junction, over the canal, left again and thence to the market. It was rush hour, but surprise, surprise, the traffic flowed smoothly and I reached without pause or mishap (that’s one of the busiest intersections in Chennai at rush hour).

To be honest, it didn’t register at that time, but after buying the necessities, on the way back I noticed a few things. First, as I reached LB road onto which I had to turn right, I noticed that the traffic was standing in lanes in an orderly fashion. When the policeman signaled us to turn, the lanes moved forward and.. of course one auto (who else!) drove in from the wrong side and tried to force his way in. The policeman calmly stepped forward and stopped him, found a gap in the traffic, and only then let him go with a warning!

Again at the Tiruvanmiyur signal, the police were very much in evidence, even preventing people from crossing indiscriminately across the road. Everything moved in proper order, no fuss, no stress, now wayward pedestrians. Of course, further down, as soon as I got on to Old Mahabalipuram Road, the free for all started. I nearly hit a motorbike which stopped right in the middle of the road without warning because he spotted a friend across the road. Then a cyclist (an old man, mind you) rode across the streaming traffic without pausing so everyone had to brake hard. Normal!

So what’s happening at Tiruvanmiyur? I’m told there’s an SI there who is efficient, no nonsense and conscientious. I’m also told that Police Commissioner Letika Saran lives close by! What ever the reason, the police ought to look at what makes things work in Tiruvanmiyur and replicate it in other busy parts of the city. Would that be asking for too much?