Chennai welcomes New Year

C Shivakumar

Chennai:

Marina Beach reverberated with ecstacy as people danced and shouted in joy when the clock struck 12 to celebrate the birth of 2013 while bidding adieu to an eventful 2012 amidst the watchful eyes of the policemen, who ensured celebrations were peaceful.

There were no drunken brawls, no ever-teasing as thousands of men, women and children gathered near the Gandhi statue near the DGP office.

The celebrations which looked muffled earlier in the day on the eve of New Year gathered steam after 11pm as people started flocking to the beach. Police cordoned off busy Kamraj Salai around 10 pm as crowd started gathering in and around the beach. “We have left Santhome church stretch open from the DGP office for the public,” said a policeman as the bikers passed by shouting and hooting.

The security around the area was tight with about 100 traffic policemen posted in the area. Senior police officials also gathered around the area passing instructions to their juniors. The bikes and cars were not allowed inside the beach vicinity and vehicle owners were asked to park it away from the beach road as crowd milled. Interestingly, police allowed the shops in the beach to remain open till midnight as families nibbled at Bhajjis and idlis hungrily.

However, this year people did not gather in such large number as they used to. Business was also not usual with many of the stalls lacking customers. A bajji shopkeeper blamed strict policing and New Year parking restrictions for the business to dwindle.

Padma and her husband Velu, who sell beads, blamed the malls. “Marina beach is where Chennaites gather to celebrate New Year traditionally but now the place is  slowly losing the charm due to many malls coming up. Now families prefer to spend time in malls and hotels rather enjoy the fresh air in the beach,” they lamented.

Henri, who had come all the way from Madhavaram with his wife to celebrate the New Year for the sixth time, feels this year the celebrations lacked the ambience. “It is more subdued than last year. This could be the result of strict police presence,” he echoed.

The beach interestingly had couple of international visitors who had come to pursue their internship in India. Chloe, Alicia and Jean Baptiste, who are French internees in a pen firm, wanted to check out how New Year is celebrated in Chennai. “In France, champagne would flow, here it is more muffled,” said Alicia, a resident of Rouenn in France.

These youngsters were eagerly hoping for some fireworks in the beach and to their surprise there weren’t any.

While Chennai celebrated, the night patrolling by policemen was best as they worked silently the entire night monitoring the beach, busy streets and road to ensure that no untoward incidents happen in the city.