I got a notice from the Traffic Police that I had run a red light in Adyar - four months ago! - and must pay Rs. 50 or face prosecution. I didn't remember anything about it, but I looked up the address of the Adyar branch of the Traffic Police in my map - Dr. Muthulakshmi Road - and set off. I couldn't find it. I spent more than an hour driving in circles in the tiny lanes and dead ends of Kalakshetra Colony. I asked umpteen people for directions, including a policeman. They either said, "Go straight, then left, then right" or "First right, straight, then left" or shook their heads. Finally I was crying with frustration, and decided to go home and try again another day.
On my way back I took Lattice Bridge road, one of the main thoroughfares of Adyar. I passed a police station, so I thought I would ask someone there how to find the Dr. Muthulakshmi Road station. I had to park a couple of blocks away; walked back, still sniffling, and asked, "Where can I pay this?" A woman said, "Go to the back of the compound." She pointed at a concrete lean-to.
I peered in and saw five men snoozing in their undershirts. I said "Excuse me" from outside the door, and the man lying on the desk got up and looked blearily at me. I waved the notice at him. He nodded and sat down at the desk he'd been sleeping on, unlocked a drawer and pulled out a receipt book. The other men continued to nap. I paid the Rs. 50 and said, "Where is Dr. Muthulakshmi Road?" He said "It's here -- it's the new name for Lattice Bridge Road."
Does anybody know this? I'm used to streets having a 'real' name and an official name, but when they change a name under your nose, can't they inform you? And why does my map show another, invisible, Dr. Muthulakshmi Road in the labyrinth of Kalakshetra Colony? And who the heck is Dr. Muthulakshmi, anyway?
Bad way to spend an afternoon.
(UPDATE: Mark Howells sends me this candidate for the eponymous heroine of Dr. Muthulakshmi Road. Thanks, Mark!)
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