… i came across photos of the southern railways sports association 76th all-india railway men and women’s athletic championships, from 2011. one of my fellow “husbands of chennai” friends invited me along (he knew one of the competitors), so i brought my camera: when else do you get the chance to photograph sports close up? at the chennai tennis open, actually, but what the heck.
the romance of the railroads … the railways are a very big deal in india. indian railways is the largest railway system in the world with 115,000 km of track and 25 million passengers daily, as well as one of the world’s largest public employers with over 1.4 million employees. around chennai there are “colonies” (housing estates) for railway employees and railway manufacturing employees – many state bodies provide living quarters for their employees – so the idea that they have a sports association is not surprising.
 |
 |
 |
| enter the competitors. | ||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| real competition, albeit to an empty stadium. | ||
click on the arrow keys on the slideshow to make it go faster.