Living in "Namma" Chennai...

I still remember the day when I knew I was posted in Chennai TCS more than five years ago , I never had the faintest clue as to what enchanting chapters were to unfold....Truly Chennai had been home away from home since the time I left Vizag, my parents, family and frens and beyond doubts I can say my face just lits up with the mention of this city..:):) People even mock that I became a Tamizh ponnu having come here...

I am just wondering where to start from if I have to write about this city and the moments experienced here? The unforgettable Anna nagar West and the Mullai (Jasmine) colony where I was put up first when I landed here with loads of aspirations afresh from TCS ILP Trivandrum....Met great people at every juncture, be it be the teams I worked with or the frens I made here or even the localites I interacted with. The great times I had at Sholinganallur TCS office, the culturals and interests I was all over into made me relive my college days and the great frens made there is really memorable....Above everything else, it's the city that gave me my first and only bread and butter :):)

There is an unsaid chemistry I associate with this place till date. It cannot be singled to any particular place, person or thing. Probably all that comes as a package living here. The striking love of me towards the city is probably the musical vibrations I hear here.....This was my first and foremost alluring fact being a person new to the city way 5 years back.

I have heard umpteen biases from my family and many frens of mine as to how rigid the city and the life here is.....Water vows in Summers, Absence of night life, extreme love towards their native language, bossy and looting "Auto kaar" of Chennai and the list goes on.....Somehow biases never touch me.....I really go deaf when people try to tell me the Do's and Don't about anything for that instance. Guess that's a boon I have and so surely the above said -tivities dint bother me much in due course.
On a lighter note, Water vows disappeared as thanks to the regular monsoons since my arrival here; Music and Auto kaar became my inspiration to learn the language so that I could fight with them well on every extra buck charged :):) Infact I have tried educating many of them in Tamizh (needless to say its fun thru out:))))
Ohhh.....The jasmine fragrance that fills the streets of Chennai anyday and any part of the year can never be found anywhere else. List doesn't end there........:):) The octagenerians whom you see toddlling steadily and slowly towards a temple in the evening while getting back from work...Where else can you see such a wonderful sight?? I am sure I am missing out on many more trivias like this which I relished...

I always felt it takes lot of energy to be a fanatic about one's culture, language and its really a boon that this city and its people have the guts and patience in preserving their culture when rest of the world is mad after westernizing. I dont say I am not modern or I do everything as per ancestral books but I just love Chennai for this very fact of staying closer to nativity.

The long term assignment took me to Minneapolis and when I returned it was not Sholinganallur but had to report back to Karapakkam, RTSC office where I got into a little identity crisis. All new faces, new branch and I felt I almost lost my active groove which I had left year and half back. Then there was a pretty low and mundane half year's time where I dint do much other than to get engrossed into work.

Then slowly and steadily I found my groove back with my parallel interests kicking off along with work and living in Besant nagar surpassed everything else. We found 52B/8 Brindavan and that was it. What an enchanting time we had here......The long beach walks, sunrises and sunsets along the beach, coffee and dark choco temptation @Barista, the favorite hanging outs - like cake walk choco pastries, B'bay bhaiyya's chappal shop, Meetha paan ki dukaan and umpteen eat joints we have relsihed over past 2 and 1/2 years.....More than anything else the amazing balcony of 52B/8 Brindavan's is just unforgettable. How I love to sit in the balcony sit out on a full moon day humming my favorite song and eating my dinner. Its just inseperable part of me whereever life would take me in future....

Wondering why I chose Living in Chennai as the subject for the day...Yeah a small insecurity and nostalgia that had already crept inside me that I would have to soon move on from here..:):):) Sometimes I wonder if chennaites love this city as much as I do he he he ....My parents and dear ones would kill me for this over statement :):)

~$,07/10/08, 10:00pm