Ode to Madras..

I know its now Chennai but have somehow always loved Madras and names linked to it..IIT Madras, Madras Medical College, Univ of Madras, Madras Cricket Club and so on. A typical Bangalorean usually protests at the very thought of having to spend a few days let alone a year plus in Madras..He finds it very orthodox, too very old fashioned and not to his taste..The people's attitude is not the nicest and having to learn Tamil to survive..these are among the top (BUT RATHER ILLOGICAL)complaints made by not just Bangaloreans but every other guy in India ..I must admit Madras was not my favourite city for years, but that was purely because the weather was too hot and as school going kids we often chose summer vacations to get to the city to meet relatives and blazing summers weren't exactly going to make someone feel great about the city..

I always have and will love so many aspects of this beautiful city..The hotbed of Carnatic music and Bharatanatyam - music academy, kalakshetra and what not..one of the very few cities that is striving to preserve Indian culture and tradition while pretty much most other parts of the country are rapidly getting westernized in thought and process..The crowd in general is very intelligent- top acads, excellent schools and colleges and even the sports lover is so very well informed..

I was worried though that I had to work in Madras for at least a year..Without pals it wasn't quite going to be easy I felt..But what a time I had over the last year..My room in Anna Nagar (a lovely area i must say) became a virtual hangout spot for all pals..party after party followed and the biggest of all was the amazing new years one which still makes me wonder how I wasn't thrown out on the streets the next day by the landlord..!

Getting to the superb British Council and picking up a few nice books, sipping away on some coffee at Amethyst while poring through the books..cuzn's visit from Singapore..drives to Besant nagar beach, Karthik's fantastic bachelors party just before his wedding in Triplicane when I visited the quite splendid Parthasarathy temple..walking in the Mylapore area by RK Mutt road and the Kapaleeswarar temple- where good old Madras come alive..

Tennis in Nungambakkam whenever possible, those crammed journeys in the share autos, haggling away with auto drivers, suburban train for a year..Now I wonder how I went through all this..I did at points feel life is crazy..but somehow the city did charm me..Deepak's visit was the icing on the cake..I toured Madras in those 20-30 days and also made 2-3 road trips to Bangalore..We didn't spare a single cafe, resto-bar and most certainly we didn't spare my house!..pretty much camped at his house and had some super food..

Despite all my complaints at various points about work and workplace, the lovely gesture shown in the end by everybody there makes me realize that there is more to life than judging people by what they know and don't know..it is vital to appreciate how people treat you..

Madras despite its sick and hot weather which floored Dean Jones and even Tendulkar recently has been a lovely city..I have adored the milling crowds at T nagar, Mylapore's buzz, the beautiful drive down theosophical society road, superb temples, the great culture, the lovely helpful people and so on...

I am back to Bangalore-my city, have loved every bit of it and its great to be back with family..but I do leave with a tinge of sadness that I wasn't quite able to do justice to all the great city of Madras offers..