madras

A very hesitant me got down onto the platform after a 5 hour long train journey. The numerous stories about this city and the fact that I am a hard core Bangalorean forbade me to like anything about it. And yet, I had to be there and I was. As I stepped out, the first thing that hit me was the humidity. With no sign of the sun, I expected it to be a lot cooler than 31 degrees Celsius at 11 in the morning(Being Bangalorean I guess!!!). Inspite of the rough beginning, there is something that took me by surprise. In the short, very cramped auto ride from the railway station to my hotel, I saw something mesmerising. Despite the stink(Yes...!! It's true!!) and the innumerable "Amma" posters, I saw a city so rich in culture and architecture that I was caught off guard. Suddenly, I saw Madras, not Chennai: a culturally enriched, architecturally wealthy city. The transitions from red stoned arched buildings to the neatly laid, stoned English architecture, the names of the lanes, why, even the pavements reminded me that this city has a lot to offer under the layers of its dusty exterior. The undying love for tradition among the people here is inspiring. Where else would you find a 3 star restaurant serve it's guests in thick, heavy steel thalis and glasses!! The hearts of the chennaikars are still in Madras. The culture is so deeply rooted in them that even though Chennai has had a diverse population, it has still managed to stay woven and United. Despite the various rulers, religions, Languages and Lifestyles it has seen, this metropolitan city has remained true to itself and never given up it's heritage. As I returned after a short stay and a rainy beach day, I realized how impressed I actually was by what the city had to offer. It occurred to me then, that sometimes we get so entangled in the stereotypes that we often become ignorant of all the incredible things that lie underneath.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Inner peace

Reminds you of Kungfu Panda? Well, it's not the kungfu-dance-with-a-rain-drop-and-control-matter inner peace that I am talking about. Now that we know that this isn't about how you get superpowers, let's begin. The inner peace I am talking about is that moment when you feel relaxed to the depths of your soul. That song, a drive in the rain or maybe just lying on your bed in silence at 3 am in the morning. It's that feeling when your soul sighs, satisfied.  Some people find this in the arms of someone they love or sitting in a crowded place on a sunny afternoon sipping their coffee. But since this post is about me, what inner peace means to me is what I will write about. Let me start with a short flashback. Back in India, there were some old storage houses in the upper level of my house. I would climb on top of the roofs of these houses(the climber that I am) and that was half the fun of me wanting to go there, that I would get to climb and sit on this one roof wh...
Read more

"One last time"

I look back at them. All the tears have dried up in the tension my overweight baggage caused. There are so many things running through my mind. This is it. Its time to go. "One last time", my heart says and I look back. I see my whole world being left behind. I see everything that defines me behind those huge glass doors. Its time to go. Heart racing, I manage a bleak smile through the tears. I turn and make my way to the waiting lobby. I sit there and listen, listen to the announcements and the nervous chatter of strangers I'll call my family for the next 2 years. And before I know it, I'm on my way to a place half way around the world. Soon, the excitement of it all pushes the sadness to a distant place. I have been preparing for this for 3 years now and it had been my dream for a long time before that. Its 36 hours later and I'm standing at the door of my new apartment I would call home, with a key in hand. I open the door to a new beginning. As I get settled ...
Read more