Chennai, 6 AM

She woke up like this,

the scent of jasmine

on a long dark braid

curves of rice flour

in delicate ‘kolam’ weaves

glistening on

freshly washed temple stone

as perfect as the froth

on a perfect glass

of perfect filter coffee

gently shaking you awake

with the ‘Suprabatham’ of MS

who sings with power and grace

a sari draped demurely

on a cassette cover portrait

not an inch of shoulder exposed.

But a voice as bold as

Helen’s 70's peroxide blonde wig.

She woke up like this

contradictory,

messy, mussed and beautiful

in song and fragrance and flavour

in flower-soft Saravana Bhavan idlis

in eagerly decorated autos

bustling black and yellow bees

weaving their way

through streets busy

with children going for their

PaatuClassDanceClassTuitionTennis

Chennai at 6 AM

doesn’t need a filter

She woke up like this.

(A collaboration with illustrator Riddhi Desai and her series ‘Namma Chennai’ for Makers magazine, the Morning issue)