A Daunting Question
What set the ball rolling?
“Oh, are you from Chennai? What is special about it?”
A frequent question asked to a dweller of the southern frontiers of a vast, colourful country. Many people have tonnes of interesting stories about where they come from. Clean glistening lakes or rivers at their doorsteps, whispering green valleys, mountains embracing the bright beautiful sky, remnants of a glorious past, interesting rendezvous with our relatives from the wildlife, to name a few. Unlike those lucky souls, the question drowns me in an identity crisis.
Despite having lived most of my life from ‘before-teeth-hood’ to ‘nine-to-five-hood’ in Chennai, I have not been able to come up with such prompt, pompous stories about her. “Hmm, what could be special about a large metropolis like Chennai?”, thinks the devil’s advocate within. “There are of course, plenty of beaches, malls, dysfunctional traffic lights, and maskless “Sapiens”; not to forget the sticky skin and fuming humidity! Aren’t they special?”, he pokes and points out.
Antar-atma is not convinced. The inconspicuous old Dumbledore has never failed to flag my oceanic ignorance and scoffs at me for not knowing enough about the place where I BELONG.
And hence, I have started on this journey. My good friend, “Phoenix” the cycle, has travelled all the way from Bangalore to aid me in this endeavour. Over the coming weeks, Phoenix and I will attempt to explore the unsung beauties of Chennai and her surroundings. We will come up with dashing answers to the question that has long daunted me.
“Pedal Pannu — Into Chennai’s secrets” is born.
