Thank you Chennai. Romba nandri
For the love of all those good and bad times in Chennai…
The final semester on campus was over. Except for the last few heavy days I knew everything else I did in that sem would be cherished forever. I knew life was not going to be the same the day I step out of college. So I made the best out of what’s left in stock.
I knew I was going to have the blandest internship among all my friends in the scariest city to live in for most Indians(Chennai). I was really worried then to leave home and go to Chennai. Fifteen holidays and two placement offers in hand weren’t cheering me up. Life seemed tough all at once because of some emotional breakdown during the final days of my semester. Finally one day, I left to Chennai carrying with me hopes, fears, wishes and a lot of apprehensions.
My first few days in Chennai were very much happening. Oh you got it wrong. I meant happening in a bad way. I hardly knew any tamil and the training sessions in the internship were really boring. Above all, I could find no proper restaurants nearby.Yeah, foodies will understand what I mean.
Another thing that I was really worried about was living in a sharing room. I couldn’t find any affordable single rooms, so I happened to start my journey in a sharing room with random people. I was apprehensive about how I ‘ld adjust but it turned out to be the best decision to live in a sharing room. My room mates made my life a lot easier in Chennai and I managed to have some real fun with them. After I returned to my hostel I would have those after office conversations with my room mates. I would explain all the incidents of the day in detail just like how I ‘ld do with my parents and listen to their’s. They made me feel like home. Few of them were my tamil gurus too. I thank them for putting up patiently with such a horrible student. We had nothing in common. Their tastes and lifestyles were completely different from mine. That intriguied me the most. I was getting along so well with completely different people. May be I actually am good with people. And ofcourse they were better than me as I know its not very easy to put up with me.
My stay in Chennai taught me a lot. I realized the value of money as everything there was so costly. I felt like breaking my head each time I paid 40 or 50 bucks for a coconut and for paying those extra 3000 bucks a month for having air conditioner in my room which was more like a necessity than a luxury in city like Chennai.
Few days down the line, I started waking up early and going back to bed early like the rest of the city. Trust me, the city closes at 9. I walked almost three kms after my day at work eachday since the auto fares for that distance were around 60–80(no this is not an exaggeration,simply a fact).Travelling in city buses was close to a nightmare. Almost every bus would be so crowded that breathing would get really difficult in the already suffocated city. But seriously, who gives a damn about all these. I was enjoying the walks after all. I would be greeted by the sweet fragrance of Jasmine and beautiful roses each day in the morning all long my way. I don’t think any other city has this benefit.
I almost forgot about my existing problems, heart breaks, ups, downs, everything and started a new life. I started finding out myself, realizing my dreams.And ofcourse I started enjoying the beauty of Chennai. Beaches were always my most favorite destinations in the city for I simply love myself when am with the cool breeze, water and tides which have answers for almost all the complicated questions in my mind.
All the pressures and tensions I had in my mind would be relieved with just few sips of filter coffee. I would walk for long distances in search of good restaurants or places to relax. I enjoyed walking alone, learning new things about the city, realizing how friendly people are in chennai. I mean it. There is a lot of misconception about people here. They are xenophobians, true. But once you get closer to them, you will realize there cant be better people. That makes the city real safe, specially for girls as compared to other cities in India.
Time to address foodies now. Exploring the city more and more made me discover a lot of places which serve good food. To anyone new to the city, my advice would be forget everything about your preferences and just enjoy sambar rice, idly vada and dosa. You can’t get yummier versions of these anywhere else. Not just these but I discovered various coffee, dessert and sea food joints and I must tell you, they were amazing. Sambar rice with potato chips was my most favourite combo during my stay in Chennai. Almost every food joint in Chennai has good Sambar. You can take my word on it. I have tried it everywhere, even road side tiffin stalls serve good Sambar. Ghee roast from Saravana bhawan and Rava dosa from Adyar Anand bhawan are another set of must try items in Chennai. For all those sea food fans, Besant nagar beach side sea food snacks will always be waiting for you to serve your tastebuds.
Shopping in T-nagar and pondy bazar and bargaining with those road side vendors in the language you have no clue about was another level fun. They would come down to ten percent of what they mentioned at first.
Finally the day has come when I had to leave Chennai and I had these weird mixed feelings in my stomach. I was longing to see my parents, yet I wished I stayed back for few more days. That evening in the beach, savouring the beach side snacks, watching tides, I wished I could stay there forever. But we all know that ‘forever doesn’t exist.’ All we need to do is make the most of it, be it place, time or people.
Today sitting in my office, thinking about all these Chennai memories, I can’t wait to enter into the city cherishing the fish smell in Chennai Central and scream ‘VANAKKAM CHENNAI’. But for now let me put an end to these never ending memories and have myself a cup of coffee in the pantry here, although its no match to Saravana bhawan’s filter coffee.
