Chennai ho!

 It’s been four months now since I landed at Chennai, armed with the usual apprehensions that people moving here from other parts of the country, harbor while coming here, no doubt aided by solicitious but well-meaning friends who warned me I wouldn’t last long . The weather, they said- as in hot, hotter and hottest. Language. Culture shock. Food.   It wasn’t easy in the beginning, especially attenuated by the fact that I belong to a stressful occupation which multiplied the shock effect , but thankfully, the concerns have decreased over the months .

At times, I still feel like throwing in the towel and drifting away to cooler and kinder climes, where inspiration would not necessarily need perspiration.  I find myself dreaming of Pune and its salubrious climate, or remembering the cool Kolkata winters. Dreaming of enjoying the food in Hyderabad- Hyderabadi Biriyani, Chicken 65  et al.  And  on a visit to Delhi, I did marvel at the fact that I could  actually understand what people were  saying, and vice versa. At times, the fact that many people here do not respond to English or Hindi, still gets my goat, and , willy-nilly, I  venture forth in my broken Tamil, “ Anna, enge” et al, a smattering of which I have picked up over the last few months. Not that I am averse to learning it- its always good to learn a new language , but my grey cells are simply not what they were- having undergone mini crash courses in Kannada, Telugu, Punjabi and Marathi  over the years,  timed with my movements across the country. At times, the grey cells  simply want to  rest and let be, and it’s better to keep them that way.

 

But overall, I must say, I am not really unhappy. I have done a bit of Mahabalipuram. Been to the  Kovalam beach ( yes, a namesake of the one in Kerala) and  marveled at the golden sunrise. Revisited Marina Beach after more than 12 years.  Been to The jazzy mall in the city- the Express Avenue. Been to San Thome Basilica (again after more than 12 years) on Christmas eve with a friend. Been to the Chennai Literary Fest for a bit of intellectual hob-nobbing. Joined a book club and met new people, discussed good books , kind of like the good old Pune days.  Tried Aapams and Idiappams at Nala’s Aapakadai and Simran’s Aapakadai ( a curious synthesis of North and South- sounds like a Punjabi in Chennai!).  Tasted Dindigul Thalappakatti Biryani ( familiar taste- this is what I used to pack from Chennai Central station during my college days , for dinner on the West Coast Express to Mangalore)  . Dined out late at night with a friend who came visiting ( as is  usual with my culinary adventures, we literally had to eat behind closed shutters since it was past closing time, but the proprietor was kind enough to allow us to linger on) . Attended a couple of marriages of colleagues. Been out with my colleague Mr.Sreenivasan and his interminable supply of ready wit.  Already familiar with Chennai airport due to my trips to Bangalore, Kolkata and Delhi. And whenever I am bored or frustrated, the beach and the scenic ECR ( East Coast Road) are thankfully literally a stone’s throw away.

Of course, I landed with a bang. Literally. Cyclone Neelam was an experience, and suddenly, my well-wishers remembered me and  started asking my whereabouts. The cyclone itself passed without much disturbance in the area where I stay.  

All’s well that ends well;  I guess I am adapting. Of course, Chennai is not really unfamiliar- I would have passed through Chennai at least 20-22 times during my trips to home and back in my Mangalore medical college days. The city seems to have changed quite a bit since then. It seems to be more open, people are more accepting  ( probably fuelled by that great leveler- the IT boom), culinary tastes seem to have evolved so that there is much better non-vegetarian fare available, and certainly a wider variety of food  than before. And, oh yes, Madras has become Chennai, just as Calcutta has morphed into Kolkata and Bombay into Mumbai. What’s in a name, they say ! A  lot, I would say. Somewhere, I still find myself preferring the old names.

So, while I labour on, fending off hospital emergencies and fire-fighting the numerous issues at work, I do try to take out some time to appreciate and enjoy my surroundings. I guess there’s a fair chance that I will adapt to , and probably enjoy this place after all, for whatever duration of time I am here. Behold Chennai, here I come!