My association with Chennai has been for quiet some time. Not as deep as I have now. But, my father works in a bank whose main office is in Chennai and my mother has been a great fan of silk sarries from Chennai (if that sort of thing can be called an association?). But yeah, now I have been in Chennai for two whole years and that's surely long time.
What is the sort of feel this city gives me? Its hot, humid ( I mean really humid, more humid than Bombay!). Water is a constant problem. Its traditional and just suffering from a drastic cultural crisis due to increasing IT companies coming in. I must say Bombay and Bangalore really handled this well, may be because they were not hell bent on being "cultural". And there are actual dress codes for students in college. (Imagine college forcing a dress code in Bombay or Calcutta, students would surely retaliate). The auto rickshaw drivers here put any sane person off. And names of places around are each a tongue twisters. Traffic is quiet a lot and so is pollution. (Better than most of the metros but bad never the less). To make sense to shopkeepers you have to know Tamil. City practically closes down at 11:00 at night.
But I guess, you never end up judging the place too much where you are born, because you accept that from your childhood. And this is why I can be so critical about Chennai. (Though I should say there is enough to criticize!) Anyway, Chennai will always be special for me for the rest of my life, mostly because this is the city where I have lived for the first time independently.
What is the sort of feel this city gives me? Its hot, humid ( I mean really humid, more humid than Bombay!). Water is a constant problem. Its traditional and just suffering from a drastic cultural crisis due to increasing IT companies coming in. I must say Bombay and Bangalore really handled this well, may be because they were not hell bent on being "cultural". And there are actual dress codes for students in college. (Imagine college forcing a dress code in Bombay or Calcutta, students would surely retaliate). The auto rickshaw drivers here put any sane person off. And names of places around are each a tongue twisters. Traffic is quiet a lot and so is pollution. (Better than most of the metros but bad never the less). To make sense to shopkeepers you have to know Tamil. City practically closes down at 11:00 at night.
But I guess, you never end up judging the place too much where you are born, because you accept that from your childhood. And this is why I can be so critical about Chennai. (Though I should say there is enough to criticize!) Anyway, Chennai will always be special for me for the rest of my life, mostly because this is the city where I have lived for the first time independently.
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