Four years isn't a long period in a man's life. But if those four years are your college life, they ought to be special and memorable. As my college life ends and in all probability, I leave Chennai for some other place; I can't stop myself from saying a final goodbye to this beautiful city that has given me the best four years of my life.
My first brush with Chennai wasn't very pleasant (and is not talking about the summer heat. That's the only thing I wish Chennai could get rid of). As I got down at Chennai Central station on my first trip to SRM to attend the counselling session, my uncle realised he needed to replace his wrist watch battery. The roadside vendor charged us Rs. 100 for a Rs. 20 Chinese product. When I tried to reason with him, he said that the battery was big. This made me blurt out the most ridiculous argument ever. I asked him, “By that logic, you will charge Rs1000 for a pencil battery! “. He gave me a nasty look; that very moment, I decided this wasn't the city I wanted to spend my next four years in. As fate would have it, I wasn't left with many choices. I joined my college a few months later and thus began my love-hate relationship with this city.
Common prejudice
Like most people from the north, I too was prejudiced. The smell of sambar , flowers in every other woman's hair, the undecipherable Tamil billboards, the life size cut-outs of Capt. Vijaykanth with Mahatma Gandhi and Swami Vivekananda (I swear I am not making this up!) were a few of the things we used to joke about in the hostel.
Then the classes started. Slowly, I realised that my Tamil and Telugu friends are way cooler than me. They give a dime about LTTE (contrary to the belief that Tamilians sympathise with Prabhakaran). They know Hindi! Unlike the rich spoilt brats we see in Delhi and other major cities, the rich guys here are down to earth, although they love to splurge on luxuries . They do drive an Audi, but they don't run over ‘lesser mortals'. And money is the last thing that decides their friends' circle.
The city, many people still refer to it as Madras, is as colourful and diverse as the Tamil movies. You can see a 1950 Premier Padmini waiting at traffic signals alongside a Lamborghini Gallardo. The Victorian structure Ripon building can still give the newly built Express Avenue a run for the money to in terms of grandeur. This city has given us India's most sophisticated sci-fi movie “Enthiran”, but it still comes to a standstill when India's biggest superstar Rajnikanth makes an appearance sans make-up and wig. The beauty of Chennaites lies in their simplicity. Their matinee idols don't need to look young and ravishing either on-screen or in real life. They know how to love their stars the way they are.
In spite of the mushrooming of the KFCs and McDonald's, there's still no match for the idlis from Ratna Café. The Chennaite is deeply rooted in his culture while embracing modernity. He is as comfortable eating at the Taj with French cutlery as he is in the traditional banana leaf. If there's one city where the old and new India coexists in perfect harmony, it's Chennai. This city is unique. You can sit in the local train with your friends and talk loudly in the not so decent version of “engineering Hindi” without the fear of being scolded by some elderly uncle.
Spencer's plaza was my favorite destination for the first two years. Even now, if you visit the mall on weekends, it will resemble a mini SRM buzzing with students from our college. With the opening of Express Avenue (EA), Spencer's might have lost a lot of its admirers, but the old lady still lures us once in a while.
Know her to love her
The sweltering heat can make anyone hate Chennai. But you need to know Chennai to love her. And once you do that, there's no escaping her charm. Who can forget this city after driving on ECR, watching the sunset at Besant Nagar beach, and exploring the chariot temples of Mahab? This city is like a shell. To know her worth, you have to look in to see the shining pearl—pure and immaculate—she holds inside her heart.
I was lucky to experience the joy called Chennai. Contrary to what I thought four years back, I will leave Chennai with tears in my eyes and a smile on my face. I will forever miss this city and the friends I made here. But the memories will always lighten my heart whenever I am sad.
P.S: This might well be my last post from Chennai. I hope I get a chance to be back soon. As only God knows how many times I have dreamt of buying one of those beach villas on ECR and spending my life watching the waves crash against the shores.
Kunal Anand, B.Tech, SRM University, Kattankulathur
