For the past one year, Chennai-based IT professional KP Mathivanan has been working remotely from Theni, a provision that has transformed his weekends. He revisits hangouts — Kumbakarai Falls, Sothuparai dam and Kailasanthar temple on a hilltop among others — that would define leisure for him before he shifted to Chennai for work.
Last June, Mathivanan, his wife K Sugapriya (also an IT employee, now on remote work) shifted to Theni along with their two-year-old daughter, as their respective companies allowed them to work from anywhere.
Both the IT professionals feel their lives have suddenly been enriched by the company of relatives and friends and the energising air of the countryside. Not to mention, the absolute lack of junk food.
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Sugapriya is thankful that their child could spend considerable time with her grandparents and be influenced by their value system.
Further, Sugapriya is also able to visit her mother’s place in Madurai, less than a two-hours’ road trip away.
“Earlier, we used to come down to Theni only once in three months,” says Mathivanan. Usually it would be too hurried a trip to fully savour the joys it had to offer.
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Mathivanan and Sugapriya have a rented accommodation in Sholinganallur, “We were paying a rent of ₹12,500; when we considered vacating the house, the owner offered to reduce the rent by ₹4,500. We agreed to it,” says Mathivanan.
Though one-year of remote-working from Theni has led to many social benefits, Mathivanan and Sugapriya also miss the office and the team lunches in Chennai. Given the fact that these IT professionals are only in their 20s, and the opportunities for professional growth the city offers, they view their stay in Theni as just a sojourn.