Chak De Chennai

It has been quite some since I experimented with my writing skills. I was away on a vacation to my beloved homeland for a couple of months, the southern part of India for the annual “reunion” with my family. How much ever I like to call it as Madras , I am still practising hard reluctantly to use its current name Chennai. We had planned much in advance so that this trip would not turn out to be a yet another whirlwind trip. I was amazed to find the transformation that Chennai has undergone in the recent years. Although I grew up in this city, when I went back this time I could no longer relate Chennai to the same city that had fostered me all these years.

Chennai seems to closely follow and mimic the “Bombay” kind of life. All the roads and eat outs are illuminated well and brimming with people even at 11:00 in the night. The average standard of life has risen significantly and perceptibly. Mobile phones have become a necessary possession of everyone irrespective of which stratum of economy they belong to. There is no paucity of cars and automobile vehicles , needless to mention the stir that the “Tata Nano” has created. A great number of so-called “middle class” families (as identified in the early 90s) have climbed up the economic ladder and no longer want to be identified with that “touchy” tag name. I would attribute a majority of this to the emergence of I.T sector. The per-capita income has increased considerably and has paved way for more and more affordability.

Every other family seem to own a property and a vehicle and appear to have managed to grab a chance to visit the western countries as tourists. I could still remember those times when mere boarding a flight was like a dream come true . I am genuinely delighted to see the way my beloved place is flourishing.

But.......

Am I turning a blind eye to something else???

....May be....

It is true that all that I wrote above was meant to be delivered in all round earnestness...but it is also true that the infrastructure back in Chennai needs a serious intervention and improvement. The influx of the increasing number of cars is in a way intimidating when one notices the pathetic conditions of the roads and their scrimpy dimensional boundaries. There is absolutely no adherence to any of the traffic rules and the most aggressive driver gets to reach his destination first..( of course the destination could be in the earth or heaven). There is no more the concept of “peak” and “off-peak” hours of traffic. The moment you take your vehicle out of your house , be assured your time and patience would be quality tried and tested .

My friends working for I.T companies seem to have unreasonably long working hours during the week days that they are completely deprived of a personal time during the week. The kids are having to be reminded of their parents faces only during the week ends.

Mosquitoes are a never ending source of entertainment, as one could spend all night trying to electrocute them using the increasingly popular “electric bats”. These bats look akin to the tennis racquet and needs punctilious charging and maintenance. I was wondering what clever innovations and inventions such small creatures like mosquitoes could lead to. Tap water before being consumed had to be double and triple boiled after being treated by aqua –guard . That too, paranoid mothers from abroad are experts in extracting a single cup of boiled water from a jug full of tap water for their kids. (yes ..you got it right...The rest goes off as steam due to excessive and repeated boiling).

As I kept making my visits from one relative’s place to another, I could not avoid hearing the grumblings about how the politicians in power are handling the affairs of the state and if these politicians are more hell bent on dealing with their family politics rather than the state politics.

So I could only conclude that although there is growth in one end of the spectrum , the other end seems to be unaddressed. The day to day living of a Chennaiite is still a struggle by itself.

But who is to set it right?????