It was not as if an alien from the unknown frontiers was visiting the unknown territory for the first time, Chennai hardly requires an introduction, nor it was that I was visiting Chennai for the first time when it moulted from Madras into present-day pleasant metro-polis, Chennai.
The change was very very apparent as I had visited, the Then Madras, now Chennai, more than two and half decades last and more than three and half decades ago, when visited for the first. Change is so palpable that I almost fell in love with the city.
The first impression this time around, that mind made was of cleanliness. Coming from a city like Mumbai where ultra poshness goes hand in hand with absolute filth and having faint memories of all-pervading stench from Cooum added by Buckingham canal running through the very heart of the city during the first visit, this was like a shock. Roamed all over the city, took various streets, been through many suburbs but everything looked very neat and tidy flavoured with cleanliness. The shanties and slums were conspicuous by their absence. Even the river Adyar[u] seemed very clean though it is supposed to be polluted.No doubt why it was awarded the title of the best city in India in 2014 by India today and even today it boasts to be one of the ten best cosmopolitan cities in the world!
In 1982-83 when I visited the city for the first time, 'Lungi' still prevailed as common attire for men and typical 9 yard silk sari worn around in Tamilian fashion for women. Lungis were adjusted by menfolk so frequently mid-street that I sort of became paranoid about anybody touching his, to adjust it. They used to loosen it around the waist, shake it 3-4 times, re-wear by tightening around the waist, once done, came the last, very shocking part, at least for me, then, they used to fold it midway, exposing hairy thick or thin legs, not a sight to fathom, to tuck in folds! Women with thick jasmine bands or any other seasonal flower in their jet black well-oiled tufts were to the core, Tamil beauties! Surprisingly not any more. The man wearing traditional Lungi/ Veshti hardly came by, if by any chance we could spot one, invariably he used to be in his seventies or above. Tamilian ladies, perhaps, have left their nine-yard saris only for either the weddings or extremely religious occasions. In a stay of 5 days, I did not see any lady wearing the traditional attire though maybe, in her 70s or above. Six-yard sari, even a Punjabi dress, [salwar- kameez with dupatta ], like any other lass or woman from other parts of India is the common dress code now. That's the arrival in the mainstream.
Another pleasant surprise was signboards in Devnagari !. No, not everywhere but at a few places where they should be, like IT, Excise departments. The organizations run by the local government or corporation still aver to use Devnagari, but the common man on the street, very loyal to his culture and language, at least does not blacken them! Though a most tourist frequented city why it is still averse to other languages eludes me no end! Common man [ Like taxi driver, Rikshawwala, doorman] on street though proclaims that he knows English, my experience is otherwise. He does not know anything beyond Tamil, which could be detrimental to him or is it, they are still thriving without it, aren't they? For me, I always feel bad about not learning any of the South Indian and/or the Modern European languages. For me, it's always more the merrier!
As I had already visited the city twice before as a tourist, did not bother to visit any of the so-called tourists' attractions but visited memorials erected for C N Anna Durai and Late Hon. Smt. Jayalalitha. The hold she has over the Tamil mind even after her death is phenomenal. The place was thronged by the devotees. I do not understand anything about Tamil politics, but it [ hold ] had to be because of the changes she has brought about in the common man's life, Chennai being the glaring example!
What I envied about Chennai the most, was it's Metro. By 2018, it will have operational Metro network of 45 km including an underground stretch of more than 8-10 km [ which was inaugurated when we were around, on 14th May,], that runs through, beneath the heart of the city, to be precise Chennai central Station. And in my city? Every hurdle is being erected by the ones who are not bothered about a common man who suffers the most or who are not going to use it because of their own opulence!
Today's Chennai is like how a mega-polis should be. Though thickly populated, though having every stratum on an economical basis, though having many many urban problems, it's still calm quiet and extremely safe city for, from toddlers to grown-ups and from girls to women! Can we say the same about our city?
P.S: This is my personal column to express what I feel from within. I don't intend to belittle or shame anybody deliberately or intentionally. Even then if someone feels hurt, I am extremely apologetic to him or anything in general.
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