You cannot help but glorify a city you have been in for over half a Century. Legendary actors Nagesh and Manorama too have touched on its greatness in the timeless ditties ‘Madras Nalla Madras’ and ‘Madrasa Sutti Parkka Porren’.
Marina Beach, various Temples, churches, mosque, museums, library, Chepauk, zoos, etc., must be ever proud of being in Chennai, and vice versa.
Standing in long queues in front of ration shops, for water, movie tickets, trains, markets, are all now just events contained in a memory.
Once upon a time, one could cross the street and land up in your neighbourhood shop, but today you must to travel a few kilometres and make several u-turns along the way. Playing cricket on the grounds near the High Court and the Chennai Fort seem a thing of the past, as does the simple pastime of flying kites. Most of us are get our kicks only from gadgets.
Watching Kamal, Rajini, and Jackie chan in Alankar theatre or Mammootty in Safire Theatres were a greater pleasure than viewing movies in malls today can offer. The joy of travelling by local train from Beach to Tambaram cannot be replaced by Metro rail journeys, for me.
Chennai today teems with people from all places, all religions, all States, which is a testament to city’s unique openness, as exemplified by the saying, ‘Vandaarai Varavaikkum Chennai’.
One really misses a lot of the simple pleasures of Old Madras, but still loves to be in Chennai, no question.
