Sunday, 7th December 2014, 20:00
Last year in November, my parents in Delhi met with an accident. I was working for an earth moving equipment manufacturer in Chennai then.
No train tickets to Delhi were available that night. And apex fare in airlines was close to Rs 20,000. Delhi is 2100 kilometres away from Chennai. There was no other way I could go to Delhi. I hated Chennai for many reasons, that night I hated it for being so far from Delhi. I cursed the moment that brought me to Chennai.
On 7th December 2013 I took a vow. I promised myself that I would not shave my beard till the time I return home, to my family in Delhi.
Today while I celebrate my birthday with my family in Delhi (for the first time in last 8 years), I am feeling nostalgic for Chennai. It was this day, a year back, when I actually started falling in love with this city.
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My affair with Chennai started when an interviewer, during my college’s placements drive, asked me “What if our company decides to post you in Chennai?”
Fearing a negative response to this question may hamper my chances of selection, I said “Sir I am adaptable. I can go anywhere.”
Interviewer smiled and said “I have two things to tell you. You are selected. You are going to Chennai”.
I landed in Chennai on the night of 31st July 2011. That night was horrible.
My company had booked a guest house for me which was only 10 Kilometres away from the airport.
I decided to take an auto from the airport. But with no common language between the autowallas of Chennai and me, negotiation was definitely not an option. I could not find any pre-paid booth. As a result, I had to pay a whooping Rs 800 to the autowallah for dropping me at guest house (that’s Rs 80/km. India’s Mars mission was Rs 7/km).
The next few days were even more terrible.
I was like an alien in the office. I could not understand the language my colleagues spoke. I ate only idlis and dosas every single day. Chennai was so hot and humid that I had to change my clothes at least thrice in the day. There was nowhere to go in Chennai. I spent my weekends sitting at home and watching TV. My room mates in PG left the room because of my typical “north Indian habits”.
It took me 6 months to find someone whom I could call a friend. And I found three of them at once. Ironically none of them were from the North. They all were from different states of South India-Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. We decided to stay together.
We took a 2 BHK flat on the East Coast Road on rent (By the way, East Coast Road runs parallel to the eastern coast of India, with Bay of Bengal on one side and eastern ghats on the other side. Absolute Bliss.). We stayed together for 1 year and every single day became unforgettable with them around. I didn’t really start liking Chennai, but with them I became more tolerant towards the city.
We four shared similar interests. We loved travelling and bike rides. We often went to beach and spent hours discussing about girls, politics, religion, sports and everything else that existed under the sky. We had English breakfast and Ibaco’s ice creams for dinner.
We were crazy bunch of guys. When Cyclone Thane made a landfall on the Tamil Nadu coast we decided to chase it from Mahaballipuram to Chennai on our bikes. We were fearless.
Beautiful things don’t last forever. The Malayali in our group found a job in Gulf, he moved out. The Tamilian in our group was next to go. He had found a job in Qatar. A month later, the Kannadiga went to Germany. By August 2013 everyone had moved out and I was left alone in Chennai. I decided to continue in the same house.
A cousin and a school friend came and stayed in Chennai for a few months in between. But like many others, they didn't like the city and they asked for a transfer from their respective companies. Their companies obliged.
Then last year in November, while my parents were going for a marriage, a lady driver lost control of her car and rammed her car into my parents’ car. My parents were seriously injured. I was informed about their accident on phone. Sitting alone in the house, 2500 kilometres away from the spot of accident, I shouted for help. I called up every person whom I thought can help me financially or otherwise. I was desperate to go to Delhi, but I couldn’t.
On my birthday I promised myself that, I will not shave until I return to Delhi forever. I started discovering a new Chennai from the next day onwards.
The Indian economy was in a bad shape then and automotive industry wasn’t hiring much. But I had to go back, preferably with a job in hand. I decided to give interview for every company that could take me to Delhi, irrespective of the nature of job and industry.
I travelled in local trains and buses to reach to the venues. For the first time I discovered that the local trains in Chennai were the most joyous way of commuting within the city. I sat on the doors of the train and observed the bustling city outside. Trains were not even crowded like Delhi’s Metro. The buses were equally convenient. The fares in buses were as low as Rs 2.50 (conductor returned 50 paisa coin).
Locals I met on my way were courteous. They helped me locate my destination. Some shopkeepers even went to an extent of drawing a rough map when they could not communicate the directions to me properly. Contrary to my belief, they all knew English very well. And they understood enough words of Hindi to comprehend any sentence spoken by me.
I gave interview for a BPO, an Event Management firm, a Consultancy, a Logistics firm and a truck manufacturer. These interview took me to places I had never been before - Santhome Basilica (One of the only three churches in the world to have been built over the tomb of Jesus’ apostle), Broken Bridge (an unfinished bridge on Adayar River; the only place in Chennai where you can see sunrise and sunset), Santhome Mount (You can see the entire city from the top of the hillock. And if you love planes, you can watch them take off and land all day as the runway is in the vicinity), Crocodile Park (Have you ever seen 1000 crocodiles at one place?) and Marundeeswarar Temple (When doctors give up, patients come here for treatment. Hear their story; they are unbelievable, but true)
My neighbours started interacting with me for the first time in last two years. They invited me home for dinner and on festivals. They sent food whenever something special was cooked in their kitchen. I tasted Chettinad cuisine for the first time; it tasted better than Kadhai Chicken I found a beautiful Marwari family, who promised to provide me lunch and dinner, every day for a minimal charge.
I continued to go on beach in the night. I spent hours sitting alone and watching waves hit the shore. The noise of the waves made me forget all my problem and worries. I could spend my entire life sitting there.
For the first time, I started interacting with my colleagues in the office. I shared my problems with them. They informed about it to my Team Leader. My Team Leader offered me assistance in bring my family to Chennai. He assured me that company would reimburse every single rupee of their relocation. It was a humbling experience.
Obviously I didn’t accept the offer but for the first time I realised how ignorant I was about this city and its beautiful people who were always ready to help.
I started finding solace around my colleagues, my neighbours, sitting alone on beaches and roaming on Chennai roads. But when I returned home every night and stared at mirror, my ugly face reminded me of my unaccomplished mission.
It took 8 itching months to accomplish my mission. It was 26th of July 2014, when I finally bid farewell to the city I had started loving. My neighbours had packed food for me for the train journey; my office colleagues brought their cars to drop me till Railway station.
On our way, every single traffic light turned red for us as if the city didn’t want me to leave. The train was delayed by a good 2 hours from the station. For the first time in 3 years, I wasn’t desperate to go back. Waiting for my train at the iconic Chennai Central, I wanted the time to stand still.
I reached Delhi on 28th morning. The first thing I did was I shave my beard.
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Some Pictures:
