Quo Vadis?

  I prefer the window seat in flights because I like to watch the sights during the take off and landing each time. Every time I fly into Meenambakkam there is a special feeling that never fails. The feeling of coming home; to a city that has my heart. Madras, how I love you and get exasperated with you in the same moment. I am sure that I am not alone with this feeling and after two decades or so of being Chennai I miss the Madras of old. Change is constant and the city has changed, some of the famous gems of the past have been obliterated completely like the Moore Market while some struggle on in changed or limited avatars like Spencers Plaza and some have transformed into unrecognizable creations like the OMR. When I have visitors on work and if it is a first time I ask them if they have any interests in their free time and when they hear the options that I throw at them they are amazed. From shopping, to food, to cultural experiences, spiritual experiences, nature spots and...

  This is a long rambling post, one that was put together over a long period of time when I recollected the time I went through the Second wave of COVID. If you do not like long posts stop right here because the post will be taxing, but I decided to put it up because such experiences should not be forgotten. I got vaccinated on the 17th of May, it was my first dose of Covaxin. On the 27th of May I woke up with a mild fever. The symptoms looked like COVID so i went into isolation following the teleconsultation of a doctor. After the usual battle with COWIN the better half landed a slot the following day. To check if she could be vaccinated both of us took a precautionary RTPCR test which returned negative the next day. We informed this to the doctor who was consulting on the phone but she said its symptomatic avoid the shot stay isolated and as primary contact the better half should also isolate. 4 days later the temperature shot up for me dramatically and i visited a doctor who...

Yesterday I was annoyed by the repeated prompts from Google about running out of the free combined space of my Google accounts. So I went about on an aggressive deleting spree and found that I did not even scratch the surface. What puzzled me was the amount of mails and files that I had deleted which was a part of my life for over many years did not even make any impact to the total memory consumed. All these days of the lockdown there is a massive cleaning exercise at homes where everything that comes from outside be it man or material are cleaned before anything else happens. Mercifully in Chennai the drought is yet to hit despite the many hand washing, baths, and objects washing being done every day everywhere. Usually after any cleaning the waste is let out carefully or casually depending on what we use or how much we care for ourselves and the other. Surgical waste should be incinerated, likewise the masks we use should be safely discarded if we want everyone to be spared...

The new traffic rules and fines have cause considerable outrage and humour online.  The outrage seems to overshadow the humour as many people are upset with the new fines as they will burn a big hole in many pockets. Many are saying that these fines are unfair and should be scrapped, I disagree here. A fine exists because the person who was fined was simply not fine. Putting that poor joke aside, it is obvious that a fine will only be feared by those who plan to violate the rules. These rules were not made to satisfy anyone’s personal ego but to ensure safety for all. People want to violate these rules and then crib about the fines. In some time people will get used to these fines and things will get normal again because we forget fast. The basic question remains why do people outrage so much? Let me tell you an open secret. The common man in India is largely decent till he gets on a two wheeler and then he sinks to the depths of depravity that is unimaginable. Look around ...

If you were living in Chennai or Madras (if you prefer) when the city went under the massive rains in December 2015 you will understand this post. Waking up to heavy incessant rains overnight the roads were inundated, power had been suspended several hours earlier as safety precaution, mobile towers were down because the generators that kept them running after the power supply was terminated had run down. The absence of power ensured that the humble radio was the only source of information and mercifully the land line worked. We were relatively better off than those whose homes got washed away or some who lost their lives due to a combination of nature’s fury and human incompetence or greed. We were cut off from outside world for a few days but we were well, we managed with what we had and then we ran out of essentials.  When the rain eased off a little I went out in the flooded roads looking for any shop that may be open to stock up on essentials after a search I mana...

Yesterday when I was waiting at the famous SRP tools junction there was a group of transgenders who were asking for alms. I usually look away as they can be a little pushy and it can be quite uncomfortable in trains but this time I saw one person who approached my car asking for alms. I picked out a 10 rupee note and gave it to the person, the person asked me for a 1 rupee coin. I was confused and said I did not have coins. The person asked the others in the group if they had a rupee to give me. I was confused even more when the person said that the rupee is for me. Thoroughly puzzled I found a coin which I handed over. This person bit the coin almost like athletes bite their medals these days and asked to see my wallet.  Then the person put the coin in my wallet and said do not spend this and walked away with a blessing that I should live well. This short interaction disturbed me: -           These people are outcasts and ...

“How can you run 10 kms if you cannot walk 10kms?! ” This incredulous question that had a tinge of anger came from a veteran runner and triathlete of Chennai. He was sad about the demise of his friend and veteran runner who passed away recently. He was visibly upset at the way people were taking up running without thinking about the side effects. Recounting parts of the discussion with him below: If you are planning to run to become fit, lose weight or any other reason you must first start walking. Start by walking slowly then move to a brisk walk. A thumb rule is to be able to have a regular conversation with others during the brisk walk to understand the ideal desirable pace. If you are gasping too much then you should slow down. After consistently walking for two weeks at least the next step will be walk run where you walk for 4 minutes then run for 1 minute,  gradually the walking will reduce and the running will increase till the ideal balance of running 4...

Some time ago I had posted about the 30 day WCCG challenge , I completed that challenge successfully and intended to take it for another 20 days so that I will have a milestone and some bragging rights but I ended up 4 days short for a grand total of 46 days. While I am delighted that I exceeded the initial milestone I was a little disappointed on missing out the next one despite gamely holding on so far. The benefits of this activity were mentioned in the earlier post but I missed out the key reason for starting the challenge which I will share now. As with all weight loss plans I decided the first step would be to visit various gyms and get their quotes before signing up for one. We were almost convinced by one gym when we decided to step into the next one which appeared to be almost deserted. Then I was mind blown when the person at the front desk gave me a quote of 350000 for 6 months, I will repeat the number in words so that you are not confused – Rupees Three Hundre...

Two is company, three is a crowd but not when you are the “crowd maker”. My walks in the Tower Park Annanagar have given me the chance to observe the many “crowd maker” who dot the park. If you are wondering who is a crowd maker (I made this up), it is that noble soul who offers his / her time and presence to make a couple not a couple. You know with the moral police breathing behind your backs some private time for couples in public places are hard to come by worse if the fear of getting caught by a family member or a relative who will ensure that a little bit of hell is unleashed in the homes of those who get caught. So there you have these noble souls who make the supreme sacrifice of saving their friends with their presence and making a twosome more than that; No! I did not mean a threesome, you dirty minds. How do you identify these crowd makers? Easy they look uncomfortable and bored sitting close but not close enough to hear but not hear the sweet nothings of the tw...

On August 17, 2017 I took up a challenge by the Chennai Cyclists , Annanagar Chapter. I took up the challenge because I was desperate to get out of my extended spell of lethargy and do something about my shape which had started resembling a menhir of Obelix. The challenge was quite simple – a physical activity from walking, running, cycling, yoga, core workouts for a minimum of 30 minutes for 30 consecutive days. Today after Day 17 when I am sitting nursing a blistered feet after a brisk 3km walk after 9 pm I looked back at what I have rediscovered after a long time: -           You become disciplined: this is by far the first step to any fitness regimen. Self- discipline is the start of many good things that follows. It takes discipline to set a routine and stick at it -           You become aware of yourself: you are now aware of your heart beat, your breathing patterns and you discov...

Romeo & Juliet, the classic tragedy by Shakespeare, reimagined and adapted to the music of AR Rahman, presented by a Dance Company. The show was produced by an actress / dancer with a film back ground that should ensure good production values in addition to good media coverage. The sum of it all seemed to be a Sunday evening well spent when I bought the tickets for yesterday’s performance. The show started half an hour late which was a good thing considering the parking challenges and the traffic, the sparse crowd in the balcony also gave us a choice of seats in the free seating Music Academy.  The opening credits started with the National Award winning “Chinna Chinna Aasai” that made me feel warm inside and look forward to the evening ahead. The stage had very basic props with one gazebo hardly being used and seemed to be taking up unnecessary space, the famous Juliet’s Balcony however on the other end of the stage was used more and despite the lack of height it s...

We have seen and have now got immune to collective apathy, you know that ignoring what happens around and going on with life has been happening everywhere for long. If you are from Chennai however December seems to be a month when collective apathy is kept aside and people come together for the good of the other. If you have been in the Chennai floods or cyclone Vardah you will know what the emotions behind this post are. This year Chennai added one more page to it's growing list of encomiums, the jallikattu protest. Much has been written about the protest and this post is not about the protest but the day when the protest ended. If you were in Chennai and in some parts of the city that felt the effects of the police action you would remember the paralysing traffic jams that threw the city out of gear. I was affected too, because my daughter was stuck in the van for over 3 hours without food. Though I was upset at the mismanagement of the events by the powers that be, I ob...

Observing the children play in the Tower Park Annanagar I was wondering how did we grow up to be like this? How did we who were born like monkeys grow up into staid and boring men or women? The children’s play area is full of slides, swings, see saws and jungle gyms. Watching the kids run around and play on these simple mechanical or stationary devices and having the time of their lives made me wonder if we stopped believing that life is not complicated at all and is all about simple little things. The biggest fascination for me was the many jungle gyms that had so many little kids on it. Climbing, swinging and jumping seemed to be the most basic of activities after walking and running. Every kid seeing a jungle gym even for the first time took to it like fish to water. I remember few years ago when my daughter climbed on her first one. The kids are excited and so much at home up there, climbing, swinging and at times falling only to pick themselves up and start all over ag...

I was moving some things in my cupboard when I came upon some unused batteries still in their packaging and next to it this radio. For a moment I paused and in a flash the memories associated with both these things came back to mind from the deeper recesses of the brain. Some things cannot be forgotten and the Chennai floods will be one such. So much has been said and written about the floods and the destruction that it brought along but there is also another dimension to the floods that is overlooked. The floods brought people closer to one another and we have seen it all in the spirit of Chennai but the floods also brought people closer to themselves. It helped people discover themselves and thereby discover each other in ways that had not happened before. Our home was safe and relatively unscathed in the floods but we did have some of its effects; power shut down for over 3 days, lack of essentials and food items, complete shutdown of telecommunications and so much mo...

I am an irregular visitor to the Chennai book fair but this year there was a special reason to go to the fair but more about it later. This year the book fair has relocated to the Island Grounds instead of the other old venues. So the first challenge for four wheeler users who were not privileged enough was to park in the grounds near the Munro statue. The organizers had arranged vans but they were insufficient on Saturday and I used the autos available to reach the fair. The auto drivers made a killing for the short ride charging Rs 40 flat each way. The fair has enough non book options to interest people and besides the usual food stalls I even saw a stall that sold pickles outside the hall!!!  A large food court also ensured that food for the stomach will also be satiated with food for the mind at the venue. The fair charges a nominal entry fee of Rs 10 and the ticket is eligible for a lucky draw where the prizes are book vouchers so for a bibliophile nothing can be bett...