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...

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...