Chennai is special to me in one way. It was where I got my first break as a software engineer in a good company, and where I lived for quite some time. Having spent more than a year, I must admit that I am one of the few people outside Tamil Nadu who actually love Chennai. To a person visiting the place or coming here for some work or some business Chennai is terrible.
People don?t speak anything else except Tamil, and they are unlikely to understand what you are saying. The weather is sickeningly hot and humid, and likely to drain you out fully. Water is a perennial problem wherever you go in the city. The city itself is not very beautiful to look at, it?s like any other Indian city, with overcrowded roads, noise, pollution. You don?t have the greenery of Bangalore nor the adrenaline inducing rush of a Mumbai nor the wide sweep of a Lutyen?s Delhi.
In fact people use Chennai solely as a gateway to other popular locations in the South like Ooty, Kerala, Pondicherry etc. And add to that the people are so conservative and orthodox, no way we can stay here. But yet you have many people working here and in fact falling in love with this place.
Of course since I am a South Indian myself, an Andhraite, I could relate to Chennai more easily than some one from the other side of the Vindhyas. Well if one had to sum up Chennai 3 things come to mind-coffee, The Hindu and Kollywood. A typical Chennaities day starts off with Suprabhatam, a cup of Coffee and the Hindu. Every person going to work in Chennai would have The Hindu neatly tucked under their arm. It?s become such a part of life in Chennai, that any other newspaper is unthinkable. And the coffee in Chennai is just out of the world.
None of the Barrista?s, Coffee Day?s could serve as good a coffee as the humble cup of coffee we get by the road in Chennai. In fact I had become a coffee addict in Chennai. For that matter eating out in Chennai is a great experience by itself. Apart from the numerous Idly Sambar Dosa hotels in Chennai, you can have some great non-veg food at some of the Chettinad outlets. And Chennai also has some great Chinese, Thai restaurants. For those who love fast food you have Pizza Corner, Dominoes, Pizza Hut, and Marry Brown. Though you don?t have the Big Mac yet there( which I feel is quite overrated), these outlets more than make up for it.
Many people criticize Chennai for it?s overtly orthodox and conservative nature, which I feel is not entirely true. Its one of the few places where tradition and modernity coexist in peace. While Chennai is proud of it?s musical Sabhas and Carnatic music, it?s also a place from where some of India?s best rock bands have come. In fact many foreign artists have performed in Chennai. You do find females wearing the traditional Indian dress with vibhuti smeared over forehead and oiled hair, but there are equal number of girls who can be seen in the latest fashions.
You have many females here driving and working. And the best thing I can say about Chennai is it?s tolerance. True, Chennai is very orthodox but it has a policy of live and let live. You would certainly not find self styled protectors of Hinduism trying to break up Valentine Day?s celebrations or rock concerts. People of Chennai are no less Hindu and in fact very religious, but you don?t find the sort of fanaticism, which you do in other parts of the country. And you certainly don?t have the disgusting Page 3 culture so characteristic of Delhi and Mumbai out here. If by being boring, means the absence of a Page 3 Culture, well I would prefer that any time.
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