This post is a break from the 'Theories' posts, to commemorate my last day in Chennai in the forseeable future, and certainly the last day of my ps1 trip. It has been a most memmorable trip, spanning all of two months. It has been a bag of mixed feelings really, what with all those threats of being sent to live like a villager, to meeting up with frenz and exploring chennai like never before. Owing to the rigours of PS, a common feeling of teaming up against the forces of evil (lol) developed among us bitsunami ps ppl, that looks set to continue for some time.
Chennai is a strange city. It is not the stereotypical metro that most people expect it to be. As a result, most people are really frustrated with common grievances like public road transport and the scorching heat. What is required to come to grips with what chennai offers, is staying here for a considerably longer period of time than most other cities. It offers a really unique blend of traditional and modern facilities. Contrary to popular belief, there ARE places to hang out. Only they need a bit of exploring.
My short stint in this city was rewarding, to say the least. Firstly, i came on doordarshan. Though my delusions of grandeur were shattered by that recording, it was national television nevertheless. Secondly, i did learn something in ps ( i hope ) at least while i was in the city( though wat i took 2 long months to learn could be learnt by anyone in prolly a week, it is much better than nothing, i tell u ). Thirdly, i did take a step for the better in the music perspective ( yea i did, mum, much more than what i would have done at home :P.. at least the strings i bot qualify as a positive step :D ).
I dont think there is any trip to chennai lined up in the near future, unless of course i land up here courtesy ps2. So its adios amigos chennai, and yoyoyo Bombay ( its bombay to me, not mumbai) here i come :D ... ok this is only a short commercial break.
PS:
script type="text/javascript">document,write("Hello World!)
ok i posted a script :P :P
PPS : Thanx to all my frenz who tolerated all my thuisms, and my bugging messaging all day long. Most of them have demonstrated tremendous buggability. Thanx for putting up wid me for so long. I assure u ill bug u all again once bac in campus. And last but not the least in any way, i sincerely thank radio city which kept me company from 9 to 11 am , 5 to 9 pm, and 12 am onwards all the days, n certainly made my travel less painful. Seriously the only decent radio station in chennai.
Showing posts with label chennai. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chennai. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Friday, July 6, 2007
The Chennai Marvel
Fate has been kind to me. Really merciful.In spite of being born a Bombayite, n brought up as a Mumbaikar, i am quite inexperienced regarding the daily grill of a typical mumbaikar. I am , of course, talking about that marvel of mumbai that is called the lifeline of this wonderous city. Local Trains. They say, if you havent travelled in a local train in mumbai, you havent seen mumbai, you havent lived, you have no adventure spirit. Well, i cannot claim to have experienced the true local train ride. Most of my travelling has been by road, and occasionally by the afternoon weekend train. Which is certainly not the 'Mumbai train experience' . Its not that im not an adventurous type ( how wud i have chosen bitsunami otherwise eh ? :P ).
Its just that there never arose a need to go through that grinding, quite literally. But i think fate decided it was time i had a taste of what i was missing. They say fate catches up with you no matter where you go, what you do. Thats exactly what happened with me, when i unsuspectingly boarded an otherwise peaceful looking green bus that is typical of chennai. Little did i anticipate what was in store for me. Todaym owing to excess of work at ps, i had to leave on time ( :P ) for once. Which is the rush hour. The stop where i board the bus is relatively near its starting point, so it is quite reasonable to board the bus without a second thought. Buti was in for a shock, as in the very next stop, came rushing a crowd as if someone was giving away free gold inside the bus. From then on, there was no lookin back. Bones i never knew existed came into prominance. A majority of my muscles got a free massage in the bus. There was no room for an elbow. I seriously felt sorry for the bacteria that might have been trapped between two people. It was worst at the stops. People losing all civil sense, and it turned out to be a battle of strength between the tide of people trying to rush in madly, and the desperate ones trying to get out. Ultimately it led to typical chaos and confusion, with squabbles breaking out, slowing the bus journey even more. Infact, the only reason i could make head or tail of the squabble was because being slightly on the taller side as compared to the average indian bus traveller, my head was above most of the heads, and at least got few whiffs of fresh air that seemed like the breeze of my life. As only the portion of my body above the neck region was movable, i craned my neck to see what stop had come. With the result that i got a rude stare from some guy who apparently was in a foul mood. He might have been muttering something, but i was too relieved not to be at the recieving end of some mundane local outburt, so hardly payed attention.
At last Mylapore tank stop arrived, and i now was part of the party that was trying to get out of the bus, against the huge tide of people who were lookin desperately for ways to get in.
A few mutterings and shouts later, the other side compromised, and allowed our team ( lol ) to go through.
This ordeal left me wondering at the marvel that was that rickety bus. It looked as if one good kick would do the job. Yet it was supporting almost an army. To say the bus was overflowing with people would be the understatement of the century. Yet, it chugged along. And that, my dear friends, is the marvel. Just like locals are the lifeline of Mumbai, it can be said busses are the lifelines of chennai. I can also now claim to have a near experience of a mumbai local at rush hour. :D
PS:
Though i have expressed this in a much more positive way than would have been believed of me by most who think they know me, i assure you this trip has rid me of any whim or inclination that i had, of travelling in one of Mumbai's locals :)
Its just that there never arose a need to go through that grinding, quite literally. But i think fate decided it was time i had a taste of what i was missing. They say fate catches up with you no matter where you go, what you do. Thats exactly what happened with me, when i unsuspectingly boarded an otherwise peaceful looking green bus that is typical of chennai. Little did i anticipate what was in store for me. Todaym owing to excess of work at ps, i had to leave on time ( :P ) for once. Which is the rush hour. The stop where i board the bus is relatively near its starting point, so it is quite reasonable to board the bus without a second thought. Buti was in for a shock, as in the very next stop, came rushing a crowd as if someone was giving away free gold inside the bus. From then on, there was no lookin back. Bones i never knew existed came into prominance. A majority of my muscles got a free massage in the bus. There was no room for an elbow. I seriously felt sorry for the bacteria that might have been trapped between two people. It was worst at the stops. People losing all civil sense, and it turned out to be a battle of strength between the tide of people trying to rush in madly, and the desperate ones trying to get out. Ultimately it led to typical chaos and confusion, with squabbles breaking out, slowing the bus journey even more. Infact, the only reason i could make head or tail of the squabble was because being slightly on the taller side as compared to the average indian bus traveller, my head was above most of the heads, and at least got few whiffs of fresh air that seemed like the breeze of my life. As only the portion of my body above the neck region was movable, i craned my neck to see what stop had come. With the result that i got a rude stare from some guy who apparently was in a foul mood. He might have been muttering something, but i was too relieved not to be at the recieving end of some mundane local outburt, so hardly payed attention.
At last Mylapore tank stop arrived, and i now was part of the party that was trying to get out of the bus, against the huge tide of people who were lookin desperately for ways to get in.
A few mutterings and shouts later, the other side compromised, and allowed our team ( lol ) to go through.
This ordeal left me wondering at the marvel that was that rickety bus. It looked as if one good kick would do the job. Yet it was supporting almost an army. To say the bus was overflowing with people would be the understatement of the century. Yet, it chugged along. And that, my dear friends, is the marvel. Just like locals are the lifeline of Mumbai, it can be said busses are the lifelines of chennai. I can also now claim to have a near experience of a mumbai local at rush hour. :D
PS:
Though i have expressed this in a much more positive way than would have been believed of me by most who think they know me, i assure you this trip has rid me of any whim or inclination that i had, of travelling in one of Mumbai's locals :)
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