Madras நல்ல Madras…

This post is part of the blog tag titled, ” What Chennai means to me?” The CBC Tablog where CBC stands for Chennai Bloggers Club. About 35 bloggers from Chennai are participating in this blog tag where everyone will write about their favorite city Chennai and what it means to them. So here’s my post for the CBC tablog titled, What Chennai Means To Me.

Thanks to Vid dev, A Chennaiite who blogs at ‘The Pensieve‘ for passing this tag to me!

Chennai – was always a dream for me. I wasn’t born or brought up in Chennai though I lived in a radius of 120kms of Chennai. I had come to Chennai only thrice till my XII standard. After that I came for my UG admission, I stayed with my relative who worked for  IOC and lived in Manali.

Traveling in the Pallavan Transport Corporation from Manali to High  court and from there to either T-Nagar or somewhere… carries many memories for me. It was here that I learn all the trades and tricks that required for foot board traveling in the bus. Apart from that, watching passengers of all ages and professions discussing almost everything under the sun made me master the Madras bhashai at great speed. Long live! Pallavan Transport Corporation.

Cinema halls such as Devi and Satyam were great entertainments those days. I had booked in advance tickets for almost all Friday releases though it was not easy to do so.

It was quite unfortunate I got my UG admission in Bangalore which is another history for another post. I planned to come to Chennai again after my graduation. Again I got placed in Bangalore and my dream of coming to Chennai was crushed. My wish came to pass after spending one and half decades in Bangalore. I am now a proud Chennaite!

Chennai is different now; a different modern culture has captured the imagination of Chennaites today. The IT boom is one of the main reasons for the present Chennai!

PTC has become MTC and colorful instead of the old green ones. AC buses ply around the city and makes life easier.

Multiplex cinema halls such as AGS – PVR has come. Booking tickets has been made easier by a click of a mouse. No need to stand in long queues like those days when I first came here.

Getting a BSNL telephone connection is again quite easy with the click of the mouse instead of paying a lumpsum amout as deposit and waiting years together.

15 storied LIC building on mount road – the first skyscraper in the city built in 1959 was surpassed by Arihant Majestic towers which is a 17 storied residential building located opposite to CMBT, the Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminals which was previously in Broadway.

The majestic Mount road and few other landmarks lost their charm due to the invasion and intrusion of Metro rails.

ITC groups has come out with a new brand of Chozhas – ITC Grand Chola, renaming Chola sheraton  as My fortune.

But certain things about namma Chennai can never change on both sides..

Recollecting the lyrics…

Madras enbathu Chennai aanaalum
kaNNaana kadarkarai Marinathaan

The annual music festival is still continuing in the month of December and the Book fair during pongal..

On the other side the Chennai autos are still plying without meters – and the people traveling in foot boards..

Whatever happens and however things change, Madras/Chennai will always be a place that I treasure and cherish. Vaazhga Chennai.

Closing here with a  song that presents a visual treat of chennai …

Over to Vinod Velayudhan, who blogs at Good,Bad & Ugly Chennai with lots of earlier cribs.. not to constructive ctiticism for chennai.