Chennai Vaasi

After living in Chennai for a year and observing people from Electric trains to Saravana Bhava , I wish to write what I loved and what I despised about the Chennaiites. 

Well, Chennai has become a mini-USA when we compare it with the diversity of people living here.The proportion of indigenous Chennai vaasis appears to be small and majority of them will be second generation dudes whose grandfathers might have settled here for bread. 

From magnificent temples and churches , show off shopping malls, theatres , libraries and the second longest beach , what makes the city beautiful is its people , while some of them are actually living.

Chennai's definition differs when you shift from a place to another , like Tambaram to T.Nagar to Adyar then to Thiruvanmiyur etcetera. From ambience , to attitude, to lifestyle and the sea breeze. I am yet to roam more around this lovely city, maybe after Agni Natchathiram fry.

The energy of Chennai vaasis fascinates me . In most of the cases they aren't the kind of people who sit inside the walls and look out of the windows . Let it be cricket , let it be Yanni , let it be a book fair , let it be a New year or a new movie , people always unite. They never hesitate to mingle. I have observed this "mingling" only during kovil thiruvila and all in my hometown. The united force of Chennai makkal is indeed spectacular. 

Chennai has been indeed influenced by the western world but it has not destroyed what had been existing already . Go to Sathyam or EA to find aimless teenagers trying their luck in being " da tight wear dude with trouser chick " or trouser dude and vice versa. Facepalms are never enough to make you feel better. Take a bus and spend an evening in Mylapore where you can find the kudumba paangu and an ideal Hindu locality with Malli poo plus paneer fragrance.

Two things make me pity the people. Actually the two kinds of people.

The hard toiling middle class , whose lives have been strictly routinised by the firms they are working for. The MNC's suck their lives by deceiving to give one. I never blame these people. I am proud of the struggle the parents put to raise their kids and to meet their expectations. And the amazing working mothers , who do twice the work than all the men. _/\_ . These guys may have a rigid life , but I just wish that they enjoy the nuances of life , everyday. The beauty of music. The colours of nature. Poetry. Art. Anything.  

And the egoistic , loathsome and despicable people who have either made money out of corruption or inherited . I dont mind about the showing off part , but still I pity them. I pity them for their characteristic apathy . 

They fail to recognize the dignity of labour. Not the posh cars or jewellery makes you qualified to slap a waiter in a restaurant. Whoever it may be , a plumber or an electrician , a cobbler or a waiter , an ice cream vendor or a cab driver , deep down we all are fucking humans. Try to respect people for who they are and not what they do.Period. 

 It is only the privileges , that has made your lives comfortable. Just think for a second when you see the kids on the road.  

Reference from the Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald 

"  In my younger and more venerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since.

"Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone," he told me, "just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had."

I pity the rich and the richest. I pity their inability to see what I see and enjoy what I do. The rich seem to exist while the working class survive . 

If you're wondering who actually tries to live in this city , Go to Marina on a New Year. 

One who tries to destroy his ego and understands that he is another human being ,

One who values life,emotions and can empathise,

One who can spend a few minutes with nature ,

One who doesn't hesitate to lend his hand to someone in need ,

One who finds happiness in forgiving,

Actually lives. 

And that would be the common makkal of Chennai. I have seen the rich beggar who blared the horns of his BMW while the auto driver in the front carries a person in his arms, fighting for life. These guys cannot and WILL NEVER know the essence of life. They will live and die in a Maya , comfortably. Nature maintains the good vs bad and happy vs sad equilibria beautifully in the singara chennai I have observed.