Madras city le atrocity...

I live in Madras for the past 15 years . Though the change from "Bengalooru" to Madras didn't work well with me and bro as kids, we kind of gave in, during the later years. Growing up in Madras has been a great experience, that soon, even the options of "Bengalooru" being on top of the list, looked very bleak. For all its beauty , after its name changed from Madras to "I dONT like it much - CHENNAI!" , its still lovable just the way it is. For all the nook"S" and corner"S" of Madras that I've been to, there's one thing that I keep noticing, unable to miss even once, something which has never failed my eyes, something written in charcoal that is pitch black, in a lopsided scrawl , something which has always been a mystery to me...It is the "JAMES MAGIC SHOW - 9841072571". Go to any place in Madras. Its there staring right at you. It's there in bus stops, on electric boxes, on lamp posts, on "walls", on flyover pillars, on closed shutters of shops, it's even in a few movies(Tamil) that I saw,spare the news!. . The same black scrawl on the wall that leaves me bewildered all the time! So, how many have noticed it and wondered about it like me?And still better, how many actually called to find out about the Magician JAMES..?

Another fascinating thing about Madras - the battle for breath in the "back(waters)shops" of the great Ranganathan Street, T.Nagar. A mere walk down the lane, you would face instant suffocation with mixed feelings of emotions, including the anxiety of your bag being snatched and getting lost in the crowd . The shops are the same there, as everywhere else. Its not exactly an overcrowded marketplace either. So why this running hither and thither , causing all the lack of space and breath, adding to higher decibels of sound(Noise Pollution)??

Change is inevitable. The universe changes, the world changes, "people" change, emotions change, Time changes and everything in existence is subjected to changes. The changing trends, urbanization has taken over most of the "hi-fi" cities in the country Mumbai,Delhi,Kolkatta,Hyderabad,Bengalooru(urgh!) including Madras ,to an extent. It is the "to an extent" that saves the day! Well, though Madras is falling prey to the "trendz", there are still places in the city which haven't changed and will not change in the future either. The areas in and around Mylapore tank is one solid example. The glitter of the dazzling bangles of North Mada Street, the beautiful jewellery shops lining the streets, shops with all the pooja -paraphernalia, scented agarbatis and sandal wood, all the shops forming a perfect circle around the huge , magnificent Kabalishwar temple. Its scenic, and like they say - You just have to be there! Its one of the few places that hasn't changed much over the years, the people are the same, even the sundal tastes the same! This is why I love Madras so much. It has so much to offer people . People here have an option, and are respected for the choices made. Its either being conservative, traditional, or being modern and etiquette . Whatever the people are, its left to them, a choice made entirely by themselves. There's no societal pressure here. Maybe,the people aren't that friendly and totally into hospitality. But still, Madras is special for me. A city which amuses me , fascinates me, educates me , in every second of my existence here . Madras - is beautiful, just the way it is.....!.