Now, I’m not being overly sensitive,
and no, it’s not my hormones. It’s just
that I love this city as much as you do,
and I can’t bear to see these changes
happening to my beloved city. I’ve
not lived in any other place at any
other point of my life. And for each of
us, home is where our hearts are.
This is not Bangalore with its zillion
pubs, and slightly less than a zillion
cute girls. This is not Delhi with
its political drama. This isn’t Mumbai
- the city of dreams which never
lets you sleep. This is Chennai. This
is the city which lets you have a
peaceful night and wakes you up to
filter coffee. This is the city where
you wake up and realise your
dreams. And it was in these
dreams, that I realised Chennai is not
a place, it never was. Anywhere
could be Chennai. It’s where the
people stand together, united in love,
peace, and co-operation. Bad at
endings, I will be quoting another
wise man’s lyrics from an aptly named
film, “Enga ooru madras. Adhuku
naanga dhaane address”.
Be it the shutting down of Gemini
studios, Drive-in woodlands, Sun
theatre, etc., or the renaming and
remodelling of the Sterling tower to
LBR Towers, every other famous
landmark and even the actual
LANDMARK from my childhood have
either been pulled down or have been
remodelled for the worst. Anyone who
has been to the U.S.Consulate would
have noticed the Murals on the side of
the building. Every day after school, I
used to take the longer route to home
just so that I could enjoy those murals.
But ever since there were protests near
the consulate, it has become a war zone.
They have barbed wires, police dogs
and security personnel. We are not even
allowed to walk on the platforms
anymore. Next is the Metro rail.
Before any of you come attacking
down me, I’d like to clear up that I too
enjoy metro rides. But the road to it
makes me wonder, was it really worth
it? Were all the diversions, "one-way"s,
re-routing, potholes, pollution, dust,
and chaos totally worth it? The whole
face of Mount Road has literally been
defaced by metro construction. After all
of this, I honestly wish anyone who
takes snaps at the metro would be
snapped out of existence by Thanos.
R. AHIJIT
11