Madras to Manali...and back! Day 1: Chennai

So many places in under a month – was like jumping over an endless puddle –you know... the constant feeling of missing out on important places. But to hell with that...it’s impossible to have an exhaustive list of places to visit before you die – because our perception of these places change with our sensibilities, luck, companions...and what not!?

But this trip was like a test of sorts - 20 days at one go; experiences that await at every destination; being forced to travel with people whom you see on a daily basis, but still are unknown; the notorious summer and a lot of negative vibes....! For heaven's sake, it sounds like 'Big Boss - powered by the Indian Railways.' Ok - the trip wasn't going down well with me - that I had second thoughts till the last minute. But the fact that this might the only chance to do something as crazy as this - got me going. 

Day 1: Chennai – Now this is a city that always remained a distant thought to me till college happened – The hostel overflowed with Chennai gangs...(not to mistake them with anti-social elements – but those who travelled together back home were called so!) Being a central institute, it brought in a lot of them from the state capital. From them, I picked up bits of the local lingo, famous eateries, landmarks, and most importantly school clans and clashes – ‘friend of a friend’, ‘common friends’ etc. etc. Occasionally, my roommates would team up to enlighten me with their Chennai experiences. “There’s such a lot to do in Chennai....we could go here or there, on the way pick them up and....!” This and lots more in 5 years - site visits, & sleepovers at friends homes have now made Anna Nagar, Chromepet & Koyambedu more than just addresses.

Contrast is the fodder that my mind chews on when I choose to be ‘vetti’ - jobless! My city and Chennai obviously have those contrasts – the distances in the sprawling city, traffic & connectivity, the Tamil slang & weather...have all been debatable topics thereby. With a heightened understanding of such nuances, I land at Chennai Central again. Bidding good-bye to all folks, a few of us walk on with our ‘little-less-than-heavy’ luggage towards our Hyderabad-bound train. The massive volume of space in a way ate up most of my anxiety about the forthcoming trip. Gaping at those towering steel brackets of the ‘Indo-Sarcenic’ terminus building in the golden evening hue, Technicolor scenes ran across my mind. The good old ‘Madras’ that I’ve often heard people romanticize about was there; it was and still is the portal to many who dream to make it big in showbiz someday; people from small towns would swim towards this big sea – in search of a better livelihood; the urban forest was also a black hole for many escaping life’s trying situations. This sort of an emotional high is always associated with transit stations I guess -it’s quite an overlap of journeys – some that have not begun yet; while some others that have reluctantly ended.