The road from Chennai

As I tried opening my bag at my cousin sister Chitra’s house in Chennai during my recent trip, I saw a distinct smile. I refused to acknowledge the smile for what it was and quietly went about putting my clothes in. About an hour later, when it was time for me to leave for the airport, I saw that the smile had widened into a grin. A huge grin at that. I could no more deceive myself but acknowledge it for what it was- my bag was sporting a huge tear. It was time now for panic stations as we had very little time to leave for the airport. My brother-in-law Sivakumar helpfully fished out a suitcase while my nephew Golu helped me pack at the speed of lightning. Soon we were on the car being driven by my brother-in-law to Trishulam, Chennai’s international airport.

On the way I saw posters of a prominent Tamil Nadu politician being splashed all over. “This guy looks really ugly,” I remarked. “Still he manages to have many affairs and many handsome men get left behind,” Chitra remarked. “You mean handsome men like me,” I asked as the car resonated with laughter.

Soon it was the midnight flight and I was back in Mumbai in the wee hours. My trip to Chennai however held happy memories. Apart from being able to visit my old school, I was also able to connect with my cousin brother Babu after a quite sometime.

I spent three happy years in a Chennai hostel when my parents were largely abroad. It was the time when adolescence and its related pursuits set in. It also held memories of my reading South India’s premier daily The Hindu—at my hostel. It was really more of a fight to get to the paper as about 30 hostelites jostled for it. It was also the period when I read Charles Dickens unabridged edition of David Copperfield—over 900 pages plus. My reading the Hindu and its associated magazine-The Sportstar also helped me embark on the path of becoming a journalist which in turn qualified for the job of a communications professional. Those three years marked more than just a shift from childhood to adolescence.