My vanished days.: CHENNAI, in a walk.

It was evening, when the temperature was no less than that of the scorching sun in the morning, I got down from one of the monstrous four wheelers in OMR displeased. Unfortunately it is that time of the day when it’s tea time for drivers, I hope, leaving me gazing at moving vehicles with my head turning left, then right at equal time intervals, aimlessly. No buses. Something triggered me to walk the five kilometers it takes to reach Velachery. With a stoll covering my face, exposing the eye and ear phones plugged in, I set off.

[Akon- Beautiful]

The right side of the road was more comfortable to start off with, as it had less shops and I could see vehicles which went past me. Truth be told, if I’d have taken the left, I would’ve definitely caught a bus at the next stop. I wanted to walk delibrately so I moved on. And there, I started to know the place where I really was.

Being the suburban part of the city, it is less touched by the government. It is true that I would have slipped into any one of those big man-holes on the roadsides which were open for developing underground drainage. Heaps of unsoughted waste materials lie on roads such that any passer by would have to skip-hop-jump to cross ‘em. I had a pretty good thick cloth lining my nose. But it just seemed to prevent most of the dirt and not the stench. I had to do fast-walking, else I would have definitely thrown up embarrising myself and others who lived there. There were series of such wastes which would turn hazardous in course of time. I thought about changing the side again, but kept walking. (Im definitely writing to The Editor, The Hindu immediately.)

[Colbie Caillat- Bubbly]

I wonder how one side of the road is always closed with signs reading, “Caution: Men at work” when I practically see no one moving. The number of vehicles passing by that road is tremendous. Traffic clogs, buses hault, autos blow their horns and two-wheelers crawl in between. All of these complications are tied to the belts one ONE MAN, he is no army. An old traffic police. Poor person, he has the colour changing light bulbs, completely unseen in the sun and feeble hands moving up, down, left, right and the traffic seems to move a little. The pedestrians wait for the gushing vehicles to stop. I saw in a distance, my most awaited bus and hurriedly ran to cross the road with others. With a single glance on the right and experience of previous days I could predict how fast the bus would move. I changed my mind. With the police staring at me to cross, I chose to walk, again.

[Teenage dream- Katy Perry]

There comes THE software company, having it’s branch oll over the out-skirts of the city and also here, the famous three letters, TCS. I never really know what they are upto, in there. I dont want to, actually. I just envy them in situations like now, where I have to walk on the road amiidst dirt and microbes while they get air-conditioned cabinets. Very much dehydrated my eyes prawled for a drink. Nothing better than tender coconut in this humid weather. Four formal men and two cloth-masked woman preceeded me. I was taught to wait politely untill they were done. But corporate stories never end and it went on and on and ON. I stretched my hand inbetween to ask for one coconut, only water. I slurped it in with all might and it felt refreshing. It was pay back time. I dint know how much it costs but I was freaked out to see one of the guy pull out a 500 bucks note to the old lady whose only possession were small notes and coins inbetween the folds of her saree, or so was my perception. Pity, not her. She charges 30 bucks for one coconut which I gulped in less than 15 seconds. I looked poor handing out three of the ten rupee notes I had. Hell with the corporates and the shops outside it. All of them know business.

[When you say nothing at all- Ronan Keating]

Rejuvenated, with extra energy I started taking faster steps. I turn left, I see the bus which I met with at the crossroads perpetuating. With a slight grin on my face ,my legs raised each other. It was dusk. The darkness hid anything that was lying on the road. The retailers coloured their spaces. The strret lights, way above my heads, branching on either sides, arranged parallely looking like a never ending trail of a jet. Sight seeing all the well dressed, handsome and young, perfectly clad plastic models outside showrooms I was progressing. The chaat shops were all busy. The small benched CD/DVD stalls on road, Dominos’, Marry Brown, the chettinad restaurants, fitness centres all passed by and I was still on the same uncurved road. Looks like one can build, hate, live, enjoy his life here.

[Venam Machaa- OKOK]

As the typical folkish beats hit my ears I was all pumped up again. Was done walking for one hour now. My legs started cramping and I was done with too much learning from a single road. I grabbed groundnuts (very less quantity) from the Anna with his thalluvandi. I thought they day ended here. But another thrilling experience was on store. Yeah, the footboard travel. My bag hung from one of my arm, the groundnuts were tightly clad between my fingers and I took a Rs.4 ticket to Madipakkam. I was jammed among people but I knew I was living life at Chennai.