Chennai Pattanam-A New Bride in a Metro City
Well, I don't know if there is such a thing as a new bride. I see it as the highest level of attention garnered on a single day that is valid for a single day. As for the bride, is she the quintessential Indian bride.? Apart from the red lehenga, nothing really seems to fit the description. Her unruffled demeanor is sometimes very intimidating. There are no hints of any thrills or excitement.
Our new bride arrived in Chennai central on the morning train and had her breakfast from Saravana Bhavan and went on to taste the most tantalizing sambar and that indeed was a good start. The next time she visited home, she blurted out ‘I think we are not making Sambar here, it's something else’ which gathered some unusual stares. Much to her delectation, a variety of cuisines were available in Chennai. Pinka dijaj in Zaitoon, sizzlers from Kobe sizzlers, Dindigul thalappakatti biriyani were some of her favourites.
Chennai is a magical city. The more you stay the more you tend to resonate with the gentle rhythm of this city. Often considered conservative, it remains more tolerant in many aspects. It was crowded, ya. It was torrid, true. Her new abode was nice and cozy. And the neighbors were very cordial. The teenage daughter living next door was charming and gave good company. Friends and family lived close by and helped the new bride quite a lot to settle in.
Fresh off the boat, the bride was all set to explore this bustling city. One interesting and relieving aspect was that there were no traffic snarls. She began to admire the broad, even roads and the mighty flyovers. And she thoroughly enjoyed the unfettered freedom in this metropolitan. This city touted as a cultural hub, had concerts, theatres, fares, exhibitions, and entertainments of all sorts. The Satyam cinemas gave that fabulous, unparalleled movie experience. The young bride also explored the thronging T-nagar and the Besant Nagar beach where Mr Mohanlal and Mr. Sreenivasan were tricked and dropped off by the shrewd Mr Gafoorka.( Malayalis know)
The city had early risers and hardworking people. The women were often seen on bicycles, their sarees carefully pinned, shiny hair neatly plaited and adorned with jasmine, rose, or crossandra. The bride enjoyed the morning suburban train journey when she enrolled for her masters . She considered herself lucky to be taught by efficient faculty. She was blown away by the IIT Madras campus and didn't forget to roam around in a bicycle borrowed from a friend.
She learned her first word of Tamil in this very city. It was more the need of the hour than the urge to learn a new language, since she was finding it hard to communicate with the maid. In the initial days, both of them were left flummoxed as to what the other person was trying to convey. Actions and hand-gestures came in handy. She had no clue about Tamil so much that once she had to choose a subpar movie in her dialect over ‘Ghajini’ during an outing with her friends, back in her college days.
The white-sand beaches in the ECR stretch and the deep-fried bajjies and mouth-watering seafood at the eating joints were a delight. Dakshinachitra was a favorite hangout especially when families visited. She also joined an MNC, met old friends, and made new ones there. Those days are deeply cherished and when nostalgia creeps in, she does catch up with old buddies.
She became an ardent admirer of THALAIVI-Smt Jayalalitha, for the tenacity and resilience she exhibited, than the power she held. Also a huge fan of Mr A R Rahman, more often than not, the bride has felt Tamil to be more exotic in his compositions.
The author chose to refer to the new bride as the bride itself because she feels that a girl looks in her most beautiful self on that beautiful day. And if somebody had pictured a girl in a Sabyasachi red lehenga roaming the streets of Chennai, like in a Karan Johar movie, the author is not to blame!!
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