Chennai to me will always be special, more special than any other place in the world. I realize it today. I opened my eyes to the city when Amit took me there after marriage. It was awful to be all alone without any family or friends for a month or so. But later I started enjoying the city so much.
We had an open to sky balcony, big enough to fit in four neelkamal chairs. Around 7 pm we both would return from office and have tea in the balcony, that’s exactly when we used to watch the bats fly all in one direction. We would keep wondering where they went every single day. After dinner, most times we found ourselves in the balcony again. The balcony time taught us to enjoy the calmness of the night and also the darkness of it. The twinkling stars were a scene to watch! I don’t know how but we found more time for each other, for the chit chat sessions, for the laughter and innumerable cups of tea …somehow in Mumbai that becomes rare.
One more place special to me was Grand Sweets. It was 10 steps away from our home, we used to go there in the evenings to have the delicious sambar and vadai & Horlicks Mysore Paak….I remember the dry leaf plates (eco-friendly) and how we used to be the first two beings to ask for a spoon while eating, everyone else dipped their fingers and relished. I kind of tried it once but preferred otherwise!
The Beasant Nagar beach was 15 minutes away too, we used to head to visit it on our bike. I crave now for the bike ride with Amit. Just today I smsed him saying that we should borrow bike from my brother on a Sunday! Our little I 10 is a savior in its own way but at times you only want a crude life. That’s when bike comes to your rescue. Anyway, the road which led to the beach was so beautiful…trees all along the road…and no traffic at all. We used to eat the bhutta, it used to be so hard to eat, but it never bothered us. While he roasted the bhuta , the wind used to hover over the flames forcing them to fly in one direction …a sight it used to be!
Then there was The Dhaba Express, a hotel we visited often. They served yummy north Indian food. I ate a garam garam fried jalebi for desert there every single time. I remember the taste of the crispy jalebi even today. We took everyone there whenever they visited us. It was all so much fun!
I have told Amit, that I want to visit Chennai once again whenever we get the chance, maybe for a couple of days. Go to all those places again….feel the nostalgia! Those were the best days of our married life …I don’t want them to slip away from my mind.
