Going Home

I went back to Chennai (aka Madras), India end of last year to visit family. Going back home is always a very introspective period for me. I have lived away from home for the last fifteen years and away from India for the last eleven. So there are a lot of mixed emotions about going home, but the strongest one is of anticipation - of the changes since the last time I visited and the similarities to the way I remember things (note that my memory is not that great!).

Check out this website at www.ilovechennai.com for some pictures and details on my hometown.

I tried to make the most of the long flight trip by eating, drinking, sleeping and watching movies. It was interesting to sleep through the movies and watch them intermittently, but that is no different from what I do at home. My flight reached Chennai around 1 am and the first thing that caught my attention was the bad smell in the air. Even though I could not believe that an international airport couldn't be better, I reminded myself that I should not be judgmental and moved on. I had checked in two suitcases and it took more than an hour for my second suitcase to show up. Since they don't let visitors inside, there was no way for me to let my family know that I was there till I got all my suitcases and came out. And then I had to walk through scores of people before I identified my family, and went home with them.

I did not have too much of a jetlag and was fine with just a few hours of sleep the first night. It always takes me a few days to get used to the people and things there. So I decided to keep mostly to myself and my immediate family for the first few days. I was surprised to see a lot of coverage on US related items in newspapers like Hindu and tamil magazines like Vikatan and Kumudham. It was disappointing to see the amount of coverage movie actors and actresses get in the tamil magazines. My memory tells me that there were more stories and articles by authors (and not by movie celebrities) that were more interesting. I can't believe that people are interested in Vijay's new car, but maybe they are. But those magazines were page turners for me.

When I watched TV, it was mostly Sun Music. It was interesting to see DJs (or comperes, like my mom likes to call them) talk in a mix of tamil and english and trying very hard to be cool. But I enjoyed watching Sun Music as I am a sucker for tamil movie songs - both new and old. My dad was even asking me if I could get Sun Music in the US and watch it. The only thing that I did not care for was the abundance of SMS messages people send during some shows - most of them were droll but some of them were vulgar. It was funny to see the DJ telling most of the callers to turn down the TV volume, not see the TV, but just talk on the phone. In spite of that, the callers kept saying "hello hello" a lot. In a moment of weakness, even I called Sun Music as my mom dared me to, but hung up when they put me on hold.

I did not watch any news on TV as the channels are owned mainly by politicians. The overlap between the media and politics in India is just too much. Movie stars move on to politics and then the political parties run the TV stations - since it is all in the open, there is not even an expectation of unbiased news. Everybody was talking about the Kushboo story but then when I asked them what she said, they didn't know or were not sure.

There is a lot of western influence in Chennai - malls, megamalls, mega movie theaters, pizzas, fast foods and so on. But the thing is that all of these have been changed to suit the people there. I think it is a good thing as it adds variety to life. There are a lot of restaurants in Chennai now and one can even taste different cuisines. In spite of that, due to my dad's loyalty to Saravana Bhavan, we ate there mostly. In fact, the first week I was in Chennai, we ate at three different HSBs (Hotel Saravana Bhavan).

I bought a whole lot of churidhars and nighties and was very impressed with the colors and designs. I think Chennai Silks rocks. There are cell phones everywhere. I used to think that people in the US use a lot of cell phones, but looks like the people in India use them more. There are several ring tones and everybody seems to be on the cell phones all the time. But it makes sense to have one when you are in such a big city.

I had a wonderful three weeks savoring all that is Chennai - the sounds, the smells and the sights. And came back to my other home just before Christmas. Once I got here, I realized how different and interesting Chennai is. US seemed very quiet and grim after the always bustling city of Chennai. I think that I will always be a Madrasi (Chennaiite just doesn't have the same ring to it) at heart, no matter how long I have been away. I love Chennai, after all!