Today, as the TV played on in the background, a skewed news bulletin titled “Wassup” on MTV aired something which caught my attention. More recently, Chetan Bhagat’s book ” The Three Mistakes of my Life” also said the same. So many polls in glossy magazines scream the same thing to me. Why is Chennai left out in their polls? Why is Chennai’s youth not interviewed by MTV? Why do magazines not compare Chennai or publish its pictures while introducing a new lifestyle or something new ? Why is Chennai the “left-out” metro?
To make things clearer, what I heard on MTV was the youth of Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi and even Hyderabad!. Not Chennai. Chetan Bhagat mentions, ..Ahmadabad is not as hip like Delhi,Mumbai or even Bangalore..” India today reports every thing based on the lifestyles based on the aforementioned cities. Why ? It isnt as if Chennai is left out. I think its in a league of its own. Probably, people are too shallow to realize its real worth. I am not too perturbed by all this. It just makes me wonder as to why Chennai is slowly getting obliviated even from the list of metros?! The magazines and a music channel dont show much anyway.
So what if the city is not as geographically huge as Delhi or Mumbai? So what if Chennai’s youth dont run over cars on sleeping pedestrians? Is it a crime that women in Chennai prefer to keep their clothes on ? Big deal if the south-Indian heroes dont sport six-pack-abs-at-forty or size zeros? So what if we dont have winters? So what if majority of the people are not fair skinned?
Its a beautiful city. Even today, the city wakes up to sounds of suprabathams and nathaswarams. The girls choose to learn the traditional art forms with keen interest. The youth is very well dressed.Some of the best schools and colleges are located here. The roads are safe. (We dont have any blueline buses). The trains not too packed. Theatre is enjoyed by the people even today. Everything is hip and modern just like other places but never indecent. There is no excessive skin show. It has the maximum working women anywhere in the country.The films are meaningful enough (not all but yes the best movies are always remade in hindi which go on to become super hits). The biggest superstar lives here!It has the most amazing restaurants anywhere in the country.(Interestingly south-Indian cuisine has been voted the most healthy..Punjabi is right at the bottom) The best cricket academy (MRF Pace) is in Chennai. The city is nestled on one of the most majestic natural wonders, the marina beach which is the second longest in the world. I can go on about the city…but I dont want to since the city can speak for itself.
Bangalore has hogged the attention because of the IT sector. It is not the same anymore. Im sure an old-banglorean will never be able to relate to the mass of glass and concrete, youth and hippie culture the city has become. Hyderabad follows suit. Delhi is so ultra-modern these days, that it is difficult for normal sensible people to come to terms with its madness and quench the thirst for moolah and power.
I am not slandering any other place, neither am I showcasing Chennai. All I am saying is, give it the respect it deserves. Don’t go by the looks of the place. It is hot,humid and yes, it tans. But hell, look deeper. It has the most amazing choices of lifestyles to offer. You can live any way you want. If you want the mall-hopping, night-club going kind of life, that is also there or else if you choose to live a simple life with a tinge of tradition thrown in, you can find that as well. It is for the same reason, I find the Kapaleshwar Temple in Mylapore so enchanting. It is the oldest locality in Chennai and yet it is also modern. The temple stands testimony to this fact.
Go on, all you silly music channels and magazines. Don’t even bother about asking us all your stupid questions. That doesnt gauge anything much anyway.
I love this city. It is truly “Singaara Chennai”.