Chennai, the very sound used to invoke my adrenal gland to release the fright, flight and fight hormone. I still remember the day I was confirmed for my internship in AL, Chennai. Although I was elated to undergo my summers at AL, I was haunted by the cardinal requirement of staying in Chennai. To add up to my agony there was not a single soul in Chennai whom I was acquainted with. So it was a kind of “Agyatwaas” ala Pandavas for me. Now as I am two days away of returning back, I feel like ruminating the amazing experience I had during the course of the last 13 weeks which shattered my wrong notion about Chennai.
The day was 22nd Feb. It was a pleasant Sunday dawn as I found myself surrounded by the witty auto drivers at the historic Chennai Central station. I definitely seemed to be a nice catch for them on a Sunday morning and all of them tried their level best to woo me to adorn their respective auto rickshaws. Finally I managed to escape from all the hustle and boarded an auto after a marathon bargaining session with one of them as I struggled to decipher the language. The drive seemed to be a run through history books as I zipped past several places of historical interest and finally landed up in Kodambakkam. For a week I was unknown of the fact that even the great Oscar winner, Mr. A.R Rahman stays in the same locality. It was only after he won the academy award that I came to know the fact, thanks to the hoopla associated with his achievement all over Chennai.
To start with, the weather was not at all salubrious and I had a tough time coping with the soaring humidity. But then I realized I was being hypercritical about it. Actually it was a brief stint in Bangalore for 10 days that raised the standards of my expectations and diminished my tolerance level. But, gradually I realized that it was not that bad. During my entire tenure the mercury levels hardly rose above 40. Even God helped me to cope with the heat by showering the much needed splash of rainfall during the advent of “Agni Nakshatram”, the supposedly hottest period in Chennai.
I witnessed few amazing things in Chennai .The passion and the love of their language and culture which has a cherished heritage is the one that binds the Tamil Diaspora together. I realized in due course that Tamil, one of the powerful Dravidian languages is perhaps the only example of an ancient language which has survived as a spoken language for more than 2500 years with its basic structure almost unchanged. The name Tamil is itself unique meaning "sweetness" and "coolness". Language and culture are two facets of the same identity, and language is a major cultural element. Culture is everything which is socially learned and shared by members of a society; it is an organized system of behaviour and said to be normative because it defines standards of conduct.
Perhaps the most pleasing of all is the respect shown to women. Women are quite sanctified here and they strongly adhere to their cultural roots. You have an entire one side of every public bus reserved for women. No guy hesitates to offer his seat to any stranded women. Even the pedestrians are also shown utmost respect with the traffic police extending full cooperation while crossing crowded and busy streets. The Brahmins seems to be very rich here. The sight of a Brahmin in his traditional attire riding a bike and sporting a diamond studded earring is a common sight in this part of the country. I have lost count of how many I have seen. Amazing huh..!!!!
Tamil culture is known for its hospitality. ‘Virundhu’ in Tamil means ‘Feast’, when guests (Friends, Relatives) are invited during happy ceremonial occasions to share food, love and laughter. ‘Sappadu’ means a full course meal, which can be either Lunch or Dinner. I had the opportunity to attend one of such lunch feast and boy I had a wonderful time.
During Virundhu Sappadu, guests sit on a coir mat which is rolled out on the floor and a full course meal is served in the traditional way, on a ‘Banana Leaf’ which is spread in front of the guests, with the tip pointed left.
The host will ensure that the menu includes as many varieties of dishes as possible and guests are served as many helpings as requested. The dishes are served in a particular sequence, and each dish is placed on a particular spot of the banana leaf.
The top half of the banana leaf is reserved for accessories, the lower half for the rice. In some communities, the rice will be served only after the guest has been seated. The lower right portion of the leaf may have a scoop of warm sweet milky rice Payasam, Kesari, Sweet Pongal or any Dessert items. While the top left includes a pinch of salt, a dash of pickle and a thimbleful of salad, or a smidgen of chutney. In the middle of the leaf there may be an odd number of fried items like small circles of chips either banana, yam or potato, thin crisp papads or frilly wafers Appalams and vadai.
The top right hand corner is reserved for spicy foods including, Curry, hot, sweet, or sour and the dry items. There may be side attractions such as Poori, Chappati, few of the famed rice preparations such as Ghee Pongal or Puliyodarai (tamarind rice) particularly if the family comes from Thanjavur, known as the rice bowl of Tamil Nadu.
Traditionally, sweets are eaten first. After having worked through the preliminaries, the long haul starts with rice. Sambar is added to rice and eaten with maybe a sprinkling of ghee. This is followed by rice with Kuzhambu and rice with Rasam. A final round of rice with curd or buttermilk signals the end of meals. Though there are varieties of kuzhambu, only one will be on offer in a given day. A banana may be served last.
Breakfast or tiffin includes idly(steamed rice cakes), dosai (a pancake made from a batter of rice) and lentils crisp fried on a pan, vada(deep fried doughnuts made from a batter of lentils), pongal (a mish mash of rice and lentils boiled together and seasoned with ghee, cashew nuts, pepper and cumin seed), uppuma(cooked semolina seasoned in oil with mustard, pepper, cumin seed and dry lentils.)
Lunch or meals consists of cooked rice served with an array of vegetable dishes, sambar, chutneys, rasam (a hot broth made with tamarind juice and pepper) and curd (yogurt).Tamil Nadu, especially Chennai, is famous for its filter coffee as most Tamils have a subtle contempt for instant coffee.
The making of filter coffee is almost a ritual, for the coffee beans have to be first roasted and then ground. The powder is put into a filter set and boiling hot water is added to prepare the decoction and allowed to set for about 15 minutes. The decoction is then added to milk with sugar to taste. The final drink is poured from one container to another in rapid succession to make the ideal frothy cup of filter coffee. The last process makes one wonder whether the brew could be bought by the yard.
I will also like to mention the frenzy associated with films and stardom here. People are simple mad about films. There are an extensive number of theatres all over Chennai and the Rajinikanth hysteria is mind boggling. I seemed to have developed a liking for few Kollywood actresses including Trisha and Tamannah. I also admire Chiyan Vikram, as he is called here. He is a national award winner and I await the release of his much talked about magnum opus “Kanthaswamy” as all of his fans.
I seemed to have fallen in love with this place specially the Elliot’s Beach in Besant Nagar. I just love to go there over and over again. I can be so very myself there. I never ever thought I will say this but perhaps I will miss Chennai. Yeh Chennai hai mere yaar... Bas Beach, Rajini aur Sappad…!!! Adieu Madras
DevDC…
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