A city that is known only for hot weather was showered with way too much rain for nearly a month. So much so that almost the entire city was under water for nearly three days this week.  And as I type, there are still some areas that are water-logged, and people stranded in streets with no water or food. Makes me want to hide my helpless face out of shame. A lot many people have come forward to do what they can. It was heartening to see this kind of attitude in a city where the newspapers often only report thefts and violence. Tough times like these are looked upon as a rather good opportunity to exploit people and rob them off completely but none of these things have happened in Chennai. That definitely says a lot about how people behave when their own lives are at risk. Yes, the flooding was so bad that almost every house was affected in some way.

Although it is hard to understand as to why such calamities happen ever so often in different parts of the world, they all teach/remind us the same old lesson i.e to not take things for granted. As cliched as it may sound, we all need to be reminded in order to better ourselves. And as a result of which, we become stronger and start to think of what can we do to protect ourselves in the long term. For someone like me, who is used to being pampered at home right from the time i wake up until bedtime, it is so easy to get carried away and simply ignore things like whether or not the motor has been switched on or if the vessels have been cleaned etc etc. But when we lost electricity last week for nearly two days, it hit me quite hard when I saw my folks struggling to keep things going for us. Every now and then when the mobile data worked, I would go online to check what everyone else was upto and people were out and about trying to help strangers and dogs.

So, feeling rather inspired to help,  I posted a status on facebook and twitter saying I can help people connect through telephones or atleast find out information locally for friends living abroad. I started to get a few phone calls after a couple of hours asking for updates on various roads and help with finding if their parents/grandparents were doing fine. Although I could not help with all the requests I got, I still managed to do one little service for a person from the middle east, who was worried about his single and aging mother who happeneed to live close to my home. We cousins personally went to her house and recorded a video of her and sent it to her son who felt rather relieved and wished us well. This is probably one of the best things I have ever done in a long time.And It felt so good. A kind of good that is hard to explain and one that fills your heart with so much warmth. So, to all those of you who are still out there and doing stuff unlike me who is only writing it all up at the comfort of a warm couch and hot coffee, I owe my respect.

After days of gloomy skies and the rains pitter-pattering on our roofs, I am leaving you with some photos that are quintessentially “Madras” with a hope to brighten up your day.

 

 

In case you are wondering, we made all these dishes despite the rains because we live to eat….Yes, I baked the biscuits too 😀

 

Families frolicking, young lovers cuddling, kids running around and flying kites and huge cans of sundal being sold only makes this Marina beach a special one…

 

Saree shopping never gets boring in Chennai…If you are a chennaite and living abroad,I am sure you are reminded of the good ol’ stores like Kumaran Silks, Nalli Silks and all those crazily crowded T Nagar shops. Some things never change isnt it????

 

Golu time is one of the best times to visit Chennai. Happens around Oct/Nov every year.

Sometimes, I wonder what would this city’s people do if two wheelers didnt exist? Because this city is filled with so many of them…. The picture on the right happens to be one of my favourite…

Besides everything else, I love the way people give importance to  carnatic music and the traditional dance called bharatnatyam here in Chennai.

This picture may not represent “Chennai” exactly but it is one of those special moments in every tamil speaking girl’s wedding. And most of the weddings that happen in Chennai are Tamil style. This is from my very own wedding that also happened in chennai and I am simply sharing it because I love weddings and I love Chennai….

So, What are your favourite things about Namma Chennai?