It was during my teens when I looked at the map proper
To locate the city from which hailed the IAS topper
The South Indian boy had created the benchmark
And topic around southern States had fired the spark;
The discussion went on to IIT Madras,
‘Tamilians are born intelligent’, was the order passed,
The State indeed commanded a special respect,
‘Yes, MADRAS IS SPECIAL’, the hostel did accept;
Not much later, did destiny play a game,
In the form of husband with a long, long name,
With my new Tamil family, I made a new start
Can’t say when this culture became my part;
Language, though unfamiliar, never posed trouble,
English and Tamil co-existed, smart yet humble,
Food was the tricky part, especially the coconut,
‘Don’t they get bored’, I silently wondered!
The moments rolled by, the years flew,
Madras became Chennai, proud exhibit of Tamil Nadu,
And by this time, I surely realised,
That Madisaar and shorts were worn side by side;
Telugus, Malayalis, Marwadis and more,
This city was a dwelling for communities in scores,
Mylapore and Nanganallur carried tradition,
While Besant Nagar, Nungambakkam had modernised vision;
The hot, very hot city didn’t trouble me any more,
Climbing the 180 temple steps, the feet didn’t get sore,
Mix Tamizh, mix English, mix whatever you can,
Chennai could easily accommodate every language or clan;
17 years hence, as I look back,
Chennai seems so different from its conventional track,
But I don’t need an official decree,
To decide ‘if I’m in Chennai, or Chennai is in me’!
