Nostalgia - Chennai Blues

An article I had written for D&B TU ADSL weekly letter called "TGIF"

A twig floats by the river. As it makes its way along the bank, it encounters many a sojourn, some for a short while and others lengthier. But whatsoever may be the duration of the stopover, the swirling current nudges the twig forward, snapping its bonds and forming new ones. And yet the twig that moved along isn’t the same as the one that lodged itself; a part of the twig remained entrenched in the bank and a part of the bank floated down the river, an irreversible bond having formed.

As I look back, I realize that the Vamsi who left Chennai was not the same as the one who, three years prior, sought its acceptance and shade. There is more sambar in my blood than RBCs; I detect a tinge of typical humor in my psyche that cannot but be attributed to the Tamil land.

Hardly a month has gone by and I seem to ruminate longingly the life I left behind; the friendly chats over coffee, the heated discussions (even over coffee!!), the mind numbing excel sheets, the excitement of Unicraze, every single aspect of the workplace, every moment of iDo, breezy evenings at the beach, the enrapturing tunes in the dusk of the Aadi month, the list could go on endless. And of course, each of us has a special word on the nightmarish experience that goes by the name Chennai Auto Driver (CAD). They say that memories, like wine, get headier with time; it would take eons of fermenting before this bad CAD memory acquires even a passable taste.

So I ask myself, “With this Chennai, with this wonderful people you have had the privilege of knowing, laughing and working with, do you not want to re-establish the link, to stay in touch?” Staying in touch…. who wouldn’t want to. But as the distances get longer and time shorter; deadlines get closer and memories distant, even a hi here and a hello there becomes a big ask. Yet the remorse of not staying in touch must not cloud the happy reminiscences. And with new friends, places and smells, life is too exciting to be lived on a playback mode. Wonderful moments egg us on to create more such moments, a task to be taken up with both the hands and an enthusiastic heart.

If world is really as small as they say, then I look forward to meeting you, the Caribbean beach though it maybe. And if the world is not really that small, then I thank the stars that I had a chance to know, work and laugh with you, even for a short stint.