As a kid I used to believe India has two communities except Bengalis - Punjabis and Madrasis. The divide between the north and south of India is possibly
one of the most overrated and underrated beliefs of our times. Overrated as it
actually keeps employable talent, infrastructure investments and people in
general curtailed to one region while it could be more porous. And underrated as
there really are a few essential differences which are way fundamental to be
bridged in a few generations.
Up north people love wheat. Down south people love rice. Up
north people have summer and winter. Down south people only have eternal summer!
Up north the big fat Indian wedding can last a whole week. Down south it lasts
a whole day. Up north you typically need to own a big bungalow and car to have
arrived in life. Down south its enough to have arrived intellectually to
where one desires, and walk around in Bata slippers. I could go on and on , but
the point is that despite belonging to somewhere up north (if Kolkata
qualifies as that) , I feel more connected to the south. And to me Chennai is the epicenter of the 'Madrasi' world.
It might be an exaggeration of sorts to say there is no
downside to Chennai. Of source there is the aggressive auto guy , the constant
chettinad restaurants and the overall conservative homogeneity on the surface
of things. However , this city has some character and unlike other cities I have
seen. The trigger to putting stuff on paper is the visit to Mylapore this
evening.
Mylapore is like a very traditional New York. Busy. Crowded.
Street hawkers. Heavy traffic. Interesting little curio shops. And tonne of
character. The air smells at once of fresh ground filter coffee , camphor and
incense. The fulcrum of the area is the Mylapore Kovil or the Temple , which is
very old and extremely beautiful. It’s intricately carved and there is a
traditional water tank inside the temple. All around it is the temple linked economy
that has grown over years. Small shops sell idols of gods, earthen dolls , toys
for kids and knick knacks. In Mylapore
you have some of the best Sari shops with exquisite silk weaves from all over the
south of India. People jostle around trying to buy stuff. But there is nothing aggressive
about the place. The heat is unbearable. It’s sweaty. However people are
gentle. And it’s a gentle evening.
A very dear friend recommended I check out Mylapore and the
small curio stores there, and I am glad I did. The place echoes what I like most
about Chennai. The people. Educated and simple, non-flamboyant and layered.
There just might be an unassuming rocket scientist sitting next to you on the
public bus with a packed lunch box of curd rice, but you’ll never realize it!
