#சென்னை

           Proudly claiming that I am a Chennaiite. I may not have been born here , that aside I have early school memories and 

maximum life experiences only here. 

             My earliest memory is of being awakened by my mother at 6am to the sounds of the bugle  as the National flag was hoisted on the ramparts of Fort St. George.

 

             Evenings accompanied by an orderly my younger brother and I would be there at 6 pm to watch and salute as the flag was lowered. 

   

              The same orderly took me on bicycle to my school at Parry’s corner. St. Columbans. No memory of Parry’s corner from that period.

              Later as Appa was transferred to J&K/ Ladakh regions  , we shifted house to T Nagar , near Sun theatre.

Two of us are now in Holy Angels / Our Lady’s. We again go by bicycle ,😁 yes it is the orderly taking us. 

               Sometimes the orderly would be in his regimentals and our friends were very sure that this smart person was our father😁. Proudly we would dissuade them , he only works for us. 

              With the orderly getting posted away we are left to our own devices and I have a lot of memories walking from near Sun theatre to school and sometimes in the car of our next door very rich neighbours. One Class Miss seeing me walking once asked me why my car had not come.😁 

                 Bitten by dogs, trying to sell raffle tickets in an already saturated market , Anglo Indian hostel girls from very rich families these I remember. 

                 Super beautiful school with huge playgrounds that we loved. ( now so many new buildings have come up). My brother can only remember the kaka pee while eating lunch😁

      

                  Visits to the Gurudwara, going to katha kalashepams on congress grounds with granny . Yes the Congress grounds was a hot spot for hanging out.😁

             We then shift house to Abhiramapuram and then to our own house at Ashoknagar. At Abhiramapuram we have legends as neighbours and at Ashoknagar we are the earliest residents. We see 49 route start from Pillar to TNagar.

 

         We leave Madras and come back 10 years later . Our house which  is on lease to the MES is not vacant , so now it is Raja Annamalaipuram for us .

Then Malviya Avenue beyond Besant Nagar from where we can see the beach. 

           I start my job at Bank of Maharashtra and continue to work  for the next 35 years. 

          We get back our Ashoknagar house . My marriage is at Mithilapuri West Mambalam. Today when we go to so many high end marriage venues I look  at Mithilapuri and  almost hate it.😁. Supposed to have been The Spot then. 

           Except for 2 years at Mumbai I have lived in T Nagar near the railway track and been posted to various branches in the city . I have all those enduring memories of train travel and Parry’s corner where I worked on and off for 16 years. 

             Two children born and brought up here . Sent to the  best schools I could afford.  All memories surrounding them are here.

           Now I am retired and back at Ashoknagar . Here the green cover increases everyday . Well planned locality with broad roads and everything within accessible distance . 

         Not exotic like Fort St. George but makes the middle class soul happy.