2 hours before take off
I wake up generally with Durai's one hand on my spreadsheet and the other on my neck.
By the time i am done with my bath, whole of chennai is on wheels and i am the only one sipping morning tea with a song from the famous tamil flick kaadal konden.
I get ready with what ever office wear i find on the long rope tied from one end of Durai's bed room to the other, managing to collect my faithful companians - My wallet and ID card. In India, geeks value their id cards just the way married hindu women value their mangalsutras.
I tread along a narrow lane busy with dogs having a morning stroll and kids captaining paper boats on the drainage canal along the sides of the road. Early in the morning , this sight helps me keep my feet steady on the ground. I do not mind the smell of fish or the dust on the roads, for these are the ones i relate to during all my fun-filled college days.
The road to jayanthi
Jayanthi is the name of the theatre at thriruvanmiyur and it happens to be the one -stop junction for all the geeks to take the ghost ride. I stand on the main road dressed neatly with my hair gelled and shoes waxed. I wait for my first phase of my journey to start- I do not see a Auto filled in with people cramped from head to toe all having a common goal - reach Guindy railway station..motive: to keep up their jobs..Am i one of them - yes!
Before i start loosing my temper, i see a bus tilting overloaded with passengers and the engine crying for break. With all the crowd in the bus, the only one comforable and feeling at home is the conductor who has all the change in the world. His days are always coined....:)
For all the wait, i am finally rewarded with a auto where in i get to sit with the driver. During my 10 minutes stint with the driver, the driver would have given me a brief history on when he brought the Auto, how the roads have played havoc with his vehicle, why the overbridge was stopped in between and how can he save on petrol. With all the unwanted gyan forced on me, i manage to stay calm till i get down and embark upon my next journey - to Chinna malai.
2 share autos and 20 mintues later, here i am negotiating the price for me to be dropped atjayanthi theatre. This theatre runs all the laest movies at dirt cheap prices and mind you! is only meant for the ones who can brave the hot sun and dark tunnels to get a ticket for balcony.
With both of us, the auto-rikshaw driver and me agreeing on 40 rupees from chinna -malia to thiruvanmiyur, we take off by taking a VIP left turn to adyar. Now the signal at this turning is often used for VVIP and other political keymen visiting the RAJ BHAVAN - on the opposite side of the signal - the residence of the honourable governer of Tamil nadu.
I find myself flying over the Indian Institute of Technology - the dream of many a youth in this country. After a short nap for 10 minutes, i wake up to the sight of a heavy traffic signal stop near the four lane signal at jayanthi theatre.
I get down , pay the deal and cross the street which has some large number of restless souls waiting impatiently for the godsend to take them to their places where they burn their grey cells to earn the daily pizza and cheese.
The psychology of speed dating in a share auto " Chennai ishtyle to be continued...hold on to your seats........rough ride ahead
