This story is about the events of March 9, 2023.
I slept off with great difficulty at 4 am last night. Or early this morning. I finally had to resort to the one trick that never fails me. Deep breathing. Two minutes of that, and I am sleeping like a baby. Woke up with a start when my wife rang me up at 8.30 am to take my daughter to the doc. Had a cold bath. Bad download. Went to my mom-in-law’s house. Saw the first few mins of the match. And the fact that Modi is at the stadium and the stunt he is pulling with the Australian prime minister. Had Pongal with great sambhar for breakfast.
Took an Uber to Anna Nagar with my wife and daughter. The traffic was a bitch. It was peak hour and rates were also pretty high. My wife cribbed all the way. We also worried the doctors would leave the hospital. Luckily they didn’t. We were really late. Bless their noble souls.
Dau was also not in a great mood. She was having one of the headaches she has been having lately. Is under treatment for a migraine. She was also coughing. I feel sorry for her at times like this. Then after much prodding, she began singing “Ranjithame”, a hit song from Vijay’s mediocre movie, Varisu. Dau has been calling Vijay Thalapathy. A bit disturbing, don’t you think? I never call Kamal Ulaga Nayagan. I can’t believe she knows the lyrics, as she finally sings in a low tone.
I have been applying for jobs. A steady income and a middle-class life that aspires to one day buy an Ola scooter. That’s what I am aiming for these days. The thing is, I had a call asking me to schedule an interview. On Microsoft Team. Not Zoom. Not Google Meet. My phone is, of course, incompatible. Thus began a chain of events that were generally and particularly very, very annoying.
Finally, after an hour of Ubering, we reached the hosp. After an hour, dau was out and we made our way to the bakery close by. Maybe because of the three cups of tea I had, I became very hyper. Wifey and dau hogged on pastries and a burger. Wife’s phone conked off in the middle of arranging for another Uber. A guy was trying to help her, but was of no use, whatsoever.
Finally, we charged the phone at the bakery, where earlier the power was gone. Such darkness in our lives, no? Anyway, I got off at Arugambakkam Metro.
This is the story I really want to tell. The story of a Metro in the city I love the most. This is only my second time on the Metro. I had earlier taken the train from Velachery to Triplicane. I had dinner and returned. Didn’t notice much of what a phenomenon this has become.
Firstly, the stations are huge. This is not your average suburban station. No sirree!! This is the Metro. The trains are air-conditioned. I have a creepy feeling that the stations are also air-conditioned. My customer care person, really young, didn’t have any clue. She told me I could not go to Nungambakkam. I am aware. She doesn’t tell me where I could get off to get to Nungambakkam. Which is nuts. She was having her photo taken. I checked the board and quickly took a ticket to Thousand Lights.
40 bucks. Quite cheap for me. Unaffordable to the average guy on the road. The magnetic card system is gone too. I have saved those cards for years now. No use. They give me a paper ticket with a QR code. Btw, what the fuck is QR? What does that stand for?
Anyway, I enter the premises and am shocked to find everything working. I miss Tambaram station and MCC. Dearly. With a pang, I haven’t felt in years. That was organic. This is plastic. Where is the newspaperwala? Where is my snacks guy?
There are two platforms. Nobody to ask which one to go to. I have no clue where the various phases of Metro take you to. I later came to know my phase takes me to Central from St Thomas Mount. The cleaner of the station helps me to the right platform.
The first thing I want is to pee. But the toilet is on the other platform, bang opposite mine. In the olden days, I would have jumped on the track. But this is deep and unscalable. Besides, I have a feeling I will be nabbed. So I get on the train after seeking help from a passenger. He told me I have to go to Central and come to Thousand Lights on another train. I am cool. I am to meet my friend only at 6.30 pm and it was only 2.30 pm. The train arrives on time. It’s an exciting sight to watch these trains come and go. My trains shimmers in. I wish I had an IPhone to shoot the train arriving at the platform.
There is no rush. You are not pushed in. You can actually walk in. Chennai has changed, bro. Just not sure yet if it is for the better. I get in and there are seats available to sit. This is something I noticed the first time, too. Shocking. Deeply disturbing. Like finding out that your neighbour is a pedo.
The temperature is pleasant. The train moves fast from Anna Nagar to Central in record time. This is not possible on the roads of Chennai. Anna Nagar was our satellite city. Anna Nagar was where the posh people went to live away from the bustling crowds. Well, they didn’t count for the Metro.
So I am here in Central. The stops are all named after various Dravidian leaders. Puratchi Thalaivar this and Puratchi Thalaivi that. Girls are standing with fashionable luggage. They are going long distance from Central. I scribble down my friend’s number in a mag in case my phone conks off, too.
I get off at Central. I really can’t tell. I still want to pee. I am amazed to find I have to go up two huge floors for that and walk off the station and into the behind of the food court to do this. I have a horrible feeling about that whole thing. I am shown out by helpful people. I take a leak. I even take a couple of puffs. but my ticket won’t let me back in. I have to buy another one. Too annoyed, I buy a ticket to DMS, having figured out that it is probably closer to Ranjith Bar in Nungambakkam, where I figure I can wait and watch the rest of the match.
30 bucks gone because of my unfamiliarity and the ineptitude of officials. I blame the QR guys the most. Tech. How it complicates life.
I walk back into the station and down the two huge floors. The train is again on time. Amazing. Goes to DMS pretty fast. The guy sitting next to me is sleeping peacefully. Again, I wish I could take photos. I get off at DMS and immediately light up.
I walk into the subway and am amazed again. I have been here before. But everything has changed. I take the auto to the bar. I order a double and settle down with the match when the phone rings. It’s my first whisky in a year.
It’s the interview people making me understand I have to get Microsoft Team. Then, I have another call and an amazing interview in a totally different place. I am enthused.
I walk from Spencer Plaza all the way to Thousand Lights after the interview, stopping only to pull money from the ATM. Auto takes me to Khader Nawaz Khan Road. I have fond memories of this road. This was where the German culture centre used to be. It’s got posher and in a minute I notice the girls are prettier. The clothes are different. Back in 1999, they wore chudhithars. Now they are in long pants and tops. Or jeans and tank tops. A girl gets into a really expensive car. I am envious of her life and what she gets.
My friend is on time. We have dinner. The cuisine is from Singapore. My friend has been there recently and fell in love with the city. The conversation is fluid. Time slips by. We gossip. She tells me I am a snob. Nobody has told me that. I deny it flatly.
Later, she has to take care of her car. Runs off into the night. I come down and light up and then go up to download. Good one.
I see an Ola scooter for the first time in my life. Fell in love with the thing. Think of Jon Hamm in Mad Men and his sense of design for the Honda bike. Should I get one? I have been scooter hunting. Will my wife love Ola too?
Uber back home. As I near my locality, I throw up partially. I get scolded by passers-by. I come back and help my driver wash the car. He is gone.
Called my wife. She comes over. But can’t stay. Too tired to do what I want to do. Goodbye. Thanks for reading. Really. Only the rarest people read me.
The Phoenix Rises 