Tuesday, April 29, 2008

A Hostage's Life in Chennai

I woke up today morning, with this insane urge to blog about this road block in my life. I feel I have reached a point in my stay in Chennai, where if things do not change for the better, I am calling it quits.

Chennai truely has a long way to go before it can be cosmopolitan, and a City that can attract a vibrant dynamic multicultural work population.


I like the beaches, I am doing great at work, but I guess I can't live a bums life on the beach. I still have to manage a house, a maid, Dhobis, and a zillion other things that go to make life liveable. And mind you, I have done this for the past 7 years, which I have been on my own and I am good at this. But sadly not good enough to replicate in Chennai.

Chennai is being touted as the new IT boom town. But apart from the acres of marshland doled out to IT companies at throw away prices, and twonship that are upsupring village areas, hardly any social infractructure is in place. I don't see how Chennai will attract a dynamic, multicultural work population whos used to world class services and facilities.


I work with an IT major and most folks in my office in Chennai are native Tamils who after stints in other cities, are returning home to settle down. If I split it into ratios it will be as bad as 70:30, which is scary and should be red flags to the Organisation and also to city at large.

Life on the other side of town hopefully is different, but for folks who live in the OMR/ECR areas, where most of the expats will work, there is a severe dearth of people who can communicate in any other language, save Tamil.

Before you brand me a "Hater", let me make it clear, I don't hate Tamil, I don't know enough of it to Hate.
All I know is that its rich, with a tradition that pre dates sanskrit. But alas like the french, you are linguistically myopic!

The moment I call a Taxi service, I yell ENGLISH Please, I do the same when I am with the Phone Company, I managed a complete AC unit installation without a single word uttered, it was sign language.


But I dont know where to go from gesturing in sign language, I just stare at the wall.

May be in time I will learn Tamil, just like I speak a bit of Tulu, Kannada, Bengali, Assamese, Hindi, English and some French. But on second thoughts, may be not, because all I am feeling right now is extreme dislike bordering on the verge of hate, which is what happens if its forced on some one.

I read in the newspapers that Tamil will be made compulsury in colleges, for all students. I quite like the Idea, but with a twist. All non tamil students take Tamil, all Tamil
students take up one language thats other than theirs, even if it means taking - Spoken English.

To fellow hostages, please comment and do let me of any domestic help who speaks a bit of english or Hindi,any dhobi who delivers, I need these two needs attended immediately!

To the rest of the world, let me know if you have managed a better transition into this city, anything to Free me Up!

Friday, April 25, 2008

Hve you ever noticed how most of the messages you get over the saviour of Indian gay population aka g4m essentially sound like 'Hi, i like your profile, are you interested in friendship and fun'.

Well...all very fine I'd say, except that it's not quite. These messages almost make you feel that friendship can be forged instantly just on the basis of your sexuality, and that 'fun' is only as multifaceted as your kinks are. I hate how the meaning of 'fun' has been changed by cheap dirty jokes into sex....and the euphemism, if it be so, makes even sex sound dirty.

Why is everyone scared of uttering the word sex? it even has lesser number of letters than love, or friendship...the same no as fun and I guess that's why the replacement.

How pathetic must we be that we need to hide ourselves even when we are naked?