Episode 106 : Madras musings

The Chennai Express 'special' arrives at the Central an hour before dawn. I hurry out, determined to get to the Park suburban station as quickly as possible so that I can get a ticket and not miss a train by a few seconds because the queue took too long too move.

Auto-rickshaw drivers approach me with the usual query. And I perform my long-perfected act of head-shaking as I keep walking. I don't speak a word.

The queue is long and luckily I get my ticket before a train arrives. The morning service runs a train every 15-20 minutes. The burgeoning commuter population, even at that hour, does not prompt the authorities to change an archaic system and increase the frequency of service.

I reach home as light slowly peeks over the horizon, to the barking sound of an excited Phoebus. She has come to understand that if a lone person, Papa Hyde or Archer, gets out of home on a bike at dawn, they will bring me home. And if she hears the sound of an Enfield in the afternoon and Mama Hyde is out by the gate, then I must be riding home.

Who said dogs don't have brains?

The next few hours are spent catching up on what happened in life since I was last home. So what happened in last five weeks? A couple of cousins got married, and Mama Hyde tries a different trick in the book.

'The sister of the bride is good-looking. Shall we speak to her parents?'

I smile. I nod my head for the former and shake my head for the latter.

The Altruist, my best friend from the days at school, drops in after a back-to-back session of rain increases the humidity level by a notch.

'No wonder it rained' Mama Hyde says. 'You are coming here after...?'

'Six years' he grins. He will later leave for the United States of America to pursue his post-doctoral research. Twelve hours later, I will board a train to return to Bangalore. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

After lunch, we leave together. And part ways at the place where the construction of a two-tier flyover at Kathipara will reduce the time it takes for me to go to his home. Or for him to come to mine.

But neither of us will need to use it for some time to come. Regardless of when it gets over.

The rest of the afternoon is spent riding to Anna Nagar, Egmore and the Marina. The sandwich eatery at Anna Nagar is closed, so I go to the Alsa Mall at Egmore. A sandwich later, I aimlessly ride till the Gemini flyover. I will meet the MBMC guys later in the day and have over 3 hours to kill. I recall not being to the beach for a month; the last visit was to the Elliots' last month.

That is one thing I miss at Bangalore. The sound of waves crashing on the shore. And the smell of the sea. Alright two things, but they come together.

At 7.30pm, the guys begin to appear. The usual hellos and back-slapping happens. Things are discussed- ride plans and future courses of action- the usual stuff in any meeting.

An hour later, it is time to go home. Down Mount Road, past the Nandanam signal, the SPIC building at Guindy and the new flyover at Kathipara.

Sunday, and it is time to attend a grihapravesham (house-warming ceremony). After lunch, it is time for me to leave. A train journey on the suburban network to the Central, but this time from Guindy. The train is packed, thanks to the Sunday service that ensures trains run less frequently than usual. Two to four trains in an hour. Like I said before, the system runs on an archaic belief that the service can still work with the ever-increasing commuter population.

I reach the Central again, almost thirty-six hours later. I have thirty minutes to spare, unlike five I had the last time.

I have no idea when the train started. But it is different this time. The compartment faces the opposite direction, giving a feeling that the landscape is running away from us instead of towards.

Lalbagh Express arrives an hour late, and only ten minutes before the Shatabdi Express. As an auto-rickshaw takes me home, I feel I do not miss Madras as much as I thought I would.

Is it because a visit every month is enough to make sure I don't get the blues? Is it because the Madras edition of the Metro Blogs helps me to "keep in touch"? Even if it is just a tad?

Or... have I gotten "Bangalored" sooner than expected?