Home and Heart in Chennai
Having lived my last 14 years in Chennai, besides graduating there’s a bigger change in my life. All my major milestones have been in this city since the age of 8.
Over the years, Chennai has become my home. I have made lifelong friends, learned to speak Tamil, and fallen in love with the city’s vibrant energy. Shopping in the busy streets of T Nagar is something I’ve always enjoyed, and I am always awed by the brightly colored saris and beautiful jewelry. The delicious South Indian food I’ve had at the famous Sangeetha restaurants are also something that I will miss.
Chennai- you magnificent beauty! You’ve seen me grow through such a big part of my life- a city that has taught me so much, and it’s where I grew up. My biggest home has been Chennai.
As much as I will miss Chennai, I am also excited for what’s to come. I am looking forward to exploring new cities, meeting new people, and making new memories. I know that wherever I go, Chennai will always hold a special place in my heart. Quite literally it holds place on me (I have a tattoo of a sunrise on the beach indicative of Chennai- the beach- me being an Aquarius)
Documenting important places
My home for 10 years- Adambakkam. Here’s a glimpse of Brindavan Nagar Main Road: cycled through these roads countless times visited my family living there, stationery shopping, cycling with just music on. Learned to drive the two wheeler in these roads (:
Grade 4–10 : Prince Srivari Vidyalaya- learnt discipline and routine here. Met some of the best teachers here who made me who I am- there’s core memories from here that I’ve even recently brought up at when asked to feel strong positive emotions to anchor myself to during therapy. Truly grateful for this place.
BYJUS at Kotturpuram, Grade 10
Pinnacle Program at FIITJEE, 12-F3 : Chettinad Vidyashram- Life Changing Place, for real. Maths Prasad sir, Physics V Mahesh sir, Chemistry Prem Chand sir- from FIITJEE side. Krithika ma’am who taught us english (lucky to have had her for both the years) gave us each a cute card on the last working day here- and at the time I didn’t entirely grasp the essence of “Be who you needed when you were younger”- but I definitely do now.
As I reflect on my educational journey, I can’t help but feel an immense sense of gratitude for each and every one of you. You have played a significant role in shaping me into the person I am today, and I cannot thank you enough for your dedication, hard work, and unwavering support.
So since 10th when I started going to BYJUS- the MRTS route between Chennai Beach and Velachery became a constant in my life. There’s 2 main stations- Kotturpuram with this brick coloured wall and Greenways Road with the blue walls which I’ve seen countless times during school.
Some places with deep memories:
KFI on Greenways Road was a serene getaway amidst the JEE prep years- also just the walk from school itself (: The pretty clean roads with beautiful homes, and bougenvilla flowers blowing into the wind. And the Coffee Tree Cafe on the same road is a special memory for me- and I share it with one of my best ever friend ❤
Marina Lighthouse- so many special memories here, ❤
Kapaleeshwarar Temple- Mylapore. A special place in my heart- where I can find inner peace and connect with a divine energy that fills me with a sense of tranquility and hope.
Ahaha, now that I say it out loud- it’s weird but I love walking by streets and suddenly smelling agarbatti or hearing Suprabhatam playing in the early mornings. There was a time when as I’m getting ready for school- I’d hear the morning Raasi Palan (daily horoscope) playing in my neighbor’s television. I also am so used to seeing temple gopurams and the red and white striped walls. I’ve deeply grown into the comfort of being Tamil.
Sangeetha Adyar- COUNTLESSSS memories and the best food hands down.
P.S. Manifesting a sangeetha in Delhi :P
Muttukadu Boating in the backwaters- hands down my most favourite weekend outing with amma appa and Sakti. Telling the boat rider to “shake, shake” and feel the water splash is such a core memory.
Thiruvanmiyur Beach
Appa would find the perfect beach which isn’t too crowded but also clean and well accessible. And those evenings competing over who finds the bigger shell and appa catching small crabs that would crawl over sakti’s palm and letting it back into the wet sand. And coming home salty and pocketfulls of sand- WOW. I for real smiled like crazy typing this memory out.
Weekend Long Drives on ECR- I loved the responsibility of being DJ in the long drives my family took on the weekends. It’s a WHOLE vibe- dad’s picky about the volume of music EXCEPT when it comes to his all time favourite omana penne, ahaha. The breeze, windows down, perfect evening sunlight and this road:
There’s just so many memories deeply etched into the core of my soul- I’ve shared some of the big ones. I love the memories, isn’t it so cool- to feel joy and sensations from recollection. Wow…
AND OBVIOUSLY
CAMPUS OF IIT MADRAS- from crossing the campus gate in my school van to FIITJEE to studying and now graduating- life surely has come full circle wrt school ❤
Fooo! Wow, what a journey ❤
EDIT: Random Additions made later
Brass art from South India
