Madras to Chennai-375 glorious years

August 22nd 1639
a story was beginning to be told
India's first metropolis came into being
With cultures of new and old.

The city is a boiling pot
that tends to watering mouths
With tastes of sweet and spice
and flavours of the South.

Chennai has various names
under the rising Sun
Called the 'Detroit of India'
the wheels on which India's auto sector runs.

Movies(Kollywood) are a craze in this city
with Sir Rajnikanth as a Demi-God
People throng to cinema halls
which at times are very odd. 

Where technology dots its landscape
it is a flourishing hub for the Arts
Its World famous Carnatic Music fest
is celebrated in different World parts.

A famed seat for learning
and a frontrunner in medicine
The city boasts of modernity
and various valued traditions.

Chennai has the Marina beach
with its endless line of Golden Sand
With the cool, gurgling waves leave
and rush forth to meet the land.

The rock temples of Chennai
have withstood the ravages of time
 Tributes to Gods and artisans
Marvelously carved and sublime.

And monuments of the British era
are relics very unique
which take us into another world
where the British empire was at its peak.

The city came up in climates
of terrible sweltering heat
Infested with mosquitoes on a rampage
as the rains and heat meet!

This city has yielded icons
people with brilliant minds
people who changed history's course
and left the World behind.

Chennai is ultramodern
with the Madras of the old
375 years of an interesting story
with numerous new chapters to unfold.

Chennai maybe a city
but it has India at its heart
Situated in the South of India
and draws people from various parts.

Hopes Revived-The gift of independence

As i struggle to get to work
and reach office on time
Reading the newspaper filled
with issues of rising crime.

As i break a couple of traffic rules
driving and attending calls
Cursing and honking at other cars
as traffic snarls and crawls.

Selling Indian flags from car to car
a poor boy goes about
'India is free, so take your flags,'
he continuously shouts.

He comes to my car and taps on the glass
as the  i roll it down
Wondering about the sea of poverty
and in how India drowns.

I think about politicians looting us
the people in need
India is progressing today
but in corruption it continues to lead.

A piece of news catches my eye
of crimes against women
'Why can't the government protect
them,so that these crimes don't happen.'

The next page talks of separatists
as through India they draw lines
'To whom does India belong?
Your religion or mine?'

Neighbouring countries mock and taunt
on a thing we never agree
Ceasefires violated and boundaries scarred
'Was this the cost of becoming free?'

The traffic moves at snail's pace
and the signal, a beckoning green
But i haven't moved an inch
and red is already seen.

So back to our newspaper now
as pockets are eaten by prices
'Our country is in doldrums now
with crisis over crisis.'

As i curse our Government
the traffic divides now
As cars move to the side of roads
an ambulance to pass, they allow.

A man steps out of his car
and he directs the traffic with great patience
Our hopes are revived and that is
the Gift of Independence.

India will get better
even though a lot has to be done
If we the people be the change
half our battle is won.

 
 


 

 

The first rains of Monsoon

From the balcony i overlooked
the narrow, dusty street
With blaring horns and cussing drivers
adding to the dust and heat.

Turning my head towards the sky
the afternoon eyes flashing my eyes
I retreated into the shade of the flat
risking blindness otherwise.

My flat burned like a furnace
with summer at its peak
The weather forecast gone horribly 
wrong,predicting the first rains this week!

A few hours went by
as my body soaked in sweat
Desperately praying for a little relief
in the form of an early sunset!

And then a cool shadow greeted the earth
as clouds gathered up fast
Shielding the Sun completely from view
The sky completely overcast.

A gale now blew with force
as trees swayed and thrashed
The sky hellbent on unleashing its fury 
as powerful bolt flashed.

A loud boom as thunder followed suit
and temperatures steadily dropped
And then another thunderous roar
and everything stopped!

And then a fresh burst of torrential rain
this season's very first
Greeting the parched Earth 
and quenched its terrible thirst.

The traffic snarls at night
still continuing from noon
was washed away from memories
as we welcomed those First Rains of Monsoon.