My travels is all about... My views, thoughts and experiences on/about/at/with random places of interest, persons, things, events, issues etc,. I am an eternal student with a restless mind and a tumultuous heart!

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

A Walk in Mylapore


(Reminiscence - Poem) 

(To Mylapore and all of Chennai)



"
At 7’o clock, the day has already begun in the city,
And I start the walk, a ritual pleasure with a lot of piety.
The wise old Thiru-Valluvar watches, as he always does,
I walk, past the Madras Sanskrit College, the main road now all abuzz.

The Aroma of the freshly brewed coffee seduces me forthwith,
And the ruckus of last evening’s traffic pollution seems only a myth
Small shops, buying banter, Idli Sambhar, Idiappam, The Rising Sun,
The Hindu, metro busses, busy lives – the city’s trademarks each one.

Then there’s the mighty MRTS ‘Thirumylai’ station, with commuters to and fro,
Now, off to the holy ‘Maada’ street, winking at the Saravana Bhavan, like a foodie - pro.
Crossing the Old & New, Past & Present, without a tremble
Over past the tank, right towards the famed Kapaleeswarar Temple.

With total respects to the 7th Century Dravidian architecture,
All the Nayanar Saint-Poets exist proudly inside this structure.
Worshipping the Goddess Karpagambal and the Lord himself,
On a board outside, I now know that ‘Mayil’ means Pea-Fowl, all by myself!

That next to the other ‘Maada’ street, where a celebration goes on…
Fragrance of Flowers, Chants and chats – all go on and on…
Walking straight like a batsmen out for a duck,
It’s time for Lord Saibaba’s temple, beside a wrongly parked truck.

A rewarding wait in queue for prasadam, after the prayer -
Chakra-Pongal, Kattu Pongal, Sambhar Rice – all flair.
Time to return now, but after a stop at Mylapore Bakery,
The people of the great city are now in a visible hurry.

Didn’t I miss the katchery, the SanThome Chruch, The Ramakrishna Muth
And the Gandhi beach, and other wonderful places here – this’s the truth.
Alas, I am just a boy walking, but I’d live to tell that tale some other day.
The sun seems shining, and all is fine, so on this promise, I'll make hay!

But, as the cyclones ravage with a repeated fury, I salute…
The fighting spirit of the people of Mylapore and all of Chennai.
Very soon, another man will walk in the city, and tell the tale…
Of how it flourished despite the nature's furious gale!      
"


References (If any)

1. Place and Date -
@ - # 16-7-16, Bhramara (Ground Floor), Saladi Jamindar Street, Palakollu, West Godavari, Andhra Pradesh - 534 260.
On -13th of December, 2016

2. Subject - "A Walk in Mylapore" (Reminiscence - Poem)
I had a brief stay at Mylapore, a neighbourhood in Chennai during May - September 2012. This place had a certain old charm attached to it, and the above poem is based on one of my morning walks from my room at Valluvar Selai to Kapaleeswarar Temple and Saibaba Temple, all along and accross the Madras Sanskrit College, Valluvar Selai Bus-stop, Santhome Junction Road, ThiruMylai MRTS Station, Maada Streets.

Today Mylapore and, obviously  Chennai incur the wrath of another devastating cyclone - "Vardah", a consequence of nature's unpredictable fury and a bit of man's folly. Hoping that everything gets back to normal, and dedicating this to the never say die spirit of Chennai!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mylapore

Picture on top - Mylapore Temple tank at dawn, credits to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kapaleeshwarar_Temple#/media/File:Mylapore_tank_at_dawn_panorama.jpg CC-by-sa PlaneMad/Wikimedia