I was delighted to come across I Love Chennai yesterday. Applause for such a great idea!
Call it conservative,
Complain about its weather,
Brand its people Madrasis,
Mock the Tamil strains in its English,
Say whatever you want to say.
Chennai is our home and we love its spirit!
8 comments:
Browsing miles away from my home chennai, I too was delighted to see this. Kudos to the people who created it. ILC!!
eh...Chennai?
Conservative?
I feel,apart from that "conservative" tag,chennai is quite okay in other aspects..
The night life in Chennai is alive and well, but it isn’t kicking.
The missing spirit is due to the restricted opening hours imposed by the authorities.
With all bars and clubs being asked to shut down by 11.30 pm, the partying ends before it has even begun.
A rare incident involving a fatal accident some time ago seems to be the reason for this law being put in place. Metropolitan cities such as Chennai do not deserve such stringent laws. With a growing expat workforce and an emphasis on becoming one of the software hubs of India, and with a few international automotive plants to boot,a serious rethink is required. Rightly or not, a city’s vibrant nightlife seems to have become a major factor in a multinational’s decision making while choosing its destination.
Vimal - :)
Phoenix - I see that you have chosen to mention just the nightlife and relate it to the missing spirit. I agree with you that an international community needs some basic stuff to spend leisure and night life happens to be one of them.
But I strongly disagree that the spirit of a city lies only in its night life. A city can only be a carbon copy of other neon studded multitudes if all it had to offer was the same as another city.
Each city has its unique flavour, its certain particular essence that cannot be found anywhere else. A city which has built itself over time, touched upon by the ideas of several generations of people who have inhabited it, offers a special feeling to a visitor and a sense of comfort to its resident. Such cities have a strong spirit, if only its residents were to make it evident.
Look at Kolkata - one of the few wonderful cities that I think has a unique spirit. Talk to any of its residents and see the warmth in their eyes as they recall it fondly. Such is the spirit of a city. And fancy glass facades have nothing to do with it.
Chennai has its own spirit and it is nice indeed to see that spirit being branded. Look at New York City. See what branding did to it. Scores of tourists still carry back 'I love NYC' tshirts and talk fondly about trips to Staten Island and that rush of adrenaline in Times Square.
We needed a Maniratnam's Chandralekha to capture the beauty of that sad Museum building we never offered a second glance to. Maybe we need ILC logos to tap into that fond something about this city that we cherish in our hearts.
I believe the true lovers of Chennai are not the ones who enjoys its night life. Night life hardly exists in Chennai. The Marina Beach, the Beasant Nagar Beach, the various temples, the Satyam Theatres, the Mega Malls, the numerous restaurants and fast food joints etc.... What you don’t have in Chennai guys? Chennai has been a significant contributor to the Indian Economy growth and we the conservative people of Chennai are a part of this growth.
Thanks for the link to ILC. I have it bookmarked. Thanks for the note on my post as well.
Sushil - you are very welcome. Pleasure is all mine.
Meera Rao's "Madras Mosaic" is about our beloved Chennai and from the article, Changing face of Chennai
, I believe this book should be an interesting read.
Post a Comment