Friday, August 8, 2014

Call it a passion, love, dedication or belonging...anything and everything in Chennai you should experience and yeah, few need to change too!

This post is a part of the Tablog titled CBC TABLOG-2. CBC is the Chennai Blogging Club which is the most happening Bloggers community. We the members of CBC bring out the Voice of Chennai .This Tablog  is a relay of post about “One aspect of Chennai that I would like to change” where 30 members from the group shell out that aspect which we would want to change and make this beautiful city even wonderful .


Dear Friends,

It was during the Indiblogger Meet held at Hotel Hyatt, that I pulled myself after a long stint in hospital due to prolonged illness to meet my co-bloggers.  I sat quietly at the first few tables and started to watch...suddenly I hear a roaring sound behind me..just few tables away...within few minutes I realized that they are all from CBC...the most loved blogger community in the city.  I quietly admired them, loved watching them having fun and wished one day I would be part of them.  Very soon, I was one amongst them and attending to the bloggers meet in CCD, Nungambakam.  That's it.  I met so many like minded friends, with millions of thoughts and thousands of topics to discuss, write and criticize, appreciate and admire all around me.  

One thing that bonded us all together-  CBC- Chennai Bloggers Club. Yes, today I am proudly a part of this beautiful group of people.  And I found a naughty young girl S(T)ri....Srilakhmi Indrasenan who blogs at http://iamstri.wordpress.com/2014/08/07/chennai-oops-i-mean-madras-my-love/

When we first met at Chandini Chowk for dinner, I did not think I would come across a beautiful little weirdo who is just like me...many things, talks and crazy stuff.  If one day can make someone strong friends, we are just an example for that.  We ate so much, had fun and partied till we got dropped tired..yet, we loved being in touch, following each other and amazingly getting closer with each passing day.  Love you Sri and Happy Birthday Girl.

As part of the CBC Tablog, I would love to be part of this amazing thread of blogs




There are million things that I love in Chennai..being a proud resident who fell head over heals in love with the city.   However, painfully there are many things that make our city crying for change.  As Sri said, we can write a thesis, a serial, a book and one full volume about this.

One thing I would personally want to bring in a change would be stop beggars in the city.  As children and destitute women knock on our car window panes, my heart bleeds.  For I know the wounds are greed inflicted. The women are abused and drugged.  Morning they are sent for begging and evenings they end up as prey to the predating brokers who control them.  Infants sleeping all the time as the rented mothers make them hang in the half torn sacks around the necks, I feel liking taking the child away from her arms to a rehab center and rescue both the woman and the child.  But how many signal stops will I be doing this?.

There were several government initiatives to curb this menace from the city.  The tragic part is that these women and children run away the second day from the rehab centers.  They don't stick on to the schools and micro employment units where they are sent to revive their lives.  The drugs, the easy money, the left over food, getting habituated to sleep on roads and to the sex and liquor take them back to their routine lives very easily.  Unless and until each one of us resolve to stop supporting them, and push them back to lives away from this menace, this tragedy on roads will never come to an end.

Being a social activist,  I am sure I have hit on a tough topic..though I want to capture the fun parts of the city like letting the dance floors open till 4 am, round the clock biryani centers,  spreading the fragrance of jasmine, and asking the devotees to keep the temple surroundings clean after eating never ending prasadams., especially in Nanganallur....and so on.  Anyway, there is always a day to rant about what I feel...for my train of thoughts never end.  



This tread would continue....the love for the city would go on ..as we celebrate the Madras Week starting next week and would have more choices to feel proud of and equally vent our anger on things we want to change....and now its time for my friend and co-blogger Kalaivani to take this forward.   A good food blogger whose posts make you feel yummy and would fall in love with  food and the easy tips she gives in her blog.  Its a pleasure knowing her and going through her blog.



Love you CBC and Love you Chennai!

Love,
Umasree