Now a Mumbaikar
Life is much like a train that takes you through many Cities. It has taken me from Coimbatore to Madurai to Chennai to Baton Rouge to Madison to Chicago to Bangalore and now in Mumbai. Coimbatore is very special to me. The monsoon drizzle in June/July, then the Puja and Diwali rains, the chill in December, Pongal time visit to a village temple from where my father came from and the summer holidays - visiting the Annual Exhibition - the highlight of the city once. Lot of sweet simple memories - all intertwined among school friends, street friends, relatives and festivals. Madurai was hot. Super hot. Got Jaundice and Chicken pox. This city lives and breathes Tamil. I still remember one Sugarcane vendor's rhyming statement when he had to go attend nature's call after handing over the juice ( thankfully ) "Aatharathai adaku mudiyum aana mootharathai adaku mudiyuma" [ You can control Anger - aatharam, but you cannot control nature's call - mootharam ]. All the...