Ch..Ch..Ch...Changes

I am sure there are people who live there who think that Chennai is simply the pits of the Earth!  They find the environment dirty, polluted and dank.  They hate the people urinating and spitting anywhere and everywhere.  They find the traffic is simply too chaotic to bear and they hate that you can't buy a good bottle of wine, or a beer, with your meal at every restaurant.

Well, speaking as the grandma in the corner, clutching a stiff drink and sucking on my false teeth, let me tell you about the good old days!!

When we came to Chennai, ALL those years ago, there were many things not available or not built that the ex-pats who choose Chennai now take for granted.  
The long life sterilised milk, for example, both the full fat and the skimmed version did not exist.  Many of us spent time boiling and straining milk to make it palatable for us and our children.  
Eggs came in one variety - warm, covered in feathers and bird poo, and in a plastic bag, so mostly broken by the time you got home!


Yoghurt - set yoghurt was not available, again, I would warm milk, add a starter and leave over night to make the plain curd for the next day's meals and buttermilk. Rinse and repeat!


Imported vegetables and fruit - very, very scarce, few and far between and you only got them if the shop keeper knew and liked you, so saved them for you; or if you were in the right place at the right time!


Restaurants and hotels - there was the Park Sheraton, the GRT Grand, Fish Cove, the Connemara and the Coromandel available to us as 'safe' places to eat and drink - no Marriott, no Hilton, no Park, no Taj Mount Road and certainly no Azulhia, Tuscana, Italia, Anokhi, Sandy's, Cream Centre, Mocha, etc etc etc - no nightclubs except for one in the Park Sheraton which was mostly a dive!  Now there are new places opening daily offering food, drink and variety galore - whoopee!!


Schools - AISC was there, but based in an office building and a cultural centre in the middle of a busy street - no facilities to speak of and small, small classes.  I think there were 150 or so kids when we first arrived.  So we chose an Indian pre-school and followed up with LKG/UKG at the KFI (The School - Krishnamurti Foundation).  A lovely philosophy, a nurturing, caring place except that the toilets were holes in the floor - eeeeuw!!  Nikh got used to it, but I could not cope!  eventually under the idea that we would soon be leaving Chennai, we moved Nikh to the American International School.  The school was compact and more like an extended family - we instantly made fast friends and fell in love with the whole shebang!  The PTA was involved and active, the parent body joined in almost everything, the teachers and faculty leaders were enthusiastic and energetic (on the whole!!) and we fitted right in!  I was offered a job, Nikh settled down perfectly - utterly brilliant class teachers for the first three years - KG, Grade 1, skip Grade 2 as a write off and a simply incredible Grade 3.  By now we were invested as a family and we had The Ray - our Chennai-born addition to our family!


As Nikh moved up the school, other establishments opened up, offered expat curriculi (is that a word?!) and tried to match the facilities.  They called themselves 'international', 'American' 'British', 'German' etc.  Truth was - none of them was really real!  We were in the best choice for our child.


Now - pre-schools are expanding and calling themselves full blown schools, new schools and pre-schools open regularly, children's centres offer play areas, coffee and classes - the main issue is that there is no regulatory body for all these operations - AISC is fully accredited and can be held accountable.  To whom do the others answer?  


Shopping in general - department stores have opened (Ebony, Lifestyle, Westside) and some have closed too.  They were not what we were used to - no service, people pushing and shoving because they found the orderly layout too difficult! Many of the items on sale could be found cheaper at Parry's Corner or in T-Nagar.  But they had a few items that you couldn't find anywhere else - I once found an ice pack for bumped heads in the shape of Spiderman's head - it is brilliant - I still have it after nine years!
Parry's corner is an experience.  I seem to recall having to go at least once a year to ensure that I had enough stuff for Halloween, Christmas and birthday parties.  T-Nagar, Pondy bazaar, the fish market etc - all great adventures!


But you know - in all the time we lived there - a few things never changed - the friends we made, both local people who will still be there when we go back to Chennai in 10 years time, and the expat friends who have passed through the city like a breath of fresh air - both sets of friends are good, strong and loved.  Another thing that remained the same in all our years was the phenomenal way we were treated in the hotels, restaurants and most of the shops.  People are friendly, welcoming and mostly want to help you.


In my view this far out weighs the cheating maids, the staff who rob you blind, the constant asking for money from beggars on the street to your employees who earn substantial salaries.  The people who have become interwoven in the rich tapestry of our lives totally make up for the Madras Eye, the mosquito bites, the stream of viruses that seemed to be a continual drone!  These friends cum extended family - many of whom we travel great distances to see and be near are for life.  Things in Chennai continue to change!