WHEN MADRAS BLOOMED INTO CHENNAI
It was called Madras when we moved here from Mumbai in 1987. It was a new city with new people, new neighbours, new times. A few months passed. “Wonder why people sleep so early in Madras”, my mother noticed, as we zipped down on GN Chetty road at 8 pm in my father’s Premier Padmini after watching an evening show of Agni Natchatiram at Satyam. Though we belong to Tirunelveli, my parents were born and raised in Mumbai, and the four of us, including my brother, Prashanth hated being in this new city.
Prashanth, picked up the local language earlier quickly and made quite a few friends. When a colleague at work asked my father, “Where would you like to find a house to live in?”, he answered, “Right on the terrace of the school my children study in!” And it proved to be just that way! The house we first shifted in, shared the compound wall of my school Padma Seshadri on Thirumalai Pillai Road. Keeping up with the Tamil-Brahmin tradition, my mother made sure we continued our music lessons and took us to Sri Neyveli Santhanagopalan, and under his tutelage, my brother and
I FELL IN LOVE WITH CHENNAI AND COULDN’T IMAGINE BEING ANYWHERE ELSE
I learnt Carnatic music for years. When I was in ninth grade, my brother was a sought-after singer and goal keeper in school, while I was still struggling and had just about made two friends, Ashok and Bhargav. “When will you ever progress to C?” my paati would joke. And just when we were getting used to Chennai, I got admission in Rishi Valley, Chitoor, Andhra Pradesh, for my final years of school. When I returned, Chennai was a different city. Music had become a bigger part of my life. I had learnt to play the guitar and started a rock band. I started learning Hindustani Classical music from Ramamoorthy Rao Sir, who continues to be my mentor. My friends, who were loyal to Chennai, showed me parts of the city that made me notice its finer aspects and this time, I fell in love with it so much so that I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. I found my ground, and stood firm and content.
Today, music takes me to places I love travelling to and brings me back to Chennai where home is. I have and will continue to love this place around which my life has evolved.
The author is a young vocalist and composer.