chennai that was madras

when i was 5,
i met this girl for the first time.
school taught me home is made out of brick and cement,
but this girl told me
home is made out of traffic and “take diversions”.

every time i looked out of the window,
i could see her beauty in the form of lighthouses and midnight sundals.
every time my tongue ran dry,
i could see her beauty in the form of idlies and sambhars.

time flew and i loved her more and more and more.

when i was 10,
i knew this girl was mine.
society taught me joy is made out of gifts and roses,
but this girl told me
joy is made out of superstars and super kings.

every time i walked any other parallel street,
i could see her beauty in the form of chaos and coffees.
every time i packed my snacks and left out for a drive,
i could see her beauty in the form of ecr and mgm.

time flew and i loved her more and more and more.

when i was 15 she played me like her politics,
when i was 16 she was flooded and so was i,
when i was 17 she was a cyclone and i, her mother.

every time somebody dragged her,
i could see her beauty in the youth and protests.
every time somebody stabbed her,
i could see her beauty in blood and scars,
every time i look at Chennai that was Madras,
i can see my world.

time is flying, i know, we know, and we will keep loving her more and more and more.

My winning entry for the Slam Poetry Contest held by the U.S. Consulate General in association with Prakrit Foundation.

Celebrating Madras Week with rhyme and style! From filter kaapi, sundal, paati’s tales to ECR, shopping and beaches, students reminisced about childhood memories, stories and inspiration at the Poetry Slam Contest: “Chennai that was Madras”. Below image shows all the winners with judges Ishvar Krishnan, Vasanth, Salma, Kavitha Muralidharan and Eric Lund from the U.S. Consulate General Chennai. . . . #MadrasDay #Madras #MadrasWeek #Chennai #poetry #poetryslam #poetrycontest #tamil #English #chennaiday #USConsulateChennai #freedomofspeech

A post shared by U.S. Consulate General Chennai (@usconsulatechennai) on Aug 23, 2017 at 1:55am PDT

The doorway to more such victories!

Take care

From the not so-