Unfamiliar land..

It seems that everytime I set foot in Chennai something has changed. And you unfortunate folk read about it each time... I bet a bunch of you must be like - here she goes again, out to crib... The change in the landscape of the place you call "home" is never something easy to digest. Remember I'd cribbed about it last time too? Here it is. Ever so often, there are new buildings... new stores... new protocols and new modes of transport. Sure, Chennai has seen a big improvement in the public transport sector and those who can afford it, one can now ride AC public buses on popular routes paying a tad extra for a pollution-free and necessity-chilled ride straining through trecherous traffic and loud everyday life. Indeed I was able to experience the tranquility of the experience on an AC Volvo bus to Kanchipuram, reaching here unruffled, unsweaty and non-distressed for a mere 75 rupees. Having lived at a stretch in Chennai for 14 long years I still seem to be unequipped with ways to deal with the changes in the last 5. There are of course more one-ways, more flyovers and more ways to get to a certain destination... all of which I am unaware of. My little cousin asked me the route to Mount Road from some place... Normally I'd be able to give it in a jiffy... but with the changes in the public transport system and road routes, I was rather clueless and had to transfer the responsibility of the right answer to my dad who's become more Chennai-ite than I ever thought it was possible for a former Mumbai-ite to become. Then again, you probably adapt to things as they happen around you.. and to take it all in one gulp every trip isn't exactly like having mango juice... It takes a while... it maybe be bitter even if it is for the better and by the time you adjust, you're leaving the place and have much more to contend with the next time that you're back on vacation. I guess they don't say for nothing that "change is the only constant thing in life". Time to take it all in.