This has been the longest stretch that I have not visited Chennai and I am missing home dearly. Stay Safe Chennai. Hope normalcy restores and it is BAU very soon.
Chennai, Marina beach!
Those days, when we did not have digital recreation (the only channel we had was the Doordarshan, no smart phones or online games), the beach was the paradise of entertainment. With banana fritters, mango and peanut salads there was no dearth to the variety of street foods that one could savor.
It was a usual Saturday evening, when Charu and Madhan visited the beach with their father, Mr. Venkat. The kids stood right opposite the fritter stall, drooling. The father said ’Nope. We are not eating this. It is very unhygienic.’ Charu and Madhan walked slowly with a hunched posture, grinding their teeth, and heads hanging down.
Soon, they reached the waters by the beach and started collecting seashells. There were horses merrily galloping, leaving their footprints on the sand. The snails came out of their hiding as if to bid goodbye to the Sun. The two of them particularly loved watching the sunset. With just sand and water as as the tools, the two built sandcastles with their own hands. They made paper boats and left them sailing in the sea. They sang the saptha swarahs in harmony with the sound of waves.
On their way back they once again walked past the fritters stall, and their feet just stalled. Their father caught sight of their family pediatrician Dr. Moorthy who was happily muching a plate of fritters!
Mr. Venkat gazed downward in embarrassment and just wanted to hurriedly escort the kids home.