It is customary for any day in Chennai to usually start with a strong filter coffee. It has been said that this has somehow become the tradition, but until recently people have realized that it is the elixir to drive in Chennai.

After the numerous road projects to make Chennai more metropolitan, one could actually see it becoming more savage in the roads.

It is a common sight to see people learning to ‘keep right’ contradicting the basic ‘keep left’ rules. One should accept that this has greatly trained our people to drive in the US even without the bare essentials of the US driving rules.

The traffic cops are the greatest assets now as they struggle to bring in a lot of ‘order and discipline’. They strictly are the ones who would guide any citizen when a road has been changed to one-way, even if there are no sign boards to help. “You don’t really require signboards, do you?  It is pretty intuitive isn’t it?" ,they would ask friendly.

Any traffic cop in Chennai needs to develop a deep sense of gratitude to the buses and share autos. It is because these vehicles actually ‘regulate’ the traffic. ‘To stop or not to stop’, is all decided by the bus drivers lately.

One must be honest in admitting that, even the truest Indian citizen has got absolutely no wits to challenge these vehicles. “If you do not own an auto or bus, follow ahimsa and you should practice meditation!” anyone would counsel.

You would definitely find yourself missing the red signal at least once a day. Of course it is not by choice, but one needs to somehow escape the honking buses that chase you with speed if you stop at a red signal.

Cattle, being our best friends as per our tradition, have been suffering lately because of this pandemonium. It is not a rare sight to spot a few cows in a flyover quite mixed up about the ‘keep right/left’ rules!

“It’s a cow beware! You would face the karma if you hurt it!” is the blackmailing strategy which the cow owners use if they find you honking at them.

Apart from turning karmic, one needs to see the philosophical side as well. This road discipline has actually made a few people turn attractive.

I hear the women say, “I do not hit the gym these days! The driving has shaped my body and my diet is well under control because of the meditation!”

Cruising through the streets on a weekend to places where women with ‘fashion sense’ would normally haunt, one might need the patience and persistent enthusiasm to accompany any lady.

Chennai, with its humidity and noise at the bazaars is still a haven to be in for any woman who craves a flavor for clothes.

My aunt is no exception. One could find her in ‘Madras’ –she fondly calls the city with the old name even now, to be on a shopping spree even if it is one of her flash visits to Chennai to attend a wedding reception.

Any Saturday would normally start at around 10 AM, but if she is determined it would start even at 8:30 AM.

I have to admit at this point, that I am no exception. I would plunge myself into this activity with great interest and our day would start at a few shops at Pondy Bazaar.

“Let’s stop here!” would be her anytime reaction once she gets a glimpse of any fashionable lady posing in the banners. The car would stop and there we would be in at every attractive apparel store at the city.

In spite of me reminding her on the “Metro Rail Project” and the ‘discipline’ one must have to drive or park, such things would always be brushed aside by her. ‘It does not matter if we are required to go in rounds across the city; all I came here is for a piece of clothing!” she would insist.

Lunching at these times is something that I greatly enjoy during her visits. It would be extravagant and she would really treat me well for chauffeuring her around. Being vegetarians our taste buds would usually crave for a place with the finest South Indian and Jain cuisines.

One could feel the head going dizzy after such ‘gallivanting’ which my grandmother usually complains after her visit. But still we go around determined and also terming her to be old-fashioned (and at least on this point my aunt would be assured that she would get my support fully). At the end of every such spree one could find her in between a lot of clothes bags or in other words one could spot her in between them at least!

It would be getting used to the roads so much that even the traffic cops would ‘friend’ us.

“It’s dinner time athai!” I would remind her. “I see, what are your plans tonight?, any shopping in a nearby place?” she would pounce.  “I may have to go to a friend’s house as she is throwing a ladies party tonight”, I would say. “Hmm, if that is so, shall we continue this tomorrow?” she would add.

Chennai, in spite of its heat and dust has always been a place of sophistication and fascination to me. Wandering through the streets, making friends with the women who visit the shops, complimenting them on their tastes, a stomach filled with basmati and curry, the urge to buy stuff for everyone in the family, the freedom of being yourself, having a range of places to shop from the 1^st to the 30^th of the month, textiles to suit every taste and budget, accessories to highlight them, NGOs to support people, bookshops to browse through, chat shops to munch through, malls to wade through, cinemas and plays in all languages to entertain all, beaches to bathe and drive, the heat to show how air conditioners perform, people to ‘talk to’ around every corner, coffee shops to date, clothing to flaunt the curves and spas to relax! It is a great place for any woman who loves freedom and social life.