After 3 months in my new job, 4 months in Chennai, 5 months since I relocated back to India, and 7 months since I left California and hence Santa Cruz, I feel settled enough to get back to what I enjoy doing (aka writing) and start documenting my experiences of not just moving back to India from the US, but more importantly of living in Chennai! Why is Chennai so special relative to other Indian metropolitan cities as far as I am concerned? Well let’s see..I don’t speak the local language (Tamil), I don’t have a single friend or relative in this city and neither does my hubby, let me reiterate here-both of us put together we don’t know anyone here, and we are super-strictly carnivorous (Bengalis!) in this city of vegetarians. In fact other than the religion and nationality, I am not sure we have anything in common with 90% of the Chennai-ites!!!! Hence, moving to a city like this from California was to say the least a massive ordeal. As one of my South Indian friends from Bay Area put it-‘you are moving from Santa Cruz which is more liberal by American standards to Chennai which is more conservative by Indian standards..good luck and condolences!’ Hahahahaha!
So needless to say when we decided to move here (primarily dictated by my job which by Indian academia standards is quite a cushy and comfy one! Well there has to be something to lure us to this city :P) I was a bundle of nerves–full of apprehensions, anxieties, coupled with severe pangs of having left California-a place where I had spent the 5 best years of my life so far.
However…4 months in the city and I shall say this–Chennai may not be half as cosmopolitan as Delhi or Mumbai or Bangalore and yes there maybe several issues with language and food and weather over and above the usual problems of life in India like poor roads, bad traffic, etc–but if I now had to choose a city where I would move back to from the US especially with only one person earning and the other looking for a job, I would easily choose Chennai.
What I now like the most about this place is its laid-back, relaxed and chilled out attitude and coming from California, this particular aspect of the transition was hardly that difficult. People here are by and large friendly, helpful, and most importantly for returning NRIs, non-interfering! I can be myself here without anyone bothering me or asking questions-I guess the language barrier perhaps is a help in this case rather than a hindrance 😛 Everyone lets you be and the city moves along at a nice and easy pace–nothing even close to the break-neck speed of Mumbai or Delhi which can drive anyone crazy after a few days.
Also Chennai is quite small by Indian metropolitan standards-hence commuting from one place to another is quite smooth in terms of distance and time. Public transport may not be the best given the absence of cabs on roads but autos more than make up for it-yes I had to master the art of bargaining else they would have fleeced me every day but now I am totally comfortable hailing an auto and negotiating in broken English and am getting better at this 😛 (Only the other day I paid Rs 40 to go from TNagar to Nungambakkam when usually they charge Rs 50/60!..lol!)
Chennai surprisingly (well esp for people like us who were so ignorant before and I guess most Bengalis are about this city unless they have lived here!) has quite a few good quality restaurants serving multiple cuisines and since we love to eat out, we have already been exploring the culinary joints of the city extensively. So far our favorites are Benjarong (Thai) and Momoyama (Japanese) in Alwarpet, Azulia (Turkish/Greek/Lebanese) in TNagar, and Anjappar (Chettinad)-everywhere! We love the Chettinad cuisine especially their yummilicious fish preparations! Momoyama has mouth-watering sushi and Azulia is authentic Mediterranean food at its best! They have a Turkish festival coming up this month which am totally planning to attend.We also have a few more on our list like Cornucopia (Italian) in Adyar, Kyungbokgong (Korean) and Teppanyaki (Japanese) in Alwarpet and Zara (Spanish Tapas) on Cathedral road as well as a few highly recommended restaurants in Taj Coromandel, Park Sheraton (we have had their Chinese and it is fab!), and Marriott Courtyard. Planning to try these in the next few months before the weather gets bizarre!
Delicacy @Saravana Bhavan
Sake & Tea @Momoyama
One major tip to live well in Chennai having moved back from the US is actually to do exactly that–live well! This includes finding a nice apartment in a posh neighborhood preferably close to some kind of a hub area (cost of living in Chennai is substantially lower than in Mumbai or Delhi and hence affording a plush and sprawling apartment in the ‘Bandra’ of the city is not that difficult!), of course buying a nice car (though we survived pretty well the first 3 months thanks to autos and rental cars!) and splurging on dinners and drinks in 5-star hotels, again something that would be difficult to afford in Mumbai for example! We were lucky enough to find a lovely and big, furnished apartment in TNagar which happens to be the heart of the city-so while our neighborhood is a quiet and posh one, we are located at a walking distance from everything–branded stores, nice gyms, high end beauty parlors(:P), good bookstores, cafes, multiple grocery stores, lending library and of course restaurants and pubs! There are two very good bars/pubs in the neighborhood-Bikes and Barrels and 10 Downing Street and that of course makes like much easier 😉
And a decent place to hang out in weekends is of course the Besant Nagar beach! I really enjoy going there once in a while, sit on the beach and hog on beach-junk-food while enjoying a gentle sea breeze, looking out towards the blue Bay of Bengal with ships in a distant horizon about to dock in Chennai port, or sometimes sip a latte in the adjoining Barista or grab a bite from French Loaf–lovely! The pace of life is so easy-going and relaxed here that any day can feel like a weekend and I love that! Especially from Mid October to February when the weather is actually quite pleasant!!Next time will prolly go there with a book and spend more time by the sea.
Other than that we have also been hanging out at the Madras Club (thanks to reciprocal memberships from Kolkata clubs!) which is par excellence especially their swimming pool, the Madras Gymkhana Club which is decent too but a bit far from the heart of the city, Amethyst-a delightful coffee shop in Royapettah and occasionally at the Express Avenue Mall which is….HUGE!
Madras Gymkhana Club
So in a nutshell–my pre-conceived adverse notions about life in Chennai have definitely been wiped away to a great extent. We still complain about the garbage and the water-logged streets when it rains but traffic is so much more manageable here than even Kolkata and life in general can be quite smooth if one knows the right places to go to I guess 😛 For a couple of years I would not actually mind living here now!
I hope to document my adventures in this city during the coming months in this blog from time to time and hopefully this will also help some others like me who have recently moved or are thinking of moving here from abroad with very little clue about life in Chennai..my first advice to them-move here with an open mind and who knows..you may actually enjoy living here in the short run!!
From California to Chennai 
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