When I eventually got my location for internship as Chennai,
it was quite a shocker for obvious reasons (friends gave all kinds of warnings:
the bad climate, sambhar-dosa, language problems and all the cultural
problems). It was kind of natural progression towards south for me (from
Jamshedpur->Gurgaon->Mumbai->Chennai) and now that I have just one
week left in Chennai, when I look back at the last 40-45 days that I have been
here, it hasn't been half as bad!
The language problem here isn't as severe as the popular
perception is. Working in an IT company definitely helps as you have people
around you who speak English for at least work-related purpose. Yes, I ran into
problems with auto wallas, with small shopkeepers, in small restaurants and so
on. There have been instances when I entered a restaurant and came out soon
after because the menu was in Tamil and I had neither the energy nor the time
to use sign language to place my order. However, if it's a decently sized restaurant/shop,
there is a fair chance that menu/rates will be in English too and the stewards
will understand English. Besides, I always managed to find someone who spoke
English whenever I needed some help with routes, bus numbers etc( it's easy!
just look for people wearing some kind of ID/badge or wearing formal shirts
with some company's logo). The last fall-back option is to use sign-language.
Just remember to say the keywords clearly (e.g Guindy Railway Station) and
people generally get the context: saying that keyword at ticket counter will
get you the tickets and uttering it at the platform will generally yield the
time and platform for the train going there. Just don't confuse them with extra
words of English/Hindi. It is wise though, to confirm any query with at least
two people!
Dosa, Idli, Vada here
are obviously much better then what you have had anywhere else in the world.
Biryani is good at many places, though it's not dum biryani. Plain rice is
available in ample and sabhar/chutney is always free. Filter coffee and tea is
awesome (make it a point to drink only filter coffee, no instant coffee please
even if it's free in your office). I will have to admit though, all things
mentioned above are made from rice and all this rice makes your body crave for
roti. Chapati(similiar to paratha from north) and parotta(similiar to lachcha
paratha, only made of maida) come close but fulkas are a rarity. On top of
that, it's difficult to find whole vegetable dish, they kind of mash everything
up! There are restaurants which serve north-Indian food but one, they are a bit
costly and two, if you are looking for Delhi like flavor (as I was), that is
simply not going to happen.
Yes, the climate here is horrible. But hey, you are 12
degrees away from equator, what else can you expect? There isn't much variation
in the weather, it's generally hot (close to 40 deg.C during the day) and very
humid. I didn't have much problem with the heat (Gurgaon and Jamshedpur are
close to 45 deg. C in summers) but the humidity takes its toll on the skin.
Using a lot of talcum powder and a lot of AC (my room's electricity bill raced
to Rs.3200 in 40 days!) is advisable.
I stayed in the outskirts of the city (the IT hubs are
always an outsider to the city) and went to main city quite a few times. It's
technically a metro city but you will be disappointed if you expect it to be
like Mumbai or Delhi. I generally found Chennai to be a sleepy, slow-moving
city which is quite a breather from the hectic pace of Mumbai. For a person
like me who likes to take things easy, Chennai perhaps matches my personality!
Sadly, I couldn't get people to spell out many places to visit in the city,
seems like Chennai likes to spend time at home. The infrastructure of the city
is very good for its population and again a good contrast to the overburdened
infrastructure of Indian metros (particularly Mumbai). Getting a place to sit
almost everyday in the suburban train at 7 p.m in the evening is quite
surprising in any city in India. 
In absence of many options for spending weekends in Chennai,
I am writing this blog while travelling to Bangalore for the third time. It has
been good 45 days here. Got to know a city with very different culture (it's
as south as I have ever been). Being just 5 hrs away from Bangalore has been a
boon in disguise, I met my close college friends after 3 years (I only hope
they are not already weary of me :D). And oh! I just noticed, I have now been
to all metros (and stayed there for some time) of India.
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