They came, they saw, they conquered... ‘They’ are the expats who have made Chennai their home over a period of time. The increasing expat community is a clear sign that namma ooru has accepted them as its own — and the expats have embraced the way of living here.
During this year’s Madras Week celebrations, those from foreign shores reminisce about first coming here, and how they are quintessential true-blue Chennaiites today!
Medrik Minassian, Armenian
The city has become my home away from home. I did my graduation and post graduation in Chennai and it’s been seven long years. The one thing I’ve realised is that to make any place home, one has to engage in some informal activities. I am a part of the Tamil Nadu rugby team — I’ve coached and played for the team. The locals are very genuine and honest and because of these two qualities, I’ve made enough friends here, whom I can comfortably call family.
Being an Armenian, I can easily resonate with Madras in many ways. The moment I say I am an Armenian, everyone quickly connects with the Armenian street and the Armenian Church in Parrys. My forefathers have contributed a lot towards building old Madras. For example, the stairs to the St. Thomas Mount was built by one Armenian and the Maraimalai Adigal Bridge (previously the Marmalong Bridge) was constructed by another merchant from my country. There is already an Armenian heritage in the city and I am proud of it. Even the first Armenian magazine was published at erstwhile Madras.
I cannot single out one favourite thing about the city — maybe, the people and the south Indian thaali! Being in Chennai for a long time, I’ve developed a love for filter coffee too. Like any other local person, I too love drinking a hot coffee at 4pm with my friends. The resilient spirit shown by people during the floods was unbelievable too.
Virginie Vlaminck, Belgian
Settling in Chennai way back in 2011 was not a tough choice for me. I made the house in Injambakkam my home quickly, as I feel it is important to make a house a home no matter wherever you are in the world. Only then you can succeed as a human and as a family. My two daughters — Asha and Saran — also love the city a lot.
Chennai is completely different from all the places we have lived earlier. I always wanted to come here because I am a professional photographer and India is full of photo opportunities. The city has become my home especially after starting my ‘Namma Beach, Namma Chennai’ project.
Honestly, I had no idea what Madras Day was and I looked it up on the internet. I don’t know how I missed the details.
If you ask me what is my most favourite thing about Chennai, the answer is the hospitality of the people — I can’t keep count of how many locals have invited me to drink chai at their homes during my photography outings.
Unfortunately, the growth of the city and increasing development have sadly not gone hand-in-hand with the development of putting in place necessary sanitation facilities. I hope this will be a priority for the present government.
The one amazing experience I can’t forget was the Chennai floods in 2015. Everybody was motivated to do what they could do. Even though the government was lagging behind to find solutions, the people stayed positive.
Nasrin Karimi, Iranian
I came to Chennai as a student 37 years ago and didn’t find any reason to move out of the city ever! The main reason for staying back are the people of Chennai. My mother was worried about me living alone, but the first time she came to India, she saw my close friends and at the airport while leaving, she said, “I am not going to worry anymore, since I know you have another family in India.”
The people here are very friendly, honest, and hospitable; family oriented and uphold their values and culture, no matter what. I don’t know about men, but women feel really safe in the city. Thanks to the Chennai police who are always available to help. My brother Dariush Karimi lives with me. We run a restaurant here, but consider our customers as our guests — and most of our guests have become close friends over the years. I have never felt like an expat here and feel I have belonged to Chennai forever!
Before opening the restaurant, I was doing stained glass paintings and had the honour of designing stained glass for Tirumala Sri Venkateshwara temple. The priest told me that I must have been an Indian in my previous life — that’s why I was selected among all the other artists in India! Although, even after living here for 37 years, I hate the hot summers.
Meltem Mamat, Turkish
My son was four years old when we moved to Chennai 12 years ago. Now all grown up, sometimes, he says that he would like to raise his family here because of his school and the people around him! This city has given me a lot of friends, who eventually became my family. Like any other expat, our initial days were a little tough. But over a period of time, the city has accepted us and we have become a part it.
We have been through the hardships this city has faced and we helped the community around us. All these created a bond between us and the city. Also, I started learning yoga and it allowed me to participate in events that I initially wouldn’t have been able to go to.
People here are so welcoming; they are also very respectful to each other and always have a happy smile on their face.
The only thing that annoys me would be the excessive honking on the roads! I have developed this typical Madras characteristic over these years — I’ve started to wobble my head every time I speak. I also speak in an Indian accent sometimes, which is really hilarious.
Jane Kataria, Russian
I’ve been in Chennai since last November and I immediately fell in love with the place. Even though I have travelled to different parts of the country, Chennai looks like a totally different place — be it its culture, language, food, and movies. Sometimes, I feel that Chennai is a different country! This place is my home where I have my family — my husband and children — and of course I do my work in films here.
I came to know about the Madras Week celebrations through one of my guests on the radio show I am doing. During the show, he educated me about its significance and more. The biggest attraction of the city is that it is next to the ocean. People from the Northern hemisphere, where we have long winters of six months, enjoy the Chennai summers a lot. Also, I love the surfing scene here— the number of surfers is increasing daily.
The one thing I urge the locals to do is to keep their beaches clean. That awareness should be there. One thing I’ve noticed in Tamil people is that they are very devoted to their culture and history. I am glad that people preserve them and don’t allow their tradition and heritage to be erased from the culture.
