Chennai: Finally, I had a day of complete peace. After the Assembly trust vote, I figured politicians would stop haunting me. But no, Opposition leader MK Stalin had to have his protest here, on my shores, and also get detained along with other DMK leaders. Sigh! tough times.
Puzzled as to who I am? I am sure you all know me. You would have either walked on my sands, or have seen it ravaged on national television. If you still haven’t found your answer I am Marina Beach, one of Chennai’s landmark destinations.
Until a few months ago, I was known for peace and harmony. However, now people troll me for being ‘haunted’. Can anyone blame them after that dramatic night? For forty minutes, O Panneerselvam had sat in my view and meditated at the late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa’s memorial. Later, I was puzzled when he claimed that her ‘atma’ had urged him to tell the truth. Was Amma here?
However, I got some clarity when Jayalalithaa’s close aide Sasikala Natarajan also claimed she felt a ‘magnetic pull’ when she visited the former chief minister’s memorial. It was a pleasant surprise. I hope she is still here; we can have some very interesting conversations.
Nonetheless, OPS, Sasikala and other ADMK leaders became frequent visitors. I became their pit-stop before and after any important decision or meeting. All this drama was fun to watch, but also incredibly exhausting. With so many policemen around most of the time, you can’t blame me or my visitors for feeling stifled.
Also, thank you for stealing my thunder on Valentine’s Day.
I lost another celebration this year, Republic day. The celebrations were dull and the crowds were lean compared to the previous years.
They say it is a tradition in a few Indian communities to not celebrate festivals for a year if a family member had died. I felt the same way, with the imprint of the Jallikattu violence fresh in everyone’s mind.
The peaceful demeanour of the protests was admirable. The way it ended though, was disappointing. In addition to being littered with garbage, now I had blood on my hands.
There were prohibitory orders clamped on my shores until February 12. Was it really my fault that people chose to protest here? Even during the political tussle, the police had increased their presence on my shores as a precautionary measure.
Further adding to my woes, the traces of violence from the protests were washed away with oil; oil from a collision that happened at the Ennore port that slowly crept up my shores. After being battered by Cyclone Vardah earlier, here came another blow to my system.
They say most of the sludge has been cleaned up, but my ecosystem might take a long time to repair itself completely.
After an exasperating stretch, there is finally an uneasy sense of peace on my waters. Give me a break Chennai, I think I have had enough for now.
