(11) An Accident in the busy streets of Chennai
Am in Chennai now, so far the tourist population here is a bit thin… I haven’t seen any foreigners yet walking on the streets like the previous cities I’ve been to. Well, I hope I wouldn’t have anything traumatic here but so far so good…
My mind is influence-able…..I just read a novel last night and now I have once again shifted to another direction….. hehehehe….hay naku! Am off to visit temples now and left my luggage (which have grown to 2 backpacks now!) in the “Cloak Room”, very Brit slang! I don’t have money left for a facial now!
I’m really fed up with too much temples…now its shopping centers for me….had I known Chennai has more shopping possibilities I would have come here immediately! It’s really much better here than Bangalore I think or shall we say, a little similar…
Looking back on my trip, there are a lot of trivial things I’ve learned here like making sure that you don’t eat with your left hand --- for them it is very dirty! Which is truly difficult for me since I’m a lefty when I eat! That’s why I always steer clear of Indian veg-restos! hehehe
This place is really a buzzling yuppie town…..you see lots of young people and development is very visible. It was originally called “Madras” (prior to coming here I sincerely thought that Madras is near Chennai and both were in Tamil Nadu) and was later changed to Chennai to make it sound more traditional, although for me, Madras sounds more local than Chennai.
Chennai as the capital of the state of Tamil Nadu is also home to the very prolific Tamil movie industry known as Kollywood --- don’t ask me where they got the name coz I don’t have any idea!
My First Brush with Mortality
A few seconds, I know what is coming….. I grabbed the metal rails hard of the tuktuk I was riding, and waited hypnotized as the back of the car in front of us became nearer and nearer… And then everything was in slow motion.. crushed glasses flew all over, got imbedded in my shirt, even inside my opened sling bag. The first thought that entered my mind was, “God, am I going to die?” and then tuktuk driver looked at me with blood pouring all over his face. It was a nightmarish sight! And then I felt a stinging sensation, my right thumb was bleeding and to stem the blood, I just immediately sucked on it…..my thumb throbbed, possibly from the impact of the crash and when I held onto the rail to keep my whole body from plunging in front through the window of the tuktuk!
Everyone converged on us, asking me whether I want to go to the hospital. They had to extract the driver from the tuktuk as he was really hemmed in. the whole front window was totally smashed in and I was just crying incoherently, still in shock over what happened. I got out of the vehicle and went to sit in the sidewalk just crying silently. Someone came up and asked whether I might want to go to the other side of the street coz it was very hot in that side. They offered me a chair and bottle of mineral water --- I was still literally in shock!
Some guys helped me get another tuktuk. I was a hesitant at first, scared of what happened to my earlier ride. But then I realized my fears have no place here, I don’t have a choice but to go ahead and get on. I am in a strange place and I can’t cry myself out. I went to a Coffee Day resto near the train station to rest and also to ask for some ice cubes for my swollen thumb.
It was a harrowing experience, especially the moment before the impact!
I started feeling sorry for myself. Here I am in a strange place and I am looking for a familiar person amongst the throng, to hear someone speak Bisaya… I think whenever a person is feeling vulnerable he/she always tries to fill that vulnerability with the comfort and normality of having familiar people and objects around you.
Ciao! I am now off to Egmore train station to catch my train to Trivandrum --- I am on a lower berth on the Anantapuri Express. My holiday is now drawing to a close….
My mind is influence-able…..I just read a novel last night and now I have once again shifted to another direction….. hehehehe….hay naku! Am off to visit temples now and left my luggage (which have grown to 2 backpacks now!) in the “Cloak Room”, very Brit slang! I don’t have money left for a facial now!
I’m really fed up with too much temples…now its shopping centers for me….had I known Chennai has more shopping possibilities I would have come here immediately! It’s really much better here than Bangalore I think or shall we say, a little similar…
Looking back on my trip, there are a lot of trivial things I’ve learned here like making sure that you don’t eat with your left hand --- for them it is very dirty! Which is truly difficult for me since I’m a lefty when I eat! That’s why I always steer clear of Indian veg-restos! hehehe
This place is really a buzzling yuppie town…..you see lots of young people and development is very visible. It was originally called “Madras” (prior to coming here I sincerely thought that Madras is near Chennai and both were in Tamil Nadu) and was later changed to Chennai to make it sound more traditional, although for me, Madras sounds more local than Chennai.
Chennai as the capital of the state of Tamil Nadu is also home to the very prolific Tamil movie industry known as Kollywood --- don’t ask me where they got the name coz I don’t have any idea!
My First Brush with Mortality
A few seconds, I know what is coming….. I grabbed the metal rails hard of the tuktuk I was riding, and waited hypnotized as the back of the car in front of us became nearer and nearer… And then everything was in slow motion.. crushed glasses flew all over, got imbedded in my shirt, even inside my opened sling bag. The first thought that entered my mind was, “God, am I going to die?” and then tuktuk driver looked at me with blood pouring all over his face. It was a nightmarish sight! And then I felt a stinging sensation, my right thumb was bleeding and to stem the blood, I just immediately sucked on it…..my thumb throbbed, possibly from the impact of the crash and when I held onto the rail to keep my whole body from plunging in front through the window of the tuktuk!
Everyone converged on us, asking me whether I want to go to the hospital. They had to extract the driver from the tuktuk as he was really hemmed in. the whole front window was totally smashed in and I was just crying incoherently, still in shock over what happened. I got out of the vehicle and went to sit in the sidewalk just crying silently. Someone came up and asked whether I might want to go to the other side of the street coz it was very hot in that side. They offered me a chair and bottle of mineral water --- I was still literally in shock!
Some guys helped me get another tuktuk. I was a hesitant at first, scared of what happened to my earlier ride. But then I realized my fears have no place here, I don’t have a choice but to go ahead and get on. I am in a strange place and I can’t cry myself out. I went to a Coffee Day resto near the train station to rest and also to ask for some ice cubes for my swollen thumb.
It was a harrowing experience, especially the moment before the impact!
I started feeling sorry for myself. Here I am in a strange place and I am looking for a familiar person amongst the throng, to hear someone speak Bisaya… I think whenever a person is feeling vulnerable he/she always tries to fill that vulnerability with the comfort and normality of having familiar people and objects around you.
Ciao! I am now off to Egmore train station to catch my train to Trivandrum --- I am on a lower berth on the Anantapuri Express. My holiday is now drawing to a close….
Comments