Chella (dear) Chennai has her unique ways of saying hello and welcome to the sleepy ocean scented wanderer seeking Christmas cheer. The true smile of some stranger who moves past you in the book store, a spray of rain to settle the dust of its children and a particularly delicious donut. Soothes the soul lost in great expectations when an old dear friend cannot make it to the meeting, and invites a poet to dance with a sweet, special memory to a magnificent rendition of John Denver’s Annie’s Song.
Very very quietly with a voice that sounds of the mountain psalm, the river raga and the temple bells calls you – “Kanna” (dear child), as you rest on the bike by the endless road. Reaches out with starlight, the faded billboard bulbs, the Deepam (lamp lit for evening prayer) of a distant house and touches your shadow with a silent deep joy and celebrates the now and what is to come.