What this poem is about?
As a child, born and bought up in Delhi, I struggled a lot to identify myself towards a particular culture. Whenever I moved to my parent's hometown down south to Tamil Nadu, I was not South Indian enough and of course, my slips in Hindi and my different and more vibrant cuisine, often led to offensive and weird questions in my own so called friend circle.
Anyway, as my favorite poet says "When you have a problem as a poet, you write, to understand if not solve"
This poem came to me as my acceptance towards who I am and where I belong as I struggled during COVID to fit-in in Chennai.
This poem is hence, titled, "Learning not to dislike the city I live in- an ode to Chennai"
Here it goes!
Poem:
This city isn't tangy except for the "Sambaar". Yes its sambaar and not sambur.
Anyway where was I?
This city isn't tangy except for the "Sambaar" and you cannot particularly find an exquisite street food.
Though not all the streets are the same. And, sure the weather and the rickshawaalas aren't mostly (please mind me) nice.
If you decide to live at my sister's place, there will always be a howl of a man that makes me want to shut my ears. Until I understand with grace that he is living on a food I will always despise eating.
There will always be too much noise and people & too many vulgar jargons to comprehend. And, Oh! The Whispers! and gasps!! at lady senorita with a crop top and even a mere jean.
Because what you don't understand is easier to be judged.
But the city..., also holds at each door
a woman
a man
a child
who bleed red when cut.
The only difference being the cardamom rich aroma at your house has been replaced by the unmatched fragrance of "filter coffee".
The city holds light and small bits of life in its proud and swollen heritage that takes kindness to the backseat sometimes.
This city is surely beautiful, exactly and differently, from Delhi, in all of its sunrises, sunsets and even moonsets.
I know we all are different and we are supposed to be. However, despite our unmatched geography, history and culture, I want you to remember that there is one thing common across all of Indian and us i.e.
Both light and darkness.
~Aishwarya