This is a sequel to my previous article, “How Do People Manage to Live in Megalopolises?”
Source of the above images: Canva
Living without my wife and daughter is very difficult!
The true value of people is always felt only in their absence. And the absence of our immediate family members is the biggest example of this. Well, the first thing I had to do was bring my mother back from my relatives’ place. Since it was already late, I planned to get her the next day.
The Old-age sector still needs a lot of improvement
This is a huge problem. What do we do with our parents when we travel to other places? We can’t leave them alone in our homes. There is always a big risk with that. And we cannot take them with us due to their old age and the associated risks. We need to find good solutions for this.
Of course, we have old age homes. But we can never even think of leaving our beloved parents, who gave their all to become what we are today! However, we might sometimes need short-term stays for our parents. Because we cannot leave them in our relatives’ homes every time, right?
Those who live in foreign countries go scot-free!
Sometimes, I feel those who go to foreign countries and leave their parents in their home countries have nearly given up on them. Yeah, I know they require their parents when their wives are about to deliver their children; some certainly take them just for the sake of travel, even at other times, etc. But children who stay in their home countries with their parents shoulder more responsibilities than their siblings abroad.
I brought my mom back from my relatives’ place the next day. And our ‘tiny’ travails of living alone without my wife and daughter started! One can only eat that much from outside. I hope all of you agree with this.
The travails of living without one’s wife and kid/s
So, it was mostly ready-to-cook wheat chapatis, omelettes, sometimes rice, curd, and sometimes food (mostly tiffin) from outside. Somehow, we adjusted and dragged on. That is why I am always afraid when my wife is not with me. I am afraid of my mother’s diet. Afraid that I won’t be able to satisfy her dietary requirements!
Back to Chennai and the problems over there
After nearly 10 days, I went back to Chennai. To bring back my family. And before that, once again, I had to leave my mom at my relatives’ place. And off I went to Chennai again on 14-5-2026 via Ekta Nagar Chennai (EKNR MAS) SF Express. The train left its origin station in Gujarat on time on 13-5-2026. However, later it was delayed. It had to reach Kadapa the next day at 9.35 am. But it was delayed by more than 1.5 hours and reached Kadapa at around 11.20 am.
I finally reached Perambur station at around 3 pm. Since I had to go to Villivakkam, I boarded a local train. I have previously faced problems with the railway apps. And this time too, it is no exception. I had around INR 265 rupees in my railway app wallet. Instead of going to the booking station, I tried booking a five-rupee ticket via the app. With the location on in my app, the booking process should have been totally hassle-free. But no, the app was asking me to scan a QR code of Perambur station. Which I was unable to find after searching everywhere!
Travelling in and around Chennai
After losing all hope of booking my ticket through the app, I finally went to the booking station and bought a ticket! After reaching my sister-in-law’s home, I had lunch. And tried having a siesta. After a while, my wife said we would visit the nearby Saravana Stores in Padi. And my apprehensions about getting lost in Chennai’s traffic began to set in.
I told my wife that we would take a live mapping device (human being!) with us on the short trip. But nearly everyone was busy. The only one who would come with us without any fuss is in Egypt on a work trip since January this year. My sister-in-law, who is also just like her son, had to take my other sister-in-law to the hospital. My co-brother was reluctant to come. And I was warned that he wouldn’t come to Marina Beach the next day if he came that day.
Mind maps are better than any other maps/mapping devices!
The only one left was my sister-in-law’s daughter. But since she was working from home, she, too, was unable to come with us! So, off we went, I along with my wife, daughter and my other sister-in-law’s son, who has always been close to us since his childhood. Even though I had been to our destination before, I still turned on Google Maps on my cell phone.
Somehow, we reached Saravana Stores. I am using the word somehow because I got confused by another Saravana Stores (they have a huge furniture store) just a bit beyond the Saravana we wanted to visit! And I was about to turn my car toward the furniture store. You see, there is a huge traffic circle from where roads diverge in different directions.
Development especially in megalopolises needs to be all-round!
A few years back, I was pretty sure I saw signs pointing toward the different areas. They are no longer there, or maybe I missed them. Anyways, we reached the Saravana retail store. And after parking my car, we entered the store. Earlier, at Saravana Store, salespersons would be eager to give us pamphlets showing the different categories of items across the store’s eight floors. The food court is on the ninth floor.
You have to see the crowds in the food court to believe it. After shopping vigorously, customers enter the ninth floor even more vigorously to fill their bellies! Anyways, after shopping to our hearts’ content, we too entered the ninth floor to eat. After eating, we left the store. And we went back to my sister-in-law’s home.
My dreaded fear comes true – I lost my way!
Once again, at the traffic circle, I was a bit confused. But my other sister-in-law’s son reminded me about the correct road. And my daughter was checking Google Maps. It showed the right path. There was a police booth on the way. The map asked us to take the road beside that to go to Villivakkam. And my daughter was telling me the same.
But I differed from them. Because the road beside the police booth to my sister-in-law’s home was complicated (trust me, these are not my words but those of my sister-in-law’s daughter!). So, I went ahead. You remember the Everwin school from my previous article, right? I decided I could take a right turn near its junction.
However, I had missed the metro work going on when I entered that junction earlier. Now, that side was blocked. And I couldn’t enter the Everwin junction from there. So, I had to go further and then saw two police constables (one male and one female). While taking a U-turn onto a service road, I confirmed with the police that I was proceeding in the right direction.
I finally reached my sister-in-law’s home. I prayed at home since it was too late to pray in the mosque. After having my dinner, I went to sleep. I got up in the morning the next day and, after praying, went looking for the ‘Times of India’ newspaper. After reading it, I had my coffee prepared by my sister-in-law.
Marina Beach and its parking travails!
As the day progressed, others and I waited to go to Marina Beach (a must for tourists) in the evening. Everything was okay until we had lunch. After lunch (which is very late when we visit relatives’ homes and vice versa), my Chennai sister-in-law hurried us to start our journey. One more thing: it is not just lunch that gets delayed, but breakfast and dinner, too, when we visit our relatives’ homes and, needless to say, vice versa!
I never miss my siesta, no matter what. So, I had one, albeit a brief one. I then performed ablution, performed my evening Namaaz/Salaah (prayer), and began our journey. It was Saturday, the weekend, and needless to say, the traffic was steadily building up. By the time we reached Marina Beach, its entrances were filling up pretty fast. So much so that we entered the last entrance. And often looking for a parking spot nearly everywhere, we were out of the Marina Beach premises.
And after taking a U-turn, off we went in search of an entrance into the Marina Beach. Again. After searching for nearly an hour, I found a parking spot. Finally! Marina Beach is the second largest beach in the world. Thousands of visitors, especially from neighbouring states, visit it on any given day. And God Almighty save it on weekends! However, the madness in getting to park a car at Marina Beach needs to be seen or experienced first-hand to be believed. Of course, there are definitely solutions for this madness.
Few solutions to the parking madness at Marina Beach
Automated multi-level car parking is definitely a solution for this. Also, instead of wasting precious beach space on unnecessary amenities, this can be utilised for useful things like parking and toilets. Lastly, there are plenty of buildings, especially government ones, in front of Marina Beach. Why not utilise the parking of these buildings?
Obviously, artificial intelligence (AI) and other technologies can be used to create an easy and exhilarating experience, such as visiting the beach and other places of interest. The new Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Mr Joseph C Vijay, should look into this matter and other such pressing ones. And take necessary action to make the overall experience of travelling in Chennai and elsewhere in Tamil Nadu a wonderful one.
Vijay is a dynamic newbie political leader who stormed to power, surprising everyone, including yours truly. If he really wants to make a change in people’s lives, he should focus on easing things for them and helping in their ‘real’ development. Instead of just doling out freebies and gifts left and right. Like his predecessors in his state and several others, especially the neighbouring ones.