Chennai Blues - Episode 1

Its been a week since i moved to Chennai, for my job in CTS. The journey to Chennai started on 14th September 14.30 pm on the Ananthapuri Express. After saying goodbyes to my mother and sister. I boarded the auto with my father and 4 heavy bags enroute to Trivandrum Central Railway Station.

I was neither happy or sad about the event. I knew I would be missing my home and my friends. But above all that I was going to step into the corporate world in CTS. This also meant that I was saying goodbyes to good old "System Programming", which was always my "Dream Job". After about a 17 hr journey we reached the "Mambalam Station" were I got off with my father. There we met with my father's friend who helped us out in carrying the luggage and taking us to the place in Saidapet were we booked the room for my stay in Chennai about a month back.

I went into the hostel and the people showed me to my room. We unpacked the things and was arranging when the guy told us that it was the wrong room. With half unpacked bags and loose stuff all around we carried them to the next room. After placing all the stuff around, we asked for the key to my locker, which they said they couldn't find and told me will be given to me the next morning (I still havnt recived it). Then my father said that they will come around 12.30 pm and they left me. For the first time I experienced lonliness in my life, isolation from others and it dint feel that bad as I expected it to be. Anyway after sitting around for some time in my room, I got up from my bed and started to arrange things in the locker to my needs. Then I remembered I forgot to take photocopy of my Passport. So I got out and went in search for a Xerox Shop, had to walk till the end of the lane to reach the main road and I found a Xerox Shop placed on the opposite side of the main road. After a little bit of dodging and crossing I made it to the shop and had Xerox of my passport taken. After reaching the hostel, I took a quick bath and dressed up to go to CTS. By 12.15 pm my father and his friend came and we three left for CTS situated in Thoraipakkam via an auto.

Autos here are pretty expensive and one needs to argue and set a price before travelling. Ususally a ride to Thoraipakkam costs somewhere between 80 to 100 Rupees. After spending about 20 minutes in the auto, we finally reached the TCO of CTS at Thoraipakkam. I said goodbye to my father who was due to leave on that day's evening train back to Trivandrum. We were allowed in at about 1.30 pm after the morning batch departed and were taken into the auditorium in the academic buliding. After which we started a Signing spree and I remember putting around 20 signatures, in various forms ranging from your personal details and insurance to even froms that mentioned on "How To and Not To" use the systems in CTS. After that we were asked to fill up P.F forms (x 2) out of which i lost one :-D. After that we were given a form that asked us to do the medical check up on the next day, and we were all relieved for the day. My friend and I went to a near by shop had some snacks and a cup of tea and we departed. I got myself an auto and went back to my place and it cost me another 100 Rupees.

After reaching my room I met with my 1st room mate and he introduced himself as Rajesh. He said he just finished his M.B.A and is working in a Miro Finance Company and he was staying there for about a month. He also mentioned that the other room mate, a Northie from Mumbai was a stingy character. And the guy refused share the price for the water can (good water is pretty scarce in Chennai and we got to pay for water to be delivered in our apartment) but he dint hesitate drinking from it, sometimes the northie used to use the soap he used and also he told me that he used to come in very late sometimes after 12 AM. He said that other than this there is no problems in the hostel and everything was going real smooth and its a good place to stay. He also introduced me to the Keralite who lived in the next room, who was working as a sales manager in HCL. After dinner was served at about 8.30 PM we went to bed by 9.30 PM and I was also tired from the journies, and also had to get up early the next day since I had an appointment with the Doctor for the company medical checkup at 8.00 AM the very next day.

To be Continued...