The city was still in slumber as our auto navigated the predawn streets. A peculiar enchantment washed over me, a sense of the city awakening, stretching its limbs. I found myself blurting out, “If not for Bangalore, I’d choose Chennai as my home.” The words were as spontaneous as the city’s nascent energy – The entire trip a symphony of this initial thought.

It was a whirlwind of a weekend, anchored by the first birthday of Ullas’s three-decade-long friend. Baby S, a tiny tornado of pink at the party, metamorphosed seamlessly into a devotee of profound reverence at the precincts of Kapaleeshwarar the next morning. A Barbie doll turned Bhairavi in less than a day, a testament to the city’s uncanny ability to cradle contradictions within its heart.

Two moments stand out: The Mookuthi and an assembly of dance treasures from Mylapore.

I was longing to buy one for the longest time. So there we were at T nagar, failing to locate this store. Called up to find out we would be allowed only by an appointment. Ulls insisted, so the kind man agreed to see us, offering a fleeting 15 minutes before his next scheduled visitor at 6:30 p.m. The universe, in its serendipitous nature, decided she wouldn’t arrive. So, I sat there trying on all kinds and sizes, where as all knew, the one I tried on at the very beginning, the one with a black star sapphire at its heart is what I was looking for. But spending such a sum on a nose ornament seemed frivolous, an indulgence I wasn’t sure I could justify. But he insisted. And I walked out with a constellation glistening on my nose. His gift, he called it, for my new beginnings.

The following day was equally ethereal. My newly acquired thalam katti and silangai needed his blessings. So off we went to Kapaleeshwara. Followed by an extraordinary breakfast at Maami’s mess. Oh, the unparalleled joy of Chennai breakfasts—so simple, yet utterly soul-lifting.

That afternoon was spent in the company of the tiny tot that had recently turned one and her parents. Regaling a lot of stories from the past.

I love Chennai. I told myself that, I was reminded of that several times, throughout our stay there. The city has always wrapped me in its charm, made me feel like I want to come back. And so, I will go back, soon.