Why I Love Coimbatore

Coimbatore is a special city for me... I share a vibe with it that equals the love I have for Salem. These are two cities I'd love to live in.

I feel my love for Coimbatore started way back when we used to holiday at CBE during the vacation in Jaya Chithi's house. These would be usually a week long holiday with Devanthi, Parthi, Kayathri, Karthikayani and usually the three of us from Salem.

There was method and organisation in the midst of all our games and fun here. Our breaksfasts were followed by washing the tables and the wash basins, since chithi always liked the house neat and clean. Her tiny kitchen in the housing unit house always held secrets to delight us - aamai vadais, athirasam, (I swear, chithi made the best, an anda full, which were cooked whenever we ran out of them, fresh and fragrant), whole palapalams cut with big oiled knives and murukkus.

Chithi gave us a taste of adult freedom with a sense of responsibility. We were encouraged to go out to R S Puram and explore the Rum and Raisin and Nutty icecreams at Richie and visit the slipper maker who fashioned slippers and shoes according to our designs ( we felt like Cinderallas). We took enjoyable, adults free walks along the GandhiPark to Maruthamalai road, enjoying the granular and creamy aavin icecream from the Dairy outlet and visited the Agricultural University Park, where huge green trees whispered in the mid morning breeze and spent time looking at the flowers and plants and running down the central walkway cutting across the middle of the Park to the entrance. 

From R S Puram we visited Aachi, Dhamayanthi aaya's loving younger sister, for whom she had a heart full of love, for she had brought up this kid sister after their mom's death. Aachi aaya and the houseful of chithis, maamas, athais and cousins welcomed us with open arms and we spent hours and hours playing carrom and Trade with Uma Chithi, Thilaga Chithi and enjoying Maami's theeni and Chandralekha athai's flawless beauty. 

I now realise that my growing years were influenced by the orderliness and discipline that was not thrust upon us, but shown to be a way of life that made it more enjoyable. The aesthetic sense of beauty and love of fine things, I think, I learnt from Jaya  Chithi. She still retains these and looks amazingly beautiful whenever she attends functions and get togethers, for she takes care of herself and wears very tastefully selected sarees.Her lesson for me has been in self-esteem, something that has stood by me all these years.