Madras Day - Aug 22nd 2020: The City that reaches out...

When Ilayaraja was our breath music, 

We embraced Rahman as it tucked out heart strings

Yet we didn't give up Raja, MSV or the 100 before and since

Vishy is our Grand Master, but, Dhoni is our adopted boss

That's why he can give up being Indian captain

 But can't leave the city team  

The colonial Central is our entry space and

Then we built a Koyambedu as large as it gets and speedy Metro

The city prefers to saunter slow in the Marina

We may rub shoulders with Nobels, Oscars, Champions

Scientists, Teachers, Thinkers and Masters, and we do so

But the lingo and spirit is set by our auto-drivers and fishermen

Its not  what we built or what we achieved

That gives the city its flair or fervour, its the uniqueness 

Of reaching out the the world and within

We reach out if it quakes in Gujarat or floods in Himalayas

We reach out if cyclone hits Odisha or landslide in Kerala

We reach out because that's our spirit

To reach out is an extension of what we are within

A world of a city that teaches that to explore, to learn, to create

To work and enjoy, to stroll and stay gentle and humble

This is Chennai, we reach out here

Not because we are best but because we care