OK folks, as promised by Chandrachoodan, herewith a small round up of what I’ve enjoyed sharing with you:

The posts that have been the most fun, of course, are the series ‘……..those were the days when’! I wrote about Besant Nagar beach, Anna Nagar, the Buckingham Canal, the Lake Area where Valluvar Kottam now stands, Safire Theatre, the Jafars Ice Cream Parlour and crossing the Adyar river at Kotturpuram before they built the bridge as far as I recall! Many people commented about the days described there, adding to the overall information, and sharing their own reminisces. It was good to recall those days and be able to share it with people who have not known the Madras (as it was then) of that time. To my mind these were the most fulfilling posts.

There’s another ( hopefully) series I embarked on titled ‘In conversation with’-the first being with the MTV VJ Nikhil Chinappa. Through these, I hope to bring out the multi-hued flavour of our city in conversation with the people who help make Chennai what it is. I will expand on this in the coming year.

Then there are the series called ‘Lessons from……’ which included Hyderabad and Delhi. The idea is not to compare those cities with Chennai (as far as I’m concerned Chennai is incomparable!), but to pick up on a few good points that Chennai can emulate to make it even better. I hope do more from cities both in India and elsewhere in the coming year.

Then there are the posts on the state of our city’s infrastructure. The point is to highlight, inform and throw light on what needs to be improved so that a well spring of opinion can build up as a positive pressure that can get people in authority to act. I believe that if enough media start sensitizing the citizens to this, the government will be compelled to plan and execute better. This may be a small drop in the ocean, but its better than no drop at all! The mainstream media are also alive to this problem, and we will, I think, find more of this.

Then, of course, there are the posts on the state of the city’s traffic for which we are all responsible. Here again, the idea is to sensitize ourselves, so that, those who have been touched, may drive with a little more consideration. I do not agree with people who look at these as complaints, or worse, whining (in one reader’s lexicon). The fact is, the roads are the way they are because of our ‘couldn’t care less’ attitude, and that’s something we can all change. Part of the frustration, of course, stems from the poor road infrastructure, but that’s the whole point. If we don’t use what little we have responsibly, it’s only going to get worse!

So there you have it folks. Its been a wonderful experience to share with all of you. Here’s wishing you all the best for this Season, and a very Happy New Year with God’s blessings on each one of you and your families for success, joy and happiness through out 2007!