Service Without a Smile

I have just arrived in Madras and already the madness of the world I have left behind - gun violence, racial tension, lunatic Presidential contenders, turbulent stock markets - has faded away like mist dissolving in sunlight. I find myself engulfed in a very different kind of madness, a uniquely Madras brand of craziness and chaos that reminds me with a visceral jolt every time I encounter it, of just how much I love this place and why I miss it so much when I’m away.  And of how it drives me up the wall and forces me to reach deep into my Zen Zone and makes me discover and mine the rich vein of comedy that runs through the aggravating irritants of everyday life.