Chennai deserves to be celebrated for its inclusiveness: Wildlife conservationist Zai Whitaker

I’ve been in Chennai for 52 years. I was 20 when I came to Chennai, practically a child. I was first called “thangachi”, then it became “akka”, then “amma”, and now people call me “paati”. Having grown up in a naturalist family, I knew that was I wanted to do. When I came here, it felt as though the world here had just been created for my arrival and enjoyment.

I never wanted to go back to Bombay (now Mumbai) despite many opportunities. Every time I travelled to another city, I would long to get back as, somehow, I never felt threatened here. When I first came, the roads were wide and open, there were very few cars, and there were numerous huge trees. Some parts of the city are still extremely pleasant.