Chennai Cyclone: The First Place I Visited Was the Hotel!

Bihari Dhaba
Image: Bihari Dhaba, the food survival spot in Taramani. 

It was the third week of October 2024. I was living in a PG in Taramani, just three kilometers from my office at the Ramanujan IT City. Everything was tracking perfectly: I was getting used to the city, settling into my routine, and figuring out the operational rhythm of my new life.

 

Then, the weather alerts started flashing on my phone.

The Breaking Point

 

A massive cyclone was tracking straight toward Chennai, with the tech corridor predicted to take a direct hit. As someone who works in operations, I’m used to calculating risk. But while I was sitting there calmly weighing my options, the reality of the storm made the choice for me.

 

Suddenly, the grid went completely dark. Power down.

 

I stepped out of my room to assess the situation and looked over the balcony. The entire basement of the building was already a muddy, swirling lake. The water level was rising with terrifying speed. Without electricity, the air grew heavy and suffocating, and the sound of the relentless rain outside only amplified the tension.

 

Traffic While Moving from PG to Hotel (Luckily I was out of flooded area)!

The Hotel Safehouse

 

I realized very quickly that holding the line in a flooded PG wasn’t a brave strategy—it was a bad one.

 

Before the roads became entirely impassable, I packed a quick bag, waded out, and made a run for it. My destination was a hotel in one of the higher, safer zones of the city. I figured it would be a cinematic 24-to-48-hour staycation until the storm blew over.

 

It ended up taking four days.

 

Four days of watching the city weather the storm from a hotel room completely rewrote my perspective on Chennai. It also made me realize I needed to pivot my living situation immediately. Taramani was great for my commute, but I needed higher ground.

St. Thomas Mount (Image Credits: GreatRuns.com)

A Blessing in Disguise

 

That forced relocation is exactly how I discovered St. Thomas Mount—the place that became my sanctuary for the next year and a half. It was a beautiful, vibrant neighborhood filled with incredible, warm people.

 

Yes, my daily commute back to Ramanujan IT City became significantly longer. But looking back, that cyclone was a blessing in disguise. It forced me out of my comfort zone and dropped me right into the community I actually needed.’

 

Sometimes in life, just like in business operations, a sudden disruption is just the universe forcing a necessary course correction. All for good.

Ayush Kumar

Project Operations

Learn More
St. Thomas Mount (Image Credits: GreatRuns.com)

Thank you for landing on this page and reading my blog. I will be writing more on project management and also cover my life insights as well. Stay tuned and subscribe to my newsletter. 

About Ayush Kumar

Ayush Kumar is an operational strategist and founder of ayushwrites.in, a platform built for enterprise leaders looking to transform chaotic workflows into high-margin growth engines. Specializing in Project Operations and advanced tech stacks, Ayush cuts through corporate fluff to bridge the gap between high-level strategy and scalable execution.

 

Through The Foundry, he deconstructs real-world business stories and case studies, revealing the exact frameworks behind successful enterprise scaling.

 

Originally from the “Land of the Ganga,” Ayush infuses his business strategies with human-centric life insights gathered from global travel. Want to scale your operations without the chaos?

Connect with Ayush on LinkedIn: In/AayushKnack

Amazing Years

I started my journey back in 2016. I worked with so many amazing companies and learnt a lot throughout this journey. And I’m still learning new skills and knowledge. 

Thank you for encouraging Me!

Each time you visit this page, you encourage me to perform better and better. So thank you for visiting and getting to know about me!

  • Recent Posts