Chennai!!!!!

Whats up forum,

I have a very important work to do..But still..(Oru flash back music play pannikonga)

I was in Chennai last weekend..WW2.6 and WW2.7 as some would say..:-P..(WW naa work week..Intel has the work week rather than the normal calendar week..IBU lam poda try panle..). I was full of verve friday night coz I was gonna rise the next morning in 'Singaara Chennai'..As usual KSRTC untime a 4.30 ku 'Koyembedu' kondu poi vittan..I really have to digress to talk about some names in and around Chennai like Koyambedu..Infact naanum Arunum indha matter vechu dan most of the bus journey time pass panninom (More on that later)...Most of them are very good Thamizh names, given to a synthesizer for distorting in a totally arbitrary manner..To quote Arun, " Aminji karai is what Chennai does to Amaindha karai"..Similarly you have Chembarambaakkam , Purashavaakkam, Chepauk , virugambaakkam,Gummanaanchavadi, pammal, Gummudipoondi etc.. I somehow feel good about pronouncing the 'x-ambaakkam' names..Also there are very British like names... "Thousand lites" , "Mount Road", "Egmore" etc..

Getting back to the 'crux' of the matter, at 4.30 am on a saturday morning M70 enroute Thiruvaanmiyur (another beautiful name) was 'filled to the brim'. The city was up and running at a time which the average Bangalorean is unaware of. All temples were open and some of them blaring loud devotional songs, lads brandishing their cricket bats enroute to the beach and I could even find some shops open. All this gave a really good feeling. People were enjoying the weather probably because its the only time in the day they can do so :-P..

After an hour I reached Arun's place in Thiruvaanmiyur. Of course he was enjoying the weather sleeping peacefully until I woke him up..Very soon I too started enjoying Chennai's climate..He had warned me saying, "Dey 7 o clock mela veyil adikka aarambichudum..Ippave padu"...He is right. In Chennai ppl dont have to go to gym to loose weight. They just have to exist...:-P..The weather takes care of everything else. I believe the weather there is one of the main reasons for the dynamic lifestyle compared to the drab and sedentary life style of B'lore. Its like you are knee deep in steaming soup and forced to move around to escape the heat..

But luckily WW2.6 was awesome. It was cloudy , windy and cool. Perfect Bangalore weather in Chennai. No better combination for sight-seeing. As a matter of fact Thiruvanmiyur beach is just 5 mins from Arun's house (Thalaivar bayangara posh locality le dan irukaaru)..First thing in the morning we went to the beach..Its almost a month since I went to Chennai and I had a feeling that the sea was swollen :-P..for which Arun replied "Dey adhu vera onnum ille ...Nee gundu aayirukke!!!"..
After the customary feet wash in "Mahodhadhi" (Bay of Bengal in Sanskrit :-) ) we left for his home..

I had the best breakfast in one month at his home..In Blore due to non availability of South Indian food either because its unhygienic or over priced, I had restricted my breakfast to just fruits or pongal(only comestible dish I found) or nothing. But in Chennai I was astounded to know that 6 Dosa's and a generous serving of Chutney Sambhar costs just Rs 15 and the best part is that its home made. A similar serving either overly oiled or uncooked would easily cost thrice in Bangalore. Enna irundhaalum saappadukku namma oora adichikka mudiyaadhu!!!

After a hearty break fast we embarked on a journey to Egmore museum. It was a good 1.5 hour journey and we were discussing the wins and woes of our respective workplaces. By the way Arun works in Atmel which is also a semiconductor company.(More about Arun later)..Ya so time just flew by and we reached Egmore. For the first time , I had the feeling that I was in a 'Big City'..I did not have this feeling even when I came to Blore from Coimbatore..Honestly Bangalore can never attain Chennai's magnificence..The sophistication of the place just got on to us.

The first place we visited enroute the museum was Spencer Plaza Music World..I went in search of 'Aandavan aathma aanmeegam' and he was in search of ear phones. Both of us returned empty handed. :-)..My mom whose early life (pre-marital) was in Chennai has told me a lot of Egmore glories..Higgin botham's, Baskin robbins, Spencer plaaza etc in the 1970's..Did Blore even know of such names then?? Bangalore now can be best compared to "Pudhu panakkaaran"..The pristine parts of Blore (cantonment area, Ulsoor, etc) are still similar to some landscapes in Chennai (Guindy, Egmore etc)..So this has made me opine that Bangalore was like Chennai but is slowly drifting away from its pristine form. The only area I hear where hints of proper Blore can still be found is the areas surrounding the cantonment.

It was nearly 1.00 pm when we came out of Spencer's and we spotted a certain Ponnusamy hotel. A Merc C class, BMW 520 di and an Audi A3 was parked infront of the hotel. Adhellam kooda paravaale...What put us off our feet was the impeccably dressed security..We gave each other sheepish looks and as usual Arun who sees the best in any situation remarked ," Dey security irukkara hotel le ellam namma saapda koodadhu"..And off we went to the museum..

We started our photo sessions and continued until an 'aaya' reminded us that photography is prohibited. That made us take rest for a couple of minutes before we started afresh concentrating more on the "prohibited" zone..Interested readers can refer to FB for pics. We covered the museum in about an hour and the art gallery in about 5 mins and I remarked, " Dey coverage semaya irukku le" ..This brought back memories of AD days..For more info on that refer to Arun's blog..

We had a late half lunch at some cafe and left for our destinations. Actually I had planned to cover Kanchipuram also in the evening but due to ignorance of bus routes, I opted Guindy instead of T Nagar to catch the bus to Kanchi. I had planned for 3 p.m but when we reached Guindy it was past 4.0pm and hence I had to drop it. Arun returned home and I visited the Shiva temple in Thiruvaanmiyur before getting back home.

I had Guitar lessons that night. In fact Arun had earlier in the morning taught me to play C-chord and in the night Gautham came home and taught me to play some alphabet - sharp chord. If u don't believe refer to FB pics..It was great fun playing the guitar..The day culminated with a sumptuous dinner of hot adai's and chappathi with coconut chutney.

In all it was a memorable day..Everything was perfectly in place and I had a peaceful, contented sleep.

The next morning WW2.7, I was off to Kanchi..More on that later.

I dedicate this pst to God.

Bengaluru!!!!!

Whats up forum,

I have very important work to do but all that can wait....

This post for a change is dedicated to my bivouac, ('Ok..othukaren..Nee nenakaradhu nyayam dan..') "Bangalore"..(Inga final countdown background music play pannikonga)...

Seri, why I say that is because Bangalore is where,

Volvo buses are more crowded than normal buses (othukaren...copied (O.C))..

For a certain distance (typically 1 k.m) prices of auto-rickshaw (which even the rich fear to use in Chennai) is comparable or even less than the bus fare (Sondha observation (S.O))

Two buses going to the same destination race against each other , the first one being filled to the brim and the second one practically empty. (S.O)

Two buses of the same number ply in different routes..(500C for example)..And you are made a sinner if you board the wrong bus.

The waiting time at a bus stop is inversely related to the number of good looking people of the opposite gender. (General observation...works here too.)

Every other day , a bus runs over a security person or a stray dog trying to cross the road.

Guys are dressed in thick woollens but the girls wear sleeveless tops..whatever..(S.O).

In Chennai the seasons are "It's hot".."I am frying"..."Oops...I am dead"..
But here "I am working from office"..."I am working from home".."I am on a vacation".. (S.O)

A Dosa and a Pizza costs the same..(May be C.O)

Atleast 40 creatures of the homosapien species are packed into a Swaraj Mazda travelling at record speeds..(S.O)..One good way to reduce weight..

Getting Bangalored is not uncommon.(S.O)

Rs 2 is the least indivisible currency...Talks are being held by auto-drivers and bus-conductors to increase it to Rs 5. It is already being implemented in some places.(S.O)

Sophistication does not accompany affluence. (S.O).

I got my first experience of being food-poisoned.(Definitely S.O).