Happy Birthday Madras...

Woah, you are 375 years old today..

No No, you are 375 years young today....

Happpy birthday to the only city I call home... 

I knew you back when you were called Madras

I spent quite a few days here 

Holidays, so memorable

Visits to the Marina beach

Playing in the water, digging into vadai and sundal

Ice cream at Snowfield

And then time flew

you changed, but not too much

I still looked forward to my holidays here

Checking out new restaurants.

Biting into that 1st pizza at Cakes n Bakes

Japoise cake and brown bread that granpa used to bring home

from McRennett

Gulping down bottles of Gold Spot, Rush and

Enjoying the pop of the Coke cans

from Burma Bazaar 

And then we moved cities

I was left in your arms for a good 2 months

Did not like it much, 

for I was just a child...

And then a decade later, I was back here

Calling Madras "home". 

Walking through the crowded lanes of Flower Bazaar

Shopping for little trinkets along the narrow alley in Sowcarpet

Laughing with friends while we downed pani puri in Pursaiwalkam

Visiting Mahabalipuram as part of school day trip..

And exploring the Egmore museum with uncle and cousin

You sure have a lot to offer, Madras

The locals and visitors will never tire..

The hot bhajji and tea in the roadside tea shop

Checking out gold bangle designs at GRT in Ranganathan Street

Waiting patiently while mom and gramma did saree shopping at Nalli

Looking forward to catching up with friends at Hot breads after college with friends

You sure have come far!!

Whenever someone new comes to the city

they ask me "so, what is your city all about?"

I stare at them as if they are stupid and then  go on to list...

The plays at Alliance Francaise

Concerts at Venkata subbarao hall in Lady andal school

and then there are all those food festivals at one of the many restaurants in the city

The Mylapore food walks and festival

The Dastkar and Aarti Bagdy shows 

We sure have it all

Today, she is called Chennai, but to me

she is always Madras

the 10 Downing street, the Pasha, the Bikes & Barrel

the Darios, the L'amandier, the Brew room

The murukku chaat, the bonda+chutney and hot jalebis

the kancheepuram saree, the fancy lehengas and swanky jeans

the Fort St George, the Theosophical society, the Art Houz

the Churches, temples, mosque and the beaches

the IT parks, the IIT, and the Vandalur zoo... 

sema supera illa mama?!!

Happy Birthday Madras......... 

My connection to Madras aka Chennai

Though I was born in this beautiful city called Madras [yes that is what it was called back in the days], I grew up in Coimbatore, Madurai and Tirunelveli before coming back to the city. Dad was with a bank and so we moved around a lot. As mentioned I was born here, so the 1st few months were spent here [though all I know are from what people around me have said] and then I was whisked off to Coimbatore. I was the 1st and only granddaughter on both mom and dad's side and so was quite the spoilt child. 

They would come visit us in Coimbatore, or we would go around to Shankagiri or come to Madras. I dont remember much from the early years of my life. What I do remember are the holidays spent in Madras. While we were in madurai, for every school break we would land up in Madras the very next morning. If school shut today, then the evening or night train would see us leave the town and I would return the morning of school reopening. That is how I remember spending most of the school holidays. This continued even after we moved to Tirunelveli. 

These are the most cherished memories, the days that I miss, the days when I fell in love with the city, the days when I first learnt about the city. 

We would land in Madras the morning, my uncle would be waiting for us at the station, the train used to pull into Egmore Station and cars could come right inside the platform. I would be super excited to see him, and once home I was pampered and spoilt till the day we left. I distinctly remember the front room in my grandparents house [which was my room till a few months ago]. There used to be a bed and a TV there [and a few cupboards, but who cares about them]. My uncle who used to frequent Trichy would bring back a few Coke cans [the imported kind] and they were Rs18 [yes I remember this very clearly]. There would be movies, Tv shows all on VCR tapes waiting for me to attack. I grew up watching A-Team and Different Strokes. I have no idea where my uncles chanced upon these shows but I love them to bits for having done what they did. 

Another memory I have of Madras is a not so pleasant one. When my parents moved to Thazhaiyuthu in Tirunelveli, there was time for school and I guess mom was just setting up the house. I was about 5 or 6yrs old. Three months to school I was packed off to Madras to be with my maternal grandparents. I dint enjoy the stay and just wanted to go back to my parents. I guess it was the whole "have you abandoned me" insecurity in a child that had me feeling so. 

Apart from home, I would spend a lot of time at a cousin's place. He was a year younger than me, but technically by relation my uncle [mom's cousin bro]. Mom, Me, Aunt and E would go to the beach, go out for ice cream and wander about during my holiday stay. I have spent quite a few nights at E's place, and those were such amazing days. 

Once when we had gone to the Marina beach, we kids must have been around 6 or 7yrs old, our moms' warned us not to jump in the water as they had not brought change of clothes. But did we care? we jumped right into the ocean and the return journey home was spent wrapped up in some bedsheets that were in the car. Back then, we used to do plenty of dinner picnics on the Marina beach. Cook food at home, pack them up and the entire family would then drive out, spend time in the beach and have dinner under the stars. 

As we grew up E & I have done crazy things quite a few times. Infact our families still tease us for all that we did. Once, we were out with a driver [yes, we have them in our family], and we ended up at this place called Sweet Memories on Mowbray's road. We decided to have pizza, and we had only Rs100. I have no idea how or why, but the bill came up to Rs112. There were no cell phones back then, and so we sent the driver home to bring the balance cash. :-) 

It was my uncle's who introduced me to English music [ABBA, Beatles, AC/DC, Billy joel, and just about everyone else] and who got me into the habit of reading. I did not have any stuffed toys or dolls, I only had books for company and I loved em. During a visit, my uncle from USA had come [i hadnt met him too many times and so he was nearly a stranger] and he took me book shopping and they got me hooked on Enid Blyton and The Mystery of 5 find-outers. 

Another time, we were just returning from Tirupati, and decided to have dinner outside. Snowfield was a favorite with the family. E & I would get an "Inspiration" or "Fascination"- the ice cream that came in tall tumblers filled with ice creams, jelly, nuts and what not. It would take us forever but we would devour the desserts. An uncle used to order ice cream soda- ice cream floating in a glass of Gold Spot or Campa cola. :-) We were not familiar with aerated drinks or junk food then, it would be breakfast lunch and dinner- one of the meals outside, and it was only with family. Unlike today, where family eat-outs are far and few. 

When the day came for us to return to Madurai/Tirunelveli, once again uncle would come to send us off. I remember pressing my face against the train window waving my hands "bye". 

We moved back here for good in 1990, and since then I have learnt so much about this city that everyday it amazes me. There is so much happening- so much to see and do that time is never enough~!! [So much so that I began a series on my blog called Celebrating Chennai.. should resume]

I do love my city

I hate it when people bitch/crib about it 

I will defend it 

I do agree the heat can get to you, but heck look beyond the heat~!! 

Happy birthday Madras [ Yes, I prefer calling you Madras over Chennai]

Skywatch Friday- Walk amidst the trees

A text from a friend "Girl, we are planning a tree walk on saturday with a few of my friends and our kids, coming? It is from 4-5pm in the Tree park in Kotturpuram" I instantly replied "Yep, will be there"

Armed with a bottle of water, I headed out towards the park, only to find the lot of them already out and about. I spotted them near the water pump, and a small make shift shed of sorts. My friend asked me to pull out the buckets and pot from the shed, while she took charge of pumping water. 

The kids were all between 4-10 and some had a tiny bucket with them, which they insisted on using. It was quite amusing. The park is not huge, but has quite a few trees and young saplings, and a path between for people who like to walk. Amidst these trees, we also spotted an adult male spotted deer that soon disappeared into the wilderness. Wondered where he had wandered in from. 

The adults in the group carried the big buckets, pouring into the smaller ones and guiding the kids towards the plants. It was amusing listening to them advice each other, get playful only to be pulled back by their parent. The best was when my friend's son P wanted to water the wild weeds and I told him they were wild plants that needn't be watered. He turned around and said 'but those plants also need water no, why you saying no put water on it?" I realized explaining this was going to be tricky..

Here we are teaching kids to water and take care of plants, and then we tell them certain plants dont need water.. Quite an awkward situation.. I decided to leave these tricky things to the parents  and distracted him to the spider on the lamp post. Kids being kids, got distracted and all swarmed around trying to catch a glimpse of the spider. One kid announced "let us pour water on the spider and see what happens"... Jeez, what is up with kids of today!!scary... lol... 

As we walked around, there were a few regulars who asked us if we maintain the place, or who takes care of the weeding and so on. Some came from a few kms away to walk, and said the park seemed run down over the past few weeks and wanted us to do something about it .


Sure felt good to have done this activity, and we hope to continue it for as long as possible and rope in more hands.


For more beautiful skies, visit Skywatch Friday

 About the park- Source: TOI 
The transformation of this area, which was once overrun by tonnes of waste and thick vegetation, was initially carried out in 2008 by the Public Works Department with support from Nizhal, a non-government organisation.Nizhal sourced and planted 240 saplings of over 100 different species of tropical dry evergreen forests/indigenous, naturalized trees/shrubs. Students and volunteers have been helping the greening process by pumping water from the lone hand pump to water the plants and adding manure.

Into the blue waters

Oh wow, guess what? We won we won, she announced.

It was one of those SMS contests run by Airtel. I wasnt an Airtel customer back then, and so had sent in an entry through my friend A's phone. And much to our surprise we'd won the 1st prize. It was a one day all expenses paid stay at Taj Fisherman's Cove. [it has been rechristened as Vivanta by Taj Fisherman's Cove]..

She then went on to say "am thinking of giving this prize to P & C [ a couple friend of ours] since it is for 2 people.  I replied "yes" and forgot about it till a few days later. As we were winding up for the day, my friend said "C has just discovered she is pregnant and so they are not keen on taking up the one day at Fish cove, what say we take off and go?"

Whoopie, i was excited. It was the 1st time i was getting such an opportunity. Soon after, we called and booked the date, packed our bags and drove out to Fisherman's cove along ECR.

Greeted with a garland made with shells and a welcome drink, soon showed to our room. It was beautiful, the walls were Blue, with a fish painting and another landscape adorning the other wall. The room, like every other opened out to the ocean and what a view that was....

We strolled along the beach, did a bit of work out in the gym [before dinner] and enjoyed a "on the house" dinner. A night stroll and an hour or chatting up while the waves lashed made the day magical. We decided to do something fun the next day, and as promised, we did. 

The morning dawned bright and beautiful, and we were high. Enjoying the luxury, pampering and the chance to unwind, we soaked it all in. Around 11, after breakfast and some walking, we walked along the shore, further ahead where a guy jumped down from a tower of sorts and greeted us. He then took us to a catamaran and introduced us to Senthil, the guy who was going to be our guide/and saviour... :-)

 

We were gonna go on a Catamaran Ride... Took off our shoes, i removed my specs, handed over the camera, and bags to the man in the tower and headed off towards the Catamaran. With butterflies and their grandparents doing the tango in our bodies, we hopped on to the wooden plank, holding on to the rope praying we got back safe. Oh, i forgot to mention- we were wearing life jackets and Senthil promised there was nothing to fret about.

"Ya right, tell that to 2 very frightened gals, neither knew swimming".... Within minutes, we forgot our fears and were screaming away in excitment, atleast i was. The water lashed onto the catamaran, drenching us, it was cool, it was sweet and it was salty. Boy, what an experience. After about 10mins, Senthil stopped rowing, and said "This is it, Jump"

"Say what?"

"No way, i aint jumping into the ocean, what if that is the last time i see anybody... what if i jumped, and went straight in and never came up.... "

A bit of coaxing was all it took for us to slowly slide outta the catamaran into the deep ocean. Senthil gave us the rope from the boat to hold on to, and in a matter of minutes, we were floating in the ocean.

I could feel the chill from the water under me, while the Sun blazed down on my face. The only glitch was i couldnt keep my head down straight, the water would go into my ears, and that was not a pleasant feeling. I kept my neck a bit above the water, and well, did end up with a slight catch. Allowing the silence to engulf us, we got quiet, i was holding onto the rope tight and listening to Senthil talk [he was generally chatting away, letting  us know he was right there]...

Closed my eyes, and allowed myself to relax, and that was it... Time went by, and i felt like i was floating. 30 -40 mins must have passed, i opened my eyes to see the boat was well, quite a distance away and i was safe and sound.. Paddled my way back to the boat and not too gracefully jumped onto it... Phew, what an experience that was.....

The next few hours were spent talking about it, how awesome it had been and how scared i had been... Few hours went by, we were back home and slowly i noticed my face turn a deep shade of beetroot, thanks to all the sun soaking i had done... :-)

Ah, good ol memories............

PS: These photographs were taken during a recent visit to Fish cove [well, i think it was over a year ago]... This experience happened way back in 2004... :-)

Gandhi in Chennai

The Marina beach in Chennai is the longest beach in the country, stretching across 14kms... There is a Mahatma Gandhi's statue almost at the center, and it is a beautiful one at that....

 This photo was taken during an early morning [7am] walk along the beach with uncles and cousins.... 

There are so many statues lining the beach, hope to capture them and share them all during the coming month :)

High Court, Chennai

The Madras High Court is yet another landmark building in the city... Yet another brick coloured building, it is not only majestic but buzzing with activity all the time! I have only seen the top tombs and pointed structures in movies, and so it was a revelation to visit the building and see it in person..

 

The High court is believed to be the second largest judicial complex in the world.. The building looms large, and there are so many corridors and floors, its amazing...

There is a statue of Manuneedhi Cholan near the main building... 

 

Manu Needhi Cholan or Manuneedhi Cholan was a legendary Chola king believed to have killed his own son to provide justice to a Cow, following Manu Needhi or Manu's law. Legend has it that the king hung a giant bell in front of his courtroom for anyone needing justice to ring. One day, he came out on hearing the ringing of the bell by a Cow. On enquiry he found that the Calf of that Cow was killed under the wheels of his chariot. In order to provide justice to the cow, he killed his own son under the chariot as a punishment to himself i.e. make himself suffer as much as the cow. His name has since then been used as a metaphor for fairness and justice in Tamil literature. - Courtesy:Wikipedia

Vanakkam Chennai

August has become a month of great significance, it is when Madras celebrates The Madras day, its birth along with various other festivities. I was born here, born when the city was called Madras and have watched it transform over the years, heck, the city is today called Chennai.. 

I have decided to do a series to celebrate the city that has me feeling chirpy, high and proud ..... 

 

This is a photograph of the infamous Chennai central Railway Station. If you have seen tamil movies, or any other movie where any of the actors make a trip to this town, this is the first building shown on the screen. Looming larger than life, the central station with its brick red exterior and colonial influences is quite a mesmerising site.