CHENNAI
Last weekend, my wife and I visited Chennai.
Her brother is doing his doctorate in IIT and he booked a guest house for us. We left on the night of 4-Jul. Our tickets were booked for a train at 11:30 in the night. When we reached the station, it was not even 10:00 p.m. yet. Suma suggested that we could check if tickets for an earlier train were available. This was a master stroke ! There were ample number of tickets and we got the middle berths.
For both of us, it was a long time since we travelled in sleeper class. She had last visited Mantralaya travelling in a train while my previous trip was even earlier. In fact it was more than 18 years ago when my parents and I moved from Mumbai to Bangalore ! Not much has changed in 2nd class 3 tier coaches since then though ! There were the cushioned seats, the blue light, the emergency chain with the warning that it must not be pulled (therefore when I was younger it made me wonder what would happen if I did pull it !!) and the same motley crowd !
The most interesting person among the motley crowd on that night was a silent gentleman who came in with wads of old paper. He used the old paper to wipe the cushioned seat clean. Soundlessly, he also drank a gulp of water from the bottle he had brought and then he was all set to enter the arms of Morpheus ! He blew an air pillow making me even more conscious of the uncomfortably hard bag I would have to use for a pillow ! Around us there were also a couple of salesmen who were discussing about their business trips and the advantages of booking the upper berth ("I can sleep peacefully in the morning !!"). Meanwhile after the TC came, our silent man gave him a greeting and soon he draped a sheet over himself and was oblivious to the rest of the world.
The train chugged into Chennai and it was not even 5 a.m. at that time. We drank coffee at the station buying it using English as our link language ! Suma's brother had warned us about the auto drivers in Chennai and their rates. Sure enough, the first auto driver asked us Rs. 250 to take us to enter the IIT campus ! We followed Suma's brother's advice and settled for a round Rs. 110 from one of the other auto drivers.
The IIT campus is unbelievably green. In the early morning, there were already a few morning walkers and joggers. When we checked into the guest house, it was barely 6 a.m. Already we felt the beginning of a hot day and it was good that the spacious room had an A/c and a fan to go along with it !
That morning Suma and I went to the Guindy National Park. There are two parks where one has to buy separate tickets. The snake park is the exotic one, but even the curiously named "Children's Park" is equally interesting. The name is a misnomer. The park is not only relevant for children, though there are slides and playgrounds for them. There are also rare birds, hyenas and many other animals in this park.
In the evening, we walked around the IIT campus. Suma's brother informed us that IIT Chennai was funded by Germany. Probably in that honour, one of the roads from the main gate is called the "Bonn Avenue". There are various trees, including gul mohur, etc. On the IIT roads, only cycles are allowed. Except for the senior staff, nobody can use fuel based vehicles. It is a pleasure to walk on those roads. It surprised us to see deer freely move about in the campus ! Who can imagine that such a thing is possible within the city limits in one of our Indian cities !
There is also a battery powered bus that takes one from within the campus to the main gate for just one rupee. While we visited places in Chennai, it was this bus that ferried us from main gate to where our guest house was. That is quite a distance actually : around 2 k.m. All along the roads in the campus, there are signboards and maps indicating where the stadium, the director's house, etc. are.
Next morning, the three of us took a taxi and went to Mahabalipuram. Our driver had a nice alternative name for the East Coast Road when we paid the toll. He said it is the East COST road :-)) This man has a good sense of humour. He has worked in Gujarat and so he knows manageable Hindi. This was lucky for us. In the evening, he slowed down when buffaloes crossed the road. He said that the buffaloes are the "brake inspectors" on the highways :-)
On the way, we stopped at Crocodile Park. There was a demonstration of the poisonous snakes. When the attendant provoked the dangerous snakes (like the cobra and a long and coiled Russell's viper) by moving a cloth in front of it, the snakes reacted and struck it ! That was quite a sight. The viper visibly increased its size as it hissed and took a deep breath. On the other hand, the most short tempered snake is the krait .... or it may be that this particular krait was in an angry mood that day :-))
Our next stop was Mahabalipuram itself. We saw the temple of the five rathas first. What struck me most was a spherical stone on the side of the temple. Sure, the elephant in the front of the temple is impressive but even the spherical stone is a marvel in its own. Then we went to the lighthouse and walked to various cave temples. Some of the carving in the temples is amazing. When I recall the effort I spent in workshop during engineering to merely chisel wood, I can only mentally salute the sculptors who have chiselled stone to create works of art.
We ate lunch and went to the shore temple. After roaming about in the hot sun, covering at least six temples, we were pretty much tired. So, while the shore temple is impressive the three of us also welcomed the garden around it as well as the cool breeze coming in from the shore. Suma, in fact, chose to deliberately walk where the sprinklers showered water. The feel of cool water made the discomfort of getting our clothes wet worth it !!
We spent time at the Mahabalipuram beach. The waves were beginning to recede. It was refreshing to have our feets soaked in the cool water and also to watch the waves as they hit the shore. The sound of the waves and the sight of the frothy water approaching the white sands all combined to make a memorable experience.
We visited a grand aunt of mine on our way back.
Suma and I went to the museum on the next morning. From outside, the museum looks none too impressive, but once one enters it, one is transported to a different world. There are statues from various places in India in it. I feel the labelling and presentation can certainly be improved, but even without that, the exhibits are worth a visit. The zoology section has the skeleton of a whale and that really puts its size in perspective ! I was standing under it and though I am 6' 2" the length of the whale made me feel small ! What a sight it must be filled with flesh and blood in the ocean !
From there, we walked to Spencer Plaza, a shopping mall on Mount Road. I had visited Chennai earlier and told Suma that one of the things that we needed to do there was to eat at Saravana Bhavan, particularly the idlis with four different kinds of chutney and chutney powder ! At Spencer Plaza, we found one Saravana Bhavan. Since it was lunch time, we didn't order idlis, but Suma agreed that lunch there was rather tasty.
In the evening we visited an old friend of mine from college. He and I shared news of common friends and caught up with each other. Suma and his wife also got to know each other. My friend's daughter is a playful girl, immediately opening the gift we brought her and promising to visit us when she came to Bangalore ! The dinner we had at a hotel was memorable. I only wish I had remembered to take my camera along when we visited them !
The next day was a Sunday morning and incredibly it was already time to leave Chennai. We got up leisurely, ate breakfast at the mess, packed and soon it was time to leave. For the last time, Suma and I got into the battery powered bus and bade adieu to a wonderful campus and a brief yet memorable vacation !
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NOTE:
I had originally written this blog in another site. Since that site is no longer accessible, I am uploading it in this blog at http://fewidlethoughts.blogspot.in/ using the same date as the original blog dates.
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===== COMMON TEXT FOR ALL BLOGS =====
++++++ BEGINS ++++++
When I created my first blog, I thought I was
being clever by being "anonymous" and let my
opinions speak for themselves (see the archive !)
Imagine my embarrassment when I saw my name
displayed ! So now, while I still retain the blog
name as "Anonymous Expressions", I will only
request you to ignore my name and concentrate on
my opinions instead !
ALL COPYRIGHTS AND TRADEMARKS ARE ACKNOWLEDGED
AS THE PROPERTIES OF THEIR OWNERS.
The opinions expressed in the Weblogs are my
personal opinions. Please tell me if you spot any
factual mistakes or don't like the way I have
expressed a view. If I can see your point, I will
correct the mistake. You can email me at
kiran.suma@gmail.com.
++++++ ENDS ++++++
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
Last weekend, my wife and I visited Chennai.
Her brother is doing his doctorate in IIT and he booked a guest house for us. We left on the night of 4-Jul. Our tickets were booked for a train at 11:30 in the night. When we reached the station, it was not even 10:00 p.m. yet. Suma suggested that we could check if tickets for an earlier train were available. This was a master stroke ! There were ample number of tickets and we got the middle berths.
For both of us, it was a long time since we travelled in sleeper class. She had last visited Mantralaya travelling in a train while my previous trip was even earlier. In fact it was more than 18 years ago when my parents and I moved from Mumbai to Bangalore ! Not much has changed in 2nd class 3 tier coaches since then though ! There were the cushioned seats, the blue light, the emergency chain with the warning that it must not be pulled (therefore when I was younger it made me wonder what would happen if I did pull it !!) and the same motley crowd !
The most interesting person among the motley crowd on that night was a silent gentleman who came in with wads of old paper. He used the old paper to wipe the cushioned seat clean. Soundlessly, he also drank a gulp of water from the bottle he had brought and then he was all set to enter the arms of Morpheus ! He blew an air pillow making me even more conscious of the uncomfortably hard bag I would have to use for a pillow ! Around us there were also a couple of salesmen who were discussing about their business trips and the advantages of booking the upper berth ("I can sleep peacefully in the morning !!"). Meanwhile after the TC came, our silent man gave him a greeting and soon he draped a sheet over himself and was oblivious to the rest of the world.
The train chugged into Chennai and it was not even 5 a.m. at that time. We drank coffee at the station buying it using English as our link language ! Suma's brother had warned us about the auto drivers in Chennai and their rates. Sure enough, the first auto driver asked us Rs. 250 to take us to enter the IIT campus ! We followed Suma's brother's advice and settled for a round Rs. 110 from one of the other auto drivers.
The IIT campus is unbelievably green. In the early morning, there were already a few morning walkers and joggers. When we checked into the guest house, it was barely 6 a.m. Already we felt the beginning of a hot day and it was good that the spacious room had an A/c and a fan to go along with it !
That morning Suma and I went to the Guindy National Park. There are two parks where one has to buy separate tickets. The snake park is the exotic one, but even the curiously named "Children's Park" is equally interesting. The name is a misnomer. The park is not only relevant for children, though there are slides and playgrounds for them. There are also rare birds, hyenas and many other animals in this park.
In the evening, we walked around the IIT campus. Suma's brother informed us that IIT Chennai was funded by Germany. Probably in that honour, one of the roads from the main gate is called the "Bonn Avenue". There are various trees, including gul mohur, etc. On the IIT roads, only cycles are allowed. Except for the senior staff, nobody can use fuel based vehicles. It is a pleasure to walk on those roads. It surprised us to see deer freely move about in the campus ! Who can imagine that such a thing is possible within the city limits in one of our Indian cities !
There is also a battery powered bus that takes one from within the campus to the main gate for just one rupee. While we visited places in Chennai, it was this bus that ferried us from main gate to where our guest house was. That is quite a distance actually : around 2 k.m. All along the roads in the campus, there are signboards and maps indicating where the stadium, the director's house, etc. are.
Next morning, the three of us took a taxi and went to Mahabalipuram. Our driver had a nice alternative name for the East Coast Road when we paid the toll. He said it is the East COST road :-)) This man has a good sense of humour. He has worked in Gujarat and so he knows manageable Hindi. This was lucky for us. In the evening, he slowed down when buffaloes crossed the road. He said that the buffaloes are the "brake inspectors" on the highways :-)
On the way, we stopped at Crocodile Park. There was a demonstration of the poisonous snakes. When the attendant provoked the dangerous snakes (like the cobra and a long and coiled Russell's viper) by moving a cloth in front of it, the snakes reacted and struck it ! That was quite a sight. The viper visibly increased its size as it hissed and took a deep breath. On the other hand, the most short tempered snake is the krait .... or it may be that this particular krait was in an angry mood that day :-))
Our next stop was Mahabalipuram itself. We saw the temple of the five rathas first. What struck me most was a spherical stone on the side of the temple. Sure, the elephant in the front of the temple is impressive but even the spherical stone is a marvel in its own. Then we went to the lighthouse and walked to various cave temples. Some of the carving in the temples is amazing. When I recall the effort I spent in workshop during engineering to merely chisel wood, I can only mentally salute the sculptors who have chiselled stone to create works of art.
We ate lunch and went to the shore temple. After roaming about in the hot sun, covering at least six temples, we were pretty much tired. So, while the shore temple is impressive the three of us also welcomed the garden around it as well as the cool breeze coming in from the shore. Suma, in fact, chose to deliberately walk where the sprinklers showered water. The feel of cool water made the discomfort of getting our clothes wet worth it !!
We spent time at the Mahabalipuram beach. The waves were beginning to recede. It was refreshing to have our feets soaked in the cool water and also to watch the waves as they hit the shore. The sound of the waves and the sight of the frothy water approaching the white sands all combined to make a memorable experience.
We visited a grand aunt of mine on our way back.
Suma and I went to the museum on the next morning. From outside, the museum looks none too impressive, but once one enters it, one is transported to a different world. There are statues from various places in India in it. I feel the labelling and presentation can certainly be improved, but even without that, the exhibits are worth a visit. The zoology section has the skeleton of a whale and that really puts its size in perspective ! I was standing under it and though I am 6' 2" the length of the whale made me feel small ! What a sight it must be filled with flesh and blood in the ocean !
From there, we walked to Spencer Plaza, a shopping mall on Mount Road. I had visited Chennai earlier and told Suma that one of the things that we needed to do there was to eat at Saravana Bhavan, particularly the idlis with four different kinds of chutney and chutney powder ! At Spencer Plaza, we found one Saravana Bhavan. Since it was lunch time, we didn't order idlis, but Suma agreed that lunch there was rather tasty.
In the evening we visited an old friend of mine from college. He and I shared news of common friends and caught up with each other. Suma and his wife also got to know each other. My friend's daughter is a playful girl, immediately opening the gift we brought her and promising to visit us when she came to Bangalore ! The dinner we had at a hotel was memorable. I only wish I had remembered to take my camera along when we visited them !
The next day was a Sunday morning and incredibly it was already time to leave Chennai. We got up leisurely, ate breakfast at the mess, packed and soon it was time to leave. For the last time, Suma and I got into the battery powered bus and bade adieu to a wonderful campus and a brief yet memorable vacation !
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
NOTE:
I had originally written this blog in another site. Since that site is no longer accessible, I am uploading it in this blog at http://fewidlethoughts.blogspot.in/ using the same date as the original blog dates.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
===== COMMON TEXT FOR ALL BLOGS =====
++++++ BEGINS ++++++
When I created my first blog, I thought I was
being clever by being "anonymous" and let my
opinions speak for themselves (see the archive !)
Imagine my embarrassment when I saw my name
displayed ! So now, while I still retain the blog
name as "Anonymous Expressions", I will only
request you to ignore my name and concentrate on
my opinions instead !
ALL COPYRIGHTS AND TRADEMARKS ARE ACKNOWLEDGED
AS THE PROPERTIES OF THEIR OWNERS.
The opinions expressed in the Weblogs are my
personal opinions. Please tell me if you spot any
factual mistakes or don't like the way I have
expressed a view. If I can see your point, I will
correct the mistake. You can email me at
kiran.suma@gmail.com.
++++++ ENDS ++++++
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
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