The sight of Madras and the Sound of Music
So, here are a few of my favourite Madras things.
5 AM filter coffee (sugary, but good) at Udipi Welcome
6 AM Sambar iddli at same Welcome
Filter Coffee and Real Vanilla ice-cream at Peter’s road Saravana Bhavan. (Ice-cream first, then Filter Coffee.)
Walking from Nilgiris/Radhakrishnan Salai to Ranjith hotel in Nungambakkam High Road at 7 in the evening.
Doing the same walk the next day, but with two friends for company.
Walking along Thanikachalam Road, Dr. Nair road, TP Road, Valluvar Kottam and Village road because you were bored of riding your bike.
Bored, so you take your bike out and go everywhere, without getting anywhere, and enjoy traffic for what it is – a huge affirmation that the city is still alive, is worth living in. Powercuts between 6 and 9 in the evenings, so you walk out and gossip with cousins and uncles and neighbours, catching up on old family scandals while the air cools down, mosquitoes warm up. Those 2-3 hours spent doing nothing, but sitting on the steps out your home.
Mint Street, Parry’s Corner, Fort St. George, Mandavelli-Mylapore markets, P.T Rajan salai, Natesan Salai and 9th Sector, KK Nagar, Sardar Patel Road, Mount. Road, Chamier’s Road and TTK Road, GN Chetty Road, Jeeva Park, Bazullah Road, Rangarajapuram/Samiyar Madam, Besant Avenue, Besant Lane, Besant Road, Peter’s Road, Gen. Patter’s Road, Pattulo’s Road, White’s Road, Greame’s Road. Tambaram via Velachery, GST Road from Airport to Tambaram, Irumbuliyur Road/NH45/NH4 to Poonamallee.
Thalankuppam, Water, Beach, Sand. Sitting with your feet at the edge of the wave at 11 AM in Thiruvanmiyur, after a night spent at the office, working with bosses who’ve become friends. Foggy mornings on Napier bridge, clear skies over Broken bridge, evenings and sunsets at Muthuswamy Bridge/Zero point, Watching red taillights of cars diminishing in size while standing on Anna Flyover. 5 minutes later, another motorcyclist stops and the two of you watch taillights of disappearing cars on NH road.
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January 15th, 2010 at 11:00 am
Such nostalgia darling. Lovely as always to read about your city from your perspective
January 15th, 2010 at 11:19 am
Highly enjoyable city – Chennai is
!
Filter Kaapi being staple food for many….
Add the Short ECR rides, Snacks @ Sangeetha on sterling road jn (I love the RA Puram one), Richie street, Woodlands @ Naradha Gana Sabha, also the erstwhile drivein, Ranganathan street shopping (hee hee!!), Chat on the terrace in the summer nights, many more….
Just too excited after reading the post… Chennai’s is HOT
(in weather too)
January 15th, 2010 at 5:38 pm
All the best for the deadlines coming up!
January 17th, 2010 at 9:44 pm
This reads like a poem. But seriously, you have the energy to wake up at 5 am and go out for coffee? (And there are restaurants open at 5 am?)
January 19th, 2010 at 3:58 pm
B******! I’m missing Chennai now
But sadly, the moments you speak of, are all tagged to memories from the past…childhood..college days..and virgin work days.. days tht will never come back..
dont know if I’ll feel the same again in Chennai…
January 19th, 2010 at 4:04 pm
Harsha: What you saying past and days not coming back? I did the Nilgiris to Ranjith walk in August 2008. I walked from T. nagar to Kilpauk in 2009. I did stop on Anna Flyover whenever I could, watching the lights come on and disappear.
Nostalgia is powerful. But not as much as reality is.
>>> dont know if I’ll feel the same again in Chennai…< <<
That’s the point – when I go back to Madras, I will feel different. But the beauty is, that difference is part of being in Madras, no?
That’s true of any big city, but especially so in Madras’ case.
January 22nd, 2010 at 11:16 am
Madras is indeed a beautiful place, no doubt about that.
By-the-by, I finally managed to attend a Kacheri during the music season