This day was marked entirely for sight-seeing. No official meetings had been setup for the clients. I just had a quick meeting with my team and then checked-out of the Guest House. By the time we finally got on the road outside our office, we were delayed by at least 45 minutes.
However, the place where we planned to go first had an even later opening time. The place called Shilparamam is basically a market where artisans and craftsman peddle their wares that ranged from stone carved dolls to jute bags to woodwork to clothing materials.
The makers have been given a place to stay within the campus and can sell their wares at designated shops that have been opened up for them. This in effect eliminates the various middlemen and so the cost of the product doesn’t bite our wallets.
The clients had a really great time buying stuff especially at the shop where woodwork was being sold. Each of them bought stuff for more than Rs.1500.
We then had lunch at some restaurant and then headed out to the Salar Jung Museum. By the time we reached that place, it was almost 2.30 PM. Since we were getting a little hard-pressed for time, we wanted to finish up visiting this museum quickly. Luckily, the Program Manager who was with us had a great contact inside the museum. His brother-in-law was thick friends with the Chief Security Officer of this museum.
In typical Sarkari Babu style, the Program Manager started showing his weight around to those on guard asking for the Chief Security Officer by his first name and then referring to his post. This did get us a lot of attention and we were soon escorted by a Policeman on duty. He started showing us around the museum. Within 5 minutes, another person who looked like the typical museum guide also came along. Turned out that he too was a cop, but one who was in street clothes. We told him our time constraint and since it was also nearing 3 PM, we had to watch that famous cuckoo clock at work. He assured that he would take us there in time and showed us around a few other rooms.
The museum is quite a big one and the collections inside are fantastic. My first thoughts before entering the museum was that only the things used by the Nizam dynasty would be on display. Only after entering a couple of the rooms did I realize that this was basically an exhibition of all things that the Nizams collected over the centuries. There were great stone idols of Hindu deities and exquisitely carved Hindu deities in wood. There was a really huge wood statue of Garuda made in Rosewood and there was also a very big (almost 6 feet by 6 feet) painting of the famous Geethopadhesham scene in the Kurukshetra battle.
Anyways, it was nearing 3 PM and so our guide hurried us in one direction. It was a small atrium sort of place inside the museum. There were a lot of iron chairs set in line, like what you’d find in the Railways Reservation Counter. There was a small corridor at one end of this atrium and this was actually at a higher level (or if you prefer, the atrium was at a lower level). There was a small 2 feet by 2 feet contraption placed on a table there and there were two projector screens on either side of it. This contraption was actually the famous cuckoo clock. I had expected a large grandfather type of clock, so it was a let-down.
The atrium must have been around 25 feet by 25 feet with this clock at one end. There was a gap of around 10 feet between this clock and the first row of chairs. When we reached this place, we wanted to settle into the chairs at the end that were empty. However, our guide asked us to come forward and there we saw 2 special chairs placed some 4 feet ahead of the regular chairs. We thought that they did something for the clients. But the guide asked the 2 of us as well to come to the front. Since it was getting very close to 3 PM, the crowd started murmuring and some even raised their voices asking us to sit down. The policeman brought 2 more chairs from somewhere and in effect the 4 of us were now given privileged seating very close to the clock.
It was then 3 ‘O clock and a small doll popped out from a door at one end of the clock, hit a gong-like thing thrice and then went back inside the door. Very honestly speaking, the whole thing was a big let-down for me. First of all, I expected a bigger clock based on all the descriptions I had heard before. So seeing a small clock was a little upsetting. And blaming myself, I assumed that there would be some elaborate show at the top of the hour like a bunch of soldiers marching out etc. I guess I went in with very high expectations and got let down.
Anyways, after the clock had made itself useless for another one hour, we were joined by 2 more policemen. These guys were also in “mufti” but they had the unmistakable air of a policeman and carried walkie-talkies with them. They took us to the room with the marble collection and showed us an amazing sculpture called the Veiled Rebecca. This is a white marble statue of a woman and is probably around 6 feet in height. From a distance of say even 3 feet, it looks like the statue has been draped in a piece of transparent cloth – like a veil. But get closer and you will realize that there is no such cloth. The sculptor has carved it in such a manner that the marble itself looks like a veil. This is a truly wonderful exhibit and a definite “Do not miss” category topper.
They then took us to various other sections of the museum and I was impressed by the ivory collection. They had chess sets made of ivory and were of different sizes. There were even variations in the form of Indian style, Japanese style, Burmese style etc. Special mention must also be made of the chinaware and the glassware on display. There were so many Gold rimmed cutlery and all these were marked as ones used for daily use!
All along, we had these policemen escorting us around. The only thing missing was a policeman with a rifle and that would have completed the “VIP” picture! Since it was getting late, we wrapped up the visit and thanked all the guides profusely. What really impressed me was that these policemen were well aware of the significance of each of these exhibits and were able to come out with a lot of information related to it.
We then had an even more hurried visit to the Chowmahalla Palace. This is quite a run-down palace and is actually not very impressive. We took all our mandatory pictures and then headed off to the airport.
At the airport, the clients and the Program Manager were on the same flight but I was on one scheduled to leave an hour later. My airline’s counter hadn’t even opened and so we spent some time chatting in the area before the Security checks happen. But the others had to leave and I was then waiting for the counter to open. This was when I realized how much I miss my phone. At such occasions, I’d either be forwarding messages, or playing some game on my mobile. But now, I was sitting in the waiting area quite literally twiddling my thumbs!
Finally the counter opened and I got my gate pass. After I crossed the Security check point, I ate some of the “cheap” airport food and then went to my gate. But due to the bad weather at Chennai, my flight and quite a lot of the others too, was delayed. There was no formal announcement and I learnt it by looking at the TV screen.
I was flying by Paramount Airlines which has earned a name for its “All Business Class” seats. I expected their service at the ground also to be that good, but it was far from that. Finally the flight took off an hour behind schedule. Amongst the many passengers in the flight was the irreplaceable S.P.Balasubramaniam. There was also the small time actor Raja (appeared in movies like Pudhu Vasantham, Karuthamma etc.).
I finally reached Chennai after a not so pleasant flight – there was some turbulence and I was not really happy with the Airlines’ claim of “All Business Class”. There was more legroom, but the rest of the seat was as cramped as an economy seat in any airline.
I reached home only by 11 and went to bed early since I had to pick up the clients at their hotel the next morning. But this travelogue ends now. If you have read this, Thanks!
Showing posts with label trip. Show all posts
Showing posts with label trip. Show all posts
Sunday, November 09, 2008
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Client and Hyderabad Visit - Day 0 - 19/Oct/08
19th October was the date identified by the Tamil Nadu state government to inaugurate the fly-over (bridge in local parlance) in front of the airport at Chennai. The time was set as 5:30 PM. I had decided to fly out to Hyderabad that same Sunday evening. My boss also got her ticket in the same plane.
So, in order to avoid the traffic jam expected in front of the airport (after all it was the Chief Minister who was inaugurating it!), we decided to leave quite early from home. We reached well ahead of time and got our boarding pass issued by 4:45 PM.
That’s when my boss said “Why are they boarding us in at 6 PM?”. I too was equally bewildered. Domestic flights usually board some 15-20 minutes before the departure time and this looked like a lead time of almost 90 minutes. After flipping over the boarding pass a couple of more times, we then looked up our e-Ticket. And it was printed in a very clear font that the flight was scheduled to leave at 18:20 hours and reach Hyderabad at 19:20 hours.
You see, I’d originally been booked on another flight at 19:30 hours. But since it was an ATR flight, I asked my agent to book me on another flight leaving at around the same time. He got me this new one, but I happily assumed that the flight was only at 19:30.
If there was no inauguration function that day, I’d have started at least an hour later that day. And I’d have reached the airport just around the boarding time. I’d have had the ground staff of Air India (nearing their retirement date) come look for me!
Anyways, I called up my parents after the Security clearance was done and told them that I was all set to fly out and would call them after reaching Hyderabad. I then made a resolution not to tell my parents about this near goof-up and decided to call them around 20:30 hours when the flight (per my schedule) was presumed to land there.
But the minute we left the Hyderabad airport by cab, by force of my good nature and habit, I called up home and informed them that I’d reached Hyderabad and was in the cab headed towards my office. It was around 20:00 hours and so my mother was shocked. She wondered out loud as to how come I’d reached there so soon. At that point, the cat was clearly letting itself out of the bag and since I don’t lie (about such trivial things) I told her about my mistake.
I got my second reminder dose of the Hari incident in 2 months. I could only sheepish grins and rest the issue.
On a side note, the flight to Hyderabad was really empty. I would put the occupancy at only around 70%. Agreed this was Air India and was a bigger Airbus plane, but still it was quite surprising to see so many empty seats on this sector. Perhaps the business travelers mostly prefer flying out really early on Monday mornings and with the evident increase in prices of air tickets, those travelling on personal reasons had perhaps stayed away from the flight.
After dinner, I went back to our Guest House complex and before I hit the bed, I met the Program Manager for my project. I didn’t want to have any surprises and guesses to be done in front of the client as to who was who. After a quick chat, I returned to my room. The TV was not working in my room at that time and I didn’t want to connect my laptop to the internet anyway. Also factoring the long day ahead, I decided to sleep early and so I hit the sack by 11 PM.
So, in order to avoid the traffic jam expected in front of the airport (after all it was the Chief Minister who was inaugurating it!), we decided to leave quite early from home. We reached well ahead of time and got our boarding pass issued by 4:45 PM.
That’s when my boss said “Why are they boarding us in at 6 PM?”. I too was equally bewildered. Domestic flights usually board some 15-20 minutes before the departure time and this looked like a lead time of almost 90 minutes. After flipping over the boarding pass a couple of more times, we then looked up our e-Ticket. And it was printed in a very clear font that the flight was scheduled to leave at 18:20 hours and reach Hyderabad at 19:20 hours.
You see, I’d originally been booked on another flight at 19:30 hours. But since it was an ATR flight, I asked my agent to book me on another flight leaving at around the same time. He got me this new one, but I happily assumed that the flight was only at 19:30.
If there was no inauguration function that day, I’d have started at least an hour later that day. And I’d have reached the airport just around the boarding time. I’d have had the ground staff of Air India (nearing their retirement date) come look for me!
Anyways, I called up my parents after the Security clearance was done and told them that I was all set to fly out and would call them after reaching Hyderabad. I then made a resolution not to tell my parents about this near goof-up and decided to call them around 20:30 hours when the flight (per my schedule) was presumed to land there.
But the minute we left the Hyderabad airport by cab, by force of my good nature and habit, I called up home and informed them that I’d reached Hyderabad and was in the cab headed towards my office. It was around 20:00 hours and so my mother was shocked. She wondered out loud as to how come I’d reached there so soon. At that point, the cat was clearly letting itself out of the bag and since I don’t lie (about such trivial things) I told her about my mistake.
I got my second reminder dose of the Hari incident in 2 months. I could only sheepish grins and rest the issue.
On a side note, the flight to Hyderabad was really empty. I would put the occupancy at only around 70%. Agreed this was Air India and was a bigger Airbus plane, but still it was quite surprising to see so many empty seats on this sector. Perhaps the business travelers mostly prefer flying out really early on Monday mornings and with the evident increase in prices of air tickets, those travelling on personal reasons had perhaps stayed away from the flight.
After dinner, I went back to our Guest House complex and before I hit the bed, I met the Program Manager for my project. I didn’t want to have any surprises and guesses to be done in front of the client as to who was who. After a quick chat, I returned to my room. The TV was not working in my room at that time and I didn’t want to connect my laptop to the internet anyway. Also factoring the long day ahead, I decided to sleep early and so I hit the sack by 11 PM.
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Monumental bulbs
On the day that India was celebrating the birthday of M.K.Gandhi, Mrs. and Mr.Raghu and self, decided to go out on a long drive along the ECR. Our dear friend Nilu, however, couldn’t make it due to “prior commitments”. We weren’t really clear about where to go, but we were clear that the main intent was to spend time out of the house and not inside a mall/movie hall.
In October 2007, while returning from Vaitheeswaran Kovil by car, I had noticed a board near Kalpakkam that talked about the presence of a Dutch Fort. Since I have a mild attraction to archaeological monuments, I have been thinking about visiting this place ever since.
So I broached this venue to Raghu and he accepted it with no qualms. After working out the logistics, we decided to head out by 2.30 PM and believe it or not, we actually left by 2.50!
After we started from home, we first headed out to my usual petrol bunk at Adyar to fill in fuel. In what turned out to be a harbinger for the rest of the day, the bunk was closed. We moved on to another bunk nearby, filled up the fuel and proceeded with the trip.
We had a pretty decent drive, notwithstanding the efforts of an SUV to run over us a few kilometers after Mahabs. We finally reached Kalpakkam. But there was no sign of the board that I saw last year. We stopped over at a couple of places to enquire about the fort. And no one actually knew about it. Finally there was a cop buying some stuff at a shop and I approached him. He finally understood what I was looking for and gave me the directions to the “koattai saar. British kaaran kaalathula kattinadhu”. He obviously lived with the maxim that all Caucasians are British theory and I had no patience to try and correct him.
We followed his directions and after passing through the Kalpakkam Township, we finally spotted a rather small board that said “Dutch Fort and Cemetery” and had an arrow pointing to the left. We looked to the left and lo behold, there was this long wall which had shed its plastering and was proudly exposing its bricks.
We turned left and took the road alongside this wall, only to find a longer wall exhibiting a similar constitution. We then reached the entrance.
After having reached the entrance, we were worried if there was some other way to go inside the Fort. The reason was the presence of a tall iron gate that was locked. There was a small gap in the fencing (by design) and there was something like a path that led to another of the walls I mentioned before. This wall however was different, because it had the semblance of a formal entrance in the form of a gate capped by a minar like structure and there were 2 canons on either side of this gate.
One thing that was glaringly visible was the ABSENCE of people. In a country that’s known for its density of population, it was scary to see nobody at a monument where some kind of history exists. There were no visitors. There were no officials. There were no sign boards other than the one at the main gate that said that this was a protected monument. The only way we knew that we were not trespassing into someone’s private property was the assurance from a local woman who looked like the caretaker of the place.
Even as we stepped inside these walls, I was still alive to the possibility of seeing some relics. Some more cannons. Probably a spot where some major fight took place. The place where they stored their ammunition. The place where chief’s office was. The place where they had their flag post. And all of this explained with lot of signboards.
But all I could see inside was a big piece of land with growth of wild grass and a few trees in the middle. There was this muddy path which was headed towards a few structures which were in a dilapidated condition. You just cannot say what these structures were meant for, by looking at it.
The caretaker lady pointed us to an area which was basically the Cemetery mentioned in the board we had seen 10 minutes ago. We went inside and came out in, probably, 39 seconds. Then, we headed inside the grounds I mentioned earlier. We went inside one of these structures and found them to be just rooms; rooms with windows and arched ceilings. The area we went to appeared to have walls that were plastered with modern day cement. Obviously some amount of restoration has happened, but then, the charm of the old building was lost. There were more ruins of course, but we were in a deep state of bulb to try and venture there.
We took the mandatory pictures of our presence in that place and made a hurried exit.
The visit to this Fort would probably rank in the top 10 bulbs I’ve had in terms of expecting great things and getting sheer nonsense. In fact, it is high time the authorities call it the “Dutch Cemetery and an extended ruined compound wall around it”.
And thinking about the Fort now, it is clear why the Dutch never ruled us. Going by the reports in the article related to the excavations done here, this Fort seemed to have been some sort of a glorified club/watering-hole for the expatriates of those times. In fact, the fight between the Dutch and the Brits must have come up due to suspected foul play during a Tiger-Goat-game! Or else, this Fort was just a warehouse for the Dutch traders to stock their goods. And probably they sabotaged their stock to take the insurance benefit. Unfortunately, they may have insured with some Brits who found out the truth and took over the Fort/Warehouse.
Anyways, after we came out, we decided to head to Mahabs with the knowledge and assurance of being able to see ancient architecture. We stopped over for a quick cup of coffee that extended itself into a plate of vegetable bonda. We set out to the Shore Temple.
Unfortunately, that day turned out to be “Kaanum Eid” – at least that’s what I am calling it since I don’t know the technical details for that festival. You see, we Hindus in Tamil Nadu have this event called “Kaanum Pongal”. This is the day after all other Pongal days and families make it a point to visit important tourist spots. I called this Gandhi Jayanthi day as “Kaanum Eid” because there was a lot of crowd around the Shore Temple and most of these were Muslims. Since the previous day was Eid, I created this event called “Kaanum Eid” to equate my Muslim brethren with the Hindus.
Anyways, by the time we reached the Shore Temple, the authorities refused entry since the stipulated visiting hours were getting over in 5 minutes. We then braved the crowd and headed to the beach just for the heck of it. We spent some time in the Mahabs Promenade (c’mon there were merry-go-rounds, bonsai giant-wheels, air-rifles to shoot balloons, lot of small shops selling souvenirs and hell even an apology of a LifeGuard’s outpost) and after Mrs. and Mr.Raghucompleted their souvenir purchases, we walked back to our car.
Even as I was driving the car back home, I got a call from my team-member at onsite about a serious problem that had come up. Raghu being the great guy he is, he quickly took over the steering wheel and drove us back, while I chalked out some plan with my team-member.
The only good part of the day came after we reached home. We had decided to have dinner at Eden and as is always the case with them, we were not disappointed. The really good dinner helped round off what was otherwise a day filled with one bulb after another.
Note: The Dutch Fort and Cemetery is listed at # 66 in ASI’s list of monuments in Tamil Nadu.
In October 2007, while returning from Vaitheeswaran Kovil by car, I had noticed a board near Kalpakkam that talked about the presence of a Dutch Fort. Since I have a mild attraction to archaeological monuments, I have been thinking about visiting this place ever since.
So I broached this venue to Raghu and he accepted it with no qualms. After working out the logistics, we decided to head out by 2.30 PM and believe it or not, we actually left by 2.50!
After we started from home, we first headed out to my usual petrol bunk at Adyar to fill in fuel. In what turned out to be a harbinger for the rest of the day, the bunk was closed. We moved on to another bunk nearby, filled up the fuel and proceeded with the trip.
We had a pretty decent drive, notwithstanding the efforts of an SUV to run over us a few kilometers after Mahabs. We finally reached Kalpakkam. But there was no sign of the board that I saw last year. We stopped over at a couple of places to enquire about the fort. And no one actually knew about it. Finally there was a cop buying some stuff at a shop and I approached him. He finally understood what I was looking for and gave me the directions to the “koattai saar. British kaaran kaalathula kattinadhu”. He obviously lived with the maxim that all Caucasians are British theory and I had no patience to try and correct him.
We followed his directions and after passing through the Kalpakkam Township, we finally spotted a rather small board that said “Dutch Fort and Cemetery” and had an arrow pointing to the left. We looked to the left and lo behold, there was this long wall which had shed its plastering and was proudly exposing its bricks.
We turned left and took the road alongside this wall, only to find a longer wall exhibiting a similar constitution. We then reached the entrance. After having reached the entrance, we were worried if there was some other way to go inside the Fort. The reason was the presence of a tall iron gate that was locked. There was a small gap in the fencing (by design) and there was something like a path that led to another of the walls I mentioned before. This wall however was different, because it had the semblance of a formal entrance in the form of a gate capped by a minar like structure and there were 2 canons on either side of this gate.
One thing that was glaringly visible was the ABSENCE of people. In a country that’s known for its density of population, it was scary to see nobody at a monument where some kind of history exists. There were no visitors. There were no officials. There were no sign boards other than the one at the main gate that said that this was a protected monument. The only way we knew that we were not trespassing into someone’s private property was the assurance from a local woman who looked like the caretaker of the place.
Even as we stepped inside these walls, I was still alive to the possibility of seeing some relics. Some more cannons. Probably a spot where some major fight took place. The place where they stored their ammunition. The place where chief’s office was. The place where they had their flag post. And all of this explained with lot of signboards.
But all I could see inside was a big piece of land with growth of wild grass and a few trees in the middle. There was this muddy path which was headed towards a few structures which were in a dilapidated condition. You just cannot say what these structures were meant for, by looking at it.
The caretaker lady pointed us to an area which was basically the Cemetery mentioned in the board we had seen 10 minutes ago. We went inside and came out in, probably, 39 seconds. Then, we headed inside the grounds I mentioned earlier. We went inside one of these structures and found them to be just rooms; rooms with windows and arched ceilings. The area we went to appeared to have walls that were plastered with modern day cement. Obviously some amount of restoration has happened, but then, the charm of the old building was lost. There were more ruins of course, but we were in a deep state of bulb to try and venture there.
We took the mandatory pictures of our presence in that place and made a hurried exit.
The visit to this Fort would probably rank in the top 10 bulbs I’ve had in terms of expecting great things and getting sheer nonsense. In fact, it is high time the authorities call it the “Dutch Cemetery and an extended ruined compound wall around it”. And thinking about the Fort now, it is clear why the Dutch never ruled us. Going by the reports in the article related to the excavations done here, this Fort seemed to have been some sort of a glorified club/watering-hole for the expatriates of those times. In fact, the fight between the Dutch and the Brits must have come up due to suspected foul play during a Tiger-Goat-game! Or else, this Fort was just a warehouse for the Dutch traders to stock their goods. And probably they sabotaged their stock to take the insurance benefit. Unfortunately, they may have insured with some Brits who found out the truth and took over the Fort/Warehouse.
Anyways, after we came out, we decided to head to Mahabs with the knowledge and assurance of being able to see ancient architecture. We stopped over for a quick cup of coffee that extended itself into a plate of vegetable bonda. We set out to the Shore Temple.
Unfortunately, that day turned out to be “Kaanum Eid” – at least that’s what I am calling it since I don’t know the technical details for that festival. You see, we Hindus in Tamil Nadu have this event called “Kaanum Pongal”. This is the day after all other Pongal days and families make it a point to visit important tourist spots. I called this Gandhi Jayanthi day as “Kaanum Eid” because there was a lot of crowd around the Shore Temple and most of these were Muslims. Since the previous day was Eid, I created this event called “Kaanum Eid” to equate my Muslim brethren with the Hindus.
Anyways, by the time we reached the Shore Temple, the authorities refused entry since the stipulated visiting hours were getting over in 5 minutes. We then braved the crowd and headed to the beach just for the heck of it. We spent some time in the Mahabs Promenade (c’mon there were merry-go-rounds, bonsai giant-wheels, air-rifles to shoot balloons, lot of small shops selling souvenirs and hell even an apology of a LifeGuard’s outpost) and after Mrs. and Mr.Raghucompleted their souvenir purchases, we walked back to our car.
Even as I was driving the car back home, I got a call from my team-member at onsite about a serious problem that had come up. Raghu being the great guy he is, he quickly took over the steering wheel and drove us back, while I chalked out some plan with my team-member.
The only good part of the day came after we reached home. We had decided to have dinner at Eden and as is always the case with them, we were not disappointed. The really good dinner helped round off what was otherwise a day filled with one bulb after another.
Note: The Dutch Fort and Cemetery is listed at # 66 in ASI’s list of monuments in Tamil Nadu.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
What a coincidence!!!
As mentioned in my previous post, I was in Hyderabad on the 11th and 12th to spend some time with my team there.
Believe it or not, the following coincidences happened on my return trip:
1. The cab that took me from the office campus to the airport on Friday evening, was the same cab that brought me from the airport to office on Thursday morning. I remembered the cab number because I found out that on my onward trip, I had paid an excess fare and was following up with the cab company to get it adjusted. It was indeed my good luck that I got the same cab for my return trip, though the drivers were different for both trips. Then again, since the cab company was tracking their income based on each cab, I was able to get my fare adjusted easily.
2. After I boarded the flight, I found that one of the air-hostess who was on board, was the same person who was there on my flight from Chennai to Hyderabad.
3. I scanned the passengers in my vision field and found one Iyengar executive who had sat next to me on my flight from Chennai to Hyderabad.
I didn't note down the registration/serial number of the plane, else I think there would have been a coincidence there as well!!!
Believe it or not, the following coincidences happened on my return trip:
1. The cab that took me from the office campus to the airport on Friday evening, was the same cab that brought me from the airport to office on Thursday morning. I remembered the cab number because I found out that on my onward trip, I had paid an excess fare and was following up with the cab company to get it adjusted. It was indeed my good luck that I got the same cab for my return trip, though the drivers were different for both trips. Then again, since the cab company was tracking their income based on each cab, I was able to get my fare adjusted easily.
2. After I boarded the flight, I found that one of the air-hostess who was on board, was the same person who was there on my flight from Chennai to Hyderabad.
3. I scanned the passengers in my vision field and found one Iyengar executive who had sat next to me on my flight from Chennai to Hyderabad.
I didn't note down the registration/serial number of the plane, else I think there would have been a coincidence there as well!!!
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Trip to Madurai
As part of the campus recruitment initiative mentioned in my previous post, I visited Madurai on Saturday, the 22nd of December 2007.
Actually, a bunch of us from work went for that initiative, so we all had a pretty interesting time, especially sharing all the oddities observed during the interviews.
Originally, we all wanted to travel by Paramount Airways, but unfortunately, our Travel Department refused to procure tickets on that airline quoting a significant difference in cost. We couldn't refute it either and neither could we use the ploy of flight timings, since all morning flights out of Chennai to Madurai are barely 10 minutes apart. Same holds good for the last flights out.
So, we had to make do with the Jet Airways ATR flight. Man, that morning flight was one big torture. The pilot, a Caucasian btw, was navigating it like the ubiquitous share auto driver in Chennai. The way he landed in Madurai would have converted all atheists into die-hard religious fanatics! I must actually appreciate him for having the talent to remind all of us that there 3 wheels in the plane. He also showed us how long the runway at Madurai was, coz he practically went to the edge of the tarmac before turning back!
We hired a cab and reached the venue and got on with the proceedings. We broke for lunch and found that the food arranged by the College was almost unpalatable. It was toooo spicy for our comfort and didn't look hygienic at all. After making enquiries with the watchman, we headed out to a "hotel", where after much waiting, we managed to get a table. Unfortunately, my bad luck continued there as well, since the food served was not really tasty. In fact, the curd rice I ordered seemed to have been prepared using stale rice.
Anyways, after our interview sessions got over ahead of time, thankfully due to the no-show from almost 100 candidates, we proceeded to the Meenakshi Amman temple. Ramadurai had called up his contacts and the basic understanding was that we had to stand in front of the Co-optex shop opposite the South entrance. Apparently the coded message was if anyone approached us and asked us "vellai kaaka enna color muttai podum?", we were supposed to respond by saying "karuppu muttai" whereby we would have established our credentials.
We waited for a short while before Ramadurai's contact showed up. We obviously didn't have to use the coded greetings and were taken inside the temple. Once inside, the "guide" explained to us about some of the landmark spots and escorted us along the special path to the sanctum sanctorum in a matter of a minute or so. After some deliberation with the authorities there, our contact took us inside the special darshan area. There we had a really good darshan of the Amman. Even when we had our heart's fill and started moving out, the contact kept sending us back for some more additional darshan.
The same was repeated at all other important sannidhis and all in all we had a fantastic darshan. I was so ecstatic, that while returning to the airport, I told Ramadurai that he finally gave me something useful for being his friend!
We even had a great visit in the "1000 kaal mandapam" and I was really amazed with some of the statues. There is a statue of Rathi Devi, carved in stone. Our contact asked us to feel the hand and boy, it was so smooth that one can easily be fooled into thinking that it was wood. Then there were a couple of stone statues of Lord Shiva, where one could hit certain portions of the stone and hear a good metallic sound. Then there was this giant wooden door made of Burma Teak wood. It was like 9.38 metres long and some 2.2 metres wide. Really awesome stuff.
By the time we were out of the temple, we were quite famished. Thankfully our guide took us to a restaurant called Modern Cafe. It was a quaint little joint and as we found quite soon, it served great food. I had Adai Avial and Plain Dosa. All of them were excellent. Special mention must be made of their Coconut chutney. We topped it up with one of the best coffees I have had in recent times at any restaurant.
It was getting quite late, but thankfully, the airline had issued us the boarding pass for the return journey in the morning itself. So we had enough buffer time to reach the airport. And to make thing more comfortable, one of our friends who had reached there earlier, told us that the flight was delayed by 30 minutes.
The return flight was more peaceful and the pilot ensured a really smooth landing. However, he was allotted a parking bay right at the end of the runway and to reach the terminal, we actually had a 5 minute ride on the airport bus.
All of us went our separate ways after that and I reached home at 11 PM. Since my day started at 4.30 AM, I was quite exhausted and crashed on the bed quite soon. But for some of the annoying interviews, this trip was quite a good one. I had a really good darshan at all sannidhis in the Meenakshi Amman temple, unlike my trip in Feb this year, where it was a really abridged visit.
So much so that, I have prayed to the lady of the temple that I would visit her temple once I get married - the third wedding vaendudhal I have made, the first one being a hike up the seven hills to say hi to Venky and the second one to my kula dheiyvam temple.
Actually, a bunch of us from work went for that initiative, so we all had a pretty interesting time, especially sharing all the oddities observed during the interviews.
Originally, we all wanted to travel by Paramount Airways, but unfortunately, our Travel Department refused to procure tickets on that airline quoting a significant difference in cost. We couldn't refute it either and neither could we use the ploy of flight timings, since all morning flights out of Chennai to Madurai are barely 10 minutes apart. Same holds good for the last flights out.
So, we had to make do with the Jet Airways ATR flight. Man, that morning flight was one big torture. The pilot, a Caucasian btw, was navigating it like the ubiquitous share auto driver in Chennai. The way he landed in Madurai would have converted all atheists into die-hard religious fanatics! I must actually appreciate him for having the talent to remind all of us that there 3 wheels in the plane. He also showed us how long the runway at Madurai was, coz he practically went to the edge of the tarmac before turning back!
We hired a cab and reached the venue and got on with the proceedings. We broke for lunch and found that the food arranged by the College was almost unpalatable. It was toooo spicy for our comfort and didn't look hygienic at all. After making enquiries with the watchman, we headed out to a "hotel", where after much waiting, we managed to get a table. Unfortunately, my bad luck continued there as well, since the food served was not really tasty. In fact, the curd rice I ordered seemed to have been prepared using stale rice.
Anyways, after our interview sessions got over ahead of time, thankfully due to the no-show from almost 100 candidates, we proceeded to the Meenakshi Amman temple. Ramadurai had called up his contacts and the basic understanding was that we had to stand in front of the Co-optex shop opposite the South entrance. Apparently the coded message was if anyone approached us and asked us "vellai kaaka enna color muttai podum?", we were supposed to respond by saying "karuppu muttai" whereby we would have established our credentials.
We waited for a short while before Ramadurai's contact showed up. We obviously didn't have to use the coded greetings and were taken inside the temple. Once inside, the "guide" explained to us about some of the landmark spots and escorted us along the special path to the sanctum sanctorum in a matter of a minute or so. After some deliberation with the authorities there, our contact took us inside the special darshan area. There we had a really good darshan of the Amman. Even when we had our heart's fill and started moving out, the contact kept sending us back for some more additional darshan.
The same was repeated at all other important sannidhis and all in all we had a fantastic darshan. I was so ecstatic, that while returning to the airport, I told Ramadurai that he finally gave me something useful for being his friend!
We even had a great visit in the "1000 kaal mandapam" and I was really amazed with some of the statues. There is a statue of Rathi Devi, carved in stone. Our contact asked us to feel the hand and boy, it was so smooth that one can easily be fooled into thinking that it was wood. Then there were a couple of stone statues of Lord Shiva, where one could hit certain portions of the stone and hear a good metallic sound. Then there was this giant wooden door made of Burma Teak wood. It was like 9.38 metres long and some 2.2 metres wide. Really awesome stuff.
By the time we were out of the temple, we were quite famished. Thankfully our guide took us to a restaurant called Modern Cafe. It was a quaint little joint and as we found quite soon, it served great food. I had Adai Avial and Plain Dosa. All of them were excellent. Special mention must be made of their Coconut chutney. We topped it up with one of the best coffees I have had in recent times at any restaurant.
It was getting quite late, but thankfully, the airline had issued us the boarding pass for the return journey in the morning itself. So we had enough buffer time to reach the airport. And to make thing more comfortable, one of our friends who had reached there earlier, told us that the flight was delayed by 30 minutes.
The return flight was more peaceful and the pilot ensured a really smooth landing. However, he was allotted a parking bay right at the end of the runway and to reach the terminal, we actually had a 5 minute ride on the airport bus.
All of us went our separate ways after that and I reached home at 11 PM. Since my day started at 4.30 AM, I was quite exhausted and crashed on the bed quite soon. But for some of the annoying interviews, this trip was quite a good one. I had a really good darshan at all sannidhis in the Meenakshi Amman temple, unlike my trip in Feb this year, where it was a really abridged visit.
So much so that, I have prayed to the lady of the temple that I would visit her temple once I get married - the third wedding vaendudhal I have made, the first one being a hike up the seven hills to say hi to Venky and the second one to my kula dheiyvam temple.
Sunday, November 04, 2007
Take diversion
Note: This post would be better understood by those who have travelled a lot in and around Chennai.
This week has witnessed me taking some great traffic diversions, partly due to traffic advisories from friends and partly due to my bulb nature.
On Thursday, my car pool was going to start around 6.45 PM. Luckily, we got word from a friend of ours that he was stuck along our route for more than an hour. So we decided to snack slightly more than usual for the delay. We effectively started around 7.15 PM. We checked with the poor soul stuck in the jam and he told us that he had probably moved some 100 metres since the last call!
So, we decided to take an alternate route, which was basically a circuitous one. Akin to touching the right nostril with your right index finger by supporting your right forearm on the back of your head. In a way, pretty much like the unnecessarily long sentence that preceded this one.
For those familiar with the topography of this region, the route we took was: Mahindra City->Chengelpet->Thirkazhu Kundram->Mahabalipuram->Chennai via ECR. We had to pay toll at two places - one for the GST road and the other for ECR.
The reason for the jam was that the bride at Tambaram (where the GST goes over the railway track), was having some trouble and traffic was being regulated on the bridge with the Police allowing only 1-2 vehicles at a time to cross that stretch.
The next morning, we took a detour again, since we were not sure if the problem was still there. We took the ECR->Kovalam->Kelambakkam->Vandalur->Mahindra City route. That evening, we were given few false alarms and so decided to take the same route as on Thursday evening.
The evening route was actually a total of almost 85 KMs and took around 2.5 hours. A normal return along the GST usually takes 2 hours these days. For 30 more minutes, we at least get to have the car in motion in the 4th or 5th gear and that obviously increases the fuel efficiency.
That completes the highway detour story. Now starts the city story.
On Saturday, I was hosting my birthday lunch treat at a restaurant at T.Nagar. This was on Thanikachalam Road and I was informed that it is closer to the Pondy Bazaar side of the road. So, when I started from home, I thought of entering Pondy Bazaar through Mount Road, then take the left into Thanikachalam Road. Or the other option was to go from Nandanam signal, along Venakatanarayana road and then turn right on Thanikachalam road.
Mui chose the former. At first, I thought of going thru Eldams Road and cut across Mount Road to enter the Pondy Bazar road. So, I entered TTK Road with that intent. Half-way thru, I suddenly decided that I would take the MKB Road and then make a right to enter Mount Road and then take the left to the Pondy Bazaar road. Reason - SIVET college on MKB road.:D
When I reached the MKB-Mount road junction, I saw the signal indicating a left turn. But the right turn light did not work. So I thought, perhaps it would come up next. I put up my right indicator and waited patiently. After a couple of minutes, the signal (which in the mean time had returned to red), once again gave the permission to turn left. Then a cop came into my line of vision and pointed me towards the same direction. I understood that there was no right turn at that signal. I still wonder how I missed all those boards that said that there was no right turn there.
After making that left turn, I went along Mount road hoping to see a U-Turn segment. But none came along. By then I reached Nandanam signal and at that point I had no option but to continue with the plan B that I ditched earlier.
Very good lessons learnt over the past 2-3 days, especially the alternate route from office to home. Actually, we are also planning to try another route to get to T'Kundram without having to touch C'pet. I also hope that the no right turn regulation that I experienced, stays put for some more months at least!
This week has witnessed me taking some great traffic diversions, partly due to traffic advisories from friends and partly due to my bulb nature.
On Thursday, my car pool was going to start around 6.45 PM. Luckily, we got word from a friend of ours that he was stuck along our route for more than an hour. So we decided to snack slightly more than usual for the delay. We effectively started around 7.15 PM. We checked with the poor soul stuck in the jam and he told us that he had probably moved some 100 metres since the last call!
So, we decided to take an alternate route, which was basically a circuitous one. Akin to touching the right nostril with your right index finger by supporting your right forearm on the back of your head. In a way, pretty much like the unnecessarily long sentence that preceded this one.
For those familiar with the topography of this region, the route we took was: Mahindra City->Chengelpet->Thirkazhu Kundram->Mahabalipuram->Chennai via ECR. We had to pay toll at two places - one for the GST road and the other for ECR.
The reason for the jam was that the bride at Tambaram (where the GST goes over the railway track), was having some trouble and traffic was being regulated on the bridge with the Police allowing only 1-2 vehicles at a time to cross that stretch.
The next morning, we took a detour again, since we were not sure if the problem was still there. We took the ECR->Kovalam->Kelambakkam->Vandalur->Mahindra City route. That evening, we were given few false alarms and so decided to take the same route as on Thursday evening.
The evening route was actually a total of almost 85 KMs and took around 2.5 hours. A normal return along the GST usually takes 2 hours these days. For 30 more minutes, we at least get to have the car in motion in the 4th or 5th gear and that obviously increases the fuel efficiency.
That completes the highway detour story. Now starts the city story.
On Saturday, I was hosting my birthday lunch treat at a restaurant at T.Nagar. This was on Thanikachalam Road and I was informed that it is closer to the Pondy Bazaar side of the road. So, when I started from home, I thought of entering Pondy Bazaar through Mount Road, then take the left into Thanikachalam Road. Or the other option was to go from Nandanam signal, along Venakatanarayana road and then turn right on Thanikachalam road.
Mui chose the former. At first, I thought of going thru Eldams Road and cut across Mount Road to enter the Pondy Bazar road. So, I entered TTK Road with that intent. Half-way thru, I suddenly decided that I would take the MKB Road and then make a right to enter Mount Road and then take the left to the Pondy Bazaar road. Reason - SIVET college on MKB road.:D
When I reached the MKB-Mount road junction, I saw the signal indicating a left turn. But the right turn light did not work. So I thought, perhaps it would come up next. I put up my right indicator and waited patiently. After a couple of minutes, the signal (which in the mean time had returned to red), once again gave the permission to turn left. Then a cop came into my line of vision and pointed me towards the same direction. I understood that there was no right turn at that signal. I still wonder how I missed all those boards that said that there was no right turn there.
After making that left turn, I went along Mount road hoping to see a U-Turn segment. But none came along. By then I reached Nandanam signal and at that point I had no option but to continue with the plan B that I ditched earlier.
Very good lessons learnt over the past 2-3 days, especially the alternate route from office to home. Actually, we are also planning to try another route to get to T'Kundram without having to touch C'pet. I also hope that the no right turn regulation that I experienced, stays put for some more months at least!
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Road Trip to Vaitheeswaran Kovil - Part 11 ::: Return home
Once we settled the bills at the hotel and gave the tips to the room boy, we packed our stuff into the car and started our return trip. Barely 3-4 kms after we started, we saw a pretty long snake cross the road at good speed in front of us. I am sure it must have been some 8-10 feet long. It looked a bit dark brown in color. I am no expert about the species, but my mother tells me that it wouldn't have been the "big guy". She grew up in one of the villages in that district and has spent sufficient time in the fields to be able to know such details.
Otherwise, there was nothing interesting in the return trip, except for the very precisely incorrect directions given by Raghu to the Woodlands restaurant at Cuddalore. We spent a good 20 minutes in trying to locate it along a road where it was not present. After checking with auto drivers, general public and shopkeepers, we finally managed to reach the place.
After reaching there I checked with my guru and only then did he admit that it had been ages since he'd gone there!!! So he obviously forgot that in the meantime, the directions in Cuddalore had changed. At least, he was correct about the quality of food there. It was quite good and very economical as well.
We resumed our journey and after crossing Pondy, I was finally able to drive at a good speed. For quite a long stretch, I was able to maintain 100 Kmph. In fact, till I reached Mahabalipuram, I must have surely averaged 90+.
Obviously, there are many others who average much higher, but then, unlike me, they don't travel with the occupants of Fort Knox (my house in Besant Nagar). We took a coffee break at Mahabs and were finally home around 5.30.
So, all in all, I had a very satisfying trip. My long pending desire of desire of a road trip in India was fulfilled. I clocked around 550 Kms up and down. I was able to drive for a few kms at a speed of 100-105 Kmph. There were no accidents, slight brushes or even near misses. No complaints about over speeding too. :)
With this I would like to wrap up this travelogue. And if by mistake, you do remember telling something about rusk in my first part, well the deal is that, the minute I opened the gate at home and brought the car inside, Jimmy promptly came inside. I fed him the rusk that I took along on Saturday morning!
Otherwise, there was nothing interesting in the return trip, except for the very precisely incorrect directions given by Raghu to the Woodlands restaurant at Cuddalore. We spent a good 20 minutes in trying to locate it along a road where it was not present. After checking with auto drivers, general public and shopkeepers, we finally managed to reach the place.
After reaching there I checked with my guru and only then did he admit that it had been ages since he'd gone there!!! So he obviously forgot that in the meantime, the directions in Cuddalore had changed. At least, he was correct about the quality of food there. It was quite good and very economical as well.
We resumed our journey and after crossing Pondy, I was finally able to drive at a good speed. For quite a long stretch, I was able to maintain 100 Kmph. In fact, till I reached Mahabalipuram, I must have surely averaged 90+.
Obviously, there are many others who average much higher, but then, unlike me, they don't travel with the occupants of Fort Knox (my house in Besant Nagar). We took a coffee break at Mahabs and were finally home around 5.30.
So, all in all, I had a very satisfying trip. My long pending desire of desire of a road trip in India was fulfilled. I clocked around 550 Kms up and down. I was able to drive for a few kms at a speed of 100-105 Kmph. There were no accidents, slight brushes or even near misses. No complaints about over speeding too. :)
With this I would like to wrap up this travelogue. And if by mistake, you do remember telling something about rusk in my first part, well the deal is that, the minute I opened the gate at home and brought the car inside, Jimmy promptly came inside. I fed him the rusk that I took along on Saturday morning!
Road Trip to Vaitheeswaran Kovil - Part 10 ::: Why, not having cash turned out to be beneficial
The bill had a lot of items listed one after the other, with the price for each marked against it. I guess that's what a bill is supposed to look like, but I am clarifying it, just in case you have any doubts.
But the most important number in that bill was at the bottom (duh!) and it was 695.00. Yes. Almost 700 bucks for 9 archanai thattu saamaan. Apart from the usual stuff in such thattus, let me list out the special items for V.Kovil:
1. a piece of jaggery each, for the 3 of us. hardly 10gms i think.
2. 2 pieces of red cloth. quality of the material? u know the blue cloth we use for car cleaning. exact same material, just the color was different.
3. 3 small garlands. no fancy flowers in them. just regular white and green garland.
4. 3 sets of salt and pepper packets. barely a handful in each.
5. 5 neiy villaku. each costs 5 rupees in Besant Nagar temple.
So these f*ers were obviously trying to steal us. We might as well have had our car stopped on the way by highway robbers and still spent less!
Since we didn't have that much cash on hand, and since these vultures started crowding around us, our survival instincts got the better of us. We started arguing with the buggers.
There was nothing special in the arguments actually. I did start off disputing some of the items he had listed. Those were the things he hadn't supplied. My mother was obviously able to question the rates of the garlands et al. There was lot of back and forth talk and those guys actually said that they had missed out to include some other items and if they add those, it would come to 750 rupees.
The guys on the opposite side were mainly 3 in number. The first guy who lead us into the temple and the other guy who filled in for him inside. The third guy had come in only for settlement.
In the whole fight that was taking place, my mother dealt what I consider to be the master stroke. She went on questioning why this 3rd guy was there in the whole discussion. She demanded that he vacate the place and that she would talk only to the 2 guys we had interacted with.
Even if I had argued with those guys in full blast, I wouldn't have had the presence of mind to reduce the strength of the opponent. That move really helped us. We now had to deal with only 2 guys and obviously it strengthened us.
They tried an emotional blackmail that they didn't want even one paisa and we retorted that we would rather put the whole 700 bucks in the hundial than give it to them. But we also told them very clearly that we were willing to settle for Rs.400 only and that too only because we made the mistake of not asking them for the price up-front.
That's all the cash we had loosely on hand. My father was carrying some 2K in a big wallet. But in all our visible money holders, we barely had Rs.400. We gave it to them making it very clear that we really didn't have the cash.
My mother's argument and the fact that we didn't have visible cash on us, kinda helped and the lepers went away with the money.
We then set off to Hotel Sadhabishekam for breakfast. Surprisingly, their kitchen closes by 9.30 AM for breakfast and they reopen only around 11.30 for lunch. It was 9.40 when we reached there and so we missed out on what is considered to be good food in that neighborhood.
We couldn't find any other good restaurant in that area and headed back to our Hotel in Sirkazhi. A few 100 metres before our hotel, we saw a decent looking joint named Vasantha Bhavan and ate there. The stuff was really good.
After that, we returned to the Hotel and there it was pack-up time.
But the most important number in that bill was at the bottom (duh!) and it was 695.00. Yes. Almost 700 bucks for 9 archanai thattu saamaan. Apart from the usual stuff in such thattus, let me list out the special items for V.Kovil:
1. a piece of jaggery each, for the 3 of us. hardly 10gms i think.
2. 2 pieces of red cloth. quality of the material? u know the blue cloth we use for car cleaning. exact same material, just the color was different.
3. 3 small garlands. no fancy flowers in them. just regular white and green garland.
4. 3 sets of salt and pepper packets. barely a handful in each.
5. 5 neiy villaku. each costs 5 rupees in Besant Nagar temple.
So these f*ers were obviously trying to steal us. We might as well have had our car stopped on the way by highway robbers and still spent less!
Since we didn't have that much cash on hand, and since these vultures started crowding around us, our survival instincts got the better of us. We started arguing with the buggers.
There was nothing special in the arguments actually. I did start off disputing some of the items he had listed. Those were the things he hadn't supplied. My mother was obviously able to question the rates of the garlands et al. There was lot of back and forth talk and those guys actually said that they had missed out to include some other items and if they add those, it would come to 750 rupees.
The guys on the opposite side were mainly 3 in number. The first guy who lead us into the temple and the other guy who filled in for him inside. The third guy had come in only for settlement.
In the whole fight that was taking place, my mother dealt what I consider to be the master stroke. She went on questioning why this 3rd guy was there in the whole discussion. She demanded that he vacate the place and that she would talk only to the 2 guys we had interacted with.
Even if I had argued with those guys in full blast, I wouldn't have had the presence of mind to reduce the strength of the opponent. That move really helped us. We now had to deal with only 2 guys and obviously it strengthened us.
They tried an emotional blackmail that they didn't want even one paisa and we retorted that we would rather put the whole 700 bucks in the hundial than give it to them. But we also told them very clearly that we were willing to settle for Rs.400 only and that too only because we made the mistake of not asking them for the price up-front.
That's all the cash we had loosely on hand. My father was carrying some 2K in a big wallet. But in all our visible money holders, we barely had Rs.400. We gave it to them making it very clear that we really didn't have the cash.
My mother's argument and the fact that we didn't have visible cash on us, kinda helped and the lepers went away with the money.
We then set off to Hotel Sadhabishekam for breakfast. Surprisingly, their kitchen closes by 9.30 AM for breakfast and they reopen only around 11.30 for lunch. It was 9.40 when we reached there and so we missed out on what is considered to be good food in that neighborhood.
We couldn't find any other good restaurant in that area and headed back to our Hotel in Sirkazhi. A few 100 metres before our hotel, we saw a decent looking joint named Vasantha Bhavan and ate there. The stuff was really good.
After that, we returned to the Hotel and there it was pack-up time.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Road Trip to Vaitheeswaran Kovil - Part 9 ::: Finally, Vaitheeswaran Kovil
On Sunday morning, we set out to V.Kovil. Unfortunately, due to the fantastic parking arrangements at Hotel Sampoorna, I had to wake up 3 other people, since their cars were blocking my path out of the Hotel. Of course, the ugly deed of actually waking them up was left to the Hotel authorities.
The kovil was barely 10 minutes from the Hotel and I reached there in that same amount of time! The main road first passes by the eastern entrance and once I reached there, I parked my car at the designated spot.
In fact, there was a guy who even guided as even as we were thinking of using the eastern entrance or go to the western entrance from where we usually go to the temple. But for reasons of implementing a change in custom, the eastern entrance got the votes.
The guy who "helped" me park the car, then started pitching in for archanai thattus and the likes. Our first (and probably the only one) mistake was informing him about the need for some 8-9 archanais or so, for my family and friends. Without entering into any monetary negotiations, we simply accepted to get his goods. The smart guy also didn't bring up the financial aspect.
He gave us the required materials - there is a package deal where you get the special set for each sannidhi laid out in a single tray. He also pointed us out to an iyer who was doing the rounds there, to help us with the archanai.
We went through the motions doing archanais at each sannidhi. Since we had run short of the specific combo at the sannidhi for Sevvaai, we managed to get the partner of the agent who first approached us to get the balance ones.
Anyways, the darshan went fine. Our prayers were said. Dakshinais were given. Hundial donations made. And my mother's favorite ritual of getting the elephant to bless you was also carried out!
We then said our goodbyes to the deities and left the temple. When we came out, the agents who got us the archanai thattu came out of their road-side shops. My parents were trying to give alms to some of the needy folk and I headed towards my car. One of the agents came near me and wanted to find out who would be doing the settling of the dues.
Since I was stripped of cash at the Pondy petrol bunk itself, I pointed him to my parents. He then asked if I was interested in seeing the olai chuvadi for naadi josiyam. I obviously replied in the negative.
By then, my parents also came near the car. The agents gave her the bill and the fun started!
The kovil was barely 10 minutes from the Hotel and I reached there in that same amount of time! The main road first passes by the eastern entrance and once I reached there, I parked my car at the designated spot.
In fact, there was a guy who even guided as even as we were thinking of using the eastern entrance or go to the western entrance from where we usually go to the temple. But for reasons of implementing a change in custom, the eastern entrance got the votes.
The guy who "helped" me park the car, then started pitching in for archanai thattus and the likes. Our first (and probably the only one) mistake was informing him about the need for some 8-9 archanais or so, for my family and friends. Without entering into any monetary negotiations, we simply accepted to get his goods. The smart guy also didn't bring up the financial aspect.
He gave us the required materials - there is a package deal where you get the special set for each sannidhi laid out in a single tray. He also pointed us out to an iyer who was doing the rounds there, to help us with the archanai.
We went through the motions doing archanais at each sannidhi. Since we had run short of the specific combo at the sannidhi for Sevvaai, we managed to get the partner of the agent who first approached us to get the balance ones.
Anyways, the darshan went fine. Our prayers were said. Dakshinais were given. Hundial donations made. And my mother's favorite ritual of getting the elephant to bless you was also carried out!
We then said our goodbyes to the deities and left the temple. When we came out, the agents who got us the archanai thattu came out of their road-side shops. My parents were trying to give alms to some of the needy folk and I headed towards my car. One of the agents came near me and wanted to find out who would be doing the settling of the dues.
Since I was stripped of cash at the Pondy petrol bunk itself, I pointed him to my parents. He then asked if I was interested in seeing the olai chuvadi for naadi josiyam. I obviously replied in the negative.
By then, my parents also came near the car. The agents gave her the bill and the fun started!
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Road Trip to Vaitheeswaran Kovil - Part 8 ::: Dinner at Mangala Vilas, Sirkazhi
On the way to Mangala Vilas, we ran into Mr.Shekar who is the cousin of Raghu. I had been given instructions to catch up with this dude and more importantly with his father. Me being me, I didn't do that.
So it was nice meeting the hommie and that too very near his home (Believe it or not, Sirkazhi is not that big a town). We asked him about Managala Vilas and he gave a positive response.
We entered the place, took up our seats. It was a typical "andha kaalathu hotel", what with separate wooden almirahs to stored sweets.
Anyways, the waiter told us clearly that the kitchen was pretty much closed and we could only have Plain Dosa or Rava Dosa and that too subject to the availability of the respective maavus, the stock of which was fast reducing.
We ordered one Dosa in each type. The waiter told us to go one by one just so that we can find out if we really need 2 Dosas. He served us the dosas and I must admit, it tasted good. Even though it was big in size, we went in for the second round. Obviously my mother couldn't handle and she passed on a good half from her rava to me.
While nearing the end of the eating process, my parents wanted some milk or curd. Looking up the menu wall (city dwellers need to know this - in places like this, they dont give u a menu card. they actually paint the items on their wall and scribble the rates with chalk piece or balbam), my father asked the waiter for Badam Paal.
He coolly replied that they didn't have any. And went on to add that even if we went in search of it around town at this time of the day, it would be impossible to get it. It sounded like the fancy gross pay that all of us see while joining a company - the number that you will never ever come across in real life!
So, my mother asked for coffee. The waiter responded that "aam. ingu kuzhambiyam kidaikkum". Which when roughly translated meant that he responded positively to my mother's question about the availability of coffee. And that coffee was known as kuzhambiyam in Tamil.
My mother was not one to let this go by. Her retort was "vadi kattiya kuzhambiyam kidaikkuma?". This again when roughly translated meant that my mother wanted to know if the coffee that was available was filter coffee.
The waiter took a step back at this stage and the conversation took a more saner tone to it. Anyways, they had their coffee and settled the bill with a good tip to the very enthu waiter.
We then returned to the lodge. Made enquiries about how to go to Vaitheeswaran Kovil etc. We decided to start by 7 in the morning, finish the temple rounds, have breakfast at Sathabishegam (a famous chain of hotel/motel in that stretch of Tamil Nadu), return to lodge by 1o. Check-out and start the trip by 11 and finish up lunch at Cuddalore.
Unfortunately, while we did stick to most of the timelines, we did have quite an adventure at Vaitheeswaran Kovil.
So it was nice meeting the hommie and that too very near his home (Believe it or not, Sirkazhi is not that big a town). We asked him about Managala Vilas and he gave a positive response.
We entered the place, took up our seats. It was a typical "andha kaalathu hotel", what with separate wooden almirahs to stored sweets.
Anyways, the waiter told us clearly that the kitchen was pretty much closed and we could only have Plain Dosa or Rava Dosa and that too subject to the availability of the respective maavus, the stock of which was fast reducing.
We ordered one Dosa in each type. The waiter told us to go one by one just so that we can find out if we really need 2 Dosas. He served us the dosas and I must admit, it tasted good. Even though it was big in size, we went in for the second round. Obviously my mother couldn't handle and she passed on a good half from her rava to me.
While nearing the end of the eating process, my parents wanted some milk or curd. Looking up the menu wall (city dwellers need to know this - in places like this, they dont give u a menu card. they actually paint the items on their wall and scribble the rates with chalk piece or balbam), my father asked the waiter for Badam Paal.
He coolly replied that they didn't have any. And went on to add that even if we went in search of it around town at this time of the day, it would be impossible to get it. It sounded like the fancy gross pay that all of us see while joining a company - the number that you will never ever come across in real life!
So, my mother asked for coffee. The waiter responded that "aam. ingu kuzhambiyam kidaikkum". Which when roughly translated meant that he responded positively to my mother's question about the availability of coffee. And that coffee was known as kuzhambiyam in Tamil.
My mother was not one to let this go by. Her retort was "vadi kattiya kuzhambiyam kidaikkuma?". This again when roughly translated meant that my mother wanted to know if the coffee that was available was filter coffee.
The waiter took a step back at this stage and the conversation took a more saner tone to it. Anyways, they had their coffee and settled the bill with a good tip to the very enthu waiter.
We then returned to the lodge. Made enquiries about how to go to Vaitheeswaran Kovil etc. We decided to start by 7 in the morning, finish the temple rounds, have breakfast at Sathabishegam (a famous chain of hotel/motel in that stretch of Tamil Nadu), return to lodge by 1o. Check-out and start the trip by 11 and finish up lunch at Cuddalore.
Unfortunately, while we did stick to most of the timelines, we did have quite an adventure at Vaitheeswaran Kovil.
Road Trip to Vaitheeswaran Kovil - Part 7 ::: To Chidambaram and back
The trip to Chidambaram and back was actually quite uneventful. By the time we left, it had started getting dark and so most of the vehicles had their high beam ON already. I felt relieved that I was not driving, since I dont think I would have handled that kinda heavy vehicle traffic with blinding lights on a new route!
After we reached Chidambaram, we went inside the temple. It being a Saturday, turned out that temple was more crowded than usual. We didnt go for any special darshans anywhere, but got a good darshan of Mr.Natti.
The one interesting thing in the temple was the presence of a fully glass-walled area where there was an idol of Godess Lakshmi.
Once we were done with this temple, we headed off to the Kali temple as well. We had a good darshan there as well and returned to the lodge by around 8.15-30 PM.
I settled the bill for the cab driver and since it was dinner time, I checked with the hotel "manager" about a good place to eat. He pointed us to Mangala Vilas, which was a 5 minute walk from the lodge.
So, there we went....
After we reached Chidambaram, we went inside the temple. It being a Saturday, turned out that temple was more crowded than usual. We didnt go for any special darshans anywhere, but got a good darshan of Mr.Natti.
The one interesting thing in the temple was the presence of a fully glass-walled area where there was an idol of Godess Lakshmi.
Once we were done with this temple, we headed off to the Kali temple as well. We had a good darshan there as well and returned to the lodge by around 8.15-30 PM.
I settled the bill for the cab driver and since it was dinner time, I checked with the hotel "manager" about a good place to eat. He pointed us to Mangala Vilas, which was a 5 minute walk from the lodge.
So, there we went....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)