I had to go to the Ernakulam market to purchase some vegetables,it was uneventful till I got the required and hit the traffic.
The Shanmugham road cause no trouble except for the "red-killer"bus'rash driving and some freaking guys with pulsar in wrong place.
The Chittoor road near SRV school I got held up in the usual traffic,first time in the driver's perspective.The potholes did cause trouble.Most of the two-wheelers took themselves through the footpath,I also tried it for a short strip.I have only did that in the computer game"Roadrash".There was a long pause just before the Valanjambalam junction.
The two wheelers continued their footpath journey,to get the feeling of being traffic-jammed I kept silent and started humming my favourite"Munbe Vaa" song.A biker which was not near the footpath edge moved between the buses,I saw the bus driver silently swearing at him,at first glance it seemed like he was chanting some slokas.There was a small movement in traffic but not enough for me.
An old man and some guys and some women got into buses at the junction,in spite of warning notice from the police.There was a notice signed by commissioner saying not to get into buses at the junction since a so-and-so tried the same and got a free ticket to the heavens under the wheels of red-killers.Nobody cares the warnings,nobody care about themselves and so no one cares about others.The Malabaris hate the place for this one reason.
After getting over and out of fly-over its just home ground,S.A road,no problems par the the usual negligent and ignoramus drivers.
If someone short-tempered needs to be patient just put him behind the wheels and send him through the Chittoor road,a quick medicine.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Chennai:travelogue
From one metro to another I didn't know there was a huge difference.
I have gone to Chennai only a few times,to see one of my relatives.I never needed to go to another place for, Kochi ,the queen of Arabian sea could satiate all necessities.
Chennai was a place where I got mad of heat.People had to carry water or get packaged water wherever they got to hot that you can't be inside a concrete building under just one fan.I had a dreamless sleepless night which comes to my mind whenever the sounds"Chennai "reach my ears.
This time I was warned "its summer,don't expect anything less than 40 degrees,drink water whenever you get near it".The journey took a break at Vellore famous for all the industries,the Vellore fort and Jalakandeswara temple.From Vellore we took a bus,it was written on the front glass "102 Express ெசனை்ன ".But the way it went was frustrating.I got a seat near the driver close to the gearbox.They way it crawled through the smooth clean zero traffic road evoked no feelings from the otherwise slogan raising public.It crawled,crawleeeeeeeeed,
cccccccrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwllllllllleeeeeddd.
Then I thought, there must be some speed governor the only possible reason.
On either side of roads,(no such beautiful smooth scratch-free pothole-free road can be found in Kochi) I saw Hyundai,Maruti,Motorola,Nokia,Saint-Gobain manufacturing units.No wonder why these people didn't come to Kerala to produce their products;constant harthals,the attitude of politicians and the people have kept them away.So much for development,hm.
The crawling like a snail thingy got us to the Chennai-the metro,big place.The heat ,the low humidity winds etc simply absorb the water content of the body.I had heard someone say that Chennai has just two seasons;hot season and very hot season.I wondered why all these people built up this place so large ,put all their industries and offices and invested in such a place where better climatic conditions prevailed to the west of the Nilgiris .
Its the people ,the government, that made this place good.It is said that inside the IIT campus the temperature drops to 20 degree Celsius,it just looks like a wild place at first glance.The flyovers all of them are marvellous.More amazing is the way they utilised the bottom of the flyovers;they use it as parking area;and effectively use them.The best ever junction I remember is the Adayar junction;of course there is a huge traffic,but the traffic lights work very sincerely for the pedestrians too.
Hats off to them......
It'll take ages for Kochi to become something like that but since I lived in the place I love the place.But I don't mind if Kochi turns out to be a big metro of the standard.It's being called the "Chotta Mumbai"(small Mumbai),not for bad reasons.The Metro rail concept of Mumbai which is also being used in Chennai can be used in Kochi.But the authority needs some eye-catching stuff.The light rail project implemented in Delhi is an expensive one,attractive for others,but strictly speaking it was a mega-waste when you can implement the Metro rail,which is cheaper.The folks in Delhi may love it, since they have big pockets.
I didn't stop at the beach,for very hot winds were blowing.
The Asthalakshmi temple near Besant Nagar was next stop,a very nice temple,they've a free-of-cost footwear keeper.The temple had some additional idols besides all eight avatars of goddess Lakshmi.The temple priest would give a lotus to all girls and women,a usual practice in TN ,I suppose.Through narrow passages we go to the top where there is a nice view to the beach.
A rest was inevitable and an A/C room was most welcome,sleep took over me when the vessel of mineral water was drained to the last drop.
I have gone to Chennai only a few times,to see one of my relatives.I never needed to go to another place for, Kochi ,the queen of Arabian sea could satiate all necessities.
Chennai was a place where I got mad of heat.People had to carry water or get packaged water wherever they got to hot that you can't be inside a concrete building under just one fan.I had a dreamless sleepless night which comes to my mind whenever the sounds"Chennai "reach my ears.
This time I was warned "its summer,don't expect anything less than 40 degrees,drink water whenever you get near it".The journey took a break at Vellore famous for all the industries,the Vellore fort and Jalakandeswara temple.From Vellore we took a bus,it was written on the front glass "102 Express ெசனை்ன ".But the way it went was frustrating.I got a seat near the driver close to the gearbox.They way it crawled through the smooth clean zero traffic road evoked no feelings from the otherwise slogan raising public.It crawled,crawleeeeeeeeed,
cccccccrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwllllllllleeeeeddd.
Then I thought, there must be some speed governor the only possible reason.
On either side of roads,(no such beautiful smooth scratch-free pothole-free road can be found in Kochi) I saw Hyundai,Maruti,Motorola,Nokia,Saint-Gobain manufacturing units.No wonder why these people didn't come to Kerala to produce their products;constant harthals,the attitude of politicians and the people have kept them away.So much for development,hm.
The crawling like a snail thingy got us to the Chennai-the metro,big place.The heat ,the low humidity winds etc simply absorb the water content of the body.I had heard someone say that Chennai has just two seasons;hot season and very hot season.I wondered why all these people built up this place so large ,put all their industries and offices and invested in such a place where better climatic conditions prevailed to the west of the Nilgiris .
Its the people ,the government, that made this place good.It is said that inside the IIT campus the temperature drops to 20 degree Celsius,it just looks like a wild place at first glance.The flyovers all of them are marvellous.More amazing is the way they utilised the bottom of the flyovers;they use it as parking area;and effectively use them.The best ever junction I remember is the Adayar junction;of course there is a huge traffic,but the traffic lights work very sincerely for the pedestrians too.
Hats off to them......
It'll take ages for Kochi to become something like that but since I lived in the place I love the place.But I don't mind if Kochi turns out to be a big metro of the standard.It's being called the "Chotta Mumbai"(small Mumbai),not for bad reasons.The Metro rail concept of Mumbai which is also being used in Chennai can be used in Kochi.But the authority needs some eye-catching stuff.The light rail project implemented in Delhi is an expensive one,attractive for others,but strictly speaking it was a mega-waste when you can implement the Metro rail,which is cheaper.The folks in Delhi may love it, since they have big pockets.
I didn't stop at the beach,for very hot winds were blowing.
The Asthalakshmi temple near Besant Nagar was next stop,a very nice temple,they've a free-of-cost footwear keeper.The temple had some additional idols besides all eight avatars of goddess Lakshmi.The temple priest would give a lotus to all girls and women,a usual practice in TN ,I suppose.Through narrow passages we go to the top where there is a nice view to the beach.
A rest was inevitable and an A/C room was most welcome,sleep took over me when the vessel of mineral water was drained to the last drop.
Friday, May 16, 2008
A journey to Kovai :travelogue
A journey to Kovai
It's been a very wonderful vacation with a lot many chance to see places, and feel them, coming up.
My journey began from the business heart, the commercial capital of Kerala, The Queen of Arabian Sea. A single day journey with a specific purpose to Kovai (
The road was good, too good. But the driver being lazy didn't pull up even to 100kmph.Bright sun, good road, and low traffic, what more could be asked for? The Inside of the city had traffic congestion as usual although it was after-office hours.
Kovai was far away, considering the speed at which the vehicle moved. So, it was decided to put on movies and glue our thoughts to the LCD screen. With enough toffees and chips at hand, the film turned nice refreshment. There was a halt at the Indian Coffee House, the place which you can trust for good food, anytime, anywhere. Had biriyani, for lunch, and replenished ourselves with choco bars and still more chips and other edibles.
Movie continued.........
Entering Palakkad, one of the dry lands of Kerala, the heat began to build up. Fortunately there were enough trees on the road side for most part of it. Palakkad clearly distinguishes itself from Kerala landscape Palm trees grew more abundantly than coconut tree in this region. The palm resembled a chick trying to get out of its egg while the coconut tree reminds me of a hatched chick getting ready to wander here-and-there with its tiny happy little wings.
Entering the Tamil Nadu border-The Walayar check post.
The vehicles passing through the post needed a permit of Rs. 300/ for LCV and people passing through the post in the vehicles were to be named in two sheets of white paper. There was a pettikkada selling white papers opposite to the Walayar post. The story of film 'Runway' starring Dileep and Kavya came to my mind while the driver went to buy the required paper.
The guy at the post gave a permit (a coloured paper).We moved on. At the physical check post the permit had to be shown, we entered TN.
Now this is very strange. When we get a license it says we have permit to drive anywhere in the Indian union. We pay road tax and it goes to the Government too. We buy the vehicle and pay all sorts of formalities, the insurance, registration, pollution control etc.
Why then should we again give some money at some check post? Anyway things are weird in every part of the world. Somehow we manage to live with it without much indifference.
Not too far, in fact Kovai was very close we reached there in apparently no time. Lot many of people and many vehicles on the road. But the roads were quite nice, no bumps, no unwanted humps, nice smooth and safe road. For a person from Kerala it was too good to drive the vehicle on it. Chances come seldom, when it comes grab with both your arms, so did the driver enjoying every second he drove on road, with reverence and cheerful face. We had a stop near Gandhipuram junction .Entered some of the too many textile shops there and had flying colours thrown in to our eyes every now and then. Some things were purchased, it was getting dark. Out of the showroom the streets were fully lit by the neon and other sorts of lamps and lights. We headed, to fill our tummy lightly, to Anandabhavan, famous for everything they serve.
Our dear driver was very font of parrots. It was learned that the birds and other pets were available at the Ukkadam market, which was 65% open even in the dark. We went into the only shop which was open for sale of pets at that time. They had love birds, finches, parrot, geese, sparrows, pigeon and white mice and rabbits. After shifting three parrots to their new prison (a cardboard box with holes), we continued our journey.
Our hearts were light, our tummy full, and eyelids heavy, the driver took us to home sweet home .Nothing can be better than the place we call hometown. Nothing, however developed can match its comforts. We reached home at very early morning; somehow we managed to get on the bed and pull over our bed sheets, hoping for a very sweet dreamless sleep of tranquillity. When we woke up everything seemed to be a distant dream, the bag of purchased clothing and sweets from Anandabhavan reminded us of the reality.
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