Life in Chennai

Chennai (Madras) is India's fourth largest city and the world's 36th Largest Metropolitan Area. Built by the Brittishers. It was a small fishing villge earlier.

"The founding day of Madras is considered to be August 22, 1639. It was on that day, in that year, that a sliver of land, where Fort. St. George stands today, was transacted by the East India Company.The deal was struck by Francis Day, his ‘dubash’ Beri Thimmappa, and their superior, Andrew Cogan, with the local Nayak rulers.It is believed that this deal was made on August 22, 1639".

Chennai is the only Indian city to be attacked by the Central Powers during World War I, when an oil depot was shelled by the German light cruiser SMS Emden. After independence in 1947, the city attained the status of the capital of Madras State, which was renamed Tamil Nadu in 1969. Following are the sister cities of Chennai :-

1. Denver, Colorado, United States.

2. Volgo Grad, Russia.

3. Frankfurt, Germany.

San Antonio, Texas has also expressed its interest in being a sister city to Chennai.

(source: wikipedia)

Now, after years in Chennai, I think that my lifestyle has become more zombie like than that of many Tamilians. I spend much of my day basically passing time between meals. Very rarely do I eat three times a day.

Work timings are so odd that all I do is Eat, Work, Watch TV, Check my mails and then sleep like a pig. Work is supposed to be thrilling, and I love my job. Wish, my previous department was not full of earjackers, as is the case now. Some arguments strikes me as a red herring.

Work apart, its time to talk about food. I know that I may be completely wrong and that there would be many who would disagree with me. Believe me, am known to be a good eater!!!! But I could not be true to myself, if I dont agree that the taste of food at the restaurants in Chennai have completely ruined my love for food. I barely have any appettite when entering a restaurant. You either have to visit a high class (or third star and above) to have tasty food or eat whatever junk you get. Now thats what deserve to be called "pathetic".

For anyone who visit Chennai, the primary concern is its climate. Chennai lies on the thermal equator and is also coastal, which prevents extreme variation in seasonal temperature. Most of the year, the weather is hot and humid. I have experienced summer temperatures upto a whopping 44, where in you will be fried if you step out.

I have also seen the rains in Chennai, and the temperature coming down to 21 (like last week). It rains from mid-September to December and some times in late march. The soil is not soild, and once it rains you should be careful walking on the banks of the road, as most of the terrain is muddy.

I would like to comment on the politics and politicians in Chennai, but is refraining from doing so. Chennai or Tamil Nadu cannot boast of National Parties which are strong. They are driven by local parties like DMK, ADMK, PMK and so many MK's (Munnetra Kazhakam).

The people here in Chennai are movie buff's and worship film stars.... huh... don't be surprised. It happens... Many a times, I've felt that the youngsters learn to drive by seeing the races that happen on the big screen. Sighs... now you know how safe the roads would be.

Night Life in Chennai comes to an early end, thanks to strict orders from the city police. Pubs & discotheques shutdown by 11 or 11.30. If you frequent the pubs in Bangalore, you would call most of the Chennai Pubs as "Bars".

If you are a Go Karting fan, I would suggest "Kart Attack" on the E.C.R, owned by Narein Karthikeyan himself. There are a few other karting tracks like the one's at Maayajal, MRF Danny's Karting, Kart beat. Try it for yourself... I find the Kart Attack track to be the best.

There are a few amusement parks also. Rather than I mentioning it over here, you can find it using google search :-). Google these days have become Human beings' best friend.

One of the best things I find about Chennai is that the city seems to be built for shoppers. Have cash (ora credit card) and you can get most of the International Brand's in Chennai. If you are looking for computer hardware & other accessories then the right place is Ritchie street. You would find a wide range of products available at the lowest prices (beware of duplicates).

If you are a movie buff and do not want to spend hundres buying DVD's, then visit the local stores of Parrys. Audio, Video CD's and DVD's as well as electronic goods are available at unbelievably lower prices. Want to buy Clothes & Jewellery, you can buy for days at various shops in and around T.Nagar.

Moore Market was known as the ultimate flea market, with just about anything available, including all manner of birds and animals as pets in the courtyard. Sadly, Moor Market does not hold the old glory anymore. You would get second hand books or indian re-prints(duplicate) of any books here.

Enough of Chennai for now. Will write more about Chennai later. Are my blogs turning more educational than shedding lights into my thoughts? May be my thoughts in itself is educational.... time will tell. Happy blogging.