Travelling in Chennai can be very intimidating even to the most hardened of travelers.
The problem with the city is the autos, autos and autos. For budget travelers, I would recommend avoiding autos altogether. After spending my first semester in Chennai, I came back to Mumbai and felt sorry for the honest autowallahs here that I over-paid a couple of times. Chennai autowallahs are harshly discriminatory, not just on foreigners and Hindi-speaking travelers but also on Chennaiites who aren’t familiar with a particular locality. To give you a better idea-
*Actual fare: Rs.50
Foreign tourist pays: Rs.500
North-Indian tourist pays: Rs.300
Tamil-speaking tourist pays: Rs.150
Localite (North/South Indian/expat): Rs.100
(* - All figures are indicatory)
The best way to deal with the auto menace is to be-friend an autowallah and then stick to him. If this is not possible, collect the exact details of the place you are visiting, the average cost it takes to travel by auto and then practice your bargaining and negotiating skills.
The MTC bus service is good and fairly extensive. But at peak hours, the buses overflow with passengers hanging on to every piece of metal shard available, just like the trains of Mumbai. But make sure you carry the exact change. A few conductors take advantage if you don’t have change. A number of times, conductors pretend to forget that they owe you money. Once, I handed a 100-rupee note for Rs.7 ticket, I lost both my money and my cool at the immensely brutal manner of cheating.
Chennai suburban trains are by far the most hassle-free means to travel in Chennai.. One can easily get into these trains even in peak hours. The trains also offer a chance to appreciate beautiful sights of the city. The stretch near the airport and the Thiruvanmiyur railway stations are the best.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Anyways?
‘Anyways’ - I don’t remember when I heard this first. But it seems to have caught the imagination of the Indian junta as rapidly as Rakhi Sawant’s swayamvar or the IPL. The youth who refuse to use the word or correct people for using it are usually looked down upon as un-cool and demented. The species of ‘Non-anyways’ has become highly endangered. Hunting for the ‘Non-anyways sapiens’ would be like searching for a 'needle in a haystack' (or lovelier usage- hunting for a fly in an elephant’s arse).
Even as I type all this in MS-Word, the usage of anyways doesn’t throw any red lines. The Americans are definitely covertly waging a full-scale war against Brit English. And for desis, using ‘anyways’ has become a nice way of getting back at the Brits.
To add on to the ignominy of Purists, people these days have started using more such plural forms. One fine morning, in the class of a renowned institute, one of the professors greeted the students – ‘Good mornings’. That struck me like a bolt from the blue. I am pretty sure you would have heard ‘By the ways’ too.
Will these too catch on with the hoi polloi? Well, this remains to be seen.
The bottom-line –
As the junta is going way out of the way to remove ‘way’ from the dictionaries, ‘way’ will become another archaic form. Anyways...
(Inspired by a Readers Digest article)
Even as I type all this in MS-Word, the usage of anyways doesn’t throw any red lines. The Americans are definitely covertly waging a full-scale war against Brit English. And for desis, using ‘anyways’ has become a nice way of getting back at the Brits.
To add on to the ignominy of Purists, people these days have started using more such plural forms. One fine morning, in the class of a renowned institute, one of the professors greeted the students – ‘Good mornings’. That struck me like a bolt from the blue. I am pretty sure you would have heard ‘By the ways’ too.
Will these too catch on with the hoi polloi? Well, this remains to be seen.
The bottom-line –
As the junta is going way out of the way to remove ‘way’ from the dictionaries, ‘way’ will become another archaic form. Anyways...
(Inspired by a Readers Digest article)
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Story of a Mumbaikar in Chennai – Part 1!
Mumbai - A foodie haven
Mumbai has been a gastronomist’s heaven and I realized this only after I moved to Chennai for 6 years. How much I missed my Darling city!! So, when I came back to hometown after my Vanvas(period spent in a forest for penance), it was time to make up for all the lost years of hogging. 6 months on, I am still enjoying the food and the life here. What's so special in Mumbai, you might ask?
Let me list out my favorite items (No specific order of preference)
1. The Dhabeli -
The Dhabeli is a Gujarati dish which is a pav (Indian Bun-like bread) filled with a heterogeneous mixture sprinkled with groundnuts, pomegranate rubies and some coriander leaves. Make sure you tell the Dhabeliwala to fry it in Amul butter and relish the golden-baked crispy dhabeli. The spicy mixture is sweetened by the pomegranate and the groundnuts. This is really Food for the Gods.
2. The Vada Pav-
The poor man's burger is a lot more tastier than its western counterpart. But I guess it’s still remains a Mumbai thing. My friends from Delhi are unable to develop a taste for this Rs.5 ka burger. To my south-Indian friends who are unable to fathom the craze for 'bun with a potato-filling', they should taste it to believe it.
3. The Chat - Dahi Puri, Pani Puri, Sev Puri, ityaadi(etcetera)
These chat items are found in almost every nook and corner of India these days. But of course, the quality suffers as you move Southwards, though the cost increases.
The Chennai Pani puri is more often made with some packet of instant-mix that tastes more like sea-water. I have had my share of pani puris in Chennai and though my unfortunate Tamil brethren loved them, I still prefer delaying having them till I reach Mumbai. I Southies will stop tasting Chennai-made pani puris once they taste the Mumbai-made ones.
But my stay in Chennai was made easier due to a few brands like Sri Krishna sweets and Gangotree. These brands realized the need for good chats for the growing North Indian community in Chennai. But these were expensive at 3-4 times the Mumbai MRP.
4. The Lassi
Though I haven’t yet tasted Lassi in the land of its origin (Punjab), the Mumbai lassi was good enough to make me fall in love with this sweet curd topped off with a generous layer of Malai and sprinkled with pista, kesar (saffron) and some rose essence.
It was only natural that for me to go Lassi-hunting in Chennai. I was flabbergasted when I saw the state of Lassi here. The Lassi that could substitute breakfast was reduced to something like sweet buttermilk. Unfortunately the quality of Lassi remains pathetic even in the newly established North-Indian specialty restaurants in Chennai.
Many other items like the Pav Bhaji, the kachori, samosa pavs are sub-standard in Chennai restaurants. Of course, to substitute all this is the crispy dosa and the healthy idlis, but don’t we find these in Mumbai itself?
Hmm.. Maybe I will have to start a restaurant in Chennai soon!!
Mumbai has been a gastronomist’s heaven and I realized this only after I moved to Chennai for 6 years. How much I missed my Darling city!! So, when I came back to hometown after my Vanvas(period spent in a forest for penance), it was time to make up for all the lost years of hogging. 6 months on, I am still enjoying the food and the life here. What's so special in Mumbai, you might ask?
Let me list out my favorite items (No specific order of preference)
1. The Dhabeli -
The Dhabeli is a Gujarati dish which is a pav (Indian Bun-like bread) filled with a heterogeneous mixture sprinkled with groundnuts, pomegranate rubies and some coriander leaves. Make sure you tell the Dhabeliwala to fry it in Amul butter and relish the golden-baked crispy dhabeli. The spicy mixture is sweetened by the pomegranate and the groundnuts. This is really Food for the Gods.
2. The Vada Pav-
The poor man's burger is a lot more tastier than its western counterpart. But I guess it’s still remains a Mumbai thing. My friends from Delhi are unable to develop a taste for this Rs.5 ka burger. To my south-Indian friends who are unable to fathom the craze for 'bun with a potato-filling', they should taste it to believe it.
3. The Chat - Dahi Puri, Pani Puri, Sev Puri, ityaadi(etcetera)
These chat items are found in almost every nook and corner of India these days. But of course, the quality suffers as you move Southwards, though the cost increases.
The Chennai Pani puri is more often made with some packet of instant-mix that tastes more like sea-water. I have had my share of pani puris in Chennai and though my unfortunate Tamil brethren loved them, I still prefer delaying having them till I reach Mumbai. I Southies will stop tasting Chennai-made pani puris once they taste the Mumbai-made ones.
But my stay in Chennai was made easier due to a few brands like Sri Krishna sweets and Gangotree. These brands realized the need for good chats for the growing North Indian community in Chennai. But these were expensive at 3-4 times the Mumbai MRP.
4. The Lassi
Though I haven’t yet tasted Lassi in the land of its origin (Punjab), the Mumbai lassi was good enough to make me fall in love with this sweet curd topped off with a generous layer of Malai and sprinkled with pista, kesar (saffron) and some rose essence.
It was only natural that for me to go Lassi-hunting in Chennai. I was flabbergasted when I saw the state of Lassi here. The Lassi that could substitute breakfast was reduced to something like sweet buttermilk. Unfortunately the quality of Lassi remains pathetic even in the newly established North-Indian specialty restaurants in Chennai.
Many other items like the Pav Bhaji, the kachori, samosa pavs are sub-standard in Chennai restaurants. Of course, to substitute all this is the crispy dosa and the healthy idlis, but don’t we find these in Mumbai itself?
Hmm.. Maybe I will have to start a restaurant in Chennai soon!!
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