Chennai: Tambaram and Trisulam by Puneet Rajhans

Of Chennai's Tambaram and parking space

Having secured a ticket from Chennai Airport for taking a mode of travel that was 14 hours away, i needed a place to park myself for at least 10 hours. Staying inside locked up with nowhere to go as loos and laboratories shut their doors on those who dare to stay beyond permissible hours, i sougth a way out. In came a Tamil family, eager to listen to my plight and offer suggestive remedies. They told me i could park myself at Tambaram, 5kms from airport. Despite the insurmountable prodding from them i wasn't convinced that Tambaram would be the right place to park myself, i sougth more clarifications and commitments. Another gentleman appeared from a subway and headed towards airport subway,he disclosed the rates at which the rooms/halls could be seized. My query to him was simple and safe: "Was it possible in keeping with our state of mental and physical health to spend such a long time at airport? He suggested one can stretch beyond 12 hours and rates begin from 2000 revising every hour as night approaches. About the rates and the stretch going beyond 12 hours he talked about, the dilemma i found myself in seem to get broadened every passing hour.

After much interventions and intrusions from onlookers and vendors, the dilemma began to lose its intensity. The rates he was quoting for and the duration he favoured were for hotel rooms - and that too a good 20kms away from the place i was exercising the right to live and listen. His disappearing act was preceded by his observation that he never meant the waiting halls of airport where privately how hard you may try to seize some private space, the intrusion from prospective bidders looking for groom, goon and gatekeepers is too overwhelming. As i made it a point to not try the subway from which he emerged, i walked to TRISULAM, the local railway station adjacent to the airport.

Tambaram was on my mind and so was the scuffle at the railway ticket counter where a Sri Lankan national had to dish out a series of documents to give a ring of respectability to his roots which had been questioned by the counter guy. I approached the SL guy and the party following him to clear my doubts on Tambaram. Failing to get any response i decided to go to Chennai Egmore, the territory that looked familiar and faithful. The local train commute was comforting reminding some of the comforting rides i had taken in Mumbai local. Reached Chennai Park in less than an hour with the urgency to occupy the room as the tummy had begun to send warning signals for the sheer amount of luggage i was struggling around with. Post tummy stabilising phase i retired for the day as Siddhivinayak was next on my itinerary.