Having Reached Chennai On A Saturday

Having Reached Chennai On A Saturday

Having reached Chennai on a Saturday I could make out there were fair number of women who had taken Chennai Rajdhani train from Hazrat Nizamuddin Station (Hazrat Nizamuddin Shrine Is Nearby) in New Delhi and they looked less exhausted and weary despite locked in train coach for nearly 30 hours. These women probably residing in Chennai had gone through all this on umpteen occasions and they deem fit to take a train be it shine or rain. The train conversation/thoughts veered around issues as varied as less quality jobs being created across country vis-a-vis employment in lower segments like agriculture and trade which hadn't tanked by all means and had registered impressive gains. 

From These Findings On Labour Markets To Finding Space In Tourist Homes In Chennai Egmore

According to a finding to accommodate new entrants to labour market India needs to raise about 12 million jobs a year in the decade that would ring in. A growth of over and above 7 per cent would at the most add 8 million jobs a year with the reminder that share of agriculture in GDP from a high of 40 per cent in the '70s has dwindled to 15 per cent but still agriculture accounts for 42 per cent of workforce (Yes 42 Per Cent Of Workforce). As these issues began to take centre stage while on a train ride and as the convoy kissed Chennai and roundabout the thoughts were on the lodge and the leverage that I would have to primarily settle for. It was Mr Prema the porter who carried the luggage to the auto stand and Mr Dinesh Kumar was kind enough to drop me at Chennai Egmore. I didn't have to trudge much and in nick of time I zeroed in on Tourist Homes Hotel in Gandhi Irwin Road. With a tariff way above Rs 1000 given the inroads made by GST Oven I was inclined to stay as this looked to be the desired hideout from activities and conduct that had bothered me in the past. The room allotted to me was 207 and in 206 was Home Ministry personnel who was tailing me right from New Delhi. From his room Hindi Channels were audible and I was able to break the puzzle who all were instrumental in switching on the light outside my room which I used to switch off. The banging of Lift Gates which was right opposite my room all through night during my stay was also the handiwork of these guys from Home Ministry New Delhi. 

Milk From Chennai Gate The Best; Black Tea From Modern Snacks

Mr Kannan was at the counter looking cheerful to welcome me and after quick shower I made a dash to explore the nearby areas where I could get milk not mixed with water and black tea. The next morning I settled for Mulberry store where milk had a fair share of water and yet I took two disposable cups followed by black tea. Black tea was arranged by Chennai Gate restaurant as well where the proprietor  few days later was honest enough to admit that milk is mixed with water. Despite that admission the milk from Chennai Gate Seem To Be The Best available among varied stores I had tried. Black tea from Modern Snacks who had three men attending to customers was equally great and here one among them seem to be always smiling. One particular day when I had just entered the store one guy began the conversation with peers in Tamil that I would ask for one cup of black tea followed by another and here a customer hailing from Madurai kind enough to reveal the content of conversation that had taken place. Modern Snacks modern to the core was up and running 6 AM onwards and so were Chennai Gate, Vasanta Bhawan and others. 

Visiting Namma Veedu Vasanta Bhawan; Visiting Mount Road Dargah

Namma Veedu Vasanta Bhawan with Mr Amjad at the counter was kind enough to host me and here idlys and dosas in my breakfast were enough to fill. For Tamil Nadu Meals Sangeetha Restaurant was the best and not lagging in the race was Saravana Bhavan in Kennet Lane Egmore. Fathima Medicals and Mr Basha in Arunachalam Street were helpful despite the googly on internet from other quarters that I could not dodge. All through six days in Chennai the city looked less intimidating and here search for internet browsing couldn't get me the requisite space. All through Arunachalam Street on foot to Triplicane High Road on auto the hunt and quest for internet couldn't yield much. Quite exasperated at the outcome I made one final bid at Mount Road and it evoked response short of smirk and snigger. A Mount Road Voyage gave me the opportunity to visit Dargah-e-Hazrath Syed Moosa Shah Qadri Baghdadi who was known to be Sufi Saint of 18th century. Mount Road apart I would have crisscrossed Kennet Lane on innumerable occasions where Pandian Hotel had a cyber cafe and so did the entrance to this lane from Pantheon Road. All that had been brought down over the years by orders not known to mankind. With no success in getting stories done I could sense the next best opportunity would be in Madurai. Had it not been for notings made in New Delhi some three months ago on train connectivity between Chennai Egmore and Madurai I would have been in a state of limbo in getting the requisite ticket. 

Sacred Heart Shrine

From Wednesday onwards water supply to bathroom had all but evaporated and I had to take shower in some other room. Water intricacies made me make a resolve that I would have to quit Chennai and proceed to Madurai. If some guy used to bang the lift gates in the middle of night all through six days so that I couldn't gain sleep there were moments of happiness as well like taking snacks from A R Rahman Cafe in Pantheon Road or visiting outer precincts of Sacred Heart Shrine and that too as well in Pantheon Road. This visit opened doors to a South India where these many days in Chennai I had spent way back in 2014-2015 and this time round the stay had its share of hits and misses. South India I adore and I relish the cheerful index of cities that have a neat tale to them.

YEDU KONDALWADA VENKATRAMNA GOVINDA GOVINDA