Chennai Diaries.

There's something about travelling to a South Indian City like Chennai, complicated by our stereotypical belief  -of an alienating language, and of food assumed to have been cooked only with  rice and coconut.

The city to a cursory traveler, gives an impression of a metropolis stuck halfway through a time travel portal with some parts of it having been carried to the next millennium, and other parts still waking up to the discovery of fire. My anxiety about negotiating this city of nine million people, evaporated as I allowed Chennai to take me in....in a proper Chennai styla(e).

1)       Vaddakam- To every Rascala you meet in Chennai(a), greet. Chennaites are generally a hospitable race and a Vaddakam is sure shot way to get invited for a quick Kapi. Coffee is to Chennai what Vodka is to Russia, and Mind it you are not know by the amount of kapi you drink, but the amount of Chicory you drink. More the chicory, stronger the coffee, more respectable you are in the eyes of an Iyer Ponna. Try Leo’s coffee in Mylapore for buying the best coffee produce in the city.

2)       Eat Local- Chennai is a heaven for food lovers. If you are over with your fascination of oil laden Punjabi gravies, and the much hyped Mughalai variety, you are in for a treat of your life. Most of these authentic food joints have worked hard to bust the stereotype surrounding the Tamil food and have taken the boring Idli-vada-Dosa-Pongal to the next level and wear it as their badge to honour. Neither Murugan Idili nor any of Mylapore Messes (My favourite being the Karpagambal Mess) waste time is regular restaurant niceties such as plates, cutlery or reservations. Strangely this lack of Luxury is unexpectedly comforting. Its a slice of old Madras. A custom of thousands of years hand made and served on a banana leaf.

3)       Be a beach bum- Marina Beach is our answer to Rio. With miles of sand stretching on either side of you, go in for an early morning walk or an evening soak into local culture. From fast food stalls to curio shops to fun rides, the beach has something for person of every age. For the more notorious seeking bikini clad Baywatch babes, don’t be disappointed, try drowning yourself and I am sure a sexy siren-sultry silk will come to your rescue.

For the less fortunate ones, there is the serene expanse of Elliot’s beach and Covelong beach, head to these for a more tranquil water experience.

4)       Shopping Spree- One shouldn't leave Chennai without being jostled around in the hustle and bustle of the notorious T-Nagar or Sowcarpet 0r Pondy Bazar. Narrow roads packed with a wide variety of goods for sale make these places a shopper’s paradise. Try buying a South Indian Cotton-silk or a Filter coffee percolator. Even if you are unable to strike a bargain, you by the end of your visit must have learned many a survival tricks. These places can overwhelm regular shopper’s senses by their sheer enormity. What else does one do but be overwhelmed by a street with more than 100 jewellery shops!!

5)       Temple Trail – Being the epicentre of the Tamil culture always, Chennai is a city of immense historic and religious significance. From the 7^th Centaury Kapeeleshwar Temple in Mylapore, one of the finest living specimen of Dravidian architecture to NavagrahaTemple complex build in Chola style, Chennai mesmerises its travellers, both religious and non religious, with these timeless beauties. Other important temples are Parthasarthy temple, Astha-laxmi Temple and Murugan Temple.

6)       Colonial Hangover- Being one of the earliest seats of British Raj, the city boasts of some most beautiful Victorian Architecture found in the country. Colonial Grandeur still overpowers the currently fashionable glass and steel structure and imparts this city a visible splendour. Gothic arches, stained windows, lofted ceiling, concealed in the ever increasing concrete maze behind the gargantuan hoardings, impart an imperial narrative to existence of this city and its lost glory as one of the most prominent ports in Asia. San Thome Cathedral, Senate House, Ripon Building and fort St George are some note worthy British Architectural gems of Chennai.

7)        Urban Green Oasis- Chennai is a unique city in having a crocodile park, a 20 acre botanical garden (Semmozhi Poonga) and  a National Park situated right in the middle of the city. Apart from providing the much needed green cover to the city, these green oasis make for a very pleasant family outing spots in Chennai.

Chennai had just escaped a cyclone--the once in a century kind days before I visited and I expected problems in moving about, but my first few hours spinning around the city in an Uber were trouble free. Sort of. The ATMs were short of cash, internet connections have not been fully restored after the cyclone and hence most shops weren’t accepting cards, but by the time I was to leave the city I was marveling at how nearly new people-including my cab driver and complete strangers were suddenly involved in my life, trying to make things easier for me, trying to help me accomplish things. Impressed.