Rainy Weekend

Heavy winds and rain spoiled the whole weekend making me immovable from house, guess what???…. the weather welcomed the week with some clear skies, peek-a-boo sunshine though the weather-man predicted some rain on monday. I got time to help in baking a cake, compose and edit the writeup on ECR, start on a fillet crochet doiley, practise reading & writing tamil over the weekend.

I didnt want to put photos on my Chennai Weekend series writeups coz I want it to be like a column to give some basic info not to load it with photos. Also I dont have my own photos for all the places i mentioned and dont want to pick from net or others blog. There are loads of photos on the net for the places i mention, have a look before you visit.

The progress on doiley and photos will be in the blog next week. The pattern is somewhere from the internet, i was searching for the picture which has the actual photo and realised that i forgot the site from which i downloaded:-) Its actually a cusion cover pattern, i am planning it to be large enough to cover my TV. The original doesnt have a border and i am planning to add a border in contrast thread.

I updated the Events page with an event at Dakshina chitra and a weekend art program, have a look.

Weekend in Chennai – On & Off ECR

ECR – East Coast Road is a scenic 4 lane road running from Tiruvanmayur in Chennai to Pondicherry. Beautiful to drive, but look for temporary dividers on the road used to check the speed of the vehicals. Its pleasant to drive at night as the road itself looks beautiful.

I will try to cover all the places that i am aware of along ECR starting from Tiruvanmayur (I will try my best to maintain the order, but no promises). Lets start where the ECR starts….

Marundeswarar temple:
Marundeeswarar Temple is located in Tiruvanmiyur outskirts. The Tiruvanmiyur bus terminal is in the vicinity and not more than a kilometre from the place. One more important reference point is the East Coast Road. The temple lies off the East Coast Road just few hundred metres from the originating point of the road.

Cholamandal Artist’s Village:
Cholamandal Artist’s Village is situated on the East Coast Road, some eight kilometres further south of the Chennai city. The place represents an important arts centre in the state of Tamil Nadu. Cholamandal Artist’s Village is built over eight hectares of land in the Injambakkam region which exists as an extension of the Chennai city.

Prarthana Theatre: Check previous post in this series.

Shiridi Sai Baba Temple:
Take the left after Prathana drive-in theatre (on the Neelangari – ECR road) to reach this temple.Its Approximately 8.5 kms from Adyar. The temple itself is very big and is in a calm clean, breezy and peaceful place.

Jagannathan temple:
An exact replica of the Puri Jagannath Temple. Those who have not been to Puri can take a look at this temple. The temple is situated at Kannathur on ECR about 20kms from Adyar. For the onlooker the shrine resembles a replica of Puri temple. The complex is built by Sri Jagannath Spiritual Educational Cultural Trust.

Mayajaal: Check previous post in this series.

Nithya Kalyana Perumal Koil:
As the name denotes, a temple dedicated to Lord Venkateshwara and is in Tiruvidanthai, which is 10 minutes drive from Mayajaal along ECR.

Tirupporur Murugan Temple:
Tirupporur temple is an ancient one dating back to the Pallava period and is one of 33 major temples in Tamil Nadu dedicated to the worship of Murugan, is also known as the Poriyur or Samarapuri temple. Tirupporur is situated 25 kilometres northeast of Chingleput and is connected by bus service with Chennai at a distance of 45 kilometres.

Dakshinachitra:
This ‘living museum’ of Southern India come before Muthukadu and is almost halfway between chennai and Mahabalipuram. It showcases the lifestyle, arts and crafts of the four South Indian states. It has relocated real 18th, 19th and 20th century houses and recreated village streets & work places. Dakshinachitra also has a number of cultural performances all year round. And best of all, their restaurant serves a wide variety of authentic south Indian delicacies.

Muthukadu: Check past writeup in this blog

The Orchid Gardens:
Orchid Gardens is located at Poonjeri in the World Heritage town. The new tourist attraction has come up on a 1.75-acre plot on the non-beach front of the ECR, a few yards away from the Mahabalipuram intersection.
A reclaimed muddy road leads to the massive canopy that shows the way to the Orchid Gardens. There are nearly 30 varieties of showy and colourful flowers.

Alamparai Fort:
Two-hour drive down the East Coast Road ( 100 km ) is Kadapakkam. Turn eastwards into the narrow village road and drive for about 3 kilometers till you cross a small bridge. After this, the road turns into a sandy track. A few hundred yards after a right turn at the next fork takes you to the ruins of Alamparai Fort
The significance of the fort is displayed on a green board at the entrance. The board gives us a peek into the history of the ruins of this 18th Century fort. One can experience the majestic fort from the back waters even better. There are many local fishermen who are more than happy to take u on a boat ride around the fort in the back waters for a mutually agreed amount.

There are also couple of resorts along ECR like, MGM resorts, VGP resorts, Taj Fisherman’s cove, Golden Chariot etc., you can have a look at their websites to see whats on offer.

There are a lot of restaurants, dhabas, fast food joints, quite and tucked eateries along the road, so one can explore and experiment a lot on food.

Now time for some extras

The only Dollar shop in chennai as far as i know is on ECR near Injambakkam. There are couple of stores where you can get some exclusive handicrafts and artifacts along ECR, there is a store exclusively for old clocks ( the ones with a pendulumn, if you still remember), A terracota shop somewhere and lots more.

For the adventure seekers there is catamaran’s ride at Taj fisherman’s cove, details can be checked on their site. Its around 100 bucks per person per hour as i know, do check. Do take some spare clothing, if planning to attempt. Good to have somebody on the shore to take care of your belongings while you are out on the sea. For those who dont know whats a catamaran’s ride, catamaran is a type of boat used by fishermen. One will be taken far into the sea and trown out into the water with a lifejacket clinging to you, once you are done enjoying your stay you are pulled back into the catamaran and the journey to the shore starts.

Mahabalipuram/Pondy are great weekend getaways from chennai which can be reached through ECR. For more info you can start with these links.

www.mahabalipuram.co.in/
http://tourism.pondicherry.gov.in/

Note: This is just an attempt to put down various options that are available in and around chennai to spend weekends (naturally which i am aware of…). For any additional information about the place ask localites, search net, look into yellow pages.

If you have anything to add, or know a place along ECR that i didnt mention, do leave a comment.

Some Updates

There is a small farewell party at office, so got sometime off from the desk and also a free pastry to gobble up.

The Events Page is updated with some exhibits and also a sufi music program, do check.

The previous blog is also updated with some links. I think I will write on ECR over the weekend. Nothing going on my knitting side, I have only one pair of needles so i cant start simultaneously on another project. I have no more than a lemon sized ball of yarn remaining, but been so lazy to knit that out. I want my next project to be simple and practical.
Back on sunday with ECR for you.

Weekend in Chennai – Music, Movies & Theatre.

I planned a few blogs about some options to spend weekends in chennai, this is the first writeup in this series.

Be that you want to take off from regular life or take up an activity/hobby that demands only weekends, Chennai has everything in its own style.

Chennai is a carnatic Music hub. The music season starts in December and you can see lots and lots events happening. Apart from these jazz, sufi, rock, ghazal musical events also take place around the year – difficult to know when these happen unless you keep an eye on the newspapers.

Nageswara park in Mylapore is also a must visit on 1st sunday mornings in a month if you live nearby. ‘Sundaram Finance Sunday Kutcheri in the park’ is held for children below 15 years who are learning music for an hour between 6:30 and 7:30, tranquility admist dawn and music – deadly combination.

Museum theatre located on pantheon Road in Egmore hosts some of the western and indo-western musical events. Best thing is to keep an eye on the newspaper and call the theatre at 28193238 and check.

Vani Mahal, located on G.N Chetty Road in T.nagar, Hosts Musical and dance events. Contact them at 28152166.

Music Academy, on TTK road in Mylapore hosts a lot of musical events during the Musical season, which starts in december. You can visit their website http://www.musicacademymadras.in/ for all the events for the season. You also see the events listed for the dance season next year.

Theatre is also very much active in chennai.
Alliance francias:
The French connection in chennai sponsored by the french embassy. The Main office is on New college road Nungambakkam, A calm and peaceful place ( which i fell in love with immediately) with lots of trees and a small amphitheatre. There is a branch office in Adyar also. Apart from teaching french and conducting exams, they also host number of plays throughout the year, Photo Exhibitions, screening of movies, documentries etc. All the events are held at the Nungambakkam office. The plays will be in english, the best way to check whats on for the weekend is to visit their website at http://www.af-madras.org/ and the homepage has a pdf file with the events for the quarter. They have a small cafe serving some french food, dont miss that.

Music academy:
Its on TTK road in Mylapore. You can visit their website http://www.musicacademymadras.in/, It doesnt give the details of the plays that the academy will host. Perhaps the ‘Events’ page thats under construction will give the details when its up. Check the local papers for the plays for the week or call the office at 28112231/ 28115162. Hosts both English and Tamil Plays.

Museum theatre:
Located on pantheon Road in Egmore, is a part of the Government Museum. The official website of the museum doesnt say anything about the events the theatre will host. Best thing is to keep an eye on the newspaper.
Most of the plays start between 5-7PM, Occasionally there will be shows at 3:30PM also. Sometimes donor passes will be available in landmark, odessey and other places, But the best thing is to call the place at 28193238 and check.

There are other concert halls where you can check for Musical events, Plays and other events like
Narada Gana Sabha, TTK Road.
Rani Seethai Hall, Anna Salai.
Raja Annamalai, Esplanade.
Kamaraj Memorial Hall, Anna Salai.
Klaivanar Arangam, Government Estate, Wallaja Road.
etc….

There are many Movie theatres in chennai, here i will talk only about some Multiplexes and offbeat movie places where there is something beside a movie.

Mayajaal:
Located on ECR past the tollgate, one can spend a complete day here. Planning to go alone, with family, group of friends or arranging a team event for corporates – Mayajaal has it all.
To book the tickets one can get them directly at the counter or through phone or online booking at http://www.mayajaal.com/site/defaultmovies.asp. I dont know how secure is their website for booking tickets and what their phone booking procedure is as i always bought tickets from the counter.If you have tickets and have plenting of time to spend before the show, no probs there are lots of options in and around mayajaal.
In mayajaal – Bowling, Food, Bit of shopping, Vedio games, Go Karting, Pool and more.
Around mayajaal – If you want some boating, Muthukadu is only 20 mins from here, If you are a looking for some indoor and outdoor plants for your house, there are lots of plant nurseries around to check; If you are looking for some serenity, the beach is always there. (Other options along ECR will be in my next blog)
There is a cricket ground, some indoor and outdoor stuff for the sports buffs normally opened for the members, but available for corporate events if told in advance. ICL’s, for non cricket fans its Indian Cricket League, training camp was held at mayajaal recently.

Satyam:
Its off the Peters Road, Very Near to the saravana bhavan on the peters road.
The Online booking at http://thecinema.in/ is very simple and we can print the tickets which is provided as a pdf file. The online booking for a week opens on wednesday, be quick, especially for multiple tickets. I didnt buy tickets till now off the counter. There is a bit of shopping, and a playspace for kids. If you find their inhouse Ecstacy to be expensive (which is….) saravana bhavan is very near unless you want to try something exotic. Satyam is near to Mount road, can be reached easily from Tnagar, Mylapore, Alwarpet, So If you are planning to do shopping in the morning, have a sumptous south indian lunch and settle back for movie – satyam is your bet, but dont dont forget to book tickets in advance. There is enough parking space but if you want in the complex avoid the evening rush.
The only drawback i found is the wait outside the theatre before the start of the movie. There isnt much of waiting space, very much cramped with all the people waiting to go inside and its a bit difficult during rains.

Inox:
Situated in Citi Centre on RK salai. A combination of marina beach, branded shopping and movies.
The online booking at http://www.inoxmovies.com/inox/wcms/en/home/index.html is also simple, but i was never quick enough to get tickets through online booking in inox. There are lots of stalls in Citi Centre offering variety of food and shouldnt be a problem. Do some window shopping, Have some mall style food, See a movie, Relax in the beach (The beach will be crowded on weekends, but there is an inch for everyone….)

Prathana:
I heard a lot, but didnt visit this one till now. You can only get evening shows as its a open air, drive in theatre in Injambakkam on ECR. Prarthana is a “Cars Only” section. Bikers can take “Aaradhana”. The gaint white wall on which the projection is caught greets you here. Get your tickets in advance if planning to visit over a weekend, The catch is only tamil movies are played. Pick the Tickets, Explore ECR (I am planning for an exclusive entry on ECR alone) and settle for the movie in the evening before you head home. Food is available here so keep munching under the stars. Not only the sea breeze, mosquitos also sometimes give company so avoid the rainy and post rainy season, do carry some mosquito repellants. Book tickets by calling 2441 3758, 2485 0385, 2499 4907.

Next entry is on ECR so tune in….

A Quickie to T.Nagar

Happy Vijayadasami…

Celebrations everywhere and few grunts that a holiday has fallen on a sunday..

I couldnt plan a long shopping in T.Nagar yesterday morning with the rain spoiling my plans… But had a quickie in the evening to run some errands.

My Husband accompanied me on this short trip to T.Nagar. We took a local to Mambalam and the Ranganathan street is as always – crowded. My husband was commenting that if at all india wants a rugby team they can pick a few from this street. I didnt have a camera when i am there and even if i had i dont dare with my husband by my side I am planning a long one next week to complete a lot of shopping thats been pending for a while, before diwali.

While in T.Nagar I popped into ‘Raja Thread Store’ to check if they have the yarn that i am using for my tote, Bad luck – they dont have it anymore… learnt the lesson that experienced knitters always say, “stocking extra yarn doesnt harm” Good Luck – The lady said if i can get a sample she will order that for me but it will take some time. ( I think  am the only person who goes to a store for supplies without a sample !!!!!!). But I noticed that they have a variety of yarn now… waiting for the next weekend to spend sometime there.

After we completed the errands, picked some flowers for the puja, had a short snack at ‘Archana’s’ and came back home.

I couldn’t even keep up my promise to try the ceramic bead activity on this weekend. It will be sometime before i think of it again.