Living in chennai...its not that bad...

Feature story page 1of 3

“With arms wide open under the sunlight Welcome to this place”

B.Kondal Rao a factory worker in Ambattur came to Chennai around 40 years ago from his hometown of Vijayanagram in the state of Andhra Pradesh. He goes home at least once in four months keeping in touch with his roots, yet He has seen this city grown and change over the last forty years of his relationship with it.

The city of madras patnam the original name of Chennai given by the British is one that has always been deep rooted in culture and tradition. The existence of the arts and basic ways has been an integral part of the cities character and image this is perhaps best explained by the seeing the existence of a temple, dance school and corporate business office in a single row on the same road. The concept of modern way with the traditional lifestyle has been seamlessly absorbed by the people. The fast paced lifestyle that has been created by the modern “work and live” lifestyle very much exists in the city yet we see people attending Caranatic and dance musical recitals every time they take place at places like the music academy and the Naradgan Sabaha. Such institutions have become an integral part of the cities way of life.

“There is very deep rooted existence of a traditional and conservative culture in the city” feels Varun an employee of Accenture who has come from Delhi. He feels that pace of life is relaxed here and that there is a great respect for values and traditions, thanks to such a type of existence there is lot of brotherhood and high respect for family values present here.

The unhurried pace and relaxed ambience of the city is such that if you lose your way, you can be sure someone will be kind enough to take you to the place where you want to go or give you detailed instructions on how to get there. “The people here are very helpful and nice you get homely feeling in the city” feels Jyotirup Chatterjee an IT company employee from Bengal .He has also lived in Delhi and feels that in comparison to the capital ,Chennai is more easy going and much more conservative.

The city has opened its arms to many communities that have come here and become very successful .The Jains, Gujaratis, Malayalees, Muslims, and Kannadigas, live peacefully among the local population. “There is good existence of family values and friendship ties among all the communities” says Mohamed Rafiq Bhat a Kashmiri he is the owner of a carpet store in Spencer plaza.

Feature story page 2 of 3

Being a vast city the existence of public transport is one that is very necessary. Along with Autos and buses Chennai also offers the MRTS or the metro rail transport system. It is a boon in such a city where almost one lakh vehicles are added to the road system every year. Travel time by using such a system is almost cut to less than half of what it actually takes. “I have been using the railway system for almost a year now it allows us to reach our destinations much quicker and for a lesser price” says Santosh an employee of Satyam who hails from Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh but works here in Chennai. But a city of such size is not without its problems Water and humidity are two major issues here in two years I have very major hair loss due to the hard water here” said an employee at Spencer plaza who wished to remain anonymous. When we work or spend time at home we are in an air-conditioned environment, but when we have to be outside or travel the heat takes a toll on us say Rafiq.

Moving closer to home we see many people who have come from the interiors of the state to work or study here. They feel that even though Chennai is in Tamil Nadu and it’s the capital retaining their old traditions is little difficult and they have become a part of the Chennai lifestyle. “Retaining some of our home traditions like our clothing styles is very hard to follow here so we have given in to modern classical culture that exists here” says Abdul an IT employee who comes from Thanjavur.

The cost of living in Chennai is relatively cheaper in comparison to other metros but for those who come from smaller towns and cities the initial days always seem to spiral out of control when it comes to money “food is my largest expense, for the same amount that I would spend on one meal, back in my university town I would be able to use the same amount of money for at least two days to feed myself”. Says Sheik Mohd Azmal who is studying in Manipal he is currently on a one month Internship with Mudra communications.

Language has always been a barrier here in the state for the many masses that used to come in interaction with locals was always an issue. This is not the case any longer as most of the people now speak the national language as well as English. All the signs and notices are now in English as well as Tamil.

Religion has a very major role here, it is pride and as well as many feel that its their duty to display their religious sentimentalities, but all religions have co existed here for many years very peacefully right from the kapaleewshwar temple in mylapore to the 1000 lights mosque all the way to the santhome church Chennai has stood by a secular way of existence. “The people of this city of all religions live next to each other like brothers in a very secular way” says Mansor Ali Khan a security guard at the Ticel bio park in Taramani.

Feature story page 3of 3

The cusine here is one that is reflects the modern age with the classic once again. Along side the traditional idiilis and dosas we get a world class variety of foods. Many of the eateries and hotels have been here for well over half a decade and have seen many generations come and go yet they have retained their classical image. Most feel that the food has a mixed taste of spicy as well as sweet.

It is this kind of unique mélange that has made and given Chennai it’s unique and special image and made it the queen of the south. With arms wide open its has for years welcomed settlers giving them a chance to make it big and achieve success

Night Patrol with the police

Its ten thirty on a Saturday night, most of the city is unwinding after a long week of being busy. Some may choose to go out and spend a few hours at one of the cities many clubs, restaurants and pubs; others may choose to spend the few hours at a friend’s house to have a good time and enjoy the weekend.

But for sub inspector P.Hariharan, head constable P.Sampath Kumar and constable A Manikam the night has just begun. They are members of the night patrol squad from the J2 Adyar police station. Their job for the night- to prevent crime and ensure that there is law on the streets. The comb the streets throughout the night ensuring that there is peace and order.

There is a squad car from every police station patrolling the areas under its jurisdiction. Under this police station are the areas of Gandhinagar, Lattice bridge road, Sardar Patel road, Indira Nagar and Kasturibai Nagar.

The squad car has an order of priority in terms of work. “We first head out at about ten thirty to ensure that the wine shops in the area have been closed” says constable Sampath “they have a time restriction of ten P.M are the ones that attract the most amount of trouble”.

After some basic paper work me and Soumava climb into the patrol car at ten forty five to begin our rounds. Our first destination is Kanagi Nagar, a slum, located on the Cooum River, which incidentally is the maximum jurisdiction of the police station.

“There are around 1000 people living in the slum, this along with another slum called Maligaipu Nagar located nearby are volatile areas. “ we need to keep a constant check on them and ensure that there is no trouble” says SI Hariharan. Sampath and Manikam further add to this by saying that generally crimes are not reported from these areas because of the fear of retribution from the local slumlords, what insight we have made into these places is through constant investigations and regular visits.

The night patrolling works on the Patta system. When the squad car visits an area it signs in a register stating that it has visited the area. This includes ATM’s, banks, religious institutions as well as any residence or home that has private security.

Since this is a rather posh area the chances of murder, drug abuse and rape cases are very less. “We generally receive calls about domestic disturbances and petty theft. Vehicle crimes are also low here because of the motorcycle patrols which are able to go into smaller areas”.

The real work begins at midnight; this is the curfew for all shops and restaurants to down shutters. In the next one hour we travel to all the major commercial establishments clearing crowds and shutting shops. The trend of late night eating which has picked up in the last few years has ensured that Khakhi clad men have their hands full.

Being a Saturday night we are acquainted with drunks, junkies and the random strangers all sauntering home after a night of heavy drinking and merry making.

Located near the police station is a theater which is emptying itself after the late night movie. The squad parks itself in the middle of the road and ensures the smooth flow of people leaving the theater.

While this is going on there is a radio in the squad car which is constantly chattering with activity and communication. Almost all parts of the city are in constant touch with each other. We are able to catch chatter of the chief minister’s convoy heading through Gopalpuram, minute by minute in addition to this there is constant motivation and advice for all areas from range officers telling squad cars to be alert and ensure that trouble is mitigated. “The wireless radios, squad cars and bike brigades have been a great boon to us.

“When I began patrolling around twenty five years ago we would do our rounds on cycles if there was an emergency we had to use the public telephones to contact the station, it was tedious, slow and in many cases dangerous. Nowadays the crime rates have dropped massively because we are able act swiftly and cover larger areas in lesser time” says Sampath Kumar.

Between one fifteen and three fifteen we make our way around various areas signing Patta books and visiting “important houses’. Some of the houses in this area are empty for much of the year many of the owners make requests the police station to come and check on them at least once in two days.

The full level alertness required for this job is only revealed when stop for a small break to stretch our legs. Standing near a four way junction we see a man riding away from a house. Samapath tells us that the man is a call center employee and that he works night shifts for odd days of the week and day shifts on even days of the week. “One part of this job is to be aware and alert. Within just a month of patrolling areas we are able to tell identify which vehicle belongs to which house and who goes where and comes back at what time” says Sampath.

After stopping what looks like a motorcycle theft in progress we return to the station to recharge the walkie talkies when a call comes over the radio of a domestic disturbance outside a popular commercial establishment in Indira Nagar. It turns out to be a drunk and deranged man throwing stones on the road. The police “deal” with man and drive him away. Speaking to manager of the establishment he says that he is very grateful to the police and that they are doing an excellent job in keeping the streets safe and sound. After being treated to some free ice cream we resume duty and move towards finishing our rounds. By around three forty five most of the areas have settled down and all is quiet.

The patrolling runs from ten thirty at night to seven in the morning. The final phase begins at five am; this is known as the “walkers” phase where the squad moves to parks and popular walking spots to ensure that people taking morning walks are not disturbed or harassed.

Deciding that we have seen enough we request the cops to drop us back to the station. For us it has been an adventurous night where we have seen the cities uniformed guardians performing their duty but for them it is their job just another night and just another patrol in the quest to ensure our saftey

A demand darkly

he comes home one night, like any other night,The ignition of his motorcycle idling as he steps off.he lingers for a moment contemplating between wanting to eat something and moving into the comfort of his room where his illusions are his and no one will see him.

He can hear strange sounds around him some that are real and some a figment of his imagination,their garbled out pour into his senses has heightened his paranoia that something will happened and it will hurt.

deciding on going out again he returns to his position on the bike and turns it around its single dysfunctional display gauge lights up,its colors warped with that of the needle. he begins to move slowly towards the gate and tugs on the brake when realizes someone has closed it.

A silent panic begins to set,but a momentary lapse of common sense allows him to realize that it was him who shut the gate something he not normally do.

the main road a high slope of pot holes and smooth patches looks unusually long but he decides to move on.
the silent whir of the bike and the cold breeze invoke deep emotions momentarily,his parents,his girlfriend,a recently deceased friend.he passes the first eatery pauses on the opposite side of the road.
A quick glance and he realizes that are many familiar faces inside and they will question his red eyes and rancid breath.

he sees a blue jeep approaching,panic begins to set in but as quickly as it came it moves away down the slope.
deciding not to invite trouble he moves on, at the top of the slope he stops once again deciding to calm himself he put on some music but he can only find psy trance on his music player.

left with no option he puts on the earphones and begins to listen.An all time favorite of his he imagines men and women jumping "over all the water".

moving on a route so familiar to him he sub consciously dodges the pot holes and the speed breakers.lost in the music and the thoughts of his friend and he must be thinking of him while watching him from heaven.

He arrives at the eatery and parks to the side.he gets off and realizes he has left they key in the vehicle.he turns around and see a pair of eyes n the bushes,glowing by the light of the night ,peeping further he realizes it is the mangled carcass of a stray dog.looking at its lifeless eyes he says a small prayer and wonders how it as met with such a fate.

deciding not to spook himself anymore he moves into the eatery and orders for a burger and a plate of fries.

Studying the crowd around him he spots an rather portly looking boy and realizes its one of his good friends,moving up to greet him he drops his phone.as he bends to pick it up he hits his head on the table and curses his luck as his ear begins to bleed.wiping it with a tissue he looks around, but as he glances at the floor he find himself standing in a pool of blood and a machete next to his feet.....

(part 2 when i am inspired or can put the events in the right order...)

some random electric impulses which serve no real purpose other than to extend the hand of time in passing(which basically mean im jobless)

Hello people welcome to 2009,the world is in recession,Israel is kicking Hamas in the backside,Sri Lanka is kicking LTTE on their backside the 3 big Automakers have got their backsides saved,all in all...yes backsides are in danger but that is just at the "crack" of the worlds issues :P.

It has been an eventful year for everyone and everything we have all enjoyed ourselves cried,laughed,shouted,been shouted at studied, wasted time and generally done things that we would want to remember for the rest of our lives.

if i start reflecting this blog post will not be enough and by the time you get through it the probability of you(reader) attaining after life would be very high. i generally dont write blog posts simply cause i find it too tedious to sit and keep typing.

what is our real purpose in life????
for many it's whatever they feel is the value of time well spent.it could be anything right from playing a round of some sport all the way to getting really high.as a kid or a teenager that would be the case.but..what do you do as an adult????
you goto work....to work is the best thing ever.... most of all you have no homework,i can go home at the end of the day and do what i feel like without worrying that i will have to write exams and stuff.
its a rather lame realization but its a realization nevertheless.

Psy trance is to be heard at a "higher" state of mind(though most of you would expect me to say "no its heard in the state in which you live :P")

i can ride!, i can ride! geared bikes that is.... :)
motorcycles are the most amazing machines that i have seen,they are fun and incredible to ride.motorcycles are beautiful,you can compare them a super bitchy supermodel,they are elegant,perform well when fed with enough liquid,need a constant supply of rubber to achieve new heights, need long straight stretches to do their best and yes will have a breakdown if pushed too hard..

having a someone in your life is vital to a happy mind.

paneer(cottage cheese) is the equivalent of chicken for the non-vegetarians,its yummy and i can eat it with anything.... i mean anything....

we dont need wars or people to fight,but when you have warned someone long enough they have no business to mess you anymore.

would the Skoda car company have a checking account or "czeching"account???
would vegetables use a pea pod to listen to their music???
technically if a car ran on alcohol also it would become a "high"brid would it not???
if its global warming then,why not make hole somewhere on the earth and let the heat out?

life is all about how you conduct yourself in relation to others existence.do your duty and what is needed of you,if someone docent do something and its not gonna harm you tell them...if they tell you to "F" off then dont bother and when it all goes wrong and you arrive at inevitable point where you have to say "i knew it" or "i told you so" dont.... help them out or advice them on what to do.

everyone has an ego. Learing not to give in an feel hurt is what makes you different from
others.people with large Ego's suck. they are a menace to the people they live and work with,be warned big Ego people your head could balloon up so high that it would just roll off your neck.

when someone racially abuses your or for that matter abuses you,dont return the abuse hold every impulse back to shoot your mouth off... look at them in the face and tell them their abuse was not good enough....and that they have failed to live up to terms and conditions of a racial abuse,they have the mind set of a five year old when it comes to making someone feel bad and that you feel disappointed that they have said something so lame and useless,that in the process of trying to make you feel bad they brought shame and dishonour upon themselves for not knowing how to abuse...and that should go back to sixth standard and learn it all over again.
if you want to cut it short and save the effort of making such a large speech,laugh really loudly point if you want hold up an "l" at them, then tell them that they suck and that their so called"abuse" has now got you cracked up and they can do much better.

though i must warn you that after doing something like this you must be ready to have the fight of your life cause your abuser will be really really angry....

when your young do everything and anything.go where life takes you everything is an experience that you must take with the right attitude.

will stop now....byeee happy 2009 god bless all

the lady

a while ago a beautiful woman came into my life .she's been my friend for the last two years but i always took her for granted for which i paid the price quite a few times.what is happiness that something i really discovered only after meeting her .shes incredible not just for what she is but for who she is ,its like finding that happy place and never having to leave.in the beginning she was always there but like a jackass i never noticed in the "best of my efforts" i managed to drive her away really far away.in losing her i discovered 3 other people they stood by me through a very hard time for this i will always be grateful to them.

in the due course of time i realized that she was the perfect person all along.like ive said before is always been the eyes forever they have charmed me and sent me into a gaze its like looking into a gujrathi universe with planets made of dhokla and surrounded by rings of khakda.

she has changed my life completely and made me feel like a different person.anything that has changed in me after being with her ,the only wrong thing i can think of is that ive become desperate to do work and love slogging it out which if you really look at is not a bad thing at all :).
no amount of words can describe how graetful i am for everything that she has given me.

your an amazing person and can find no amount of words to say what i want to say,every time i look into your eyes im speechless.in whatever way you maybe how ever you are ,you will always be special to me
love ya
milk payasam
now you figure out why i called you that :)

the time has come....

hi....the time has come for me to bring out many things in many ways that would not hurt any one else....where do i start from....??? first a random thought.....if we call them slippers they why is that we can walk in them without falling.... i have decide that life is worth living to the fullest and that what you want to do is the most essential to you and that you should go ahead and do it....without thinking twice.... there so many things that have encompassed my life that deep inside i feel i have lost myself and lost who i am....but guess every human being changes good or bad its through their own actions that they come to be what they want to be. i realized that being taken for granted is the worst thing that can happened to you. A sense of "doormat ism" takes over and then there is no going back people are just going to come and walk all over you and take complete advantage and when you need them they will just turn their backs on you and act like you never existed or that you have never helped them out. but there are those who love to give help and play their role in enriching other peoples lives.these people get immense satisfaction from realizing that whatever has ever happened in the past or the present is irrelevant and that helping your "foe" is the best way to feel inner peace. sadly there come a time when you can give and give no more and that someone need to give you something but....there is not a single soul that you can find who is ready to give you anything... i think this topic explains it self because thats the way the world works they approach you if they need something really urgently otherwise your just ignored. life has a way of hitting you at the wrong time and in the wrong place. you feel that just when things are over they come back to haunt you again in most wrong way possible....i'm not going to further because its quite sad so lets just forget it and move onto happier things.

I have eaten a puff in 5 states across my country and they quite vary in taste and many other features...for those of you who do not know what a puff is please visit (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puff_pastry) its an amazing little bakery master piece its main quality is that it fills stomach in a very small amount and that it makes you feel really full if you overeat it...it's an odd achievement i plan to raise it to at least 20 states by the time i am done with college maybe even a travelogue titled "the puff adventure" from what i have understood you must look for 1)size 2)flakiness 3) If its a cheese puff or a puff without a filling then layers must be considered 4)you must be able to differentiate between a puff/patty and a turnover 5)in the inner filling you msut look for variety in terms of vegetables used. 6)masala,masala they more spicier the harder it will be on your digestive tract 7)of course you must also consider the extent to which a puff has been cooked 8)if you are eating from an area that is not safe go for the slightly burnt puffs as they have some guarantee of being cooked 9)puffs are not meant to be chewed for long periods,nor are they meant to be separated from the patty in a forceful manner.if you have to do this while eating your puff then you puff is bad... 10)a good puff can be followed by a good drink if the puff and the drink dont go together then your eating experience is lost.
bon apetit :)

"the look" by Roxette
this is one brilliant song it says a lot.... 1, 2, 3, 4 Walking like a man Hitting like a hammer Shes a juvenile scam Never was a quitter Tasty like a raindrop Shes got the look Heavenly bound Cause heavens got a number When shes spinning me around Kissing is a colour Her loving is a wild dog Shes got the look Shes got the look, -shes got the look- Shes got the look, -shes got the look- What in the world can make a brown-eyed girl turn blue When everything Ill ever do, Ill do for you And I go: la la la la la Shes got the look Fire in the ice Naked to the t-bone Is a lovers disguise Banging on the head drum Shaking like a mad bull Shes got the look Swaying to the band Moving like a hammer Shes a miracle man Loving is the ocean Kissing is the wet sand Shes got the look Shes got the look, -shes got the look- Shes got the look, -shes got the look- What in the world can make a brown-eyed girl turn blue When everything Ill ever do, Ill do for you And I go: la la la la la Shes got the look Walking like a man Hitting like a hammer Shes a juvenile scam Never was a quitter Tasty like a raindrop Shes got the look And she goes: Na na na na na, Na na na na na na, Na na na na na, Na na na na na na, Na na na na na na na na, Shes got the look Shes got the look, -shes got the look- Shes got the look, -shes got the look- What in the world can make a brown-eyed girl turn blue When everything Ill ever do, Ill do for you And I go: la la la la la Shes got the look What in the world can make you so blue When everything Ill ever do, Ill do for you And I go: la la la la la Na na na na na, Na na na na na na, Na na na na na, Na na na na na na, Na na na na na na na na, Shes got the look And she goes: Na na na na na, Na na na na na na, Na na na na na, Na na na na na na, Na na na na na na na na, Shes got the look -shes got the look- And she goes: Na na na na na, Na na na na na na, Na na na na na, Na na na na na na,

Na na na na na na na na,

Shes got the look -shes got the look-

just those eyes beautiful they say so much.....
adios

its rare days like this that i decide to blog..... woozily high and happily full from badly cooked food...i must let every one know that hot n cool's quality had drastically come down...they must put in more effort or raise their game.though not like it matters because they have a monopoly over the fried rice market of this side of udupi town.so much to say....so much to say where do i begin....i came back last semester with nothing to expect. my one month of work or well i would say 29 days taught me quite a bit....first and foremost what and pr company works like....how to get corporately "used" to take surveys that have no relavance whatsoever.....it made me feel grown up and professional to work in the organization.Attending meetings writing down minutes of meeting....was good.i came back to college to begin what was my most fun semester the drinking began and it never ended.....the ganja began to flow and so did my mind .sigh those many drunk nights of staggering back to the hostel.i guess studies began to take a backseat while partying just became the norm.....i did a lot last sem....i learned to ride a scooter in 5 min i "played" ball for college never imagined i could do it... i made some good friends some bad friends.i went to banglore and that was good fun...i realized what i do here so eaisly they need to take some effort to perform.so many insignificant events between which really have no relavence here.....college....gym....stoned...drunk...this was the life...i loved it.unfourtunately i guess the guy in charge of fate decided to screw me or well i decided to mess with him and i payed the price...anyways thats that for last sem,.....