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Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Republic day

Today chennai looked as if it was total bandh. I never expected this expecially in chaotic chennai. Dont know what made chennaites to stay in. Anyways no complaints. It was a pleasure driving around chennai today.

Sunday, January 09, 2011

Zero Planning Total Chaos

After reading about the Book Fair happening in chennai through various forums I decided let me go and check that out. For some reason I knew it will be a failure from the start. I decided to take the TNagar, Nungambakkam, Ega route and was hit on the face with heavy traffic right from Saidapet. It was so difficult to negotiate the traffic by the time I reached Loyola I was exhausted but there in Loyola was traffic which was worst compared to what I faced in TNagar.

By the time I reached the venue I was totally drained and the planners of the Book fair had done a great job of making the entrance and the exit the same gate and no one was able to go inside and no one was able to come outside.

In chennai nowadays everyone working in a IT company marries a IT girl and buys a Santro or Spark and use it to commute even to buy vegetables. The entrance was choking with vehicles thanks to the traffic police nothing changed. Though I was thanking myself to have come by bike once inside there was utter chaos with no guidance on where to park. By the time I parked I felt I had just won Olympic 100 mts race.

The book fair as such is huge with so many publishers and so many books but I didnt find any good offers all books had the same price as we get in Landmark. The only best part is there were so many publishers that the chances of you finding a book of you liking was high.

Another great thing is though it was Saturday the organisers were interested in closing the fair by 8:30 PM another excellent way to plan.

Monday, January 03, 2011

Besant Nagar

This post is not about Besant Nagar but Besant Nagar features in this post. New Years Day and I was supposed to be at Besant Nagar beach around 6:30 PM. For a change after a long time decided to take the public transport as I know finding car/bike parking in Besanth Nagar will be equal to India winning Indo-Pak war.

Took train from Palavanthangal till Saidapet and started waiting in Saidapet for 47 A or 23 C. The bus stop was very crowded and every minute the crowd was just swelling. There were people who couldnt even stand continuosly for more than a minute. Neither 23 C nor 47 A came for a long time. Then there was a 23 C but it was jam packed. So as I was wondering what to do there came an empty bus and when I noticed it was headed towards Adyar depot without third thought I boarded it.

From Adyar depot I was waiting for a bus to Besant Nagar but none came and finally decided to take a walk and the entire road was choked with traffic. I could see Wagon R, Ritz, Swift, Spark, Figo etc all stuck in traffic. It was very difficult even to walk and all bike guys and cycle wallaws gave some scares.

It was a long walk and I was glad I didnt come by bike or car. Finally reached Besant Nagar around 7 PM. Its not over yet. When it was time to leave I decided to take the bus from Terminus as I thought the chances of getting a seat is high and also I can board leisurely. But only after I reached Besant Nagar I realised you need to know the rules for boarding a bus. People get into the bus before it can get into the terminus. By the time it reaches terminus its jam packed as if its half way through its journey.

After a wait for some 30 mins and no sign of any bus to saidapet I did something which I hate to do. Checked an auto walla if he can take me to the depot. He asked me 50 Rs. Those who know the distance between the terminus and depot can understand how preposterous it is. He said as if Adyar depot is in Afghanistan. I chastised myself for talking to the auto walla and started waiting patiently for the never coming bus. Atlast it came and somehow I got into the bus before it reached the terminus but when I saw that people were even ready to kill someone for a seat I didnt get the guts to fight for a seat. Some people were holding seats for people who will get in once the bus reached the terminus.

The bus was jam packed and it remained in the terminus for another 10, 15 mins before it started. By the time it reached Saidpet I was worn out and it was around 10:30 PM. There were some drunken romeos in the bus as well. Now I hoped the remaining part of the journey will be peaceful. I expected trains to be crowdless on a sunday night around 10:45 PM. But I was proved wrong by the time I got down at Palavanthangal the crowd took away my rest of the spirit which the bus had left.

It was an experience for me but for some its day today life.

A Simple Plan and Just Mercy