Life in a metro aka Namma Ooru Nalla Ooru...

i wrote this last on completing one year stay at Indore... Not that i was in love with the city, but i was intrigued by it very much... it has its own advantages... Indore is still more of a town when compared to our Chennai city.. calling Indore as a city would be so wrong.. yet you can enjoy the city in its own way... you'll be sweating like a swine when you are standing at Saket or Palasia area but just going down a few kilometers to Indrapuri will make you feel a sudden drop in temperature...

yet another major advantage to me at Indore was the lonely Parks... No love birds doing their not-so-secret shenanigans as in our beaches... i could easily sit down with a book, iPod, a pack of chips and no body will care (except for the park security, asking me if i paid my due that month :D)

and Food was a major hit.. i had a wide range to select from without any dread.. other than the Sambar Indori folks didn't bungle up with any other dish.. here i shiver to choose anything other than idlis and dosas at local eat outs... i have to reserve and preplan my dinner if i need some authentic Mugalai stuff (Pssst.. can anyone lemme know where i can get authentic Mugalai biriyani??? i have scourged every eat out at Adyar, Mylapore, Besant Nagar and T Nagar, in VAIN.. i ll even take u out then... please please.. i am on my knees...)

That being said, i should send home the point that i love Chennai... i might have said Madras.. but this city is Chennai since my early memories and i like this better... Chennai is where i spent my college years and as someone said "college days are never over"...

Namma Chennai:
 and it was Chennai Day aka Madras Day last Saturday... so any guesses what all this Rat smitten by Chennai did last weekend??? yup, attended this Photo walk at Mint Street.. and the book worm and music fanatic i am, picked up "Chennai Latte - A Madras Brew" and "Reverberations" in sync with Chennai Pulse.

i had fun walking through the streets of Parrys.. mint street, 7 wells street, Portugal Church Street, Broadway, Armenian Street... and we met people who were camera shy and also people posing eccentric poses to get themselves photographed... Thanks to CC, Vatsan, Tushar, Suraj, Raman, Natrajan, Prithvi and numerous others i forgot to ask the name...

# Beaches, especially the Elliot is the first though that creeps into my non-exsisting brain, when someone yells "Chennai".. mind you, almost daily someone yells this at me... Elliots has seen me crying me alone, walking long with Big B or friends, "kadalai putting" with numerous dates (diff one each time :P) and what not... If u wanna know something about me, go ask those waves... they will tell you stories...

# T Nagar, almost synonymous with Chennai, thanks to the various Saree and Jewelry shopd there... somehow i love this place, inspite of the crowd... you get to meet a gamut of specimens here... and i love picking up trinkets at the roadsides here.. not that i am always in sheer need of these stuff, but i buy them anyways.. there are loads of unaccounted stuff i had got from T Nagar that includes a stuffed sparrow, earrings which i never wear, peacock feathers, wall hangings and ugh, no i stop here!! 

# To me Sambar Sadam is like, water to fish... my college friends used to regale others with my stories of ordering Sambar Sadam at five star restaurants and buffets... and those who say sambar sadam is like bisi-bela-baath can run off, i am here with a shot gun... :-D i am that protective of Sambar Sadam.. till date, i have ate the Besht Sambar Sadam at Hot chips.. Adyar branch to be precise.. damn, i want a plate, like NOW!!

P.S # i started writing this article some time last week planning to publish by Aug 22nd... but health played Dr.Evil and had to postpone n postpone...so dont throw any brick bats if u find this incoherent :P

P.S 2 # i have been nominated for Indiblogger - Blogger of the month, Original Literature... Please go here and vote for me folks... Somebody vote for me too, folks... कोई थो वोट करो यार ... :P தயவு செஞ்சு யாராச்சும் வோட்டு போடுங்களேன்

Mili Mili Award mili!!!

Award Mili, Award Mili, Award Mili.... Whoa, after a long time!!! Thankoo Chan... it reads too similar that i feel i might have done than before.. but who cares, here we go again...


1. What is your current obsession?
Macro shots aka Photography

2. What are you wearing today?
Pain in the ummm, neck.. otherwise a green Patiala Salwar Kameez

3. What’s for dinner?
Ugh.. will decide it at dinner time..

4. What’s the last thing you bought?
Bus Ticket to Saidapet

5. What are you listening to right now?
Chak Lein de - remix, CC2C, Shankar Mahadevan

6. What do you think about the person who tagged you?
Nice!! need to know more anyways... :-) Meet up C?? we will drag in Sat from Blore, wat say?

7. If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished anywhere in the world, where would you like it to be?
Besant Nagar, Chennai

8. What are your must-have pieces for summer?
Shades and Sun screen.. Hey i cant stay in wat ever the temperature may be dear. i am outdoorsy!

9. If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?
My bed.. this darn sprain in the neck is a slow poison

10. Which language do you want to learn?
The Gypsy Language and Koovam tamil... Really, these two intrigue me a lot

11. What’s your favourite quote?
I am used to all the stares i get... (walking with the nose High up in the air)

12. Who do you want to meet right now?
DOCTOR...

13. What is your favourite colour?
Sky Blue


14. What is your favourite piece of clothing in your own closet?
a white cotton Pencil Skirt

15. What is your dream job?
Sleeping.. umm it doesnt qualify huh?? wat abt getting paid for writing.. umm i am doing that right now, i think :D

16. What’s your favourite magazine?
Readers Digest, anytime!!

17. If you had $100 now, what would you spend it on?
wait let me gt a calculator... will convert it into INR then will let you know :P

18. What do you consider a fashion faux pas?
Wearing glasses inside malls, shops etc... it really sucks to see such specimen!

19. Who are your style icons?
Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel

20. What kind of haircut do you prefer?
Blonde Cut in females, Crew Cut in guys... Anyone listening, Psst....

21. What are you going to do after this?
Get Back to that article i was working my butt off

22. What are your favourite movies?
Certainly none of those mushy chick-lit movies... Bah!!

24. What are three cosmetic/makeup/perfume products that you can't live without?
 i can live without any.. but others cant live, if i dont use a DEO... :P otherwise you can always find a Lakme Kajal pencil, Fab india Lip Butter and a Oriflame Punk Girl perfume in my purse.

23. What inspires you?
anything and everything.

24. Give us three styling tips that always work for you:
  1# Never go out in a complete match of colors.. be innovative in mix and match...wearing black accessories with a LBD is such a passe
  2# Wearing your hair in plaits while wearing a Jean ensemble is a complete No-No... it looks so Rural!
  3# While wearing a Belt, let the buckle be on your sides.. it ll conceal your beer belly!


25. What do you do when you “have nothing to wear” (even though your closet’s packed)?
  Pick out a basic White tee and match it up with a blue denim... :-) i do that loads of time

26. Coffee or tea?
Coffee!!

27. What do you do when you are feeling low or terribly depressed?
Music!!!!

28. What is the meaning of your name?
Determined, it seems :P go here


29. Which other blogs you love visiting?
DV, Doc, Nachi, Mad Momma, IHM, Satish.

30. Favorite Dessert/Sweet?
dessert - Chocolate Icecream/ Choclate Fantasy
sweet - Rosogulla and Gulab Jamuns

31. Favorite Season ?
Winter, perfect!!

32. If I come to your house now, what would u cook for me?
Sambar, Thayir Sadam and Vadam, happy Chan???

33. What's your favorite cartoon character?
Peanuts, Garfield, Calvin and Hobbes

34. My question: If its my birthday next week, what would you gift me???
Chan i would gift you this comlete set of Fusion with Nathaswaram CDs i got yday :-)

I tag no one.. but wud love to bestow this award upon the following

 DV, Doc, Nachi, Mad Momma, IHM, Satish, and Vasu 

Rat Rambling Randomly and Ruggedly...

Hola!!! Seems like an era passed between this and my last post... i am in Chennai.. Feeling at home after a long time... i have already settled comfortably into a routine between  work, room, hanging out with Malar... its years since our time in school and we have around 8 years of stories to catch up... not a simple feat but yet a great feeling... :-)

I have taken to half an hour Morning walk daily... yesterday, thank to rain god, it was raining all night... so you could imagine the many miniature pools sprouted all over... i was dodging them today as i was walking towards my bus-stop.. at a certain point, i walked under a tree... a passing bus grazed the tree and i was showered with flowers, leaves and mainly rain water.... i stood there for a moment enjoying the feeling.. it was as if i as being welcomed... it was a moment of bliss... it justified my early mornings, crowded Metro train, and tiring day at work!

And i can sense History being repeated... Last time i was in chennai, Bird flu was making a heavy hue and cry, making my Mom frantic... she asked me to avoid eating chicken which i thoughtfully chose to forget... but Bird flu escaped me... yesterday again she called me more frantically worried about swine flu... i started joking about flying pigs and avoiding Ham, but somehow her tome made me stop.. she was really serious this time :-(
Today people at work were real serious and were circulating pamphlets/emails about Swine Flu... the symptoms it seems include continuous cold, cough, severe body pain, fever, Fatigue, Lack of appetite, sort throat and Diarrhoea.  Symptoms very similar to normal cold and flu... and even the diagnosis isn't fool proof... it seems they prescribe a antibiotic treatment for three days and anything could be said only after those 3 days.. frankly speaking this way, H1N1 can go undetected...  like body pain, at the end of strenuous work who won't get body pain along with headache... and with some one like who has perennial cold and dry cough, seriously i wouldn't know... Lack of appetite, with me dieting to attain a minus 2 size, i don't even feel hungry for days together...

Let me get serious now! i have jotted down a few details regarding places treating Swine Flu in chennai and a couple of helplines...

Hospitals treating SF in Chennai: (click to get location details)
King's Hospital , Guindy
Centre for communicable diseases, Tondiarpet
Government Hospital, Opp. Central Railway Station.

Chennai Swine Flu helpline : 044 -2432 1569
Mumbai Swine Flu helpline : 022 -22029070
Kasturba Hospital : 022- 23083901

Let's be serious for a change and spread the word.. Lets try to avoid anymore causalities.

So there...

Last week was ummm... if i say hectic that wud be a pretty understatement..

After 2 years:
Last weekend I was off to Chennai... the main agenda on the card was a trek trip to Nagalapuram.. but the weekend also saw me catching up with my lovely friend Malar after 2 years.. no points for guessing that i was staying with her too...

I did so many thing that I thrived on doing during my Chennai days...  the list includes visiting a Spencer's Daily mart, visiting Odyssey (my fav. book shop), eating prawn curry, paying over Rs.100 for an auto ride /*seriously i never paid over Rs.20 at Indore :( , eating Caramel Popcorn, eating Ghee mini-idly, buying a strand of Shenbaga poo and so many other things... i also checked out a new restaurant "Daawat".. the butter chicken masala and Biriyani is a total hit... goes into my must visit again list..

The Trek: 
Nagalapuram and the hills near,are a complete paradise by themselves.. its so unexploited and away from the dust and smog of the concrete jungle... the water is so pure that i didnt feel like getting out of the pool even after a hour long of soak... and it was a complete surprise that i didnt catch cold as i feared... the Water is magic, i say.. Met a quite a few new nice people... :P no eye candy though :(

Work calls: 
I was on the return bus to Hosur, only to miss a call from a new company.. return calls, sample work, more calls and i am employed now... not that i need a job now... but i do really want to get out of home now... i was getting too comfy with Mom and Papa pampering me at any beck and call... and also i miss hanging out with friends, the beach and mostly COFFEE... Papa says no no to coffee, so now i get all the chance...

Me, the Mannequin: 
If you were following me on Twitter, you would probably know that i was designing a silk saree along with my Mom... well i got the right occasion to wear it too... i am now at my native, which u had a taste here and here... that trip was mainly a soul searching trip and i was all alone then.. now i am here with my whole family (minus my brother)... a local temple festival and i get to wear the saree.. my only prayer "Please let not be any guy-seeing-ceremony there".... please please...


Momma Rat:
i reached my native today and was cleaning out my bedroom... it is kept locked eversince my last visit... As i opened my wardrobe , out came flying A CAT!!!... no not the Katzzz (though i wont say no to him hiding in my ward-robe :D) I wore my Sherlock Holmes cap to find a couple of cute kittens underneath the ward-robe... the momma cat returned to carry away the kittens but left one back though.. i dunno why... i was the kitten's secret keeper so that my anti-PETA dad doesnt find it out... the kitty was whining so badly that i fondled it... i could sense its hunger but couldnt do anything... the Kitty was barely a day old and hadn't opened its eyes even :( a part of me wanted to keep the kitten for myself but i also knew the need of its momma...

at around 6 pm the Momma Cat returned though... only i cudnt witness it carrying away the kitty.. i was attending a call and mom called out that my kitty is gone... i somehow feel happy that i didnt actually see it.. maybe i would have felt bad had i seen the Kitten being taken away from me.. :-)

Yup i notice that i have typed this blog with sub-titles... blame it on my sleep-less-ness and throbbing headache... So there