Book Review- Tamarind City

 

It's a nice title, and a good book. About the city of Madras aka Chennai. Lots of detailing, particularly about some parts of it- Mylapore and Triplicane, for example.

The meeting with Saroja Devi and her singing Teri pyaari pyaari surat ko kisi ki nazar na lage spontaneously, was a highlight for me. Another interesting chapter describes his meeting with the Chandamama illustrator, Sankar, who drew many of their story illustrations, including the famous one of Vikram carrying Vetaal on his shoulders, walking through a cremation ground. 

I have visited Chennai several times, and could understand most of the nuances that he has brought out.

It's a good cultural chronicle of a traditional yet modern city, quite different from the other metros. 

Coimbatore and Chennai

 Managed to meet some old colleagues at Chennai, and Coimbatore during the course of work travel.

Dr. Vijayakumar, Dr. Dhanapal and Gururaj Khasnis were all colleagues at KIAMS, Harihar in the late nineties. Vijayakumar, also at IMT Nagpur later. Now he is retired but active in Chennai.

Dhanapal runs a school and a construction outfit, as entrepreneurial as ever.

Gururaj has moved to SDMIMD at Mysore, a management school like KIAMS. 

We were at Coimbatore trying to attract students from the region to Prestige University. Met some and tried persuading them.

Famous Nomenclatures and Caricatures

 Mylapore Mamis

They are residents of Mylapore in Chennai, with some typical characteristics. Not sure of all the distinguishing characteristics, but they could also be found elsewhere- Malleswaram in Bangalore is a likely place.

Dilliwalas

They are generally not so bad, but have a reputation for being over-the-top, aggressive and users of the phrase "Don't you know who I am?" (Tu jaanta nahi main kaun hoon?) when faced with a cop or other undesirable objects.

Hyderabadis

They are drowning in Irani chais and biryanis, without a care in the world. Could be true, particularly for male Hyderabadis. Kaiku, nahi ho sakte kya?

Puneri

For them, it's Bakarwadi and maybe a Misal. And an afternoon siesta, even if they have a business to run. That can wait. 

Mumbaikars

Running all the time, sometimes like headless chicken. Now that local trains have been shut, not sure how they manage to micromanage their arrivals and departures.

South Dilliwalis

They are sophisticated, and speak Hindi with an English accent, and English with a South Delhi accent. Reminds me, we had a gentleman from Buffalo, NY, who taught us at IIMB, who used to start a sentence in a Yankee accent and end it in a Punjabi accent! Not sure what Kamala Harris does!

Tamilnadu

 I am starting on a tour of Indian states. At various times, I have been to Tamilnadu, starting with Chennai when I was a teen or younger. In 1978, we went on a South India tour by train-a whole bogie to us students- and had Chennai, Erode, Rameswaram, Kanyakumari on our itinerary. The Rameswaram temple, and the bridge leading to the town are two things I remember. Also, the first sight of the Indian Ocean.

Last I went to Chennai, we visited the Kanchipuram temples, and Pulicat lake about an hour's drive from Chennai. Enjoyed both, for different reasons. A boatman took us on a short ride to where the lake meets the sea. We (Vijayakumar, Jayasimha and I) had fun roaming around and collecting sea shells. I still have a few.

In between, we drove around a few times, via Trichy, to Kodaikanal, and from Coimbatore to Ooty, Kotagiri or Coonoor. Sometimes, it was was to play Golf, and at others, just to visit friends or for sightseeing

. I once went to Tirunelveli (a university had invited me) and had the famous halwa there, and also visited Coutrallam waterfall. 

From Chennai, we visited Mahabalipuram a few times too, and Pondicherry once (from Bangalore, and then by flight, from Hyderabad another time). Nice experiences. I like the thali they serve everywhere in the state, and the filter coffee too. 

One strange thing I remember from Chennai in 1978..there were not many women venturing out on the road during the day!

Trip to Pulicat Lake

I had visited the Chilika Lake around 1991 with my friend Ghani Zaman. Now, in 2019, I made it to the other big lake with brackish water. Some pics-

Taking off towards the sea.

 My co-fishermen, Jayasimha and Vijayakumar :)

Lady on the bridge..

Dutch cemetery above, and a live man, below.

Cities Of The World

Great cities around the world..

Good Service at GRT Grand

I have been staying at this hotel in Chennai for about three years now..while attending a conference each time. The service is excellent, and it makes you feel welcome. Small things, particularly, like asking for your preferences for various services through a small card, one touch number for all hotel services, and quick response to room service requests, a fruit bowl and a chocolate in the room, and a hot chocolate at bed-time, are nice touches. Even the TV input ports are all facing you, rather than somewhere at the back- a great touch! Design thinking, before anyone thought of it.

Last year, with Dheeraj Mohan, in their restaurant.

Amazing Kancheepuram 1

There are around a 100 temples in Kancheepuram - about 70 kilometres from Chennai..we discovered some of these treasures last week. Ekambareswara, Kailasa and Vaikuntha Perumal are some temples featured.

More pics will follow.

Remembering My Father in Law

He was an Iyer who ran away..from Chennai, and joined the Navy, and then the Merchant Navy. He spoke impeccable (British) English, with only a hint of where he was originally from. He married a Maharashtrian doc, and settled down in Pune.

He was supportive of everything that we (my wife and I) tried, including some of our moves across Bhubaneswar, Hyderabad and Harihar. He was a loving grandpa to our kids, and spoilt them when he could (not that we didn't).

He also dealt with loneliness bravely, when his wife passed away early, and lived happily for many years after. He had a Man Friday to help him with errands, and cooking. He played Golf till he hurt his shoulder, and my Golf kit is mostly his original that he gifted me, and I still use it.

He would always invite us over when we were in Pune, and liked to have a drink with me, sometimes with my wife joining in (he raised his kids well, I must say). He got along with all our friends too.

I owe him a lot- my companion of 30 years, for one. Cheers to an officer and a gentleman, on his birth anniversary, October 1st.

 He is next to his daughter around my engagement, and below, at Harihar with my good friend Vijayakumar.

A Friend Retires

A friend (right, above) retires this month to go back to his hometown, Chennai. And I am happy that I can bug him a little more when we meet (more often) on our Golfing trips together. We have known each other since my days at Harihar (1995), when we worked at Kirloskar Institute. Also played Golf together at the wonderful course we had on campus.

I learnt a lot from him, including some of the niceties of SPSS. He is a natural teacher, and has also co-written a chapter in my Marketing Research book (on its way to a fourth edition soon). I was happy that he joined IMT Nagpur, where he has been the last few years, teaching HR at first, and then Analytics, which is his forte. He has helped countless people with their Ph.D. s, officially and unofficially.

I am happy I am in his list of friends. Happy retirement, Vijayakumar.