Anand Nataraj

Posts Tagged ‘madurai’

Madas day is happening and I’m proud to be the son of a city which has a great History. But I’ve been thinking how did I feel when i went to 3 other cities and what was my first take about the city. Here goes my perception;

Bangalore: First i visited the city when i was 8 years old and that too for a day. I hardly remember much about that experience. But later I went to this city when i was 17 years old after completing my schooling. My father took me there for vacation. Right from the beginning i got excited;

• I saw a very clean & planned city.
• Saw pretty girls who were modernly dressed again unlike Chennai (then, now Chennai is much better than Bangalore ).
• Saw couples smooching on public places (Sadly this is controlled these days).
• Lots of pubs unlike Chennai.
• A enviable night life.
• A pleasant climate.
• Lot of hotels.

All the above were new for me then because Chennai was considered very conservative them. I even considered getting settled in Bangalore. But today Chennai has caught up with all the points i specified & Bangalore has fallen down. Also Bangalore has become a victim of mass urbanization and it has lost its charm. Anyways I consider Bangalore to be my second home town as I’ve a house there and Chennai – Bangalore being very proximate I don’t get the feel that it is a different city.

Madurai: There is nothing much to talk about this City. The day I entered the city it was dirty, unruly & zero entertainment. I felt very lonely for the first three months as I didn’t have any other place other than Cafe Coffee Day. I’ve never intended to stay there as that was not the place for me. But I owe a lot to this City as it helped me to come back from all the pains cause during 2008. Year 2010 has been more happening for this city and there are lots of joints and brands falling in this city & today it gives tough fight with Cities like Chennai or Bangalore. These days i enjoy visiting this city.

Coimbatore: My first visit to this city was 2 years back and I was really carried away. Like Bangalore i got a liking towards this city on first sight. Things excited me;

• Posh houses & cosmopolitan lifestyle.
• Pretty Girls but culture abiding.
• Less traffic.
• Good Climate.
• Nice Business environment.

I want to get settled here if this place doesn’t become another Bangalore.

Travelling on Mercedes Benz would be a bream for any normal person & I’m no exception to it. Sadly I’ve never travelled in a Benz vehicle.

Yesterday when I went to Parveen Travels website to book my tickets back to Chennai I saw an update telling new mercedes benz multi axle bus from Trivandrum to Chennai. Then after searching for ticket I came to know that bus goes through Madurai. I got thrilled & decided to travel on the bus at any cost.

When I checked the cost it was Rs.700/- only. I paid Rs.685/- for a Volvo multi axle to come to Madurai. But that extra money isn’t an issue as;

• They are making our dream of travelling on Benz a reality.
• They gave a paper carry bag with 500 ml water bottle, a Maa mango juice, a biscuit packet & wet tissues. They give us the feel of flying on an aeroplane.

I must thank Parveen Travels to bring elite things to common man. Also they keep innovating new things to attract their customers.

For sure Parveen Travels is going to be no.1 private player when it comes to travel. I’ve changed my loyalty from KPN to Parveen Travels.

Day before yesterday had dinner with my friends and they said the movie MILAGA was good. After dinner I straight went to Meenakshi Bazaar to buy the CD and then came back to office and worked till 12.30 AM…

After reaching home found Kannan watching Ravanan for second time… Immediately stopped him and I started watching the movie… To my surprise;

• The movie was on the lines of Madurai Sambavam but this movie is a comedy one. I felt bad that I missed watching the movie in Madurai theatre as it is a movie based on the city.
• Screenplay is too fast and not even a single scene were boring.
• There is no tragedy & that makes the movie worth a watch.
• Characters & team are from same as Mayandi Kudumbathar & Koripalayam.
• Most comedy scenes were hilarious & even otherwise it was not boring.
• Hero Natraj has done a good job. He is natural when it comes to acting, comedy & stunt.
• Over all it was worth watch movie. Not sure why movie went unnoticed.

After a long time I’m having a bored weekend at Madurai. After relocating back to Chennai a year back I use to complete my trips during weekdays & return to Chennai to enjoy weekends.

This time I planned to mix my trip with a weekend because planned for a trip to Kuttralam or Kumily.

But all plans were screwed by a friend who spent major part of his previous week at Kodaikanal. Also he never hinted that he is going to screw the plan.

Last 3 days we met for dinner and dispersed. Some spice were missing in our meetings. Even today we went for lunch & had a afternoon nap & they went back home.

Finally I had Major for rescue. Went to Coffee Float, a walk at race course road & a walk in our area. It was a nice 4 hour where we were sharing out personal life experience, some official & some nostalgic discussions.

Some how I passed the weekend & its time to concentrate & finish my visits purpose in next two days.

Exactly a year I was thrilled to see the Launch of new twin screen by BIG cinemas. This cinemas is the first multiplex for Madurai and they have credits of launching best Hindi movies.

They have scrutinising process before entering the screen & cigarettes, hans, pan parag etc were not allowed.

• To my surprise we were not screened this time.
• Toilets were badly maintained & it stinks. Totally unusable.
• Even there is some bad smell inside the theatre.
• Seats were also not maintained properly.

It is sad to see such corporate run theatres falling short of maintenance. This is where Satyam Cinemas rocks over Inox / PVR / BIG.

It all started when i realized that I left my house keys (Madurai) in my car only after boarding the bus. It was too late then to coordinate & collect the keys. Also the keys were not in my office. Finally it was with a friend and thankfully his house was near the bus route and I collected his Scooter & house keys.

Upon reaching home  was shocked to see the state of home… All doors & windows were open with A/C & fan running. All the mattresses & pillows were clumsy and dirty. Floors were full of dust. Rest rooms were also nasty. Had to start the day by cleaning the house. Had to disturb Major to make some arrangements for washing pillow cowers & mattresses. Then I swiped the floor and mobbed & still it is in a bad state. Requested my admin clean the house.

Then when i wanted to brush found that my mom has not kept the brush in the bag. Also when i went to take bath towels were not kept. Normally my mom use to do that for me and she is good at that. For some reasons she was busy yesterday and things were messed up.

Overall these days when I come to Madurai house-keeping tasks becomes my first day work before starting my official duties. I can say I’m only 50% settled and by evening things must be ready.

Also with all these rush came to office without having breakfast. Just ordered for a sandwich & time to prioritize my tasks.

It was very stressful and I went to Kumily along with my Madurai 3 weeks back. There we planned & decided to goto Alleppey, Alapuzzha & spend a day in House Boat. From then we were counting days the day. I travelled to Madurai last Thursday and reached Madurai. Then following are the events that happened;

• Reached Madurai refreshed & Took bath.
• Then went to Manoj’s juice shop and Laxman picked me up in 10 min.
• From there we went to a supermarket and made some purchase.
• From there went to Marverick GYM met friends & asked Sathish to get ready.
• Then went back to Manoj’s house and picked him form there.
• Manoj went to attend a small Shop-opening & Laxman and I went to Medical shop and brought some medicines.
• Then went to Toddy shop has toddy.
• Picked up Sathish & started to drive to Alleppey by 12 noon.

We took Theni, Cumbam, Kimily – Alleppey road which is a Ghat Road. As usual it was a pleasent Gods own Country and i’m thrilled to see houses which were big and small towns having good looking girls, posh houses, good roads etc.

As usual it was Laxman driving style which made me & sathish sick and we had to sleep to avoid side effects. After hectic 6 hours drive we reached Alleppey with the help of Google Maps which navigated us to the place.

Then we stayed in a hotel called Arcadia Regency. To be frank it was a good hotel in apprearance otherwise;

• It had a swimming pool which was small & poorly maintained.
• Rooms were very average with flickering lights.
• Toilets were average too.
• Service was also poor.

But we had a wonderful party & we all crashed to sleep without our conscious and i was the first to crash to bed. Then it was Laxman & I who got up early in the morning and then we went to buy fish for people who are Non-Veg and wanted to have Sea food. We first went to the beach and we were told catching was poor that day and the minimal amount of fish they caught had to sent to the market. We immediately went to the market and brought different verity of fish & crabs for Rs.5000/-.

Then we had a swim in the hotel swimming pool and we proceeded to board our House Boat and we were 3 hours late.

We sailed some 50 KM that day before we halted by 6 PM. Again it was great fun and we all were partying hard and last guys to crash were Laxman & I. Then i slept in the morning and got up a hour before we landed again.

Over all it was a great experience because we went with friends. But it has other challenges too like;

• Sathish went ill and he is hospitalized for last four days because of food poisoning.
• Rooban got hold of Malaria.
• This was not the right time to travel as it was too hot and not enjoyable. But tariff of house boat are at its low because it was off season.
• One great lesson too. We went there thought a friend and he arranged a boat for us and they charged us Rs.9000/- for house boat for a day. But when went enquired later the charge for the boat was Rs.6000/- only. So visit different House Boat  agents and take best call.

Other than that it was a great experience and here are some snaps of our House Boat;

Laxman & I (Me wearing CSK Jersey)

Way to the Room & Kitchen

Hall with Dinning Table & Television

Front View of House Boat. Rooban & Manoj in the terrace.

It was a hectic month of April and we slogged and finally reached our Months target. But excessive work load and personal financial commitments took its tool and I started suffering from severe Fatigue. I was able to feel it as i was unable to take decisions, my planning were slow and really i was unable to work. I badly wanted a break.

Then i called my friend Laxman and asked him if we can go for a vacation. Again I was not in a position to loose any of the working day. Since it was vacation Laxman, Sathish & I decided to goto Thekkady, Kumily. We started our drive from Madurai by 8 AM on Saturday.

Kumily is just 120 KM from Madurai and we reached the place in 2 hours in spite of having breakfast in a place near Madurai. This place is special for Mutton dishes and no other dish would be available here. Since i’m a Veggie i had to settle with Papad, Vegetables & Curd.

Upon reaching Kumily we went to a resort named Greenwoods and we were given a authentic welcome. I’ve seen such welcome given to Cricket players in airport or at hotels. We were welcomed by offering a jasmine garland, keeping a sandal bindi & tender coconut water.

The we checked in the room and we immediately proceeded to Pool, the playing room & then we drove some 15 KM towards Kattapana to taste Toddy. But the toddy was old one and it took a tool on our stomach immediately. Then we returned to resort and started partying.

Then next day morning i had good Keraly ayurvedic Massage to reduce the body heat and immediately we proceeded to Thekkady. But the park was closed due to over rush. But we made some shopping and we were stratled to see how place was changed. I’ve been here 20 years back as a child and it has none of what the place sports now. The lodge we stayed was bad. But this time there were many 5 star resorts & Hotels, Shops etc.

On returning we vacated the room and we drove back to Madurai. En route we made a halt near a Vinyard in Cumban and brought some fresh grapes & drank some fresh grape juice. From there we drove non-stop to Madurai and reached Madurai by 4 PM on Sunday.

I must say this 2 days stay really was rejuvenating and bought me back to my routine & fresh. This trip was really exciting as it was not a tedious journey as it is just 2 hours drive from Madurai and also the the travel is a gift to ones eye as we have to cross lust green farms, mountains, vineyards, rivers et more.

Also Greenwoods Resort provided a great experience. When every i want a break i’ve planned to simply goto Kumily & stay in Greenwoods Resort for 2 days and i can be back fresh.

We miss or feel the importance of something only when we are away from them / it. Likewise last year I use to feel very lonely in Madurai and I use to feel how life has changed and how a guy like me known for friends have become so lonely in a place which is an alien to me.

Exactly a year back I use to spend each and every moment of time alone or with a handful of people with whom I cannot connect well. Yes one of such friend is a kid doing first year medicine.

Though I didn’t realize that I was having ball of a time last year without any control from parents. Today when I think back those days looks very entertaining where there was a lot of time and I had control over the time and myself.

Now all I can do it think back those days with envy.

Being a Sunday & Sunaina starrer I decided to watch the movie YadhuMagi. Right from first scene it is boring and scenes move without any connect.

Just only an hour has passed and crowd has gone restless. Only enjoyment is listening to the comment of the crowd.

One thing I’ve decided is to watch the movie fully. But for sure No Review for this movie.