Ghee roast and Arun's

Not much here in terms of markets. Spencer Plaza and Citi Centre are the two Malls that Chennai can boast of. This is a town of simple, peace loving, book reading, artistically inclined folk, much like what Pune was when we were in school, around 25 years back. Lots of temples and vegetarian food joints. The Pallava architecture is astounding. Where we stay, across the road is an icon of South Indian food, the Sarvana Bhawan. This is a chain of restaurants, with branches across Tamil Nadu, some in India and surprisingly franchisees in UAE, UK and the USA. It is a must visit for an introduction to South Indian food. Arun’s Ice Cream, another very famous local, can give Baskin Robbins, Walls and the others a run for their money. On my list (of still to visit) is Murugan Idli. Sanju tells me the Ghee Roast (Dosai!) and idli there is out of this world!

Marina Beach

Reaching Chennai in the night of 12 Aug, the first thing that was palpable was the heat and humidity. My first exposure to Chennai was an evening on Marina Beach with Pankaj and Nirmal, on a fisherman’s boat, with waves lapping on its beached keel, Nirmal’s phone playing Golden Hits, the bottle and snacks on a plank and the sea wind hitting us with its ferocity. The lighthouse beacon in the distance welcomed distant ships. Marina is a big big beach, both, in length and in width. From where you get down from your vehicle, you can’t even see or hear the sea. You have to actually walk some distance on the sand, skirting your way carefully around the ‘night-birds’ before you reach the sea shore. The sea here is more violent than the one at Mumbai or Goa. But then the mythical links of this side of the continent abound with tales of hard fought battles between Gods and demons.