Gulmohar

While studying in school we had textbooks from Gulmohar but wait i am not going to talk about books. Antha alavukku innum pogala. But the literal tree which i love so much. This picture shows the tree in its full josh during spring. I think its like first love, i like everything about this tree. The small oval leaves in the form of samaram and the bright red flowers , big trunk and the buds greener outside and tiny red petals inside. What a combination. Aren't we lucky to have this tree right at our door step and seeing it day after day really makes my day.
Our first intro was way back 2 decades ago. Those days while returning from school from rickshaw we were forced to take a circular route to West Mambalam via Doraisamy subway cos of the Madley railway crossing. Doraisamy road was a very wide road those days and we kids used to fight for the top of the rickshaw. I need not say about the winner though. The top spot was favoured because then we would be able to pluck the leaves from this tree and continue to mark a trial through out the route with the leaves.
Second was the trip to bangalore. I was brimming with joy when i found that bangalore was the hub of these trees with colourful flowers all over the city. Throughout my stay in bangalore i was content in watching the trees standing like guards as well people who throng to see the politicians on a whirlwind tour. I would feel like a princess being welcomed by different coloured uniformed guards. The same feel i would get in Ashok nagar, Sardar patel road and some parts of Anna nagar in chennai.
I was overwhelmed when i entered the high school. We had a huge space which served as playground, assembly as well parking lot. The perimeter was guarded by none other than my first love. How long i had been longing to get into high school just to have a glimpse of this. The ground played an important part almost in every students life. http://oreponnu.blogspot.com/2008/01/my-school.html
For this aspect alone i badly wanted to settle in Ashok Nagar/KK nagar. we r still looking for proper T-house but thats a side story. My wish was temporarily granted when we stepped into this house (present one). After moving here, P started his proper school i mean LKG and how i remember the second day of his school (first day we dropped him). Waiting for the van near the gate under the tree shade at 7.45 in the morning with flowers strewn all over the ground and huge umbrella like branch overhead full of red flowers in its full bloom. Wowww what a sight it was. From that day i relish the morning and evening wait for the van admiring the red flowers and the yellow ones at the street corner. This is the fourth year and still i cant get over the feel which i got the first day , sorry, second day of his school. Looking back both P and the tree had grown much older.

Madras - My memories

Somehow i like to say it as Madras than Chennai. Have been grown calling it Madras and hearing from relatives and people calling by that name. May be the name Chennai sounds better when read in news or seeing as such in flash news or to see the north indian news readers struggling to get the pronunciation better, mind i say better and not correct. ;)
All of my first 23 years i have been in mambalam and see things unfold before me. Usman road, panagal park, Venkatnarayana road or the Ashok Pillar. The only road which remains unchanged according to me is 11th avenue - Ashok nagar.
The earliest memory - after watching the prashanth starer sembaruthi (i love the song nila kayum neram - one of the evergreens of Ilayaraja - one of my all time favourite song) in Kasi theatre with my aunts and cousins. We walked all the way from the theater to our home in mambalam. Relishing the shade, greenery and neatly stacked houses. Those days there was no underground drainage and the house would be connected to the road by a slope over the drainage canal. Hardly we felt the stinking smell those days and used to admire it. The road was more similar to those in bangalore those days.
Then Usman road - So much has changed from my good old school days. I studied in one of the then popular school in T.nagar. Now, both name and fame had been to the winds and in its place remains only the IT companies (school is still there magnificently managed to shrink itself to one fourth of its original size ). I think more than anything you need passion to run an educational institution which went missing after the demise of its founder. I dont know why the roads seem to be shrinking with the passing of years. Same buildings but the road seems to me smaller than it used to be. Though T.nagar had been the hub in the past too it was not like anything we see these days. I think the main culprit would be letting those Saravana stores and other Silk stores open their shops and infecting the area with more parking vehicles and hawkers. I like the look of usman road and ranganathan street in the morning hours of the day when there would be only few shops open - especially the tea kadais and the fast food thallu vandis and the hawkers would be undoing their ropes over the big bundle of sheet covering their stocks. Mamas outside the siva-vishnu temple briskly eyeing the passersby. They would be so full of energy and enthusiasm and covered fully from head to waist with vibuthi pattai. That would itself give them a unique image. Reservation counter of mambalam railway station where people would be queuing up to book their tickets immediately on opening of the counter.
All these are etched in my memory cos i love the journey of 20 minutes by walk from my home to school. Today you cant reach t.nagar within 20 minutes even if you go by two-wheeler with todays traffic flow. sigh...

(to be contd)

Pondy Bazaar or Paandi Bazaar

Just yesterday i learnt the original name of the so called " Pondy Bazaar".

After nearly three decades of living in chennai (donot try to calculate my age, it may not be right and u would be hurting my ego badly ;))) ) and oorsuthifying in T.Nagar all the way right from schooling to shopping and everything just yesterday i came to know the actual name of the place.
While i was going with P to the dance class i chanced upon to read the name of the police station at the junction in the Panagal Park and it was " Soundarapandi Angadi Police Station "

Thats how Paandi became Pondy . Hence forth it should be called as Paandi bazaar.

This reminds me of the scene in Avvai Shanmugi where Gemini Ganesan and Kamal meet. He would say all the names of his fore-fathers and his name and at last would say " antha varisaiyila Paaannnndiiii" . LOL. The modulation would be excellent. (Please vodaney enna anti-brahmin varisaiyila serthudaathinga, just recollecting thatsall , serthaalum i dont mind)

Anna Flyover........

Anna Flyover had been synonomus to chennai for a long time.

You cannot imagine a film showing chennai without zooming the immortal Anna Flyover...
Be it, a traffic jam or a chasing scene where an innocent is being chased by a ferocious villian or our own police officer (sarath kumar, vijayakanth) chasing the deadly villian after he has killed our one of the top brass, Anna flyover can never be dispensed with.

And this famous landmark also holds some of my most cherished memories as well nightmares.

Be it the first time as far as i could remember on that bridge or the most recent with my kid who always loves the flyovers and this one being his prime one , i always enjoy the scenic view it offers.I can very well hear people saying "What the hell does it offers other than the traffic snarl both at the nungambakkam high road and church park junction?" But still each time iam delighted when i climb up the flyover.

My first trip over the flyover etched in my memory was to the Marina with some relative. I used to look from the windows of our own pallavan , the rani seethai hall with all the signboards of manmark kudai and the statue at the MG road with wide eyes.
Since, i follow the roads and the routes clearly i was declared the official guide to all our relatives who would like to have a visit to the Marina.
As a child, i always had this confusion of return from Marina to T.Nagar via this Anna flyover. We would go thro GN Chetty road but the return has to be taken thro the "O" to re-enter while coming back. This is where i always end up confused and in turn would confuse the drivers.
Namakkuthaan chennaiyin official guidennu nenappache, so vazhi theriyathunnu othukka manasu varathu.... So i would keep quiet and would silently pray while he goes thro the Anna Salai. Oru nambikka thaan enga ponalum intha road kadaiseela saidapet vanthudumnu theriyum. So when i finally came across the teynampet junction i was much relieved.
Then only did i understand that both GN chetty road and Anna Salai run like ">" - this symbol.

Next, the important point in all the students life - board exams - 10th as well 12th. Since my centre was DAV girls school on both the occasions i had to go only thro our beloved fly over every time. Though i would be tensed and busy reading on the way (appothane rombavum sincerea padippom - to put a scene) , i would actually enjoy the view over the flyover those few minutes of crossing them. Ennada few minutes solrale nnu paarkapadathu. Iam talking of 96 - 99 . So antha period at 8.15am in the morning you can just like that cross the flyover.

Then comes the turning point. Always i used to wonder while travelling on the flyover from t.ngr towards Mount Road - intha leftla oru road porathe ithu enna road ah irukkum - i mean the road below the flyover i.e MG road. I have never been to the road till that time.
But, little did i realise that my entire career would be based on that buildings located on the road. Buildings nnu en mean pannenna cos both Income tax and the Institute of CA suthisuthithaan ennoda pozhappe. So rite after my 12th foundation nnu onnu join panrathukkuthaan i stepped into the MG Road. Hmmm oru nimisham antha statue lernthu avar enna thirumbi paathamaathiri irukku..bramayo.

Today, my kid always compels my athukkarar to go on that flyover.. So even if we are to visit Citicentre we are compelled to take the flyover and take the right where UII stands and then go to Radhakrishnan salai via Gopalapuram boys high school.