Blogs from Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, Asia - page 2

There's something about the first few hours traveling in a foreign country. I've felt it so many times--exhaustion from the long flight, unsettled stomach, a bit of anxiety, eagerness and excitement over embracing a new adventure. But these first few hours--the day after I landed in Chennai--were different. It is, after all, my triumphant return to India. I first visited 40 years ago as a university student, hungry for a cultural experience, a bit naive and searching for some kind of personal enlightenment. Our group of 18 students from mid western US schools went straight to Madurai back then, to study Tamil and the culture, or at least that's how we started. That less-than-scholarly experience (most of us were not very disciplined students) somehow tied me to the place. I was drawn back twice since that ... read more

Day 2 in Chennai and the first stop is Fort St George. (Skip the rest of this paragraph if you’re not interested in history!) The fort was built by the British East India Company on land granted to them by the local Nayak ruler in 1639 and completed on St. George's Day 1640. It was established as a fortified trading post, not as the basis for military expansion or the creation of an Empire, whatever revisionist historians might argue. From its establishment by Royal Charter granted by Elizabeth I in 1600, the Company was only interested in trade. It regarded war as unfavourable to trade. However as events transpired over the next centuries, Fort St. George, which was the foundation of Madras town and became the seat of the Madras Presidency of the Company, was the ... read more

After the what was probably the worst journey of my life on public buses, down tiny winding roads, going over the completely unnecessary amount of speed bumps they seem to have in Tamil Nadu and travelling for around three hours to complete a 60Km journey! Me and Raja arrive in Madurai around 11pm, it's finally got to the dreaded time when I had to say goodbye to Raja and board a bus heading for Chennai, and thus beginning what was probably the worst 12 hours or so of my trip! The bus to Chennai is semi-sleeper, so I'm basically lying in a chair that reclines quite far, feeling like I’m in the person behinds lap! Going over yet more fucking speed bumps that wake me up and throw me off the chair before crashing back down! ... read more

I came to know about this observatory at kavalur which is operated by Indian institute of astrophysics. Kavalur observatory is located in Kavalur in the Javadi Hills in Alangayam, Vellore District. The Kavalur Observatory is located in a 100 acre forest land in Tamil Nadu which is strewn with a variety of greenery of tropical region and is known for the highest concentration of various species of snakes in India. The doors of this observatory are open for general public on Saturday evening. So decide to avail this opportunity. The observatory is located at Javadu hills right in the middle of thick forest called Amrithi. The nearest railway station is vaniyambadi.where only few trains stop by. The major nearest rail junction is katpadi which is 3 kilometers from bustling major town Vellore. From Vellore you can ... read more

We went to the Kapaleeshwarar temple for sunset. Legend tells a story that in a fit of pique Shiva once turned his consort Parvati into a peacock and instructed her to worship him here in order to regain her normal form. Parvati supposedly did as instructed at a spot just outside the northeastern corner of the temples central block where a shrine commemorates the event.Terry is wearing a special shield for his ankle so it’s not easy for him to take his shoes off so I went inside by myself. Deities surround the temple and some areas are more holy than others. Temples within temples and queues of people lined up to be blessed by the priest inside these inner temples– for this they pay extra maybe 20 or 50 rupees depending I suppose on the ... read more