Being a chennaite, i get a lot of people asking me about what's hot and happening here- and i never know what to say... I have spent 17 years here - but school days and child hood aren't times when one explores "hang-outs" of the city... While i have resolved to check out every inch.... , i am gonna put down a few things i love about this city...
Chennai is a huge city. Even though i have lived there for 17 years, there are still places i haven't even set foot on and places i haven't heard off... We lived in Adyar, with most of my relatives , friends , my school, my hangouts and places I've been to within 20 km radius...
The beach....
The one thing that i love about Chennai - one thing I wish I could carry with me, where ever I go -Elliot's beach ( in Besant Nagar ) . You can find all kinds of people here, families, girls and guys in there most fashionable , old couples going for walks... It's a perfect people watching place. In my view, a quiet patch on the beach is the best romantic spot...
And ofcourse nothing like having manga in kara podi ( mango slices sprinkled with chilli powder) or kadalai ( boiled groundnut) while sitting under a star-lit sky, watching the dark waves crash against the shore.....
The Broken bridge ....
This is on the Elliots beach but at a spot which people don't venture into , because of the slums.... This is a pretty part of the beach undisturbed with vendors, smokers and traffic..... Gets a little stinky (on the bridge)..But some org's are trying to restore the place and keep it clean.
( am soon going to get a pick of this stretch of the beach!)
Theosophical Society..
Though this place has been there since independence, my dad discovered it just few years back while on the look out for nice places to jog.... And am i glad that he did!!!!
founded by Anne Besant during our independence struggle...The scrub forests of ages before has still been retained in these premises. All the buildings and houses are of the British Raj times, and quite a few of them are very picturesque, amidst a mini forest..... There is a very pretty church, a mosque , a Hindu and Buddhist temple on the premises......One can walk from the entrance all the way to the beach where the broken bridge lies.
We go for a jog in TS, all the way to the beach to watch the sun rise.....
The ECR ....
The best road in chennai for an unhampered long drive... (the pic above is off the back waters along ECR)...
Theatre....
Chennai has a very active (English) theatre scene ( something i wasn't aware of till a couple of years)... Madras Players, Magic Lantern, Evam are some of the very popular groups... Almost every other weekend will have a play or 2 being staged... ofcourse not Broadway, but they are good 2 hours of entertainment..... Got into the habit of watching these plays after college....
Shopping at Pondybazar and panthean road....
These 2 places are any "heavy shoppers" glee... While u'll find the latest jewelry at 75% less than what lifestyle tags on it at pondybazaar, panthean road is the place for cheap ( as in less expensive), lovely cotton material.... They have such pretty dupattas too these days....