Here comes 2005

The Kalends of January
Ever wondered why the heck do we celebrate the coming of a New Year? The answer is of course, there is no need to know as long as the event stands for partying and merry making, and if you also have a holiday declared on the 31st of December and/or 1st of January – much better. Anyway, when I was in school, I always used to wonder why is December considered to be the end of the year and why January, the beginning. Because as far as I could see – January is the most boring month, there is nothing to look forward to. In college (and after that), I did a bit of research on calendars and came across the various Calendars employed by the civilized world, the solar and lunar calendars and their significance. For those interested, I would suggest “Mapping Time: The calendar and its history” – an excellent book by E. G. Richards (ISBN 0192862057, Oxford Univ. Press).
By then I had also came across the fact that earlier the year had 10 months – starting from March, hence, “Sept”-ember (7th Month), “Oct”-ober (8th month) and so on. Starting the year from March does make sense. March marks the arrival of the buoyant spring and the end of frigid winter. In other words, the cycle of seasons starts all over again.
January and February were added by the Romans in the 7th century B.C. or so. There was, I believe, a thirteen month added at that point too – called Mercedonious (comes from “merces” (wages) – the workers were paid extra during this period). This was a funny month with some 22 days which was added to the calendar only in leap years after February. This was done because the calendar then was faulty with only some 355 days. The problem was the Roman calendar was essentially lunar (Kalends – New Moon day, Nones – Half Moon day, Ides – Full moon day). DISCLAIMER – I am not really sure of the length of the months.
Even then, the year started in March and end with February. During this period, Rome was structuring itself into a Republic and the senate was becoming increasing important. Roman Consuls were becoming so powerful that it became a common practice to name the year after the presiding Consul. Since these Consuls were elected in January, 1st of January (or Kalends of Januarius), it became an important date and the Julius Caesar, with his Julian Calendar, declared it as the beginning of the year (at the same time, realigning the months and dropping Mercedonious). Of course, it took hundreds of years and dozens of revisions for the calendar to become what it is now. But in short, we celebrate New Year’s because the Roman plebiscite elected 2 old, power-hungry politicians as consuls on the first of January!
As long as I remember, NY has been something to look forward to. Because there is invariably a party on 31st December. In fact, we are so addicted to the NY blast that if we miss out on it – we get upset. This NY eve was planned with élan with Mr. Keval Prabhu spear heading the program. The Union Territory of Pondicherry was selected to be the destination for the grand party – journey tickets were booked, accommodation was arranged. Even as we were weaving our plans – tragedy occurred. A powerful earthquake (9 on the Richter) and tsunamis devastated the east coast of India, flattened Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Over 1,50,000 died and even after a week of the disaster, the toll is rising.
Pondicherry is around 150 km South of Chennai and just 100 Km north of Nagapattinam – the fishing town in Tamil Nadu which was worst affected in India. For a week, newspapers were full with new stories of the unfortunate victims. Of course, all of us have a heart and have contributed in whichever way we can to ameliorate the situation in the affected areas. After our initial donations, we got back to our regular lives and realized that holidaying in Pondicherry is just not possible. However, most of us had some time off during the NY eve and meeting up was indeed desirable. So we rescheduled our plans and decided to visit Chennai instead.

The Govt. Goof-up
The day before we were to start for Chennai, some Govt. Agencies issued a warning that more Tsunamis may hit the west coast. This would have caused wide-spread panic but luckily things were fairly under control and as it turned out – it was a false alarm. It was pretty irresponsible of the Govt. to issue a public warning without confirming. Chennai, which was getting back to normal, hardly witnessed any trade that day. Dilly-dallying with the idea of going the Chennai, we finally decided that we will risk it and leave anyway. Some of us wanted to visit the relief camps and “do some good” while others desperately wanted some time-out. So we left Bangalore – a gang of 6 – on the 30th night on KSRTC’s Airavata Volvo buses – quite comfortable and reasonably priced too.

Destination Chennai
It has been quite some time since I had been to Chennai – and had fond memories of the last short trip I made. Chennai didn’t disappoint me this time either. Our good friends – Mr. Ratnakar “Rat” Pai (aka God) and Mr. Keval Prabhu, both residents of Chennai played the perfect hosts and came to pick us up from the Central Mofussil Bus Terminal, Koyambeedu (which incidentally, is the largest Bus terminal in South Asia) in the wee-hours of the morning. We discussed the POA over a hot cup of coffee. Keval was for a preposterous plan of driving down to Yercaud – a hill station some 300+ Kms from Chennai – this was because there are no spots which will be readily available for partying at such a short noticed. Finally, common sense prevailed and we decided to cool our heels in Chennai. We headed directly to Rat’s home after that, were we freshened up and had some breakfast. After that we booked a couple of rooms in Hotel Ranjith in Nungumbakkam. After dumping our luggage in the rooms, we headed out to explore Chennai.

Our bit of contribution
We bought some clothes and some extra cash we would spare which we intended to donate towards the Tsunami Relief fund. Hunting for a collection center, we landed at the Theosophical Society campus. A certain Mr. Venkatraman, apparently an ex-army man, was overseeing the arrangements. Being quite the chatty fellow, Mr. Venkatraman explained at length the kind of problems they are facing and what sort of donation would they require the most at this stage.
Mr. Venkatraman surprised us when he told us the conditions the volunteers in the relief camps have to deal with. Apparently, now as things are settling down, the disaster victims are being a wee bit unreasonable and have started taking things for granted. For example, Mr. Venkatraman told us that they are NOT looking forward to accept donated clothes because it involved a lot of sorting and arranging work and plus the disaster victims have started demanding for clothes of their choice. Of course, the volunteers cannot deny the poor people. Incidents of people who are piling on the relief camps though they are not affected by the tsunamis have also been reported. Being a volunteer at such relief camps needs patience and courage. It is not easy for one to handle situations like with a calm head. Hats off to all those volunteers who haven’t spared any effort to make the rescue and relief operations successful.
Mr. Venkatraman told us that it will be better if we donate cash because it will help in the reconstruction phase which is about to start in the affected areas. We pooled in and handed over whatever cash we would spare – and it did make a decent amount. I followed Mr. Venkataraman to the cashier’s office and got a chance to briefly explore the sprawling campus. Old colonial buildings which housed the various offices of the Society. The Adyar, Chennai center is the International base for the Theosophical Society, which was H.S.Olcott and H.P.Blavatsky in the late 19th century. Annie Besant nurtured the organization and it remains one of the best known landmarks in Chennai. The society also houses a good bookstore which will any theology buff’s delight. Do try and visit the place if in Chennai.

Let the show begin…
After making a small contribution and feeling the Good Samaritans, we were all set to get back to indulgent ways. However, this time, I wanted it to be a “foodie-trip”. Chennai is known for its wide variety of cuisines. So, like true tourists, we decided to indulge ourselves in the comestible exotica which beckoned.
To kill our time, we saw a movie – Ocean’s Twelve (directed by Steve Soderberg) which had an unnecessarily contrived plot and “all-style-no-substance” characters and was quite a disappointment. It was somewhat sad to see that the movie-goers there are a shade less well behaved than their counterparts in Bangalore. Mobile phones ringing, latecomers fighting with the ushers and a few incidental reunions within the theatre kept us distracted from the screen. Anyway, the theatre was pretty good and reasonably priced plus it served some wonderful chicken puffs in the cafeteria – no overall there were no regrets.
We hit a Chettinad joint next to our hotel – Anjappar by name. As expected, the food was amazing and reasonably priced. Though we had run-of-the-mill non veg thali, it was enough for us to realize that this place holds some promise. A siesta which threatened to continue till the late night ensued. It took Keval and all his might to shake us out of our sleep.
It was clearly a bad time to party as Chennai mourned the loss due to the Tsunamis and many parties were cancelled. Not being a party animal myself, it hardly had any effect on me but the other social animals might have been slightly disappointed. Anyway, we headed towards the hotel’s rooftop where they have a fairly decent restaurant called Pinnacle. The hotel’s management proved that their business acumen has not been affected by the tsunamis as they presented us with a new menu which was designed especially for suckers who will visit them on the New Year eve – with bloated prices, limited choices, et al. Anyway, we decided to stick around. One strikingly annoying thing about Chennai is the booze scene. For reasons better known to Amma (aka Jayalalitha), “phoren” liquor is not readily available – which means we had to choose from Old Monk, Old Cask, Romanov, Green Label, Royal Challenge etc. the indigenous brands. Anyway, we made the best out of what was available. We were joined by Subodh, Keval’s friend from school. He was to spend most of his time over the next 2 days in our boring company.Keval tried to break the ice by proposing that we should start on a retrospection trip and evaluate the year that went by in a) Professional b) General Personal (material satisfaction) and c) Personal Personal (love life, family, etc.). We were to start with the “headlines” and later elucidate on the details as we downed pegs. However, it was met with only some partial success as we soon realized that nothing each of us have done through the year is going to keep the others sufficiently interested as an audience. All this was punctuated by calls from friends and well wishers from all over the world – Damu, Ajeet from the States, Premchand from the UK, etc.
At around 11, most of us felt that this was the most sedate NY eve celebration they have ever had since preparatory school days. Keval suggest that we barge into a party at Leather – a high end joint just down the road. However, by the time we reached back to our rooms, none of us had the drive to go on. So instead we decided to lie down and loaf around in the rooms itself.

Last meal of the year…
Subodh got a couple of bottles of Royal Challenge Whiskey and we realized that we have no soda to have it with. Hence, I, Rat and Girish decided to walk down the streets of Chennai and pick up some stuff to go with the whiskey. On our way, we discovered another excellent Chettinad restaurant called Khurrinji (which apparently is a flower which blooms once in 12 years and is found in regions around Udhagamandalam). In Khurrinji, we found a whole range of exotic dishes and we picked up whatever we would –Vankoli (Turkey) Biryani, Kaadai (Quail) fry, Mutton Chukka, etc. What a way to finish the last meal of the year! This was washed down by cans of Sprite which Girish picked up from a Pizza Corner outlet. If this sounds tempting – try out a Chettinad joint today!

2005 dawns…
We woke up by 8 AM and had the complimentary buffet breakfast provided by the hotel – nothing great. In the day’s itinerary, we had plans of going to Mahabalipuram (aka Mamallapuram). Before that, we tried getting a seat at the famous Sarvana Bhavan restaurant, but were unlucky. Hence, we had our lunch at the restaurant “Standie” self-service joint downstairs. We polished a Quick Lunch (mediocre fare with 2-3 varieties of rice) followed by rounds of 14’ idlis (14 tiny idlis floating in a sea of sambhar), 7 taste uttapams (7 tiny uttapams with various flavored toppings), Kara Dosai (Masala Dosa with spicy filling) and ice cream, finally washing it down with strong filter coffee – aaahhhhhhhh.

Mahabalipuram
Subodh was the angel in disguise and came down with his Wagon R and we distributed ourselves in the Keval’s and Subodh’s cars. On the way to Mahabalipuram, Keval’s friend Subha joined us. The Chennai Pondicherry stretch is covered by a beautiful expressway called the East Coast Road (ECR) which runs along the coastline all the way till Pondicherry. There were rumors that the ECR was closed down for precautionary reasons hence we were a bit insecure. The drive was beautiful but the sights of various relief camps which dotted the stretch were quite disconcerting – reminding us of the terrible tragedy that occurred just a week back. However, life was getting back to normal as we would see kids play around and men smoking and chatting. Most of these camps were a few hundred meters from the sea. I wonder why did they put up these camps so close to the sea.
Mahabalipuram is a small town situated some 55 Kms south of Chennai just off the ECR. The town was a port city during the reign of the Pallava dynasty some 1400 years back. Now it has been recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Site. Now it is known for its splendid monuments and its skillful sculptors. Also, like Dwarka, it is the Indian equivalent of Atlantis as many monuments are submerged under the sea over the course of time. In fact some recent studies have found that some of the submerged monuments are about 8000 years old – which would make this the oldest civilization in India. The town is named after the mythical demon king – Mahabali.
In Mahabalipuram, it was life as usual. We spent some time at the Temple Bay resort managed by certain GRT Leisure group. It is an excellent resort with a private beach and sea facing chalets and a lovely swimming which seems as if it is spilling into the sea. The resort suffered some damage due to the tsunami. Some of most exterior cottages were damaged and the boundary wall collapsed in many places. It is hard to imagine the force of the waves which could have shattered the 2 foot thick wall. Luckily, no lives were lost at the resort.
After downing a couple of beers at the resort’s bar, we headed towards the world famous bas-relief called “Arjuna’s Penance” which is carved out a face of a single rock and depicts the various events in the Mahabharata. Though it was dark by then, we could still see the immensity of the work and finesse with it was executed. Unfortunately, we would not see the Pancha Rathas (five chariots) which are supposed to be dedicated to the Pandavas. The various monuments are the perfect examples of Dravidian Architecture – our architect companion, Girish, was overjoyed for sure. Keval also took pains to show me a huge rock (called Butter-Ball Rock for some reasons) which was resting on a very tiny base and is “rock-steady”.
From the promos, it looked as if they had a classical dance competition right in front of the bas-relief. Would have been a great spectacle – if we had the taste for classical dance.On the way back we stopped over to have tea near the ECR Dhaba where we met an enthusiastic salesman who showed us around the place which was complete with a pigeon farm and has had a few Emus!!! After a quick tea we headed back to Chennai. We almost finished the bottle of whiskey Subodh had brought the other day and indulged into heavy discussions, mostly regarding the status of mega cities like Chennai, Bangalore and Mumbai. After our fill, we headed towards Khurrinji again and had a lavish Chettinad Biryani each with some lip-smacking Turkey Masala for company. During all this it was decided that we check early next day and head towards Pondicherry!

A quick trip to Pondicherry
Early Sunday morning, we settled the hotel bills, checked out and dropped our luggage at Rat’s place. Keval had some prior commitments so he decided to join us later. Subodh, folded up the backseat of his car and made plenty of room for four of us to sit on the car floor. It was like those school picnics again! Yippee! At my insistence, we stopped over at one of the Sangeeta joints which is renowned for its excellent food fare. We feasted over 2-3 rounds of Dosas and Vadas and Pongal and finally topped it with a cup of steaming “Kumbakonam Degree Coffee”. If your day starts like this, you really don’t care how it ends. J
We stopped over at Mahabalipuram again. Decided to visit the Shore Temple which is just off the Beach. Unfortunately, the temple was closed for renovation. This ancient temple was almost destroyed after a cyclone but was restored at a separate place stone by stone. Our architect friend, Girish, had a field day capturing the temple from various angles while the more adventurous Sumeet Pai decided to try out his equestrian skills on the beach front. Luckily, Summy dismounted the horse before there was any harm done to either and I captured him in action on film.
Next destination was Auroville, which is an international township situated near Pondicherry. It was Sunday and most of the places to visit (like the Matri Mandir) were closed for the day. We just spent a couple of hours and did some shopping. Auroville is known for its innovative craftsmen. Bought a few hand painted T-shirts. Keval and Subha managed to catch up with us at Auroville. We headed towards Pondicherry next.
Pondicherry, of late, has come out of the closet and has promoted itself to be a haven for stressed out professionals from all over India. It seems have revived its characteristic French roots and lifestyle. However, for Chennaiites, Pondicherry is: cheap booze and plenty of liquor brands to choose from (and of late: Breezers!). Well, whatever the reason may be we were in Pondy and looking for a place to park our butts. An Indo-Italian-French restaurant called Satsang (what a name!) is pretty well known for its seafood. However, with the tsunami devastating the fishing industry – we decided to skip seafood as the quality of the sea food would have been questionable. Unfortunately, we were informed by the waiter that no hard liquor was available – with which he tried to narrate a cock-and-bull story about the cashier missing with the cupboard keys or something – we didn’t stay long enough to hear the rest of the story.
The next option was Rendezvous. We just about made it in the restaurant as they were closing for the afternoon. After living off Chettinad food for the last 2 days, we now ordered continental cuisine. Chicken in red wine sauce, Chicken Sizzlers, ham stuff – don’t remember what we ordered. Surprisingly the food was not as bland as I expected it to be. A full bottle of Smirnoff Citrus twist ensured that we remained in good spirits. Soon, as the place closed down, we were left alone on the roof top wing of the restaurant and MIT stories were revived, much to the annoyance of Subha and Subodh – the only 2 non-MITians there (though both of them were at their diplomatic best).
Subodh had a problem. He was expected to be at a office function at 5:30 PM wherein he was supposed to hand-out awards. It was already 4:30 PM by the time we finished. All of us, in general, and Keval, in particular persuaded him to stay a little longer. Poor guy was dodging phone calls all the while. Subodh – thanks for bearing with us man – you are a helluva guy!
Finally, we decided that it is time to leave and we started for Chennai. It was 9 PM by the time we reached Rat’s house to pick up our luggage – just to find Rat’s parents were all worried because their only son decided against giving them a call all the time he was in Pondicherry. We quietly picked up our luggage, acting as if we were not involved at all, even as Rat was getting a blasting of his life.
So, after a fairly satisfying trip, we were on the way back to Bangalore. Even at the bus stand, Rat almost goofed up. We had to cancel one of the return tickets as Ashwin Baliga wouldn’t make it. Rat thought we had 2 extra tickets and “sold” the same to an old couple who were hunting for tickets. Later we realized the error and the seats were salvaged by begging the old couple to give them back again. Anyway, finally we managed to get back to Bangalore.
This trip only left us wanting for more of Chennai and the Coromandel. Pondicherry is definitely on the cards later this year. Velu Military Hotel and Sarvana Bhavan are yet to be explored. So are the many shacks and sea food joints in Chennai. Bangalore has gone to the dogs – in the last 2-3 years, it has overtaken Chennai in terms of population. Wish Bangalore can become more like Chennai soon. Amen!