Metro to mofussil

That's a picture of the entrance to the CMBT, taken when passing by on an overhead train track. The "M" in the abbreviation is "Mofussil". A word that I haven't heard used in English very often, but one that gained currency under the British East India Company. A word that I have encountered so often in Madras and Chennai that it could have been Tamizh - and yet, one that unsurprisingly has its origins in Urdu. 

Mofussil originally stood for those areas beyond the administrative ken of the Company, outside the realms of their headquarters in Madras, Bombay and Calcutta. Somewhere along the way, it gathered connotations of a hayseed provinciality, not compatible with the sophistication of the city. And yet, here is this facility, in the middle of the city, calling itself the "Mofussil" Bus Terminus. 

No, it is not as if the city expanded to swallow up a bus terminus that was once outside its boundaries. The simpler explanation is that this is the destination for anyone coming into the city by bus from its mofussil areas. It doesn't mater that the origin of bus could be another metro city - Benagaluru, for example - but that doesn't matter; anything outside the city is mofussil. And so here we are, looking down to the transport to the wide world outside, from a very in-city mode of transport - the metro!

Setting right?

There have been a couple of news items during the past week about Chennai as a travel destination. One was Lonely Planet putting Chennai into its list of 'Top 10 Cities for 2015'. It was great to see Chennai coming in at number 9 on that list, even if it invited disbelief from many, including resident and non-resident Madrasis. 

The other, not so flattering appearance, was on the list of 'worst airports'. Especially galling was that it was the third year in a row that Chennai was finding a place, this time as the sole representative from India. This one is more believable for those who use Chennai's airport frequently. Though I have not been involved in any such mishap (or personally know anyone who has been), falling ceiling panes - over 20 times in one year - are not confidence inspiring.

The last time I was at the airport, I found this cherry picker rising up to repair the roof. Hopefully, it will hold up - and get better - so that the cheering crowds coming in to Chennai next year do not have to worry about the sky falling on their heads!

Four years on

How long does it take to write a book? Quite a while, apparently. It has taken a lot of travelling, a lot of cloak-and-dagger meetings, and a whole lot of surreptitious telephone notes and sketches for Samanth Subramanian to get his second book out on to the shelves. The first was four years ago, and the years between, on the evidence of the first few pages of his new book, have been spent well.

This Divided Island does not have a political agenda. It is very easy for the Lankan civil war to grab any discussion about it and drag it to an abusive free-for-all. The first evidence of that was in 1985, when some of my college-mates went on a signature campaign against the government of Sri Lanka, and the years since have hardened stances. 

I am looking forward to reading this book. I thought I would be able to finish a substantial part of it before its Chennai launch ten days ago, but it is not a light read. There will be no chest thumping, guts-and-glory story. The stories will be of ordinary Sri Lankans, voiceless people who were the worst affected in the 3-decade long war. The war ended in 2009. These stories will live on for ever!

Take-off

Had got out of all the frequent flyer programmes nearly ten years ago. But in the past two weeks, I have been at the Chennai airport on 8 days. This picture was taken yesterday, after having reached the airport 75 minutes ahead of the departure time. The queues have gotten longer - and Monday mornings are always a bad time to travel out, with people being more grumpy than usual.

Is the increase in passenger traffic because of the second runway at the airport having gone operational? That runway - after having been delayed time and again - was to have been opened sometime last week. That is what I thought, but it does not seem to be reflecting in the flight schedules yet. In the meantime, we continue to take off along the old path!

For globetrotting backpackers

The idea was born in the early 20th century. Richard Schirrmann, a school teacher in Westphalia proposed the idea of creating economical accommodation for young people after his class and he were forced to bunk in barns, or in village school buildings, when they were out on a school trip. The idea took shape with the first such hostel in his own town, Altena, with a part of the Altena castle being set aside for travelling youth. That was in 1912, and over the next century, the movement has grown to cover about 70 countries. That first youth hostel continues to be operational even today, though you cannot book online.

Almost every state in India has its own youth hostel association, affiliated to the Youth Hostels Association of India (YHAI). The hostel in Chennai seems quite well provided for; though I don't know anyone who has actually stayed there, the general ambience and upkeep of the place seem to indicate that it does serve the purpose it was meant for quite adequately. On most days, there is little activity around the buildings, but then you will see a bunch of boisterous students having fun at their hostel. 

Globally, Hostelling International is a charity organization and the Indian arm is also registered as non-profit social body. The website of the YHAI says that membership will make you a globetrotter. The very purpose of the Youth Hostels is to provide safe accommodation to backpackers. Put the two together and off you go with the world in your backpack!

Early devotees

Among the top three richest shrines in the world, the Tirupati-Tirumala temple is about 150km away from Chennai. It is visited by about 30,000 people on a normal day, with the number going up to 100,000 on special occasions. To help those pilgrims, the Tirumala-Tirupati Devasthanams has facilitation centres across the country, in every state capital and many other towns. Quite a few of those would have started their journey from Chennai, which is the closest city to the shrine. Chennai therefore is the only location that has two facilitation centres.

This is the one on Venkatnarayana Road, the one that has a temple attached to the information centre. (In fact, the temple has probably become more prominent than the information centre itself). Every morning, a fleet of buses and vans start off to Tirumala from here. With a 4-hour journey ahead, the vehicles have to leave early to complete a day-trip to the shrine. 5am is the usual departure time, and if you have booked your ticket, you are asked to land up here at 4.30am, at which time there is nothing open nearby. 

Even the temple opens only at 5am; the priests come in between 4:30 and 4:50, the security staff then go around opening up the gates and getting ready for the day. By 5:15 or so, the first worshippers would have taken their places and the pujas would have begun. But look closer at the picture (right-click to open in a new tab) and you will see the earliest devotees - the morning jogger and another, at the gate, praying to the closed doors!

Theme: Pink

Over at the City Daily Photo portal, the theme for September 1 is "Pink". There was nothing much I could find in pink (okay, I didn't try hard enough), because Chennai wears yellow, especially with the Champions League T20 coming up later this month. 

But this old picture came to my rescue, and along with it, a story. Everyone knows this is the Bougainvilla; a plant so common here that it is difficult to believe it is an exotic species, having arrived from South America, possibly through French travellers. I say French, because even in the latter half of the 18th century, the French were optimistic enough about their chances in India - and it was a Frenchman, Philibert Commerçon, who is credited as being the first European to describe these flowers. He was the botanist on board an expedition to circumnavigate the world; it is not unusual that he named the flower after the expedition's leader, Louis Antoine de Bougainville.

But it is also said that the credit for first observing these plants should go to Jeanne Barét. She had sneaked aboard de Bougainville's ship dressed as a man, pretending to be her lover Commerçon's valet. And it was she who had brought these woody vines back from a field trip; Commerçon's contribution was in the naming. Jeanne's disguise was unmasked before the end of the expedition, but she did complete it - and thereby became the first woman to circumnavigate the world!

Hooray for pink!

Interested in more pink stuff? This is where you need to go today!

Departure Gate

Somehow, it seems that most departures - and quite a lot of the arrivals, too - at the Aringar Anna International Terminal (the Chennai airport, in other words) happen after the sun goes down. I don't remember ever being at the international terminal in the daytime.

Wanted to take this photo, but was slightly apprehensive about it. Until a couple of years ago, taking photographs inside airports in India was illegal; with the growing number of mobile phones and cameras, the authorities just heaved a sigh and junked that section of the law, I guess. Still, the word might not have reached the cops on duty and I did not want to get into a debate with a policeman at 2.00 am. So, a quick photo and scoot!

Compared to the Chennai Central railway station, the airport seems completely impersonal - it certainly does not comes across as being symbolic of a proud heritage; people have far less time to gather around or to exchange notes. Entry into the building itself is restricted and no one would like to stand around outside, when there is nothing to do but just stand around! Not a great option at night - like I said, the terminal probably shuts down when the sun comes up.

(Is there anyone who has travelled out of this terminal during daylight hours? Just curious!)