It is now about a week since we have been in India, and we can't believe how many rich and lasting memories we have already accumulated. Thankfully, these notes will remind us of the experiences and images of this place for a long time. And we hope they have helped in some small way to make you a part of our colorful journey.
There will remain some images and memories that will rise above others from time to time. In the case of our time here in the city of Chennai, formerly Madras, the watching and being part of the traffic mayhem seems to dominate other experiences.
As we slowed down our pace a little, we took a hired taxi to visit some of the nearby attractions. Each of these sites was to take half hour or so for a visit. As it turned out, it took about two and a half hours to go about 30 km for a 20-minute to a visit to Valluvar Kotam, a permanent display of poems by Thiruvalluvar, a prominent Tamil poet and thinker from the year 2 AD.
In the course of the drive, we were caught in traffic chaos that cannot be described, much of which I had already shared in earlier blogs. That experience repeated itself when we went next to the Government Museum and again to the Science and Technology Centre and Planetarium. Cintra describes it as taking our lives in our hands.
As I peered dazed and bewildered through the window of the little Tata taxi, here are some images I caught with my iPod.
That is not to take away from the great importance of the immortal ethical lessons in poetry by Valluvar. Of course, they were all written in Tamil, but Mathias Ross, our host, gave an overview of some of what the poet said. Just being a witness to these historical treasures is gratifying.
The poems are the Tirukallukal and are his most revered works consisting of 133 chapters each written in 10 Tamil rhyming couplets for a total of 1330 "kurals" or short verses.
Valluvar Kotem is one of the most significant monuments celebrating Tamil culture in India and was built with 3,000 blocks of stone, stands 101 feet tall, shaped like a chariot and includes a massive auditorium that could accommodate 4,000.
Having had a fleeting glimpse of this gem of Tamil culture, we braved the traffic delirium to see the Government Museum Chennai, which consists of displays of botany, zoology, numismatics, anthropology, etc. This did not turn out too well for the effort it took to get there. They don't allow hand bags and there was no place to store Cintra's purse. So we took turns to see a few zoological displays and then left.
Next we hurried to the Periyar Centre of Science and Technology and the Bria Planetarium to catch the next scheduled half-hour show. The Centre is named after Periyar Ramaswamy, a major Indian historical figure.
We witnessed some scientific displays at the "science centre," including one about nuclear energy. It attempted to make a case to justify India's reliance on nuclear power. The planetarium show was the typical overview of astronomy.
Both the museum and planetarium were not of the standards of similar displays we have seen elsewhere.
All of these sites were interesting and valuable in their own way, but were limited in visual impact, especially outdoor landscaping and visitor hospitality and amenities.
Later in the day, we took in some other interesting and historic sites closer to the seashore. They included the Chennai lighthouse and museum. Along the major thoroughfare where the lighthouse is located are office buildings, university, cultural centre, police headquarters and other opulent structures.
Across from these buildings is the beach which reaches out the length of a couple of city blocks to the water. This beach is popular for strolling and fishing and a busy market of shacks and vendors with every conceivable Indian snack.
The beach is big, but definitely not clean or pretty. The vendors' shacks are an eyesore and the beach is full of litter.
One one end of the beach are two stately memorials for past political leaders of the State. There are several other beautiful buildings that are part of the park. However, they are all untidy.
Looking from the top of the lighthouse, one could see a complex of slum apartment buildings that are weather-beaten and in utter disrepair. Many of these are due to the effects of the tsunami and human neglect. Next to these buildings on the beach are equally unsightly shacks. A few yards down are some upscale apartment buildings -- an odd contrast viewing them from the lighthouse.
One of the most common sights in the area, as it is all over the city and the State, are monster size portraits of the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. The irony is that on this day, she was expected to visit the area where she would be greeted by even more pictures of herself. The CM's visit also meant heightened security everywhere.
We left the beach area at dusk as the street lights were slowly getting brighter and throngs were expected to fill the beach to linger, buy food and drinks and enjoy the gentle sea breeze on another fiery hot day.
We still have a bit more to see in Chennai and area before we leave for Sri Lanka. Please come back for more updates in a couple of days.
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