The Unwilling Non-vegetarian and other stories

It all began when five 21G buses passed me by at the Kotturpuram stop. Being the earnest fool that I am, I had decided to forego the benefits and luxury of a (self-driven) car and went to the bus-stop to catch a ride in one of the new Volvos that ply on Chennai roads. 10:37, :48 and others stopped, but I merely turned a cold shoulder and 'pfff-ed'. A frustrating half-hour later, when I began to doubt whether I had been wise, the Volvo arrived. Underwhelming, slightly. I stood at the front of the bus and waited for the Mylapore stop. 18 bucks, it was - not bad in the least as an auto would've been at least thrice the price.

I don't know what the hell Chennai Metrowater is doing, digging a huge hole on the Kotturpuram side of the bridge. Traffic was painfully slow, perhaps even rivalling the the peak hour average speed of Bangalore.

Reaching Mylapore, I harried B, with whom I was to roam about the city. We boarded the northbound MRTS at Thirumylai, an adventure in itself, as the train was almost in full motion when I jumped on, backpack in tow. The train is fantastic - offering unparalleled views of the city, Marina and the wonder that is the Cooum. The wondrous thing about the Cooum is that no one knows how exactly it is spelt. Very odd, that.

Reaching Beach station, I sneaked into the season ticket line and bought two regulars to Thirumayilai. Of course, just seconds after I bought the tickets, I realised that I would be getting off at Chepauk to watch the Ranji Trophy Super League game between TN & Delhi. Terribly boring game, that. 3 overs after I got there, I got the hell out. Took me 15 min from Chepauk to Kotturpuram! However, alighting at Kotturpuram puts one in the at-risk category for being run over by an errant, or perhaps overly zealous, lorry driver.

I went to Anokhi last evening with a friend from work last summer. Chennai has been, in the past, somewhat lacking in the gilpaans department, but from what I saw there, corrective measures are being taken. It was there that I accidentally ate a mosquito and thus did this story acquire its title.

After a standard beach goof-off with Fatman & Aravind, I went a bar called '10 Downing St.' in T. Nagar. The purpose of the music there appeared to be to dull one's sense of hearing. They were very effective at this objective and went about it with much gusto. Inexpensive place, though, I've dropped (hah, always wanted to say that) more at dinner. 3 beers, a total of 330 bucks. Not bad at all. This bar also had a good gilpaans crowd.

Jaws

My jaws are still aching from the effects of last night's laughter. It's so good to be back after a year. I've done all my usual hangout things - New Yorker, Landmark, Beach, CCD, Mocha, etc., and I'm ready for repeats. Any new places worth a visit?

I thought Madras had changed a lot since I had left, but it turns out I was wrong. Yesterday at the beach was a good example - I was there, as is my usual wont, for 5 hours. Aravind, Fatman & I walked up and down the Promenade at least 20 times, seeking to fulfil what I term 'the probability rule' - the probability of running into someone I (or we) know tends to one. It is, of course, dependent on how long one is there, but it's usually within the first 15-20 min. that we run into someone.

Fatman, that fraud, refused to introduce us to his Machan gang (of NUS infamy). Apparently the members of this cabal suffix 'Machan' to the end of their every statements, such as, 'Poolu vettiduvein machan.' Of course, Aravind and I were trying desperately to upset the ship and show the 'machans' what a fraud Fatman was. Sadly, we didn't.

Ah, my writing has begun to suck even more. I blame it on the slightly slow cursor.

New coach, end of sem., etc.

So, Kirsten is our new coach, it seems, acc. to the BBC. He has said, 'I have no concerns what the players think about my appointment.' What a jackass. Hope he goes the Chappell way. Apparently the senior players in the team aren't too happy with his appointment. That's good, because they have a lot of power.
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The end of the semester approaches, and with it, finals. This has been the best semester so far. I've met some fun people, and done a lot of timepass. It feels good. But I'm also eager to back to Madras, haven't seen it in a year and all that.
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I was in Paris for the Rugby World Cup final. It was fantastic, and I should post pics. or something, but I don't know if I will. If I do, I'll post a link.

And now to resume sight-adicchifying the cute Bar Giuliani waitress.