Lets ROB said they and ROB we did!

Yeah lots of us joined hands with the youth for social change and ROBed..
Yeah, see here:
One of the cutest names I saw in recent times..
ROB- Reclaim our Beaches:-)

I didn’t join them earlier and even on this 30th Jan I just squeezed time to see whats happening than join their efforts full time..
It is quite tuff with time these days what with travel, restore activities and this big event on 30th jan..

I was very happy to have been there that morning as early as 6am..I was happy to see so many people (mostly youth) but wud hav been happier if it was a larger swell..
I wud have thought a good number from all those who pride and use the Beaches wud have come..
But iam dreaming, aint I?

To the better side: of the people who assembled, there was a good amount of enthusiasm and we all set out in to groups to various parts of the beach..
I accompanied some ‘not so youths’ to the far off broken bridge where the adyar river culminates..so obviously bringing along with it all our sins..the plastic, not so plastic, Styrofoams, chappals and what not!! All that disposed off recklessly comes and piles up here on the back waters and along the estuary..hmm..
What a shame??
Even for a conscious man like me (i.e for last 3 years) this was too much..
I was glad that some of the people who were there esp old ones who said it was a big realization and eye opener. One of them said “ hmm.. I know where all my discarded and carelessly thrown sandals end up..” another was commenting on the packing materials like thermocol..another on the innumerable small shampoo sachets..the best though was “ phew..if all this hadn’t piled up here as garage, I can imagine what wud be the plight of Madras..’ guessed that? he was picking bunches of condoms..

I seriously think all these people wud now go back and think twice before they splurge and throw..

While I congratulate this ROB team (& YSC too) I wish they organize more such trips for more people, colonies & school so that people have a first hand idea of our litters and sins.
Way to go ROB..
BT All you who read this- on the very next opportunity, pl go & ROB!!

Huggi

Heard of Huggi? Pronounced ‘Who gghee’..
Supposed to be some south canara stuff.. akin to pongol but has pepper in powder form..the mung is roasted (in ghee, what else?) and then cooked like pongol!

That was the special of the day when I walked in to Karanataka sangha – Nungambakkam culturals..
Got the wind?
Madras music season is back…yes so soon!
and so the canteen hopping begins.. I really love the concerts as much as the different canteens at diff venues (as blogged here yesteryears!)

Still, to spot a new item like Huggi for a foodie like me is amazing!

As for the concerts its just hotting up…outstanding for me was the Lec demo by Aruna sairam! Unique experience..

Oh! Btw its winter (yes, tamil month of margazhi) in madras and so u wud see lotsa people with the monkey cap, muffler around neck & ears and funnily with sweaters even inside the halls/sabhas:-o

If you are in Madras just lap it all up- the winter, music season and ofcourse all these special food at each sabha canteen..

Adyar poonga

We all know that Settlements historically have always been along water ways...we also know that in the recent past (4-5 decades) mankind has screwed up the waterways-by encroaching water ways and waterbodies ignoring the fact their dependence on these very water bodies. If its not encroached then we have dumped - effluents, debris and what not? So there is a Pressing need for sincere and urgent revival of waterways and lost ecology around them.
One such step towards eco-restoration and sustainability is Adyar Poonga in the heart of Chennai.
This is a 58 acre land which was abused by the urbans (fruits of development & urbanization!) to dump all their wastes! Hmm..wastes in to water body..that too in a creek, estuary..the loss? The flora & fauna- typical estuarine birds and aquatic, semi aquatic lives.
This poonga project apart from the 10s of 1000s of varieties of tress that have been planted will also bring back saline ecosystem like the crabs, insects and fish. So a whole gamut of flora and fauna surfaces to its old glory in the famous Adyar creek:-)
The man behind all this is Joss Brooks- the same aurovillian, who did a great recovery at pitchandikulam forest! More on that here.
Iam amazed at this man’s passion, energy and great work in the few times I have met him since couple of weeks. Its fascinating to know that he has tons of knowledge and more importantly executing this project with such finesse and ease covering all aspects- beauty, nature, walkways, enviro friendly, sustainable, community involved, Govt minus bribes and this list gets bigger & bigger.
The estuary part that has seen some recovery already has some unique birds showing up. There has been quite some species spotted here these days.
Many school kids come here to get an environment initiation. There is a cute little exhibition and his team of able players like Dr.Karim and Preston add so much value. Another very striking aspect of this project is the involvement of the Govt arms in a very professional manner and the community too.
Iam thrilled at the prospect of pitching some things here..I wish to really steal as much time as possible and invest here.it worth every bit of it..its already a great place in my opinion..and to leave such a show case of a park/garden for the next gen is unbelievable..
For more info see here
So a new association starts for me..hope to get more info here as things progress..
BTW this is open to public only from Nov 2010. so wait till then except when I call you for some tree planting or such like programs out here.

Fine Dining!

Ahem, We all know about places like Krishna sweets, ananda bhavan, etc and the special dishes they dish out..but we also don’t expect a big service nor other decent frills since our expectation is only to gobble some of those select speciality dishes of theirs..
But when it comes to special dining and with really ‘special’ (read v high) rates then our expectations soar. We put up with high rates many times because of the service offered or many other addl qualities like:
- good ambiance if not extraordinary
- neat & clean tables, table cloth, glasses
- refilling of water regularly
- good filtered water without ‘hand dipped’ effects
- no naive waiters and NO nose picking
- taking orders promptly and ensuring they all come
- no repeated reminders for every silly thing
There is this new outlet Krishna sweets have opened called ‘Rasam’. Inspite of some real good n unique items like cauliflower idiyappam, ilaneer payasam, karupatti halwa, exotic soups, etc they failed in all (yes, ALL) of the above qualities.
Why do such people who cant deliver try to step up? Its not any great special science to know the qualities u need to graduate to fine dining. IMHO saravanas is a simple middle class restaurant cleanly surpassing anybody’s expectations esp any demanding cleanliness criteria and is as good or better than any fine dining expensive outlets.
But I really fail to get the sudden urge and kick these people get to up the ante.
I know that Krishna sweet’s service is bad at their regular outlets like the ones in Tnagar or Adyar but I still put up with it bcos they are the just a shade better than the road side shops but have some special dishes. Though I chide myself the rare times I go there again (poor failing memory) but this ‘fine dining’ Rasam- I shouldn’t go again, for sure. That just isn’t worth. The amount of tension u handle after repeating the order or reminding them about the missed dishes or plead for water or clean glass is like having driven some 15 kms in banglaore or Delhi @ peak hour. Just not worth it.

Madras in May!

Some of u asked how is the weather at Madras..hmm..I know u r rubbing it in!
I dunno how I missed it and accepted all these commitments for May..
Another May and Iam stuck in Madras, hmpfff.. 2nd time now that Iam caught in madras in may… Hot is an understatement!
As u take bath and are about to put off the tap, u realise that some beads are rolling on u..NO! its not the last mug of water..it has already started sweating:-(
It’s a punishment weather here..what ever people say about it being healthy and all that gas, the reality is its an oven!
Here we go waiting eagerly for the next low pressure or cyclone..

cool Madras!

Its surprisingly so cool in this time of the year here at Madras! yes,around 20 degrees at nights and early mornings! Thats incredible in the 'hot, hotter, hottest' Madras.
So you will find all these monkey caps, sweaters and shawls being sported, funnily all over. I think its just about pleasant at nights and thats all, but all these warm clothings are on display:-)
still its nice to have such a pleasant surprise in Madras. Global warming, anybody?

Restore - Bazar 1

Regulars here know of Restore - an initiative to address various issues like environment, organic farming, health, etc and ofcourse about the organic products shop front we planned to have.

While we are still looking out for a shop space in south Madras, we are holding the weekly bazar at a friend's garage in Besant nagar where we shall sell all organic, chemical free poison free food products, organically grown fresh vegetables n fruits, garden inputs, bio & naturally dyed clothing materials, products made out of banana fibre (like file folders, attractive bags etc). This is an unique once a week organic jaunt and we wish chennai folks benefit out of this. If you stay around besantnagar and didn't visit this bazar last saturday, u erred! u missed something good too..so make it next week..

meanwhile see this: (esp click on the 3rd foto and read the poster contents!)

great!

I don't think the TN govt took that decision on their own..i dunno if the courts compelled or if some other political compulsion paved way..
But its a great relief in Madras nowadays..Its more breezy say some, its more green say others, its more bright say some..
after all the hoardings (illegal ones) have been removed, Madras is a real great sight..
I really find that breeze thingy and more visible green cover to be true..
Thanks MK..that's a treat.

phew..am in a furnace

ya, in an oven called chennai.. its HOT..just too much to venture out in day times..really too hot..those age old sentences of solace like " last year it was not as bad as this.." or " oh man, last year was better" etc is not working..its frying..am planning to plant more creepers on all sides and pack my 'mottai madi' with many plants..lemme see if it helps..
meanwhile this forced house arrest means some time to read..though am not able to read at the sooper pace of my wife, am slowly completing some very interesting books like - T.M.Mukundan's "Ery system of South India" then Indukanth Ragade's " Self reliance in water" ; Masanobu Fukuoka's "One straw revolution"... these are must have and must read books..put ur hands on them if u can, asap..
may be i shud sit and write about these books soon, but now i better go and finsih them all. (yeah, I read a couple of books at a time..my bad conc and fone calls is not letting me finish at one sitting..also i read more than a couple of books so that i can switch when i feel enof of one subject how ever good it may be)