Destination Infinity's Blog, page 73

August 19, 2014

Perambur Heritage Walk, Chennai

Perambur is the suburban area of Chennai. I went to a Heritage walk that covered some important regions/ monuments in Perambur, recently. Perambur, is a relatively green area (see above photo for proof) and it’s quiet. I loved the ambiance of the place.

This photo shows Our Lady of Lourdes Shrine/Church. We visited more Churches, but I have only one clear photo! Perambur has a large Anglo Indian and Malayalee Christian community. It seems, in the earlier days, Perambur was divided into two – one side consisting of Anglo Indians and the other side consisting of Brahmins. But now the area is home to diverse population. Still, Perambur is home to the largest Anglo Indian community in TN.

This Mahatma Gandhi statue is inside the SRES Union office (I think it’s one of the Railway unions). The specialty about this place is: It was inaugurated and Foundation stone was laid on 3rd September, 1927 by none other than Mahatma Gandhi and Kasurba Gandhi!!

Then we went to Southern Railway Institute Hall which is used for marriages and functions (open to public also), but the photos I took inside are blurred. Actually, I forgot to take my P&S camera and hence had to shoot with my pathetic cell phone camera! BTW, the above (and below) photos show the neighboring Railway Stadium.

This is mainly a cricket stadium for Railway employees and it has a small seating capacity for audience as well. But public is allowed to go inside for walking during the mornings. When we went, people were walking.

This photo shows the JRET Raghava Middle School, earlier a Thinnai palli (in which students sit on the verandah shown here and learn). Guess when this school was established? 20 19 1870!!! They teach both in Tamil and Telugu medium. Telugu medium in Chennai is rare, at least nowadays.

These pillars belong to a 100-year old building in which the Divisional Traffic Training Center is located. This office was constructed by the British. Actually a person from here explained something about this building, but I was busy taking photos!

You wondering what those stone people are doing on that stone hill? This is the Southern Railway State Bharat Scouts and Guides Golden Jubilee Monument. So the scouts and guides movement has crossed 100 years! You want to know who was its founder?

Here it is. Lord Baden Powell (shown above) was the founder of the Scouts movement in India. Then we went through the Perambur Carriage works station, which maintains the railway coaches manufactured by ICF – Integral Coach Factory (also located in Perambur).

In fact, Perambur has three railway stations! We also saw the Railway club, which, incidentally, is open to the public. The annual membership @ 15000 rupees per person is quite attractive considering they provide swimming pool, tennis, table tennis, indoor badminton courts, etc.

I thank Mr. Girish K, a resident of Perambur, who organized this walk as a part of the Madras Week Celebrations, 2014.

Destination Infinity

Photo(s) credit: By Destination8infinity (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0 )], via Wikimedia Commons.

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Published on August 19, 2014 02:33

Private India (Book Review)

Private India is a Thriller written by Ashwin Sanghi & James Patterson. I have read two more books written by Ashwin Sanghi and liked them very much for the depth of historical information presented in them. But this one is more like a regular mystery/thriller.

The story is good, book is unputdownabble, and the serial killer is unguessable. But why every thriller wants to feature a serial killer (that too someone who leaves clues to the cops after every murder) is beyond me. Think of something new guys!

The basic story is this: There are a number of murders committed by a serial killer in Mumbai and a private detective agency by the name “Private India” takes up the investigation of the case from cops. (Can this actually happen in India? Not sure.) The killer keeps murdering women (selectively) and leaves behind some cues for the detectives to work on. Will they be able to catch the killer before they target a member of their own team? Will Private be able to stop a terrorist bomb blast in Mumbai?

As you would have guessed, the answer to both the above questions is ‘Yes’. I am not breaking any suspense as that’s how every thriller/mystery ends, and if you’ve read even a few of them – you can easily guess it. I wish some author surprises us, there.

The pace of the book is somewhat slow initially, but the last 150 pages or so (450 total) moved very quickly, for me. In some places, I felt, the authors need not have given away hints, esp. regarding character motivations. For example, the Inspector having a secret understanding with the Don, might have been conveyed right at the end, in order to increase the surprise factor. Just my view.

Since it’s a story set in India and Indian elements (like Goddess Durga and Navaratri festival) are used extensively, we were able to connect with the story. I guess Indian readers are tired of reading about New Yorks and LAs in every thriller. At least I am!

I just wish there was more Ashwin Sanghi touch to this book. I really miss the interesting historical/mythological information that he gave in abundance in his previous two books (1, 2). I am yet to read Rosabal line, but will read it soon.

The orange and blue theme of the book cover is decent and the large font size of the words inside is a big plus. Small font size in books is one reason why we prefer eBooks/Kindle – I hope other publishers will also print books with larger font, like this. The price of the book is close to 350 – maybe a bit high?

Altogether, this is a good book and definitely worth reading once. I was not able to guess the killer until the very end and finished reading within 2 days – the mark of a good book!

Destination Infinity

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Published on August 19, 2014 02:27

Kathai Thiraikathai Vasanam Iyakkam: Movie Review

Excellent and innovative second-half. But an ordinary first half. In fact, movie goers (within the movie) mock the movie’s average first half themselves, just before the interval! One needs guts to do that and still get the approval of the producer

Kathai Thirikathai Vasanam Iyakkam is Parthiban’s attempt to make a movie without a story, and he almost succeeds in his mission until the interval. The movie tries to hold the audience attention with witty one-liners alone and that’s difficult. There should be some substance (aka story), and that comes during the second half. First half is a drag, but don’t give up on the movie based on that.

There is a story during the second half. The movie is about how a group of youngsters (who want to make a movie) brainstorm a story and convince the producer. Wait. Do they convince the producer? That’s the hook.

I liked the climax and the scenes leading up to it (also the climax song). But the story itself could have been tighter – there was no need for that suicide, and there was no need for the director to change the car scene happening in front of the jail. Over indulgence.

Even though a few one liners were witty (best word I can use in a U rated blog), many ‘comedy’ scenes did not inspire much laughter. That’s why, I think, the first half of the movie failed. Second half, in contrast, was tighter, used less ‘one-liners’ and actually focused on the story!! Yes, there is one

I like offbeat movies and this one is a good attempt. If the comedy during the first half had worked (it works, but could have been better) this film would have been a wholesome entertainer. You can actually watch this movie from the Interval onward – you won’t miss a thing! If you are a youth, you might like the comic first half, as well.

Worth your money. Do watch it once for the out-of-the-box attempt. I hope more directors/producers in the movie industry will take such risks in the future, as well.

Kadhai Thiraikadhai Vasanam Iyakkam Movie Trailer:

Destination Infinity

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Published on August 19, 2014 02:22

August 13, 2014

Queen Mary’s College, Chennai (Heritage Walk)

Recently, I went to a heritage walk in the Queen Mary’s College campus, Chennai. Established in 1914, this is the first Women’s College established by the Government. On the request of Mr. Sivaswamy Iyer, Mr. Pentland approved it and appointed Ms. Dorothy de la Hey as its first principal (who also identified the site near Marina beach for this college).

This photo shows the main block, also called as Kalaignar Maligai. Initially, the Capper House was situated here and the Government started a women’s college in this block with 37 students, on an experimental basis. But soon, this college became very popular in the Madras Presidency (at it was then) and expanded quickly.

The above photo shows the Beach House, initially owned by Justice Subramania Iyer, and bought by the Government for this college in 1922. This building housed the Principal’s residence and the English Department. But since the ceiling of the ground floor came down in 2008, it has been abandoned. As this is a heritage structure more than 100 years old, College authorities and alumni members hope that it will be restored and maintained by the Government.

The two photos above show two sides of Sankara Iyer building, also purchased by the Government in 1922. The French and Telugu Departments were once housed here but now this heritage building has also been abandoned and awaiting restoration.

This photo shows The Pentland Block, constructed in 1915. Notice the European style of construction (arches, etc.). The Geography department is functioning in this building now.

This is The Jeypore Block, constructed in 1921, and named after Maharaja of Jeypore, who gave a donation of 1 Lakh to the college (back then). The statue of Queen Mary (first photo) is located in this block. The first floor is occupied by Maths Department. There is a Stone Block, that once housed the hostel and now houses the Music Department, next to this building.

This photo shows the old library located in the ground floor of the Jeypore block. This library houses some rare books and has been constructed in the old European style (notice the teak wood structures and the roof).

This photo shows the beautiful pathway that connects the Physics and Chemistry blocks/laboratories. There was an open air theater around this area which used to host cultural programs, but is now defunct. It seems, the assembly used to be held in this area many years back (as recollected by the alumni members).

This building is The Aeroplane block. I have no idea why it’s called that! I think this block once housed the canteen.

This building is the Tennis Court hall, built in 1929. Notice the pitched roof constructed in the European style (then). Actually, this hall is adjacent to the Tennis court – hence the name.

QMC has a proud history and illustrious students/alumni. Among the ones I gathered: Two QMC students were arrested for participating in the Quit India Movement (1942); Captain Lakshmi Seghal, member of Subhas Chandra Bose’s INA was an alumni of this college; Many first Indian women – First Neuro Surgeon, Veterinary Doctor, Chartered Accountant, etc. are all alumni of QMC.

I thank all members of the QMC Alumni Association & College, in particular Ms. Nithya Balaji & Ms. V Vasantha, who organized this walk. I also thank the former Principals, staff members and alumni who gave us a lot of information about the college. They hope Queen Mary’s College will be restored to its former Golden era, and so do we.

This heritage walk was a part of the Centenary celebrations of the college. You can get more info from their dedicated website for this event.

Destination Infinity

Photos: By Destination8infinity (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0 )], via Wikimedia Commons.

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Published on August 13, 2014 16:45

August 11, 2014

CBC BLOG TAG-2: Mogappair as the Twin City of Chennai!

There are a few twin cities in South India.

Cochin – Trivandrum
Hyderabad – Secunderabad
Bangalore – Mysore
Coimbatore – Palakkad
Mumbai – Pune, etc.

But,

Chennai – ???

That’s why I propose that Mogappair (currently a sub-urban area of Chennai where I live) be developed as a twin city of Chennai

I know what you are thinking – Mogappair is such a small area – then how can this area be developed into a twin city, that too for Chennai?

Here is my master plan/town planning for the proposed vertical Mogappair Twin city:

As you can see, I have proposed a vertical city over the existing Mogappair East and West areas (Ground level).

At Level 1, 30 meters above ground, there are tiny houses for people to live. This will prevent resources getting wasted due to building of large houses. If you don’t know what a tiny house is, have a look at a few here.

At Level 2, there will be wind turbines to generate power, and resorts surrounded by flowering plants for tourism. At Level 3, there will be solar panels (left) and organic terrace garden (right) to grow all veggies and herbs required for consumption in Mogappair city.

At Level 4, there will be a helipad that will offer helicopter shuttle service to Chennai airport. The red dotted lines depict the Metro train track covering the entire vertical Mogappair twin city.

At the very bottom you can see the underground rainwater storage tank/groundwater recharge, which is complimented by the rainwater storage tanks at individual levels. Water can be shifted up using solar pumps. The city floor is slightly sloped so that excess rainwater can flow down into the underground tank!

At the very top, adjacent to the helipad, there will be a large golden DI statue, in honor of the masterbrain behind the concept and design. There will be several large support structures (only three shown here) with high-speed escalators. If, inspite of this, the city falls down, then DI will not be responsible because it is the fault of the construction team – not planner

So howz my IDEA?

If you are wondering what all this hoopla is all about, well, it is a response to Chennai Bloggers Club (CBC) BLOG TAG-2 where a group of bloggers have come together to write on the topic – “One Aspect of Chennai I want to Change”. I know mine is off-topic, but hey, you don’t exactly expect realism in a Super Star’s movie, do you?