My Chennai "Auto" experience

This is not my first gr8 experience with autos in chennai (*SARCASTIC PUN*). Guys, I was working in Bangalore till sometime back and am back to my roots (Chennai) now. I use Bike as my primary mode of commuting in chennai, I am quite OK with city buses as secondary option.
There was this one instance where I had given my bike at Khivraj(a reputed Bajaj showroom) for servicing. I had to take my bike back from servicing and had to rush to Khivraj(service centre) before closing time. The situation demanded a auto, so I started hunting for an auto. I stay @ triplicane and its almost 1.5 kms from my place to church park school (nearest landmark to khivraj).

Its been sometime since I had travelled in Autos in chennai, I was previously in Bangalore where auto fellas used to use something known as "METERS" in autos and if it is later than 10 pm it would be 1.5 Meter fare until 6am in the morning.
I was in for a rude shock when I started to search for an auto in Triplicane, chennai, believe me ppl: the auto fella asked me for 60 bucks for approx 1.5km. I asked him abt the so called METER which was sitting idle for which he replied "it doesn't work sir". I politely refused him and was hunting for another auto, this guy was much better and asked me 50 bucks. I was like "Gimme one valid reason why I should give 50 bucks for covering under 1.5 kms?" for which he replied "Petrol rate has increased". What am I supposed to do for it was the question running on my mind. Even before I could ask it, he shooted "You are working in IT company na, can't you pay 50 bucks?" I sarcastically told him, my company doesn't refund auto fares and asked him abt the showcase(auto meter) which was sitting idle. He got quite bugged up and left. I had to try the same with couple of other autos with no luck, one interesting observation was that if auto fellas are not interesting in going to a area they won't say 'NO' rather they ask for "ransom" fare (*HUMOUR PUN*) which is their sweet own way of saying 'NO". Since, it was quite urgent, I couldn't keep on hunting for auto-rick forever and as luck would have it,finally I did get a auto which passed my way and had to settle with a rickfella for 30 bucks which was nominal when compared with 50-60 odd bucks. When I got into that auto, I started poking at the auto fella as to why auto drivers were demanding such an "exoberant" fare and he started narrating his problems like "petrol" problem, mama issues and low meter fare per km. It was my turn to give a piece of my mind, I told him how my non chennai friends feel about Chennai auto drivers and poke fun at them? Also, I gave him a comparison of Bangalore ricks and Chennai ricks- and the perception it has on outsiders. he became silent. I took his silence in a positive way and finally got down from auto with a sense of relief. When will chennai get its Obama who could bring about the "CHANGE"?
1. Why DON'T 'namma chennai' auto fellas use METERS?
2. Are they not aware of basic manners when handling customers? I am not expecting the auto guys to speak in accented english. But atleast, if a elderly thaatha/paaty needs a auto, he could reply appropriately.
3. Can't they have their License displayed on back of their seats for passenger notice like it happens in Bangalore?
4. When is LPG going to be made mandatory in chennai autos?

"Atithi Devo Bhava" which means treat your guest like God. This is one of the biggest day crimes happening daily going un-noticed.
Well, I was wondering when our auto fellas would have a change of heart? Is someone listening or is it falling on deaf ears? When will our administration wake up and take notice of this?

Varanam Aayiram.....

Varanam Aayiram

Am just back home from 'Shanti' theater watching Varanam Aayiram. I logged onto my thinkpad to "vomit" my 2 hr 55 min experience with all you guyz. Its a movie which I loved in patches and wouldn't mind watching again as well. Gautam Vasudev Menon is a courageous director who dares with this kinda venture, quite offbeat I would say..

Well, I really dunno how the movie starts as I missed the first 10 mins of the movie thanks to my pal NS who made a late appearance with another fella. When I was finally glued onto my seat, I saw Surya in a smartly clad army uniform and narrating his flashback on a helicopter.

I really felt disconnected with Father surya and Simran's romance. Believe me, I had listened to the songs more than 1000 times had a little too much of expectations which the movie failed to fulfill. Harris Jeyaraj is amazing in his composition and has tried different synchs(like anjalaey song) and back ground score is out of this world. Music and picturusation works wonders for this movie and is a huge plus.Surya's six pack is absolutely awesome and inspiring. I really don't want to get too deep into the story as it would spoil your expectations. Varanam Aayiram is a about a guy who rediscovers life because of his parents after his love evades him. The presentation is different and you could see Gautam's touch/class in a lot of scenes.

It does tell us that life is like a circle, what goes around comes around. Of course, for people who prefer watching movies with a message, this movie does have a message "Smoking/Drugs are Injurious to health"

All in all, it is a movie which brought out the sentimental side of me and is meant for "niche audience" viewership only. When I came out of theater I saw a lot of disappointed fans who were expecting surya to do a khakka khakka sort of macho. Gautam could have had atleast 10 minutes clipped though. little lengthy i thought. But like I said, this movie is 90% class , 10 % mass and you would be disappointed if you enter with expectation other way around.

Kudos for the entire cast to dare into "Maximum Class, Minimum mass" kinda movie...

PS: Let me watch it another time to give my rating.

The "kathipara flyover" experience.....

The "kathipara flyover" experience.....

Guess One thing which is quite striking between Bombay, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai. Guess??
Not lifestyle, DEFINITELY not gals and not their IT culture either.. its Traffic jams ;)


Well, I would definitely regard Chennai as the best out of the four places with regards to traffic. Forgive me for saying this without visiting Bombay, but i was not able to make a quick trip there as my visa was held up by Sarkar Raaj ;)
Gone are the days where you could 'aaram se' lie on the beach and watch the sea or take your gal to Mayajaal and drop her before 8 pm. Well, the "Traffic snarls" has become a part of our lives that we are getting used to. For me to go to my office in ramapuram which is around 21 kms from my place. It takes a solid hour on weekdays and in peak hours, it may take upto 90 minutes. And man, if it rains- I dunno how many hours it may take. The Kathipara tread near Le Meridien in Guindy is one of the busiest roads as it is a connecting corridor to the city and entry point for most of the buses and lorries coming in and going out. Its quite a ugly scene when you come in during peak hours as there are 2 main hurdles (signals) to cross. Its been many years now that the "Flyover project" is being constructed. The Flyover project has actually compounded the traffic problem as it was using lot of space and also polluting the vicinity. Add to this fact, It was running way beyond schedule and was supposed to be completed more than a year ago. The Flyover was testing my patience for sometime now.

All this changed, when I came back to office after Diwali vacation and was in for a pleasant surprise. Thats true, on 28th october when I was on my way to office I was in for this sweet surprise and had this opportunity of using the new flyover. I had thought someone had accidentally opened the gates kept to close the flyover as it was not painted completely and looked half done and only later got to know that it was given a temporary makeover so that our CM could inaugrate it. I only hope that the work which is half done completed and doesn't stay as a political gimmick for th ecoming elections.

As per my friend Wiki, The Flyover has been completed and was inaugurated by the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Dr. M. Karunanidhi on 26th October, 2008 at 21:00 hrs IST. It was then open to the public. The Kathipara Grade Separator is now a signal free interchange that links IRR, Mount road, GST Road and Mount-Poonamallee Road and is expected to solve the problem of traffic snarls that is a common sight at this junction.... Yippeee !!

Let me tell you that this 6-lane 1.41km flyover has saved atleast ten minutes of my travel time and does not have any signals. Isn't that cool? This has definitely made a impact on Chennai traffic in Guindy area and would reduce the number of accidents that normally happens on this road. This has been "perfect Diwali" gift for all the people who regularly use this road including me. The flyover is quite similiar to the"Domlur flyover' in Bangalore except the difference being its length of the stretch. I also got to know that there is a park with fountain that is going to be constructed around it to give a "picturisque" outlook. Hmmm, looks like a nice thought but the problem with our politicians is all of them have nice thoughts but only few of them implement or convert those thoughts into action.

Being an optimist, I hope to see good things to follow... Jai Hind!

Watch this space....

Watch this space.... "Diwali Dhamaka"

Sneak Preview.....



My Diwali Dhamaka

The Day before Diwali- Part one

Festivals are days which bring friends and families together and I strongly believe in that.
Diwali is one of those 'festive' days I make sure I spend with my parents. This year was no different except for one reason.

For the past couple of years, I had to rush in on Diwali day and return back the next day to Bangalore. Let me tell you, it was not so easy
travelling back and forth without 'reserved' tickets from Bangalore and every time was an adventure in itself and would take ages to blog on
those.



Coming soon @ murlees.blogspot.com