3 things I miss about the Chenz

3.  Filter Coffee.  (I.hate.Nescafé.)

2.  Besant Nagar.  (It was like IFMR college)

1.  IDLY!  (Obvi.)

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Hello from Goa!

I've been living in this bamboo hut+ (complete with a bathroom, electricity and wifi!) and will probably stay through February (or until I get bored, super famous or run out of money).

I'll be blogging regularly (again!).  My long (and romba pathetic) absence can be attributed to laziness, summer wedding(s) and being, well, jobless (it's funny how the more time you have, the less you actually have!)

As 2011 comes quickly to a close (ahh! can you believe it?)  I look back on this year of transition. Although I did not spend nearly enough time with family and friends back in the US, my year in India has been wonderful and full of amazing new and dear friends, newly developed hobbies like cooking (does mint chutney count?) and DJing (say hello to Arambol's only Bollywood & Bhangra DJ, DJ Rani!), and many many many adventures (and just as many misadventures) in navigating Chennai's dating scene, planning the future (including maintaining a positive bank balance), throwing crazy theme parties, experimenting in randomness (5 am yoga, composting, GMATing, OCI mishaps, avoiding Indo police & life sans Facebook) and of course, exploring my inner hippy.

Here's to wishing on a star (wahhh wahhh) for an even more exciting 2012!

Must-knows before visiting/living/talking about Chennai...

My cousin, Bunty, recently came to visit from Delhi and I realized then how important it was to prep someone coming to Chennai for the first time.  Every city has its nuances and cultural mores, completely agreed.  But, for some reason (and possibly for the same reason why many times I am forced to justify why I still live here and if actually do like it), Chennai has its quirks that just need to be explained.

So, for future visitors (including mama and papa bhatia who are descending upon Chennai next week), here are some things to keep in mind...some of the weirdest things about Chennai are what make it such an interesting/crazy/romba weird place to be.

5.  Lungis are the new pants. 
Once you learn how to correctly tie a lungi (it's not quite as easy as it looks), they are really comfortable, really cheap and come in a variety of really cool colors (making them ideal for theme parties across the globe, FYI).

4.  Add 'aa' to any word to um, be understood. 

Seriously.  Straightaa, Rightaa and Leftaa are part of my daily vocabulary.  Try it – you'll never get lost again – that is, unless you're looking for street signs.

3.  Address Rajini as Rajini Sir.  
Rajinikanth, the iconic symbol of Kollywood cinema for the past thirty years, is worshipped across theatre halls across the South.  Never dare utter a negative word... or for that matter, even something slightly neutral if you plan to make Chennai home.  Oh, and don't forget to bring the milk for the ritual 'Pujas' that are performed for him during and soon after the release of a new blockbuster hit.

(By the way, check out a music video, Kilmanjaro, from his latest hit, Robo.  Trust me, this is not to be missed.  A friend of mine describes it as an anthropologist's nightmare... but for sake of identity protection, I will not quote him directly.)

2.  It's all about rice.
Rice is a staple of the Tamil diet.  Whether breakfast, lunch or dinner (or, even dessert, like payasam), rice is on every menu, always.  Many dishes are made from ground rice batter like the ever-popular idli, dosai, idiyappam, utthapam, and appam varieties, while other dishes are undeniably just rice-looking, like pongal.  It's all about the rice.  White rice.  Brown rice (ok, let's be honest, not so much).  Red Rice.  Sambar and rice.  Tamarind rice.  Lemon rice.  Mint rice.  Curd rice.  In attempt to not sound like Bubba Gump... I'll stop there.  (Fortunately, Shruti's wonderful food blog offers suggestions and tips to find and enjoy 'non-rice' eats).

1.  Romba is the only Tamil word you'll ever need to know.
Learning Tamil is romba hard so it's better to learn one word romba well so you can be romba informed when you need to romba impress someone or are trying to romba fit in.  Romba thorough list?  I'd say so.

*Addendum:  I'd suggest you'd read about the Chennai auto-wallahs here.

Most (over)played songs in Chennai clubs...

Please note I use the term 'clubs' very loosely.  We all know that Chennai isn't quite known for it's party scene (just wait till DJ Rani starts playing!) but to be fair, there are a few places that I frequent to just dance.  The DJs are pretty good and while we don't dance through the night, by 1:30 am my knees and feet hate me (Ughhh, I'm getting old).  

Generally I am a Bollywood and Top 40/Hip Hop snob (who knew there could be such a thing?) so my dancing is limited to Wednesday and Saturday nights (at Pasha and Dublin, respectively).  While the scene is pretty updated on the new songs Stateside, there are some staples of every dance night in Chennai, and perhaps some would say of any dance party anywhere in the world (see #5 & #2).

5.  Thriller.  RIP MJ.  But never fret, your legacy lives on, especially in India.

4.  Sheila Ki Jawani.  This song is not such a surprise considering it's romba catchy and from a recent Bollywood flick.  What's actually more surprising is the average number of times this song is played in a given night.  Last Wednesday's count: 3.

3.  Rise Up.  Doesn't this song sound like it's from the 80's?  I like it a lot.

2.  Time of My Life.  Yes, it is from the 80's.  Aside from hearing it almost every time I go out (sometimes even in restaurants), I also was lucky enough to hear a group of early-20-somethings singing it on a train in Sri Lanka.  I'm not sure they were even born when it was released... but I must admit they weren't so bad.

1.  Any Tamil Song.*  Actually, let me rephrase that... 'Any song that has even the slightest Tamil beat.'  I'm not sure why it is, but clubs don't play Tamil music, even in Tamil Nadu.  So, if you're lucky, you get to hear one Tamil song a night and sometimes, it sounds like it's Tamil and then 6 months later you'll discover it actually is a Bollywood song borrowing some Tamil beats.  Oh, India.

*This is a link to my favoritest Tamil song.ever.

Addendum:  How could I forget to mention You Spin Me Round (which is also from the 80's but a regular these days)!

Why I am already planning my 3rd Sri Lankan vacation...

Yes, yes, this was my second trip to the island nation of Sri Lanka in less than one year.  While the first time I made the mistake of spending only three days exploring the southwestern coast of the island, I quickly made another mistake this trip by spending my five day vacation along the same coastline, without exploring any of the other sites.

What can I say?

The short 1.5 hour flight from Chennai to Colombo is the perfect escape allowing just enough time to enjoy all of the wonderful beachy things like delicious grilled jumbo prawns, clear blue-green water, and crazy dance parties.  The amazing breakfast buffet at the Galle Face Hotel and the locally brewed ever-so-popular beverage, Arrack, are not too bad either.

The five reasons below are why I am already planning my 3rd Sri Lankan vacay... maybe for 8 days... Who's in?


5.  The Milky Way (no, not the candy bar).
I'm not 100% convinced that it was the Milky Way we saw in the night sky, but regardless, it was one of the most gorgeous starry skies I've seen in a long time.

Coupled with the sound of crashing waves, the starry sky at Unawatuna beach was a not-so-subtle reminder of the beauty, serenity and power of nature.

The tequilla shots probably played a role, as well.


4.  The People (yes, still).
From the tuk tuk drivers to the newly published young poet we met on the train back to Colombo and from the Czech scuba divers to the guest house owners, everyone we met was super friendly, helpful and romba interesting.

Also, SL is the one place where being from India is actually an advantage – as soon as we said 'India' every Sri Lankan beamed and exclaimed, 'We're neighbors!' and then promptly offered us pillows for our beach chairs and a discount on the room tariff (amounting to precisely half of what the Brits next door paid).

Holla slash sorry.


3.  The DJ (I'm not sure he felt the same about me).
The super nice (and gullible) DJ welcomed me onto stage with open arms when he heard I was Chennai's #1 DJ (blame/applaud Namrata for that one).

The club could definitely not handle me on Friday night.

After awkwardly figuring out how to use the mix CD's with the mixers and turntables, I played some of my fav hip hop songs (ok, fine, with the help of my DJ friend).

I'm pretty much an international DJ though... right?!


2.  The Double Rainbow (yes, it was just like the youtube vid). 
On our last evening in Lanka, Namrata calls me to the window to show me what she thinks is an amazing single rainbow.  At closer glance (and freakout session) we realized it was a double rainbow.

A DOUBLE RAINBOW.

What does this mean?


1.  The Turtle (no, not of the awkward kind).
After the ocean ate my purse (and everything inside it, including my camera) we all began the search for my lost memories.  (Btw, apparently you're not supposed to keep your purse on the sand during high tide.  Who knew?)

Unfortunately, we were unable to find them... my memories (or the camera).
Fortunately, we found something even more amazing... a huuuuge sea turtle (like 3 feet in diameter) walking out of the ocean in search for a safe place to lay her eggs.

Unfortunately, she did not find an adequate place and returned to the ocean some 10 minutes later.
Fortunately, I did not make a youtube vid (see #2) because my reaction was eerily similar sounding.

Maybe it was an awkward turtle?