Monday, October 24, 2011

New outlets coming up on Elliots beach front

So they are building the flyover on the beach after all. And now there is a new Subway, Thalapakatti biryani place, couple of new clothes shacks, a sea food restaurant called 'By the bay', a south Indian meals place called 'Sampoorna'. I say this is just the beginning.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Beach Volleyball World Championships: Elliots Beach

The World Championships are on. (28 Sep- 2 Oct)

In two weeks the beach is transformed to a make shift stadium and about 80 teams, men's and women's worldwide have descended on the golden sands. Chennai now seems a second Goa. There are 34 countries participating, with 190 players in all. There is a food court, DJs, a large LCD screen displays the action to the streets outside.

The last time the World Championships happened in 2008, the moral police descended on the games... the WOMEN's games of course, saying that scantily clad ladies would harm our "culture". This time nothing of that sort happened and Chennai is showing the world what many other cities in India cant do. Get a World Championship going without hitches and glitches and snakes and collapses (is Delhi listening?) or moral policing (Mumbai, Kolkata, or any damn place in India for that matter, learn some lessons here). A game is a game and the spirit is what matters.

The contestants dont mind the heat and sun and humidity. They say they have played in hotter places, come from more humid countries, and after all this is their job, to play on the beach... and they love every moment of it. They love Elliots Beach too, by the way. Im so proud.

Tickets are available on Elliots Beach from 2 pm to 10 pm.

(The pics are from 2008. I could not get my camera and go there, even though its stones throw from my house. I hope to do so soon)

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Want Fish?

As a Bengali in Chennai, one of my first endeavors was to find out where fresh water fish is sold. Of course if you are looking for sea fish you can plop on to any market or sea side shack. Besant Nagar beach has a thriving bustling fish market. But fresh water fish still comes from Andhra Pradesh and is not readily available.

Adyar has a fresh fish stall, very clean and well maintained, with a resident kitten. So sweet. They have the Bengali favourites like Rui, Katla, Pomfret and Prawns, apart from sardines, parshe and all shapes and sizes of fishes otherwise. They also have the eternal favourtie Ilish sometimes.

The location of the fish stall is on LB Road, near the Murugan Stores and Telephone Exchange. The prices are not high. In fact sometimes it is cheaper than Kolkata prices, which is logical as Kolkata also gets fish from Andhra and its a lot farther than Chennai is.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Lending Library Adyar

BookznMore (www.bookznmore.in) is situated on L B Road, Thiruvanmiyur.

Collection- They have got a good collection of books ranging from thrillers, romance to Indian fiction and best sellers. Surprises were the whole range of Louis L'amour, Tintin and Asterix. The usual suspects- Grisham series, Rushdie's collection, Agatha Christie, Stepenie Meyer. Their range of books for children and toddlers is impressive. Given that I have a 2 year old, I find it very easy to get her new reads without having to buy the very expensive childrens books.

The best part is their Magazine selection, which includes womens favourites like Cosmo, Elle, Femina, among others, childcare magazines, the eternal favourite Readers Digest, as well as Auto and film related. My must-pick every week- Newsweek.

Staff- Very friendly staff. All trained well. They home deliver promptly too. They are all hi-tech too, with issue and return of books made simple on a touch screen kiosk. No waiting in line, no hassle.

Moneywise- Very reasonable. No reading charges. My plan gives me 3 books and one magazine at any time, home delivery and I pay Rs 750 per quarter.

Last word- They must keep adding new releases, and get more best sellers in their collection.