Amethyst: Jewel in the heart of Chennai!
Take a stately colonial mansion set in large grounds in the middle of Gopalapuram, restore it to its original glory, develop the gardens around it into a plush green paradise, and what do you have? Amethyst, a one-of-its-kind cultural, shopping, and coffee lounge experience right in the heart of Chennai. That’s where the first meeting of the Chennai Metblog authors took place.
Three of us were to meet, but Keerthi dropped out due exams, and it was left to Nandhu and me to keep the flag flying. I meandered in at 10.45 AM, a full fifteen minutes before the agreed rendezvous, admired the gardens around the old mansion, then wandered into the verandah. A wide colonnaded verandah runs on all three sides of the building, with a chequered marble floor, high ceilings and old style fans stirring up a cool breeze. Period chairs and tables, or round marble top tables along the verandahs with comfortable cane chairs invited one to sit.
Sit I did at one of the round tables, ordered a sweet lime juice and waited for my tryst with destiny- or rather Nandhu and Keerthi (I didn’t know then that Keerthi was pulling a bunk on us). Eleven rolled by, and still no likely suspects. Young couples wandered in, hand in hand, or in whispered, intimate conversation, ignoring this lonely blighter keeping vigil at the corner table. An animated group arrived at the far corner, initially just two guys who I thought may be Nandhu and Keerthi, but alas t’was not to be!
It was then I decided, having arrived armed with my trusty digital camera, that I may as well do the rounds of the gardens and the building and take some shots for the metblog! Out I wandered, with unbridled enthusiasm, and stood at a vantage point and raised the camera. But no! The security guys accosted me and asked whether I had permission. No? Back you went to the reception, under their eagle eyes to get permission. Initially the lady looked most unenthusiastic, at which point I loftily informed her that I contribute to Chennai metblogs, and the pictures were for a write up on the amethyst. It was only then she agreed.
That said, the Amethyst is a must visit Chennai phenomenon. In no other city are you likely to find such a lovely oasis of peace and beauty. The gardens are lush, full of champak, lilies and myriad other plants, trees and flowers. Tables and chairs are placed al fresco throughout the gardens and are a delightful place to while away the time. The building itself is lovingly restored, and houses a boutique with clothes, scarves, trinkets and what have you, in addition to the cafe. Upstairs is a cultural center, which host art and photography exhibitions, amongst other events.
It was great place to meet for the first time, and get to know one another. Nandhu eventually wandered in, and we spent a good hour getting to know each other over pineapple juice. Turns out he’s from Nagercoil, and I from the environs of Thirunelveli-that makes us country cousins! But seriously, its always a delight to meet people whom you share an interest with, and the hour we spent together rushed by. Then it was time to go. We both got up rather reluctantly and vowed we would meet again.
Let’s do a metblog meet again soon. And at Amethyst. The only problem is, I am not around May 8th. Ah well, perhaps the time after that!
Very nicely written! Makes me wonder if I tried hard enough to reschedule my plans in order to have made it there.
Thinking aloud, May 1st is a holiday isn’t it? Also, another place with similar serenity would be Chamiers (Nancy had done a post on the place and the mention of sandwiches made my mouth water!)
Yup…been there for an earlier blogger meet. It is truly a oasis of sorts….
“In no other city are you likely to find such a lovely oasis of peace and beauty”…hmmm, that’s debateable. Been to Bangalore? ;)
It is a comedy of errors. I came there at 11.10 and chose the table beneath the tree in the garden on the otherside and waited till 12.10 waiting for you people :-). A lemonade and Chilli Cheese toast were had. And agree that there is no better place than Amethyst to meet friends.
Unfortunately, overrun by gangs of smoking teenagers glued to cellphones on the weekends. Atleast, last I remember. but I do take credit for introducing the place to the chennai blogosphere : http://www.kiruba.com/2003/04/heres-direction-for-those-of-you-whod.html
hey kiruba,
i imagined that i had suggested the place. we shuld fight over that someday.
lavanya, u shuld have come. i wuld not have been late then for sure. but david was charming and friendly too. so i shuld not crib :)
ya that oasis line was an overstatement david.
what does smoking teenagers on cellphones mean kiruba…???
and oh ya, most important, i am game for may 1 meet. with any of the bloggers ready to show up. just give me the directions to chamiers please. i have been there, but have forgotten about where it is.
I visited Amethyst on my Nov. 2005. It was classy and looked unbelievable with its surroundings. Especially they’ve converted the old Maharaja building into a very nice hangout. My pet peeve is the fact that the nice tables with cushion chairs/sofa are given to people that are nicely dressed or looked rich. The normal looking guy would not get to sit at the right table. He gets the plastic/steel ones. I had to argue with them about having all those nice places reserved. Finally they let our group use the sofa after talking to the manager. Their sandwich and coffee was very good. Though there is ubiquitous Saravana Bhavan at the corner, I feel Amethyst scores over with quality and ambience.
Sorry about the erroneous post. When I did a spell check some words were eaten away! Anyway, here is the new post:
I visited Amethyst on my trip to Chennai in Nov. 2005. It was classy and looked unbelievable with its surroundings. Especially the way they’ve converted the old Maharaja building into a very nice hangout. My pet peeve is the fact that the nice tables with cushion chairs/sofa are given to people that are nicely dressed or looked rich. The normal looking guy would not get to sit at the right table. He gets the plastic/steel ones. I had to argue with them about having all those nice places reserved. Finally they let our group use the sofa after talking to the manager. Their sandwich and coffee was very good. Though there is ubiquitous Saravana Bhavan at the corner, I feel Amethyst scores over with quality and ambience.