Someone at the Police Department seems to have loads of sense of humour!!! For years, the good old Royal Enfield and Mahindra Jeep had served the Indian Police loyally, when suddenly last year the Karunanidhi government decided to gift them with a new set of toys – the Hyundai Accent car. I have never understood why the Accent was chosen. Its a luxury class vehicle. Anyway, these new cars were fitted with sirens and blazing lights to match international standards. Now, we can see these cars wizzing past us every now and then. I have often guessed either they are rushing home for lunch or escorting some politician on his way home for lunch. Honestly, I have never seen a real life police chase in India. Maybe I am missing out on the action everyday.

Anyway, after experimenting with Accent car for over a year now, the Police department seems to have a new theory now – Cycles are better than cars when it comes to speed and convenience. Check out these sentences from the press release –

These bicycles besides making the policemen reach the scene of crime immediately…

wow! thats something new. Ok…. what else? check out this –

In any incident of crime, instant and swift reaction by the police was of paramount importance, hence the concept of bicycles for the men to easily move around, officers said.

I wonder how many physically fit police officers are out there to ride bicycles fast… Remember those cops from the Miami Beach? (If you haven’t seen them… try watching Miami Vice, CSI and Baywatch) Now, picture our khaki clad police officers in shorts and shirts, with their guns, walkie-talkies attached to their belts, pedaling away at high speed through Ranganathan Street (in chennai) to stop crime and save the day!!!

If you are still on your chair and not on the floor laughing, read the original press release.

Coimbatore: To ensure visible and effective policing in inaccessible areas in the cramped old Coimbatore City with too many lanes and by-lanes, the City Police have given 50 bicycles for the policemen to patrol.

The City Police Commissioner, C.K. Gandhirajan handed over 25 bicycles each to the Assistant Commissioners of Police S. Rajendran (South), R. Chakravarthy (West) for the use of policemen in these two sub-divisions.

Police officials said that Coimbatore City Police already have jeeps to patrol the main and arterial roads besides anti-chain snatching squad and crime busters on motorcycles to reach out to smaller roads. There was also a mounted horse unit at the Armed Reserve for patrolling the Race Course walking track.

This bicycle patrolling would help the police reach lanes, by-lanes and smaller streets where policemen on motorcycles could not easily manoeuvre. In any incident of crime, instant and swift reaction by the police was of paramount importance, hence the concept of bicycles for the men to easily move around, officers said. These bicycles besides making the policemen reach the scene of crime immediately and would also help them reach inaccessible areas for peacetime policing initiatives.

[Source: The Hindu]

No offense to the police department. But, still somenone had to call out that the king is naked. Someone had to call out that their ideas are not very bright. I wonder if any of these ideas go through a process of Brainstorming, review and approval? If it does, then I would strongly suggest a change of the review panel!

In just a few months, he’s gone from making the city green to painting the street red.

Last Saturday, uniformed men lined up car after car after car on Raman Street and its crosses. On both sides of the road. Nothing unusual. Just what happens without fail when the nearby hotels’ (GRT and Residency) parking lots are full. Which is more often than not. Popularly known as valet parking, and a pain in the posterior for residents of the area.

According to the organisers of the Madras Day celebrations, one of whom is noted Madras historian S Muthiah, the founding day of Madras is considered to be August 22, 1639.It was on that day and year that a sliver of land, where Fort. St. George stands today, was sold to the East India Company. The deal was struck by Francis Day, his ‘dubash’ Beri Thimmappa, and their superior, Andrew Cogan, with the local Nayak rulers.Once the fort was established, settlements grew around it. As the settlements grew with expanding trade and industry, the villages around it were abosrbed into the newly formed city. One of them was ‘Madrasapattinam’, another was ‘Chennaipattinam’. The English name of the city seems to have been coined by shortening the former, while the Tamil name for the city was the latter, but thats another story. The point is, August 22nd is celebrated every year as Madras Day, as it will be this year. In fact, the celebrations will be for an entire week -August 19th to August 26th. Read about Madras Day here. The events planned are heritage walks, a motorbike tour of the city, a cross city marathon, a philately exhibition as well as public talks. Want to participate by organising, collaborating of hosting an event for Madras Week? Email the organisers at madrasday@yahoo.com.

Restaurant sign off the IT Corridor! Dhabha ‘Solutions’?! Customised to the target audience no doubt. The best part is, this ‘Dabha’ offers Punjabi and Chinese cuisine! Since when did Punjab become a province of China?

If you’re familiar with the Hotel GRT in T Nagar, the same might also be said about its pub, High Time. Recently the pub was renovated. Last night I stopped by with friends for a sip of chilled lager, and here’s what I came away with.

New interiors with very comfortable seating. Two new levels including a basement discotheque. Large screen. And a drastic change from the elevator music that used to play there.

The service was excellent. The waiters, colorfully dressed – last night they were in shocking pink shirts and black suits. The beer, super chilled. You could say the house had done everything to make sure there was nothing to complain about.

At 11, the lights brightened to signal ‘last order time’. I looked around, and saw something I hadn’t noticed before. We were apparently at what distinctly looked like a stag party. There wasn’t a single woman in the pub if you gave our table a miss. And the only appetizing legs at any table had onion rings around them. Tangri kababs.

Honest opinion? It’s a great pub. They don’t look at your footwear when you walk in. They don’t send you upstairs if you’re unaccompanied. They only welcome you in and ensure you have a good time. I did.

On a lighter note, here’s something that happened earlier in the evening while we were waiting for a table. A guy comes up to me and says, “Haven’t we met before?” Haven’t you heard that before?

Sify launched its video portal for Chennai on the 24th July at a glittering function at the ball room of the Taj Coramandel Hotel. The site was launched by Dr C Chandramouli, IT Secretary, Government of Tamil Nadu. Raju Vegesna, the chairman and CEO of Sify Ltd, welcomed all the celebrities who graced the function, and there were quite a few!It is not everyday that one gets to see Kollywood stalwarts Chiyan Vikram, Madhavan, Dhanush, Reema Sen, Genelia, Namita, Narain, Jeyam Ravi, Sandhya and Bharath during the evening.

Left to right: Sify CEO Raju Vegesna, Dhanush, Reema Sen, Madhavan, IT Secretary Dr C Chandramouli, Vikram, Corporation Commissioner Rajesh Lakhani, Sify COO CVS Suri, Genelia and Namitha.
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I took this picture from my car window at the junction of GN Chetty Road and Dr. Nair Road in T Nagar. An extremely busy junction at any time of the day, even if you don’t take into account the road construction happening on one side of the signal. A situation that’s on its knees, begging the long arm of the law to emerge from its khaki pockets. Say cheese?

Do branch offices include ‘Joy Tours’ and ‘Happy Holidays’?

Continuing the interview with Leena Manimekalai…

Just as a recap, we stopped at her camp in the USSR, when she was 13 …
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