First – the Kodambakkam flyover. It started off and continued to be an unmitigated failure. And totally unnecessary one. When the completed construction of it (govt. circles boasted a record 8 months. record?), and when I went over it a couple of times, I didn’t have to change my mind. I actually found that the traffic snarls there had increased.
But, a week or so after they’d declared the flyover open and new arrangements in traffic flow were made, Kodambakkam bridge and Usman road have become easier to travel on than before. (Conditions apply – my opinion was formed during off-peak hours on weekdays and on weekends.)

Secondly, I predict that once the other flyover on Usman road is built, the police will divert some of the Central-Airport/North-South traffic via Mahalingapuram-T.Nagar, taking some of the pressure off Mount Road. This will also help, IMO, when the start building the Metro.

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Second, the removal of the hoardings. I’d written earlier about it. Personally, I never had a problem with the city’s billboards. While not all of them were brilliant, you did see good ads there and they helped hide some of the ugliest buildings ever built in the history of mankind.
But, when I go down Cathedral road and see the now naked trees of the Drive In (erm – the new botanical gardens are yet to take off. So till then, it will be Drive In, and perhaps even after) or the hidden art-deco-ish buildings on and off Mount Road, I am happy.

I now realise the city is actually greener than what I thought. (I once said to a friend Chennai is probably greener than Bangalore or Bombay. This was when hoardings hid most of the greenery)

On the same topic – here’s a site I came across. http://thankyouchiefminister.com/index.html

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So there. The conversion of Chandrachoodan from a spined-sarcastic-critical s.o.b to a gushing-government loving-hopeless romantic is done.

If you can overlook the image of a Muni (demigod/warrior guardian/whatever) guzzling beer, you might want to come to Koyembedu tomorrow.
But first, a little background.

So, there’s a little thing Sharanya Manivannan and I are doing – trying to kick-start a poetry/performance/literature indie culture in Chennai.
And that’s why you should be in Koyembedu tomorrow – it is the fourth event – a poetry reading on the theme of blasphemy. RSVP here, or on my/Sharanya’s blog or to our e-mail addresses.

Thank you, firstly and congratulations on the removal of the hoardings. In your new found zeal to do, you’ve even brought down legit, absolutely over-the-table billboards. But I am not complaining. It does look good. Especially the 20th instance of a faded-brown roof top and faux-art-deco balconies. I also love how the city’s characteristic colours have popped out. While earlier we had the boring reds and oranges and blacks and pinks and yellows and blues, we now have the very interesting moss-green and sun-dried-brick-brown. Quite a morale booster in the morning.

Attempted sarcasm aside, dear Corporation of Chennai, I suggest you work on the wires that clutter up our city’s (um…) skyline. They are ugly, knotty and are a pain to clone out in Photoshop. Gives me the carpal tunnel, I tell you, every time I have to clone out 100 wires hanging from every imaginable (and some un-imaginable as well) poles and hooks before uploading a photo to flickr.

Truly yours,

C

Yes, I realise I haven’t kept up my end of the bargain and haven’t answered questions raised in this post. My defence: time. Or rather, the infinitesimally small amounts of it that I end up having. I intend to catch up with that this weekend.

So, anyway, to the point of the post.

Sharanya and Meena (and I) are organising a poetry event this Friday at Mocha. An open-mic session – which means we’ll keep the mic by the door. Errm…it means everyone’s invited and everyone can read out. Friday, 21st March is not only Good Friday, it’s the World Poetry Day. So the idea is to kill two birds with one metaphor. The idea is also to bring poetry to Madras city, and do it closer to the city than Thalankuppam was.

Head out to Sharanya’s blog for the details. But if you are click-lazy, here’s the short version.

What? Original + Translated poems, to celebrate World Poetry Day & Good Friday
Where? Mocha, upper-reaches.
When? Friday, 21st March, 10 AM
Why? Um, it sounded like a good idea?
Who? Sharanya Manivannan, Meena Kandaswamy and Chandrachoodan Gopalakrishnan

Anyway,  here’re the pending answers.

The right answer to this question (where in Madras would you find that particular milestone) was of course Mount Road at Teynampet, just where it meets the Anna Flyover. The reason I posted the picture was the milestone seems to be facing the wrong way – for those who need the distance to Madras will not see it (are on the other side of the road) and those who do see milestone, see the distance to Dindigul (380 kms)

And so, we go to the next question.
The right answer to the q (how many horses on Mount road) is 4. The first horse is that of Sir Thomas Munro. The second and third are the two horses (and horseman/men) flanking the Anna Flyover and the fourth is that of Dheeran Chennimalai/Chinnamalai in Guindy, next to the Intellectual Property council/court building. Interesting info – the horse and horseman on either side of the flyover is said to be modelled after Vallavarayar vanthiyathevar (of Ponniyin Selvan fame).

Right then, to the winners.
Question #1 – Most of you got the right answer, BLN was the first on the Metblog. But the first was Navneet – he posted his answer in Flickr. But the credit for the second part of the answer (why?) goes to Nilu.

Question 2: Not many got the answer (or should I say not many answered) but Chenthil got the right number, and so did GVB. But it was GVB who correctly identified all the four horses. So credit to him

On that note, let me throw the gear backwards and throw an open challenge.
In the comments to this post, ask me any question about Madras – any thing at all – History, trivia, geography, culture, music, whatever*. I shall try to answer it (time permitting) without consulting the all-knowing Google. 10 points to the best question that I can answer, 5 to all good questions, and 30 to the question I don’t answer. We’ll keep this game going for as long as it can, and each new week, a new challenge. At the end of the month, I will buy coffee and a walnut brownie to the one with the most points. Game? Who goes first?

*My weekpoint is celebrity related stuff. But I shall give it a shot too.

Mobile Monday (MoMo) is a networking organisation for mobile industry professionals fostering cooperation and cross-border business development through virtual and live networking events to share ideas, best practices and trends from global markets. Founded in autumn 2000 by Mobile Monday Oy in Helsinki, Finland, Mobile Monday now has 47 chapters worldwide, which host meetings on a selected Monday evening each month.

Shorn of all that jargon, it’s a place to catch up with the latest technology in the world of mobile telecommunication.
The Chennai version this month will cover mobile web and application development. If you are interested, go forth and register. Only 75 seats, and 50 are already taken. So you might want to rush!

In the words of Muralikrishna, who’s behind LiveConnections,

LivEnable ‘08, a non-profit initiative that focuses on identifying resources among the Differently Enabled & Physically Challenged. They are conducting a job fair this weekend for the differently. It not only provides an opportunity to recruit candidates of employer’s interest, but also highlights the eminence of the company that provides equal opportunities.

The fair is on the 2nd February, 2008 at the MCC School grounds, in Chetpet. If you are interested in taking part in the fair, call 044 4391 1622 or check out LiveEnable ‘08.

P.S. I know I have to respond to two questions on Madras Trivia I asked earlier. Will do so soon, with photographic evidence.

Anyway, enjoy. And do go around to one of the events. It is pretty good.