Monday, June 15, 2009

Fell in love!

Something is wrong with my net connection at home. I have Reliance NetConnect using a USB modem and it has not been working since last week. Now, that is what has been keeping me from blogging (much to the relief of readers). This morning, I called up the customer care and they said something about a credit limit. Ridiculous concept – they give you a USB modem, tell you that you can download/upload up to 2.5GB and that your monthly bill would be 850+taxes (unless you go beyond 2.5GB of usage) and then your internet doesn’t work (even after you have paid your bills well before the due date) and they say, your credit limit is only 500 bucks and you can’t use more than that. What the heck!!!

I had gone to my home town (Coimbatore) for two consecutive weekends (some thing that I rarely do for fear of tiredness throughout the following week). The first weekend of June, I landed at Coimbatore North railway station at 6:30am and it was drizzling ever so slightly – a drizzle that could wake you up from sleep, but not make you wet, a drizzle that is like the droplets of water that hit you on your face when you are walking beside a waterfall. In the distance, I could see all the hills surrounding the city – the hills and the drizzle and the fresh, unpolluted air and the serene city (so far away from the rush and madness of Chennai) and was interrupted by, “Enga ammini pogonum?” – a burly auto-driver who, for some reason, reminded me of Teddy Bear and I fell in love with my home town all over again. The people here are, by far, the most respectful of the lot. Even fathers address their sons with respect – eg., instead of “Enga da pora?” (Where are you going?), they ask, “Engainga thambi poreenga?” The majesty of the hills (the elephant hill right behind my college, the Western Ghats where we used to go for summer camps/treks), finding virgin streams of delicious nectar (siruvani water), taking bath in small waterfalls which requires quite a few kilometers of walk into the forest and the amount of greenery (there are two institutions that keep the city green – The Tamil Nadu Agricultural University and The Forest College campus) both within the city limits! All these (combined with the piping hot Chennai during the following week) seduced me into going there for the second consecutive weekend.

During the second weekend (yesterday and the day before), there was no slight, cool drizzle, in fact, the sun was out and although it couldn’t be called hot, it was warm outside and we (myself, my sis, and a couple of my coolest cousins) could roam around the city. We went to the zoo (I know what you are thinking right about now) and then to Pizza Hut – initially we decided to order pizza from home, but I decided against it because of this. :-) Anyways, we had pizza and fun and quite a bit of yelling from my mom who had cooked lunch for all of us and all the food had to go waste! :-)

Here I am back at Chennai and all the heat it offers. I guess the next weekend is going to be a visit to Pondicherry (with friends) or Kumbakonam to a few temples.

34 comments:

  1. hmmmmmmmmmmmmm. i think u need to switch net conn to airtel broadband,do take unlimited download connection. you can take least speed with unlimited download, if you just want to blog. ppl like me n u think that if we just browse we can maintain upto 2 gb download limit. but its hard to maintain so, as we get many mail attachment and we download them. thus our download limit exeed 2gb :( , so best is to get a unlimited connection :|.

    Coimbatore is really cool place to live , i was there last summer. but couldnt roam around as didnt had enough time . but this aug i am gonna stay and enjoy in & around cbe for 10 days :) . just waiting for my vaccation.

    have a gr8 week ahead & weekend at pondy :)

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  2. very good post
    sandhya i was planning to buy reliance net connect instead of my bsnl cdma EVDO but AB KABHI NAHIN

    keep going on, you are good with words.

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  3. Wonderfully great place Cbe is... no doubt... right from the weather to the people... the city is great... Chennai offers you speed and Timelessness but when you want to sit back relax and enjoy... Pack ur bags and come to CBe...

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  4. @Akhil
    The only problem with Airtel is that you need a land line connection to use the net. Since I live in a flat with my friends, it is not a permanent setup and I don't wanna take up a land line for temporary use.

    @Kishore
    Glad that my post warned you well in advance! Keep visiting.

    @Sriram
    CBE is my birthplace and is one of the best retirement destinations, agreed!!

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  5. Hey I never knew Coimbatore is such a wonderful place. Well I thought TN is just Chennai + Few Temple Towns.But After reading ur post illustrating the scenic beauty of CBE i feel my assumption is wrong.
    Hey by the way this is Ravi Shankar from Hyderabad.I ve started blogging recently and came across ur blog a few days back.Guess you have a gr8 aesthetic sense aftr reading this post of urs :)!! .Do check out my blog in ur free tym n pen down ur comments...Its shankarmyspace.blogspot.com

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  6. @Shankar
    CBE is a lovely place - located at the foot hills of Ooty and is also an educational hub. Sorry if I sound like a TN tourism dept staf, but there is more to TN than just Chennai + few temples. U should visit the south to know its beauty.

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  7. i went it Tamil nadu five years back, and I loved Ooty, and Kodai kanal ... stayed in Coimbatore for just one night, so don't remember much of it ... anyways about the internet connection, even we had terrible problems due to Aila in Bengal ... didn't have connection for five whole days ... i like ur posts anyways

    http://wramblingz.blogspot.com

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  8. @Subhayan
    Glad u liked TN... Yeah, how is Bengal after Aila? My neighbor (native of Bengal) told her house back there was flooded.
    Visit TN again when u find time!

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  9. Hey! I feel like visiting Coimbatore! I have just been there fleetingly, on my way to Palakkad couple of times.....

    But I absolutely love the station there....and the drive from Coimbatore to Palakkad has all those scenery that you nicely described....:)

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  10. @Kaushik
    Absolutely... U can see my college on the way when you travel from CBE to Palakkad by train. It is soooo beautiful. Do visit when u find time.

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  11. @Sandy..
    No,not at all like some tourism Dept staff.. In fact you have done a good job by describing CBE in the most beautiful way.I ll make sure i visit CBE on my next trip to Chennai :)

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  12. @ Reliance Net connect...try to move to BSNL,they r far better in terms of speed and bill......Did u like chennai zoo.We can kill our entire day over there,still i feel that place is very tiring :(.

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  13. @Priyanka
    Go to the terrace of ur house and look towards West and u'd know what I am talking about here.

    @Shankar
    Pls do visit the place. It is a beauty!

    @Anish
    I know, in fact, we have BSNL broadband back at home. But we need a land line phone for that and since this is a temporary setup here at Chennai, I can't get into a land line connection which is a commitment of sorts! :-)

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  14. Yeah I know it is... and Nice job... Do u work of Tamil Nadu Tourism?? :P

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  15. That's not gonna do much gud when I want to have pizza saturdays or do sum shopping... Btw (call me an oaf, but I have my reasons) I don't really know which is west...:p

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  16. I like your posts... you have an easy, flowing writing style... mixed with humour!

    I have been to Ooty... loved it, and to the Marina Beach (both during the day and at night... the beach has two distinct looks)


    P.S. You have received an award! Please check out my latest post, "I know I'm late, but... the award goes to..." for further details... :)

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  17. @Priyanka
    Well, I knew you were dumb; but didn't know that it has intensified so much! ;-)

    @Roshmi
    Thank you so much! It's flattering... Thank you, again. Keep visiting.

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  18. CBE is one place I have not seen till date, but I have got few good friends from tht city. Andha mannum, andha oor makkalum are always my favourite. As you rightly said, mariyaadhai terinja makkal. I wish I visit that place one day. But me being a hardcore chennaite, I love that place, its heat, its sweat, its a diff world altogether.

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  19. There is difference between dumb and not knowing the directions....

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  20. Reliance is one of the poorest connections... I Went to CBE only yesterday regarding my profession. Before going to CBE i thought it was not a developed city. But when I entered the city and roamed for about two days,I understood CBE is as good as Chennai. Especially SaiBaba colony... A calm,silent place. But sandhya I really dont know whats the relation between this post and Reliance Broadband.. you might have started ur post in a better way.

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  21. Hey Sandy,,

    Yeah hometowns are always different and the feel we get when we go there, that entire mechanical life tends to change. Even the people are more polite and they have time for everything unlike in a city like Chennai. :)

    Finally hitting Pondy, you told me this long time back i guess. Have fun :)

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  22. @Satish
    "Mariyadhai therinja makkal" - exactly... You should visit the place.

    @Priyanka
    Sounds the same to me!

    @Shankar
    I don't think before/while writing a post. I just write whatever my mind says. I go with the flow. :-)

    @Rahul
    Actually, I didn't hit Pondy (blame it on tightening the purse strings during month-end). I've been saying that for a long time. But plans remain plans!!! :-D

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  23. mmmmmmmmmh hey i used airtel broadband conn for 2 years. I never had any problem, just got Dc few times in two years & customer service was really cool.I dont think they charge u for landline. oops waise bhi now u have to change ur flat :|, what happened to pondy trip :P no blog about pondy .... have a gr8 weekend :)tc

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  24. @Akhil
    I didn't make that pondy trip (blame it on month-end money woes!)

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  25. ah ha so recession has affected u :|. hope u go there in coming months.

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  26. @Akhil
    I really hope I go there (at least this month)

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  27. ok cool enjoy , but do take pic n post here hain :)

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  28. I liked the way u explained CBE. My friend is from CBE and being a Chennaiite i straight away liked this place when i visited him first time. The saral during July Aug time...wow...

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  29. @Chan
    Yeah, that is my native!!!

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  30. Great thoughts you got there, believe I may possibly try just some of it throughout my daily life
    Teddy Bears to Coimbatore

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