February 1st 2009.
Poochi Venkat and I were to meet Swiss Railfans Mr. Oskar Morikofer and Mrs. Stephanie Morikofer at the GRT Temple Bay, a small 5-star luxurious resort in Mahabalipuram. I had already met the couple along with Clara, an Aurovillean at Venkat’s house. This was Oskar’s turn to honor IRFCA and the Indian Railways. Oskar invited us to GRT Temple Bay. This was my second visit to a 5-star resort after my visit to a similar one in Pondicherry with friends a couple of years ago.
Earlier, Oskar and Stephanie had visited Egmore, Central and Royapuram stations during a Heritage Walk with Poochi Venkat. Also this wasn’t the first time, Poochi was taking foreigners for a heritage walk. They were leaving to Switzerland on February 2nd morning at 0940hrs. I was requested to come in semi-formals/formals. I was in a black T-shirt with collar and formal black pants. Poochi was in white-shirt and white pant. Poochi and I boarded a Volvo A/C Bus 588 to Mahablipuram. The ticket costs Rs.48 per head. The A/C was good. I like traveling in A/C bus but I don’t travel in A/C sitting/sleeper class trains. Don’t know why? The bus was slow till Kovalam and later on picked up speed. We even overtook a deluxe class 588 bus which would have started atleast 15 minutes earlier than our bus. The scenery was awesome. Palm Trees, beaches, greenery. Amazing! We got down at Mahabalipuram at 1745hrs. 1 hour ride exactly. Buses were coming in and moving out. The funny thing was as people were trying to get down, more people were trying to get in and as a result of which no one could come in or go out. And after a couple of minutes, I believe someone decided, "Alright, let the folks inside, come out first".
Venkat suggested of taking a walk to the Mahabalipuram beach. As I walked with Poochi, I saw typical younger generation (what am I then? Interesting question) girls and boys taking a break from work as it was a Sunday. I saw a girl who should be in her 20’s in Jeans, sleeveless T-shirts. I believe that she would have looked prettier if she had been in a salwar. This wasn’t the first time I am seeing such “ultra” modern girls. Romba dhaan ultraangada saami!!!
The gates to the beach were being closed as it was 1810hrs and the beaches are open only till 6:00PM. A couple of small girls tried to sell ornaments made of sea-shells etc. But we weren’t interested. I saw the contrast in life between humans. There are people who are well-to-do and party all day and there are people who don’t even get a plate of meal each day and there are also people who observe things and couldn’t take initiatives as they are afraid of politicians.
We stood there talking of various topics till 1840hrs. We decided to walk back again to the GRT Temple Bay where the Morikofers were waiting at the reception. As we walked backed, I could see a bunch of cows in a meeting. Atleast 20 of them. It was nice to see Steam back on rails last Monday (see blog article on Heritage Run). Nice to see cows back on roads this Sunday! These are the characteristic signs of my country and we would like to stay as we are and we aren’t just willing to change!
The entry to the hotel was grand. It remembered me one of the games named Hitman, where I played as Agent 47 to steal a briefcase from a 5-start hotel located near seashore. Surprisingly, everything was similar except the fact that was a game and this is real life and I have come for a good purpose. Fountains watered the grass and trees. It was dark by now and the ambience was good. The Morikofers greeted us at the reception and we spent some time at the hall before proceeding further. Now comes the fun and the interesting part!
We proceeded to the bar. This was the second time I was in a bar, but not for drinking as usual. Star Cricket TV channel was chosen and Sachin Tendulkar was getting ready to bat. This was a repeat tele-cast of a match that took place in yesteryears. The Morikofers were dressed up in formals. They were very much interested in having Sula-Indian brand but it wasn’t available. Looks like within 60 years of Independence India has set a benchmark in everything? Since sula wasn’t available, they had Irish creamy liquor along with Poochi, while I got busy with Coffee. I was amused on seeing the menu card. The price of Coffee was only Rs.120. Compared to the Pondicherry rate of Rs.150. I feel this is cheap. Lay’s Potato Wafers and Groundnuts were served. Cheers to the “INDIAN RAILWAYS” said Oskar. I like Oskar very much for his love for Indian people and Indian Railways. Oskar has been in India for the past 20 days and has seen various places in Southern India that includes Kovalam, Munnar, Ooty, Madurai, Chennai, and Bangalore.
Then I had Tea. Sore-Throat! I remembered Goundamani’s dialogue of 5-star hotels. “Verum sorum, sudu thanniyum koduppanga, naama pongi pongi thinganuma. Ada enna da unga 5-star hotelllu”. I believed that Rs.1000 I bought from the ATM was enough. I had my own doubts too! I just believed that Poochi would save the day!
As Poochi, Clara and the Morikofers continued to talk of Indian Railways, I glanced around. I could see a beautiful girl in charge of bar. I felt bad for her. Why was she working here? Family problems? Financial problems? She had a fake smile while greeting me and Poochi. I saw some sadness behind those eyes. She has failed to hide her sadness. The maximum I could do is to pray for her success in her life! She was in a uniform with knee long skirts and she had little of lipsticks and powder on her face. That surprised me! I believed that she would have been more beautiful if she had been without those artificial cosmetics. I guess she was surprised in seeing me just having coffee and tea with groundnuts inside the bar instead of liquor. I guess that she would be doing her part-time education while working in the resort. After reading these lines many would think that I am a porikki looking at girls. There are a few people who look with lust in their eyes. There are a few who look with love and appreciate beauty with respect. You decide to which category I belong to……
We then proceeded to the Sea-side Restaurant. Wharf! That was the name. It was situated close to the sea. We started off with soup. Poochi and I had Broccoli and Cheddar soup while the Morikofers went for the “catch of the day”. Spaghetti with Pesto sauce, Smoke Salmons for Poochi, Broccoli Veg Kebab for me along with some Fried Rice. Naan with Dal Makhani was ordered for everyone. I thought Paneer Butter Masala would have been a better choice, The Morikofers called the sabji’s as paste and not side-dish. That amused me slightly. Later I did a bit of research and found out what terms like Broccoli and Cheddar meant. Broccoli is a plant of cabbage family Brassicaceae. Cheddar was actually a village in the Somerset, United Kingdom. The cheese originated there and it is quite popular in Australia, United States.
After a long time, I found myself using forks to eat food. I liked the table mannerism. I was impressed with the decorations. I was having sore-throat and the soup was comforting. Poochi enjoyed salmons but by the time he started with Spaghetti his stomach was full. He asked the bearer to parcel the Spaghetti. So he didn’t go for desserts and I had sore-throat and I wasn’t interested in having anything chill. As Mr. Morikofer had tea, I apologized to him for not having Champagne and seafood. I explained to him that I was a teetotaler and a vegetarian. He seemed to be impressed and happy.
Overall, it was great to be with Oskar and of course Poochi. I felt happy that I have represented my country well. If I hadn’t got that nasty sore-throat things would have been even better. It took roughly 45 minutes to return from Mahablipuram to Adyar. The car was Indigo. I believe that one of my friends Gowri has got the same car model. Driver Ramesh drove at 90kph consistently. I was back home by 2345hrs.
-Krishna Kumar.S
Article typed on February 14th, 2009 but posted only on April 13th, 2009.
Since my visit was in the evening, it was already dusk and I didn't take any photos. All photos used in this webpage were taken through Google Images.
