food yummy i'm hungry

road adjoining the mess

Mylapore is famous for vegetarian eateries. It is the paradise for south Indian Vegetarian food. Some eateries of note are Karpagambal Mess, Rayars Cafe and Kai Endhi Bhavan.

The Karpagambal mess is just opposite to the famous Kapali temple and has been in existence for more than 20 years. It serves typical south Indian food like Adai Avial, Nei Dosa, Kichodi and pongal. The mess is famous for morning and evening tiffin. Kichodi with kumbakonam degree coffee ( very fresh aromatic mix of coffee seeds ) is the morning breakfast for the local residents. With time the mess has also included a variety of pickles, spices, sambhar and rasam powder mixes which is very handy for people traveling abroad.

Rayars cafe is a small mess in Kutchery Road in Mylapore. This niche eatery can be easily missed if you are not aware of its exact location. It is located inside a small by lane of the main road. The Rayars cafe has been acclaimed as one of the best eateries of Chennai. It serves typical south Indian tiffin items like Aloo bonda, Jilebe and Mysore bonda.

Kai endhi bhavan is a famous road side mess that serves hygienic and quality food in east mada street. It is also located in a small by lane and is easy to miss if you are not watchful. Even though it is located in a small narrow street one can find people coming in big cars from all places in Chennai to take food here. It is famous for items like vadakari, soondal, masala vada and podi dosa. All items are made in front of you and served hot. Never have I seen old or stale food served to customers. It is called Kai (arm) endhi(request) bhavan(mess) since you need to serve the items yourself. Moreover you need to stand and eat. But this does not seem to bother the crowd.

Even though Mylapore area has seen hotels like Sangeetha, Vasanth Bhavan, Anand Bhavan which also serve quality South Indian foods the eateries like Rayars cafe have carved a niche for themselves. In fact one would be surprised to see these eateries charge you as much as hotels. Mylapore has never been successfully invaded by big five star chain hotels even though there are a couple of them they are not very famous in this area. This should be attributed to the conservative spending and eating habits of the local people. So everyone always associates Mylapore with these small messes.

The beach

remains of mermaid

found in marina

The beach is my favorite hang out location. There are three beaches in Chennai the Marina, Besant Nagar and Palavakkam beach. This post is dedicates to the marina beach that extends from Santhome (Mylapore) to War memorial ( Chepauk). The Marina beach which starts at Mylapore is not only the longest among them but is the longest beaches in the world. The lighthouse at this beach has long served the Chennai port trust for the safe docking of ships. The beach also serves as a great reservoir of discovering extinct marine life forms. Recently oceanographers claim that they found the remains of a mermaid from the beach.

The beach road is a main road that connects key places in Chennai city like mount road, Chennai Central, Mylapore and Adayar. The service lane in the beach road separates the main road and a grass turf. You can find the statutes of important people who have influenced the culture of the south Indian people like Kanagi, mahatma Ghandi, Sivaji and Periyar placed at equal intervals as you walk along the service lane. The beach road ends at the Anna and MGR memorial who were great leaders of Tamil Nadu.


To the left of the grass turf there is a small tar road with capacity for light motor vehicle traffic. Once we cross the tar road there is a strip of sand around half a kilo meter wide which directly leads to the sea. On the other side of beach road there are important offices like the Radio Station, TV station, University of Madras (main office) and commissioner’s office. All of them have been strategically located on the beach road because they can be accessed easily from any part of the city.

Early morning is a great time to take a stroll at the beach. The air is clean and the breeze is mild. You will be in the company of chirping birds and fellow joggers. The crimson sunrise is a pleasant sight. As the day progresses the beach road gets lively with traffic. The beach road is an important domestic roadway in the Chennai city. It connects important places like Central Station, Adayar, Mandevelli and Mount Road. The beach is less active during the afternoon and late noon hours. But again in the evening as the sun sets you can find the beach becomes very active. The service lanes will become active with everyone from beggars to peddlers. The inner tar road will serve as the bowling strip for the nation’s passion cricket and the beach sand will serve as the outfield. You can find a lot of young men displaying great talent with the ball, bat and on the field. The dull orange sunset is also a treat to your eyes. The moonrise brings along with it "Love Birds" who flock the beach. You can find young couples at all corners of the beach enjoying in the moon light. I have never been to the beach late at night but I guess its quiet with the sound of waves churning the sea. If you listen carefully you can hear to the sweet music of the great ocean.....Marina is a quiet beach and had always been very friendly to its fisherman and denizens. Recently it has been in the news because of the tsunami scare. It has been very unfortunate that the December 24th tsunami had taken away lives but it has not been able to wash the spirit of the local residence for whom Marina is a part of their daily lives.

mylai

Mylapore "Mylai" as it is called is one of the key areas in chennai city. It is dominated by the hindu community. It is the birth place of the great saint thiruvalluvar who composed thirukural. Two temples of note in mylapore are the kapaaleswarar temple ( dedicated to lord shiva) and srinivasar temple (dedicated to lord vishnu). There is a tank ( kulam) adjoining the kapali temple.The Arupathumuvar ( 63 saints ) festival of kaplai temple is celebrated with fevor during the month of march. Find pictures of the temple and festival above.

Home sweet Home

I have dedicated this blog to my home town Mylapore. Mylapore is one of the oldest and areas in Chennai ( City in South India ). It enjoys a rich cultural heritage and is backed by a great tradition.It has been a great place ever since I know it and hope it stays the same way in the future. My home town has provided me with everything that I ever wanted and I will miss it. It goes without saying
"East or West My home is the best".

This blog will help who miss Mylai to recollect memories of their home town. Moreover it will also provide a wealth of information to people who want to understand the rich heritage of Mylai and South India in general.