Discovering Chennai - 1

 Chennai has some places with really quirky names. For instance there is Broadway, Paris and Times Square. This was an observation made by one of my friends which perked my interest as well. We set out to discover Broadway and Parrys (Paris) first. These areas are full of markets selling all kinds of goods.The one thing that stands out though is the High Court and another building right across it which is reminiscent of the islamic style of archtitecture. I really like old buildings and I guess thats why it caught my fancy.

The second phase of exploring Broadway took place this weekend and was again quite interesting. I randomly stumbled along the Armenian Church which I had been meaning to discover the next week and needless to say I was happy. The Church itself is quite small and has a nice courtyard surrounding it. The most interesting aspect of this place was the bell tower. According to believable sources (Wiki :P), it has the heaviest bells in Chennai and yours truly managed to sneak up the tower and have a look at them.

The next spot of interest that day was the Thousand Lights Mosque. Yes, the moment one hears the name they picture a grand building shimmering in light. Its a let down if you conjure that image in your mind but nevertheless a nice place. Paintings and pictures of various mosques adorn the walls. The most interesting painting though was one with the entire Quran in miniature letters. A microscope is in order to read it!

Food-wise there have been plenty of discoveries too. Some of the best pizzas have been had at Tuscana and Bella Ciao. Fruit Shop still remains my favourite for fruit juices and Saravana Bhavan for the rava onion dosa. I am an ardent idli hater and I am pleased to say that Murugan idli shop did manage to half change my mind about them. Dessert wise there is Ecstasy which steals the show. The highlight  however, among all the places discovered is a place called Nine Feet High/No Sky Above. Its right on the beach and therefore has the perfect ambience. It was particularly nice to be there around Diwali, when you could see random rockets exploding in the sky and watch the waves gently crash on the beach. Chasing crabs on the beach is also an option if anyone is interested!

This is the shortest possible round up of recent discoveries. More city based posts should be expected soon.