Things you like about your city

[Shakthiprabha.]

///You yourself have mentioned about it in the Introduction thread. enna athukkuLLa maRanthuduchA? //

oh yeah just went b ack to confirm

Sad..I am damn forget ful.... ...

Guess I need to seriously think about eating vallarai keerai

EEks! I wonder what will happen to me when I grow old.....

[hehehewalrus]

Sp,
rohan gave the answer.

Not lived in Salem though lot of my closest friends are from there. In memory of one very very close friend, I used to get out when my train stops at Salem railway station and take a coffee as a toast to my long lost friend for years Anyway I regained contact with the friend later!
Got fond memories of Namakkal and Rasipuram but that is another story Anyway I have always been extra kind to people from Salem/Namakkal/Rasipuram

One of my special memories of Salem and india is a lovely summer morning when I was boarding a bus from Dharmapuri to Salem at 530 in the morning. People were just waking up, the bus wasnt that full and I got a window seat. The crew had a nice DVD player and they put a THIRUTTU VCD of MGR songs - it was looted from Malaysia, the print showed! As the bus passed through the stunningly exotic green fields on the picturesque Salem route, I was enjoying some excellent old songs like Neela Niram, Maanikka Theril maragatha kalasam, Madeemeedhu thalaivaithu....It was an exhilarating journey as the sun wasnt that hot and I enjoyed watching the simple folk begin their routine on an early Saturday morning. I reached Salem by 7 and found an excellent restaurant where I ravished myself on gorgeous fresh dosas, pongal, idli, sambar and a huge coffee. The food was doubly tastier when I thought of the pathetic contrast to Bangalore food

[Shakthiprabha.]

hehehewalrus,

When I type ur name I invariably land up grinning.
you brought back all imprints of salem lying dormant within me

Though I was just born there, I was raised in chennai right from childhood. I happened to visit Salem during hols , that would be atleast once a year.

Bits and pieces of my late grandmother, grandfather, the house, backyard, badam trees, custard apple trees, colourful flowers which grandmother used to nurture, the water tank...... ITS A DIFF WORLD

I still enjoy the memories of playing hide n seek with friends residing near my grandmom's house, we used to hide in water tank very often, with water chilling the spine.

There was a girl called SHRIDEVI, who used to wear fullskirt everyday, since she wears fullskirt, she would snatch the opportunity of being the TEACHER in mock teacher-student game.

The days I have badams or custard apple to share with all others, I would be unanimously decided as the teacher .There used to a nice red berry, (I forgot the name ) which when tasted is
exotic, queer, yet leaves back an enduring tempting feeling down ur throat, therefore, cant but EAT atleast A CUP FULL OF BERRY.

Though now my grandparents no longer reside there, I have my ucnle and cousins in salem. Its so peaceful, scenic with goats loitering around the house.

Recently two months back when I went to salem, my daughter had great time, with peaceful life and goats loitering in and around the back yard. OFCOURSE THE BERRIES TOO.

Salem ofcourse remind sus of yercaud, and its alluring beauty. Long back , There was one woodlands hotel in salem which was cherished by the localites like taj in metros. Food can be ranked in NOT BAD category :P .

I was enjoying some excellent old songs like Neela Niram, Maanikka Theril maragatha kalasam, Madeemeedhu thalaivaithu...:

I remember once I had to travel to NEIVELI, for a function of a distant relative. Dad could nto join us, hence mom and me squeezed ourselves in a crowded bus, as we did not book any deluxe travel buses. IT was a tamizhnadu thiruvalluvar trans bus, blasting away in full volume soem old lingering songs. The idea was listening to music in a moving bus was NEW TO ME, thereby I was double thrilled. Neither the crowd, not the pain of standing for 3 hours mattered anymore.

Songs, travel, scenic beauties etc left behind sweet lingering residue
in my mind.

The food was doubly tastier when I thought of the pathetic contrast to Bangalore food

Food = Bangalore
Taste = Bangalore
quality = Bangalore

I am tired....

[Shekhar]

What we like and dislike about our Cities?!!.. What hubbers have mentioned above are too general..

People are good??? Food is good?? Transport is bad????

I think it is how we look at things... how we perceive life in packets.. that makes the difference.

In any place, there are good and bad people. There are restaurants which serve good food and restaurants that serve bad food. (again good and bad relative to our taste)

Horrible public transport?? ... Ask somebody who has met or used to meet his girl friend in a city bus.. He would tell you how lovely the city buses are..inspite of being jampacked!!!

It is very difficult to judge or evaluate a city as whole..it is too subjective.
You can say I love that particular park.. say Cubbon Park in Bangalore. Again.. you ask opinion of somebody who has been robbed at knife point there while returning from the evening movie show.
If we remove the mental block of hatred, and take experiences as they come, the whole city appears different. When you start watching faces and try to figure out their life and thoughts..even an ordeal of wating in a bus stand or a railway station becomes enjoyable..

[hehehewalrus]

There was a girl called SHRIDEVI, who used to wear fullskirt everyday, since she wears fullskirt, she would snatch the opportunity of being the TEACHER in mock teacher-student game.

How I hated Teacher Velayaattu !! Since all the teachers in the two schools our neighborhood kids went to were females, I never got an opportunity to be a teacher

I remember once I had to travel to NEIVELI, for a function of a distant relative. Dad could nto join us, hence mom and me squeezed ourselves in a crowded bus, as we did not book any deluxe travel buses.

TN buses have always been cleaner and nicer compared to the govt buses of other states. But the only dampener is the smell of beedis everywhere But definitely better than other state buses where all kinds of smells emanate.

[jaiganes]

I guess Shekhar is right when he says that is relative and all our opinions are just perceptions. Yet, I do feel that there is enough room to evaluate the comparative merits and demerits.
Things I love about Chennai

1. Cheap public transport.
2. Better traffic management.
3. Marina Beach.
4. Lesser pollution (compared to other metros)
5. Lower cost of living.

Things I hate about chennai

1. Lesser civic sense of general public(This includes the way people treat each other. eg., an elderly person asking for directions is ridiculed as 'perisu'. Totally insensitive public ).
2. Partiality of civic administration and corporation. North Madras is not treated properly whereas South madras gets a preferential treatment.
3. Lower Salary levels.
4. Horrible politics at workplace. (Always back biting, inferiority complex ridden co-workers)
5. Horrible auto rickshaw drivers

Things I like about Bangalore

1. Wonderful weather.
2. Polite people.
3. Comparatively higher salary levels.
4. Amazingly polite government officials .
5. Good campuses to work in(no politics.)
6. Beautiful parks and public playgrounds (number of them)

Things I hate about Bangalore

1. Inconvenient buses (why dont they have the extra bar in the middle portion to grab on to if the bus is really crowded ?)
2. Very laidback shop keepers (Have to wait till 10 - o clockto buy anything and lunch time is 2 hrs for some shops!!!)
3. Up and down roads (difficult for elderly people).
4. Poor infrastructure and traffic management.

[Sandeep]

Shekar,

All are giving personal opinion and this is NOT a competition between cities.

Just enjoy.

[lordstanher]

Things I hate about chennai

1. Lesser civic sense of general public(This includes the way people treat each other. eg., an elderly person asking for directions is ridiculed as 'perisu'. Totally insensitive public ).
2. Partiality of civic administration and corporation. North Madras is not treated properly whereas South madras gets a preferential treatment.
3. Lower Salary levels.
4. Horrible politics at workplace. (Always back biting, inferiority complex ridden co-workers)
5. Horrible auto rickshaw drivers

Um....may I add one more point- lack of respect/safety for girls/women travelling on buses (very common!) and even on crowded public streets, eg. Ranganathan St......if u've seen tat horrible first song in the movie 'Boys', u'll agree!
And ur mention of the auto drivers also brings to my memory one such terrible experience tat happened w/ my mother (and mind, shez 60 yrs old!) at Madras Central Stn.......back in 2001 when I'd gone to apply for a US visa.....a couple of those auto drivers approached us asking if we wanted an auto....the usual qsn....and when my mum walked along refusing profusely, one of them actually passed sum comment and patted her on the shoulder, like he'd pat a guy! rite in front of my eyes! Cudn't believe this was happening and I was abt to retaliate when my mum stopped me cos we were in a hurry to get to the US consulate then! Damn! And ppl. there act so conservative!Ha!