A quick stop-off in Chennai

I had a two-part trip to Trivandrum. I may have mentioned in this blog that early booking is essential on Indian railways. That means early, early; more than a month in advance in many cases. If you can be flexible, that’s fine, you may just get a seat or berth, but my schedule has been pretty tight, and to be perfectly honest – I bogged up. Anyway, the chaps in Pune have biogas sites near Chennai, so why not?

Another decent hotel thanks to the reviews on Tripadvisor; a very friendly place in fact. Outside the hotel, the staff lives in something resembling two rows of sheds – made of concrete, open sided with corrugated asbestos on the roof. It’s almost an all male preserve, with the usual chaotic clutter of piled tables and chairs, bottles in crates and general catering debris. Although I mention all the dust and rubbish, I wouldn’t want to give the impression that these are a dirty people. It’s hot and dry, the wind blows the dust everywhere, and littering is a fact of life. Yet there is constant sweeping of rooms and floors and front entrances, and indeed the roads. The man who lived in a car park opposite the hotel in Ahmedabad shaved each morning, and those who live on the roadside can be seen bathing their children even as the traffic passes. Between these sheds opposite there is constant washing and teeth cleaning; clothes flap in the breeze. It is just that the amount of litter and rubble and dust is beyond the scope of any one small group of people to deal with, so it is just accepted.

Last night I ate hariyali something. Hari Kari more like. It took a whole bowl of curd just to get through half of it, and my lips still tingle, and the manager thanked my for trying to be an Indian in India. My ice-cream dessert was really welcome.