Anantha, Maha, Panipoori and Pizza Hut..

After being subjected to ignominy at the department a few days back, everyone who have heard about it and who were about to hear about it,kept giving us the Oh-so-u-are-the-accused-list-people kind of look. The industrial visit which was to be the highlight of the even semester was now in question thanks to a few minutes of laughter which consequently led to the prof’s wrath. After days of beseeching and convincing by IV coordinators, they finally gave in granting us permission to leave for Chennai.


Well, we were asked to assemble at the college before 9 pm, so as to have an attendance check and then leave for the 11 PM train. The act of disjointing boys and girls started right from the bus and the train journey was no different. The Ananthapuri Express came bang on time and we embarked it. Our seats were scattered throughout the train (rather than travel together on separate scattered seats, why can’t they assemble together at Chennai itself?). I was allocated to S9-13, whereas other members of the AG list (Accused Gang :D) were at S8 and the girls cabin was S11 separated from us by around 100 civilians, four washrooms and a Yuhendar and Manoj (Damn those IV Co-ords!). The railroad journey was eventful, more than what I expected after such a (seating) arrangement. I befriended loads of people, whom I didn’t know to that time, existed in my class. Anantha arrived at Chennai as scheduled at around 8 AM in the morning.


We checked in at a run-down hotel by the name of Raj Residency, whereas the Girls checked in at some unknown location nearby (Enna Villathanam?) and the REPs stayed with the gs for protection (yeah right, as if they were Captain Vijayakanths and “Action King” Arjuns, powerful enuf to manhandle an army of gatecrashers or something like tat from the remote areas of an unimaginable dream.) We freshened up a bit and got ready for what was to be one heck of a day.Expectations soaring high, bliss in the air and Fives and ‘O’s all over the place, our IV at last really kicked off in style. The coords were back to their senses and the girls were seated in our vista (illati kolai vilunthirkum!) We started off to Polaris at Navaloor in the so called Air Buses, that were already booked.


The Polaris Excursion was worthful. We were taken for a campus tour and were briefed on the various projects that are being undertaken, with demos for a few. (Not to mention the food too :D) The trip was rounded off with a kutti interface with the HR leader. She asked us a few questions like “why do u like Polaris?” (“coz the Air Conditioning is perfect” :D) and also answered a few irksome questions from us. The boys were all excited when we were told the next stop was Mahabalipuram. We were a bit disappointed on missing out Mayajaal, Chennai’s paramount Multiplex. But Maha was simply awesome with her rock-cut sculptures and sea-view temples. Had loads of fun there. Also, we weren’t allowed to access the beach, (still Tsunami fear? ) which was a major anti-climax to a wonderful day. The return bus journey from Maha was anything beyond the wildest of our expectations. We shouted, hooted, whistled, jeered, whooped (also add all other synonymous words from Microsoft Word Dictionary :D ) and finally ended up with sore throats and tired souls. We all retired to our rooms, falling asleep after hours of speaking, scheming up plans in our dreams for one more exciting day in Chennai. The next day was no lesser by any means, except for the dull morning session. The girls were given lectures while we stood outside waiting for our turn for what looked like an eternity. The studs obviously impressed with the infrastructure at Polaris, didn’t give DCI that much regard. Well, won’t they ever learn appearances are secondary. But that still means DCI is on a lower stratum to Polaris. :D


After the tiring morning session, we were dropped off at T.Nagar, left with 3 hrs at our disposal before we convened again at the same spot at 4 PM. After some window-shopping and gawking at the cute members of the opposite sex, (and some Pani Poori too ;) ) we bade good bye to T.Nagar and left for Spencer Plaza – The Pride of Chennai – with its multistoried building and chock-a-block stores that sells stuffs ranging from worth Lakhs to even an undergarment, it’s an ultimate sanctuary for shoppers and a haven for sightseers. The two hours were just Seventh heaven for the TCEians. Landmark, Pantaloons, Westside, etc.. etc.. along with Pizza Hut,Subway and Marrybrown could have kept us engaged for days there if it hadn't been for the damn train that was booked that night. With a heavy heart, we bid good bye to Chennai and returned home rail ways, speaking and analyzing for what was surely to be two of the best days of our lives!