Madre de Deus! Chennai

After having a very delicious South Indian breakfast which consisted of papadam and some sort of soup, a coconut rava masala dosa (hmmmm, pure deliciousness) and my most favorite drink: fresh lime soda, I went to the airport to catch my flight to Chennai.

I was very impressed by the domestic airport in Delhi; it is newly renovated (re-opened 15 days ago) and is very modern and comfortable. I couldn't help but compare it to our infamous T2 in Mexico City (tons of money spent on a medium class, low quality terminal in the most important airport in the country). All departure terminals are distance terminals (you take a bus to get to the plane), which maximize space and it has many shops, among them a very large bookshop (I bought even more books on India) and, to my surprise, no cosmetics-perfumes shops.

I flew on one of India's many low-cost airlines: IndiGo (2.5 hrs flight for 80 USD). Very good service, good airplane, left on time. No complaints.

I arrived in Chennai at around 7; this time my bags came with me, thankfully; and people from CMF were there to pick me up. They thought I would get scared at the traffic, but being from Mexico and after Delhi, Chennai traffic was old news.

Chennai is the fourth largest city in India and the capital city of Tamil Nadu. It is one of the fastest growing urban areas in India with over 8 million people. Until 1997 the city was called Madras, a name derived from Madraspattinam, the name of a fishing village that was in the area. Apparently the name of this village comes from the portuguese who settled in the area in the 16th century and named it Madre de Deus. the neighboring town was called Chennapattinam, and as the city grew they were merged. The British went by Madras, and the locals by Chennai.

Many tropicalized Victorian buildings remain, giving the city, especially around Marina Beach, an interesting personality. Outside the main area of the city there is the Teosophical Society Garden, with a Banyan tree that is over 400 years old. I have yet to see it, since they were closed the day I went there (they open 3 times a week from 8-10 am and from 2-4 pm, riiight).

So instead I visited the Kapaleeshwarar Temple, dedicated to Shiva. Legend has it that one day Shiva was talking to his wife, Parvati, and she got distracted by looking at a peacock. The god got angry and turned her into a peacock and sent her to earth. She prayed in penance for a while before Shiva decided to turn her back into her old form under a tree in the place where the temple now stands. Since she was there in penance, it is believed she will grant the visitors their requests regardless of who they are, so it is a very popular temple in Chennai.

After making some undisclosable petitions, we decided to visit Fort St. George, another sight in the city. None of the rickshaw drivers knew where or what it was, but we pushed on, until we got there to find it was closed, and not very worth it. Autos know best.