Today the rain got even better. I wasn't able to stay asleep beyond 0453hrs. So generally woke up and started leafing thru the four-weeks-overdue Keynote: A collection of JRD's speeches. I've been trying really hard to finish it. The section on Air-India and the Maharaja made interesting reading at those early hours. I pushed off for Tennis at the Krishnan Tennis Centre at 0620hrs. I usually take my Mach1, but there was them weird sounds coming from the axle and I took my baby for a spin instead.

Some Government Organization is more than happy screwing up the Old Mahabalipuram Road these days, and the road is now reduced to a dirt-track. Thanks to the rain, the Water Tankers and Public Transport buses that frequent that route, there's muck uniformly spread all over the route.

KTC wore a desserted look. The clay courts weren't usable at all. The support staff were running around frantically to dry up the hardcourts with their sponge rollers.

I decided to pursue the customary warm-up. Mr. Ramesh Krishnan was there. His genuine concern for us enthusiasts reflects in the words he utters. "Careful. That part's slippery." He's also the only person who'll enquire if 'am hurt, even as my OWN doubles partner ignores me for that unnecessary fall to get the ball. And so I proceeded with my warm-up with more care.

The drizzling didn't stop. But Man, do I enjoy warming up in the rain. Soon it began to pour. The warm-up was now unnecessary. By now, I was pretty sure there'd be no tennis today. Rested. It was around 0730hrs. The downpour had reduced to a drizzle again. Decided to return home. She was wet all over. I expected a starting tantrum. But she started up in one go. The better halves never cease to surprise. He he.

I loved my ride back home. It started to pour again. I hadn't brought my helmet along. But it turned out to be a lovely ride at the slow, yet steady pace. The rain lashing in my face. I don't know what's with the rain, but I had enjoyed getting soaked to the skin. Bliss.

That Veerappan dude got shot allright. Its interesting that I've met the person who was responsible for the final assault that got the most wanted criminal in India.

Supercop K Vijay Kumar. The Press claims he's 52. I've pondered how big this gentleman could have made it, if he were in the movies. Had shook hands with him when he was Commissioner of Police, Chennai. And was mightily impressed. Not much was spoken. But some people have it in them. That aura thing.

His being relieved as Commissioner made a lot of bad press. And now he's in the news for having headed the Special Task Force that brought down the Sandalwood King. I like this rise and fall thing. Only thing is, do I have the guts to fight the doldrums ?

The Sunday installment of the Digital Film Festival had 'The Clays'. Wasn't really claymation. In terms of effort, this was no Wallace and Gromit. Everything done with a single ball of clay. The best thing was the simplicity of the film. The whole concept elegantly relayed through a ball of clay moving around under a single arc light. Must say that the music that accompanied it went well.

I was too tired in the afternoon. Had a lovely lunch and then crashed. Only to wake up at 1900hrs. Cheeru and me went cycling to the Thiruvanmayur beach. He's got this craving for the corn-on-the-cob that's sold there. Returned. Ate food and then crashed again. I was really tired.

Okie Dokie. I was lucky to be awake at 9 on a Saturday Morning. Picked up Arun and rode down to Sree. Its good when life's in schedule. As long as the Digital Film Festival is on, Saturday too, has an itinerary. Today was the third installment. And it sucked. Big time.

Except for two films which I kind of enjoyed. 'Eating Out' - ten minutes of a conversation between a couple at a restaurant. I had trouble with the British accent again. But the stuff was superbly executed.

This other one was on something most people wouldn't want to discuss - 'All the Girls I've Loved before'. The bloke actually went about making a documentary on women he'd had relationships with. I don't know why the chap trivialized falling in and out of love. But then, its his life.

Lunch was at Sree Mithai at Spencer Plaza. We were both starving. I ordered a Pav Bhaaji and Arun helped himself to a generous lump of Bombay Halwa. It was only when Arun went for some Pakoda that I realized, we two - were the only 20-somethings in the place. There were only Uncle and Auntyji's around. With their well-fed kids. Luckily, there's no dearth of food joints in an arcade.. Felt more in place at the Fruitshop. The Cheeku shake was a filler.

At Nungambakkam. She just stopped. I thought it was a petrol issue. So I switched to reserve. Curious onlookers watched as I struggled to get her purring. When I finally pulled out the fuel tube, I realized there was no fuel flowing thru. I'd read about the air-locks which get formed in the petrol tank. So, unscrewed the petrol tank cover. Still no fuel. This was getting annoying. Decided on sucking the fuel into the tube. Did just that. Apart from a few millilitres of the fluid, nothing else flowed. Plus my mouth reeked of alcohol. But I got her running, eventually. He he.. I managed to turn her on after blowing into her..

Evening, me and Shombit were ogling at the other ladies. The Royal Enfield company-owned showroom was recently inaugrated at Besant Nagar. Has been beautifully done. The flooring is painted to resemble a highway. Mirrors are strategically positioned to help you get a feel of how you'd look if you owned one.. The lighting - all done up using Bullet headlamps.. And the most ego-boosting experience of them all - parking your own Enfield outside, while the lesser mortals gape. Ok.. the slight exaggeration hurt no one.

Was at Madhya Kailash for a considerably long period of time in the afternoon. It also happened to coincide with the 'Class Disperse' bell of a nearby College. Its been some time since I just stood still at a place watching other people do their own thing. While the females passed by silently with the I've-got-six-million-chores-to-do-look, the Chennai males appeared to be a peculiar lot, worth this study:

While the belts holding their trousers might be completely out of place, the hair never is. That's because they're combing it all the time. I must have observed dozens of these chaps walk together, probably discuss complex Quanta, and at the same time comb their hair. Occasionally, quite a few of them would stop by the vehicles parked outside the Madhya Kailash Temple, and spend another couple of minutes combing their hair in the rear view mirrors that were on offer. It was amusing initially, then it got tiresome and finally, irritating.. That's because this Narcissist bloke, couldn't help stopping and setting his hair in every mirror that came his way. I was standing right beside her, and this nerd had the nerve to peek into the mirror that graces my beauty. Luckily, he did not adjust the mirror to serve his purpose. And I thought, "Dude. You've infiltrated my personal space. Excusable. But don't dare mess with my girl."

Cooled off at Mansukh Sweets, located on an obscure Ramaswamy Street in T Nagar. I like the Gujaratis allright. They're so sweet. There was sugar in every dish I tried. Is neat, if you're not having it everyday. Overall I liked the Khaman Dhokla, the Kachori and the sweet Pudina chutney. Really loved the thick Lassi, served with a spoon, not a straw ! I don't know what the Cheese toast was doing on a Gujarati Menu, but it tasted great. They ran out of Shrikhand on a Weekday afternoon. And I settled for melts-in-your-mouth Rasmalai. Well-wishers have now suggested that I stop using the word 'awesome' to describe food.

Cedars. In Kotturpuram. The most brilliant Mediterranean cuisine, most of which I have no clue of how to pronounce. Dim lighting and superbly done up decor characterized the place. I really liked the neatly framed photographs on the walls. And the unique set of lampshades.

He he.. The waiters do understand Tamil, but they reply only in English. And they know their Menu cards with the proper pronounciations. I think the only thing I pronounced correctly was the 'Kahwe' which was spectacular. It was served in a cup tiny enough to wash a lovely Barbie doll's feet.

I'm trying really hard to recall what all I ate. Well there were prawns with some yellow cream and sweet salad - mouth watering. Mushrooms cooked in wine. Chicken wings with fantastic pudina chutney. And an Arabian fish with pilaf, which I think, means rice. The fish was boneless, and I really mean absolutely no bone. Loved every bit of it with the accompanying yoghurt-like preparation. I also had brownies with Kulwa cream - and although I've never relished nuts, the dark nutty chocolate tasted brilliant with the cream. And the brownies. Oh man..

Am not over yet. Got treated to a cheery flavoured Sheesha. You kinda inhale the thing longer than a cigarette, making a soft gurgling sound in the contraption. And when you exhale, you get a lovely white mist and feel good all over. The tobacco plus cherry fragrance was overwhelming. Add to it the soft strings from Lebanon or Turkmenistan that played through the evening. Pacified. Is the only word that comes to my mind.

Because Shombit's studying so hard these days, I missed out on the first installment (Saturday) of the Digital Film Festival being screened at Sree (he had the one pass!). Because Shombit never found time to pick up an additional pass on time, I nearly did not get to watch the second installment today. Because Aishwarya Rai had diverted everybody's attention with Bride and Prejudice, and Sree was only half-full, I actually got to watch the screening !

The opening short films were the result of a workshop with special children. I was amazed by the simplicity of the films and the apparent ease with which one can create them. The scripts were simple - one on wood conservation, another on water pollution and one on promoting vegetarianism - each executed in a different way. The hard work and creativity was all in planning the frames - these three were done entirely with crayon sketches, origami-like paper art and chalkwork on blackboard, respectively.

Some NID blokes made a film called Time Bomb, which, although neatly executed, left all of us wondering ?!? I'm not even sure if it was supposed to be blood dripping from the tap, only, I've seen better blood in Kubrick's 'The Shining'.

Gajra was another lovely script. Woman on the sidewalk. Makes flower Gajras for a living. Three shabby kids. Simple narration: "Makes Gajras for everyone else". "Never wears her Gajras". "Last night her husband came and took two Gajras". Long Pause. "She never wants to make Gajras again". Phil Collins makes me feel this pathetic in 'Another Day in Paradise'.

Then there was Kaun - had everybody in splits. That was 30s of convincing stuff on why one should vote..

Nikhil Alva's film on the illegal Ivory Trade threw light on the cause for the steady decline of the elephant population. Was supposed to be a sting operation (hidden camera and all), but it looked so well done, that it made me wonder why the Tehelka tapes are so screwed up ?!

Le Pocha was some kind of a painful documentary. It started off well with some Bengalis speaking gibberish. Went on to the history of Bengali Alternative Music. Then a few minutes of Bengali music videos performed by a band called Cactus - man they sounded good. A long discussion on 'Mohiner Ghoraguli' and then the audience was clapping for it to end. Still to figure out the 'Le Pocha' bit.

There were two films on eunuchs. The first one, 'Bijli', was on Fayaz Bijli, an eunuch from Pakistan, based in New York. Earns a living as a dancer in the night clubs. Owns a flat. Lives respectably. Compare this to the 'hijras' on Indias trains. The film convinced me that sometimes society can really screw up a person's happiness.

The second one was on eunuchs into prostitution. Mostly unbelievable, grotesque stuff.. but 'Nice Girls' is a must-watch.

I've finally got a hang of the Gemini circus allright.. It takes one wrong turn and a kilometre of no U-turns to make you memorize the Chennai traffic intersections in a jiffy. So, after Sree, me was chilling at Le New Yorker.. nevermind their Jain obsessed Menu. Being a pretty big group we practically ordered one dish from every leaf of the Menu. The enchilada was fabulous. And I, as usual, ate myself sick. But there's always space for dessert - and an awesome icecream sizzler that costs a fortune is not even served at Mövenpick!

Getting her has its advantages. You don't think twice about driving home from Gemini and returning back to Mowbray's Inn on TTK Road, a few hours later.. Caught up with Danadan after a long long time. We were upto no good during my brief tenure at IITM, and our plan to 'Vonamor' on the Kendriya Vidyalaya overhead water tank never materialized. The Cellar was unusually lonely for a Sunday evening. But there was loads to catch up on..

Now the trouble with having too much of a good time is getting flagged by the Cops. So, headed for Shombit's posh place in upmarket Nungambakkam. Was actually quite lucky to find all his roommates present and was treated to fantastic fish fry and fish curry. Topped it up with a boisterous discussion on the woes of single men. I progressed home with a fishy mouth. Funny thing is, when you're over-cautious, all the cops are on vacation!

There's a plethora of Beach resorts all along the East Coast Road. Have visited the MGM Beach Resort in Muttukadu, so the
lush-green-lawn-running-parallel-to-an-endless-coastline-concept was not new. Fortunately, todays visit to Temple Bay, in Mamallapuram, only made for a better experience.

The place being far from Chennai, one can really cherish the solitude. Kerala-style sloping roofed rooms that look out to the sea. Undulating lawns (100m across - of welcoming grass). A neat row of coconut trees. And finally a beach, where, if you walk a kilometre to your right, you hit the Mahabalipuram Shore temple. Alternately, if you chose to walk left, you could tire yourself out in the quest to sight another human.. waah.

Visited the Lotus Pond (on top of FoodWorld) at Besant Nagar today. The Security Guard pissed me off because he wouldn't let me park her in the parking lot below the building. Well what is the Parking lot for anyway ?

The Lotus Pond is pretty uniquely situated, rooftop dining and all. The weather was splendid and the pleasant breeze just did wonders. Was with workmates and very fortunately, the only people at the place. So we got undivided attention and were served very well. They took a wee bit long to get us the food but everything - the service, the flavour yumm yumm.. man I ate like a pig, was brilliant. And yeah, the waiters spoke in Hindi. Been a while..