RANDOM THOUGHTS

               PRECURSOR NORTH EAST VISIT  I have often heard friends and acquaintances mention in passing that I am born with wheels on my feet or wings over my shoulders . Be that as it may , I have always maintained that the Almighty has been rather benevolent on me . I am fortunate to have visited quite a few places which attract tourist footfalls in large numbers  both in India and Around the Globe . The visits to London Leeds Manchester Birmingham  Paris Lyon New York New Jersey Los Angeles San Francisco Philadelphia Toronto Ottawa Niagara Regina Brussels Ypres Amsterdam and closer home at Colombo Pilliyandala Bangkok  Singapore Manila Makati and Puerto Princessa come to mind immediately. I have been to many places across India and it  sure is going  to draw a fatigue if I were to start listing them in detail . Despite many attempts NORTH EAST however  is one place in India which I have not visited thus far...

      A  WELL ORCHESTRATED LOOT In these times of active and extended social media participation , we come across advertisements in various platforms like the FACEBOOK etc of products that easily  catch our attention . Glossy advertisements of all these products make them all the more attractive .  I have made purchases on quite a few occasions . The experience thus far has been very satisfying. Payments could be made before hand using the UPI or  the payments made on receiving the product .  Barely 10 days back , I came across a promotion on Facebook for Cotton Linen Full Sleeved Shirts in various attractive shades . A pack of 4 such shirts was being sold for Rs 999 /- with the delivery being undertaken by Amazon . I liked the shirts and ordered for a pack of four with the payment option being on delivery . The pack arrived today on an AMAZON package. What I found inside on opening the package came as a shock . Two totally crumpled T Shirts of th...

        TAKING US ABSOLUTELY NO WHERE !! We have made it a practice to visit , both the Sorimuthu Iyyanaar Kovil and the TENKASI Kasi Vishwanathar Temple each year after our return to India  from Canada . We had completed the Sorimuthu Iyyanaar leg earlier . We usually hire a cab for our visit by  the  Selvamcabs . With a bus service on hand starting hardly a Hundred Meters from our House at Agasthiarpatty and heading to Pavoor Chatram Bus stand from where frequent Bus Services were available for TENKASI , we decided to give this mode a trial . We boarded the almost brand new Bus with digital display Boards at 3.15 pm and were on our way . The route mentioned was via Dana and  Kadayam and Avudayanoor . Ours being the starting point , we were seated comfortably in the new Bus with hardly any other  passengers . Slowly other passengers began to enter and by the time we were at Amali School , the bus was almost full . I failed to notice that mos...

         SOME NICE PEOPLE AROUND US                                                                              Somewhere around the same day last Week , I had my Brother In Law , Wife and his Son's Family from the US Visit us at Agasthiarpatty for a short stay . A visit to the Tiruchendur Murugan Temple and their Kula Deiva Temple at Mela Pavoor was almost mandatory . To make it more interesting for their two young kids/grandkids we had planned a trip to the THENMALA ECO PARK in neighbouring Kerala for Thursday 11 th June  . On Wednesday 10 th evening itself we had showers at the  Ambasamudram Erichudayar Kovil River Bank where everyone had a fun filled evening   . On search , Google Akka was quick to inform us that things were downright bad at THEN...

            NELLAI JUNCTION 7.00 to 7.30 AM  Nothing fascinates me more than the business or entrepreneur spirit of the People of the erstwhile District of Tirunelveli which  now has expanded to TUTICORIN , TENKASI AND A PART OF IT INTO THE KANYAKUMARI DISTRICT . Leave alone the TVS , POTHY'S , RMKV , VASANTH AND CO , SARAVANA - SELVARATNAM STORES , AMALGAMATIONS OR MANY OTHERS OF ITS CLASS . The ANNACHI KADAI have made their mark in totally unchartered waters of MATUNGA , CHEMBUR , DHARAVI , ANTOP HILL and a dozen other places in Mumbai , Ballygunge in Kolkata , Camp and Sector 10 Market in Bhilai , Gole Bazar in Kharagpur , Karol Bagh in the National Capital.  These are all besides the many Grocery , Fruit and Flower shops in every nook and corner of Tamil Nadu . Before 7AM every morning ,  near half a dozen trains from Chennai , Coimbatore , Bangalore arrive at Tirunelveli Junction Railway Station . Platform number 4 and 5 is where al...

                       HARD TO BELIEVE  Of and On there is always a controversy and postings on the Social Media each time there is an announcement of an increase in the number of AC COACHES in any Train Route . The ever popular rant of the POOR being short changed to keep doing the rounds .  One key member in one of my WhatsApp Group is a very vocal and articulate supporter of this view and wastes no time in pointing this out whenever the issue arises  . I had a surprise waiting for me when I tried booking tickets from Tirunelveli to Chennai Egmore in AC 3 TIER  with a departure earmarked for the 7 th of July . With more than a month of interval , I had not expected much difficulty in getting confirmed reservation as I was looking for disembarkation point at Chengalpattu with a visit to Kanchipuram and Thennangur in mind . Surprise , Surprise , no accomodation was available in any AC CLASS be it 2,3 TIER or...