Anupam: - The local trains of Chennai have lesser number of seats in their compartment in comparison to the local trains of Kolkata. But, the Chennai local trains are so neat and clean. Thank God, there is no Vendor Compartment in this train. Railway Ministry should run a separate train for vendors only. Accha, Angshuman daa, after how many stoppages will we reach Thyagarajanagar?
Angshuman: - Thyagarajanagar? Oh! Accha, accha, the full form of T Nagar is Thyagarajanagar. Hmm…in the train ticket, it is written as Thyagarajanagar only. After 5 stoppages, we will reach T Nagar station. There is a staircase at the right side of the T Nagar platform. We have to walk down the staircase to reach the T Nagar market.
***********************************************************
Sunny: - This is the lane of T Nagar market! Babah…it is as congested as our Burrabazar market of Kolkata.
Arindam: - in this market, I can see so many jewel shops. After a gap of 2-3 shops, you will find a jewel shop. Either it is ‘Dhanalaxmi Jewellery’ or ‘Swarnanjali Jewellers’. The names of all the jewel shops are somewhat similar but their owners are different. There are some garment shops where every item is on sale. The branded cotton shirts are displayed inside that shop with 50% discount on their MRP. Is it ‘Chaitra Sale’ in Chennai?
John: - Ha ha ha…well said, Arindam. But, let me tell you one thing that this is the only commercial place of Chennai where you can buy any product at huge discounts on any day in a year. For 365 days, there are discount sales in this T Nagar market.
Debarjun: - Hey guys, I have found a shop where electronics watches can be bought within 100 bucks each. Just come with me.
**********************************************************
Debraj: - What is the price of this wrist watch?
Watch Shop Owner: - Only 80 bucks, Sir. Basically, it is a second hand wrist watch. But this wrist watch is working absolutely fine.
Sumanta: - Yeh chori ka maal hain kya?
Watch Shop Owner: - Ussey aapko kya lena dena saab…you are getting this wrist watch at a cheap price. Just buy it, naah…This wrist watch will cost you around 499 bucks in any Titan showroom. Also we have some fabulous Timex Waterproof wrist watches which cost around 1500 bucks. We are selling these wrist watches only at 180 or 200 bucks.
Angshuman: - Baah… is it so? Just show us those Timex watches. If we like it, then we will buy it.
**********************************************************
Vartika: - Sir, what are you doing here inside this jewel shop?
Debojyoti: - Arrey, Vartika, the price of Gold in this jewel shop is really cheaper than the price of Gold in Kolkata.
Vartika: - What are you saying, Sir? The price of Gold is uniform everywhere.
Debojyoti: - Ha ha ha…that I know. But, in this jewel shop, they give more discounts than any Kolkata jewel shop. Moreover, the quality of jewels is far better here.
**********************************************************
Arindam: - See the fun! Our Debojyoti Sir will buy some jewels from this T Nagar market. One thing I don’t understand that there are so many jewel shops near to each other, but, still, there is no dearth of customers. In every jewel shop, there are so many customers. Really, South Indians are too fond of jewels. Also, I can see in the front side of every jewel shop, there is an electronic screen which is displaying the current prices of Gold.
Deepti: - Arindam, We, the South Indians always regard Golden jewels as our assets. You have no idea that almost in every South Indian house, there is a secret place, where Gold jewels are kept hidden. The South Indian people don’t keep all their jewels in banks. You will be even stunned to hear that recently one of my friends got married. Her father gave golden jewels of worth 5 lakhs INR to his son-in-law. In South India, it is a ritual that in dowry, you have to give golden jewels.
Arindam: - Hmm…I have also heard that in ancient India, South India was the hub of gemstones and jewels. Pearls were also found in South India only. In ancient South India, Gold used to be found like sands lying on road.
Deepti: - Quite true! The Pallavas and the Cholas had so many jewels that they were even planning to make a golden temple in South India.
Debarjun: - He he he…Golden temple is there in Amritsar and Amritsar is in North India.
Deepti: - That’s a different thing, but, South India is still rich in gemstones and golden jewels.
Arindam: - Hey, Deepti, how much golden jewels has your father kept in his store for your dowry, he he he…
Deepti: - Shut up! I will not marry a boy who wants golden jewels as dowry.
Arindam: - So, you want to say that your current boyfriend will not demand dowry when he wants to marry you.
Deepti: - Uff, just stop it. It’s too early for me to discuss about these things.
Debarjun: - Ha ha ha…Sain…babah…please stop this topic. Hey, look! Koustav has entered inside a shop to buy Kanchivaram sarees for his girlfriend. Come on; let us go inside that shop.
*************************************************************
Arindam: - What is so special about Kanchivaram Sarees? Every one of us has entered inside this shop to see some Kanchivaram sarees.
Debolina: - It is made of pure silk. Now, don’t ask me what is silk and what is silkworm?
Arindam: - No, I have the idea about silk, but, is a saree made from silk very comfortable for a woman or is it just a hype to wear this saree as it is a very costly saree? By the way, how much it costs?
Sumanta: - Why? You want to buy a Kanchivaram saree? Why you want to know the price? Look at this Kanchivaram saree. This is only 1999 bucks in this T Nagar market. Just guess what can be its price in Kolkata?
Arindam: - Hardly it will be 2500 bucks only.
Sumanta: - No, you will not get this Kanchivaram saree in Kolkata below 4500 bucks. I can assure you that. In Bengal, a new bride always wears a Benarasi saree because Benarasi sarees are cheaper than Kanchivaram sarees, whereas in South India, a new bride wears a Kanchivaram saree. I just need to make a call to my mom and elder sister. After getting the confirmation from them, I will buy two Kanchivaram sarees from this shop.
***************************************************************
Chawla: - Sir, everyone has done some shopping, but, Debraj, Arnab and Arindam have done no shopping in this T Nagar market.
Debojyoti: - Se ki? Why? Have you people not liked anything to buy?
Arnab: - We have not done shopping on a large scale. I and Debraj have bought a wrist watch for 80 bucks, which is looking good in our wrist.
Debojyoti: - Sain, what about you?
Arindam: - I have bought 5 packets of Keralite banana chips, 2 packets of Tamilian Mixtures, 2 South Indian lockets and a packet of special coconut laddoos. This laddoo packet costs 5 bucks only but it has around 20 coconut laddoos.
Debojyoti: - Ha ha ha…you better open a South Indian snacks and sweets shop in Kolkata, he he he…Ei, all of you listen to me…if we don’t get any food to eat in the Coromandel Express, then we will eat all these laddoos and Keralite banana chips that has been bought by our Sain…he he he…Anyway, jokes apart, now, let us go back to our lodge to keep our shopping packets. Then, we will go to Marina Beach.
John: - Sir, why again to Marina Beach? We can go to Elliot’s Beach near Besant Nagar. It is also a good beach.
Vartika: - Yes, Sir. John is right. I, Deepti, Debarjun, Chawla, Pandey, Rathi, John, Debolina, Koustav, Sunny and Agarwal have already decided to go to Eliot’s beach. You also have to go with us.
Debojyoti: - Ok, ok, I will go to Eliot’s Beach. What about the others?
Angshuman: - We will go to Marina Beach, Sir. We will not go back to the lodge. We will go direct to Marina Beach from here. We have not done so much shopping, that’s why.
Debojyoti: - Ok, not an issue. But, we will meet each other at 8.30 PM in front of Silver Jubilee Restaurant to have our dinner.
*******************************************************************
Deepak: - Already, I have seen two Spencers shopping mall in Chennai now. All the shopping malls are under Spencers only. Sir, have you noticed one thing in Chennai. There are so many over-bridges and subways almost in every crossing. No pedestrians are allowed to cross the road by walking on zebra lines; where there is a over-bridge or subway, otherwise, that pedestrian will be fined by the Chennai traffic police. The Chennai traffic policemen are very strict and disciplined. That’s why; Chennai have the record of lowest number of road accidents in respect to other Metropolitan cities.
Himangshu: - Hmm…you are quite right. Hey, we can enter inside the Spencers mall also for some time. It is now 2.30 PM. There is so much heat outside. We will spend some time inside this shopping mall. Then around 4 PM, we will go to Marina beach. Ok, naah!
Sumanta: - Yeah, yeah, that is fine.
*****************************************************************
Arindam: - aah…it is so cool inside. The one reason why I like shopping malls is that it is completely air-conditioned. If you want to cool yourself, just enter any shopping mall and keep roaming here and there.
Arnab: - Hey, what is this office in the ground floor. I can see a trading terminal. Also, all the exchange rates of foreign currencies are written in respect to our INR.
Angshuman: - This is a forex terminal. If any foreigner wants to change his own nation’s currency to INR, then he can change it here. It is basically a subsidiary branch of Singapore Bank. You can even do foreign exchange trading in share market through their channel.
Debraj: - Why Singapore Bank has opened their subsidiary branch in Chennai only? Singapore Bank is not there in Kolkata!
Sumanta: - Arrey, babah, Singapore is very near to Chennai. If you go to Singapore, then you will find that around 90% of the Indians living in Singapore are Tamils only. Come on; let us go upstairs to see all those foreign girls roaming here and there to do window shopping. At around 4 PM, we will go outside this shopping mall and take an auto to reach Marina Beach.
***************************************************************
Auto Driver: - No, Sir, I will not go to Marina Beach. This is Sir Tayagaraya Road. Hardly, you will get any auto from this road which will take you to Marina Beach. Just do one thing. Just walk through that road for 5 minutes and then take the right hand side road to reach Usman Road. From Usman Road, you will get any auto which goes to Marina Beach or you can board a bus from West Mambalam also. An Auto driver will take 80 bucks but the bus fare is only 7 bucks each.
****************************************************************
Himangshu: - It is very difficult to communicate with these Tamil people. Whatever you ask them, they will just nod their head. Whether they are saying yes or no, you cannot make out. I took around 10 minutes to make this Tamil auto driver understand that we want to go to Marina Beach and we will give that fare only, which will be displayed in the meter. They don’t even understand Hindi.
Angshuman: - It is not that they don’t understand Hindi. They intentionally pretend to ignore Hindi. Even Tamil people don’t allow many cinema halls to show Bollywood films. Their favorite actor is Rajanikanth and they regard him as their God. I have also heard that a section of Tamil people don’t regard themselves as Indians also.
Arindam: - Na ghar ka na ghat kaa…Tamil people are considered as terrorists in Sri Lanka. Now, if these Tamil people don’t want to remain as Indians, then where will they go? He he he…Is Maldives and Singapore government so liberal towards these communal Tamil people?
Anupam: - Hmm…that’s a problem. Dhurrh…We are travelling in the auto for last 10 minutes. I am yet to spot a Chennai girl who looks beautiful. All are dark-skinned.
Deepak: - You stay in Chennai for 1 year, you will look like an African only. The weather of Chennai is such that for 9 months in a year, there is summer. Only in December, they get some rainfall. The winter season is unknown here. In January and February only, the temperature is somewhat cooler.
Auto Driver: - Sir, we have reached Marina Beach.
**********************************************************
Angshuman: - Hey, Anupam and Deepak. You people have a bath in the Marina Beach waters. We are going to see the aquarium at the left side of this beach. We will be back in an hour or you people can join us there also after your bath.
**********************************************************
Debraj: - Really, how quickly these 7 days have passed? Sometimes, 1 day looks so long and sometimes 7 days look so short. I am feeling as if we started our journey towards Chennai just a few moments ago and now we are sitting inside the Coromandel Express which is speeding towards Kolkata.
Arnab: - I have not attended any such conference in my life before. I liked the tour. I will attend all the SAP conference in future also.
Arindam: - After this “OOTY TOUR OF 2007”, our next SAP Conference will be in Goa, just a month before the Durga Puja of 2007. Don’t worry; IBS Kolkata will rock there again.
***********************************************************
Sumanta: - Uff…we have entered Santragachi station half an hour ago. But, we are yet to enter Howrah station. The number of platforms of Howrah should be increased to reduce the delays caused due to late ‘green-signaling’.
**********************************************************
Debojyoti: - We have reached Howrah station. All of you please take care of your luggage. The coolies of Howrah station have a tendency to pull anyone’s luggage without taking permissions. Let us get down now. Accha, listen to me. I am planning to organize a small party for all the SAP Trainees who have attended the Ooty conference. Every year, I give that treat as some funds are allocated to IBS Kolkata for entertainment of its SAP trainees. We will also meet our College Dean to show the awards that we have received in this Conference. So, today, just go home and take a nice sleep. See you all tomorrow at our SAP office. Good bye.
No comments:
Post a Comment