Mayiladuthurai to Mylapore

31 Replies

Though I have traveled to and fro Mayiladuthurai (Mayavaram) and Madras ever since the time I can remember, last Sunday’s bus journey from Mayavaram to Madras turned out to be one of the most enjoyable, thanks to the pleasant weather with the rain threatening to pour any minute but not daring to peep out from the clouds, and the nature in all its beauty, embellishing both sides of the road for most part of the journey in the form of green paddy/sugarcane fields and vaaikkaals/canals/rivers/ponds overflowing with water. Add to it the sky trying out every possible shade of blue, gray, orange and pink every passing moment! Sheer bliss! 🙂

Of course, it’s not as though I am enjoying the nature’s beauty in this part of the state for the first time. But, the wonderful weather and the cool breeze blowing made it all the more pleasing. 🙂 The cool breeze blowing in some places left me wondering whether I was in some hill station. 😉 With the beautiful scenery surrounding me everywhere, how could I resist the temptation to click pictures? 🙂 I decided to try my luck to see how far I succeed in taking photos of decent quality from a moving bus with just my mobile. (Don’t mind the slanting shots and the parts of the bus being visible in some pics!)

The photo bug bit me just as the bus reached koLLidam. koLLidam does not have even this much water most of the times….


After koLLidam when the bus reached Chidambaram, it seemed as though the whole town was out on the roads, probably shopping for Diwali. The place was too crowded. It was yet another time when I got a gopura darshan of the Chidambaram temple. I am yet to visit the temple but. 🙁

After Chidambaram came the most beautiful stretch – between Bhuvanagiri and Vadalur. Some river near Bhuvanagiri:

There seemed to be only never-ending paddy fields in myriad shades of green on both sides of the road. Felt like singing pachchai nirame pachchai nirame 😀


Amidst all this greenery was this dry river. Maybe Paalar. Not sure.

More greenery 🙂

I decided to try out the Black and White option of my mobile camera and took these two photos. That was a railway crossing some 160 km from Chennai.

The bus driver was driving the bus so slowly that by the time the bus reached Tindivanam, I got so bored. On top of it, the bus stopped at Vikravandi for some 20-25 minutes for lunch. How can I write about stopping at Vikravandi without mentioning about the songs that they play there? You should listen to all those remixed Tamil songs (remix in the sense, no changes to the tune, but completely new lyrics), old and new, to fully appreciate it. 😛 It was only after we reached NH45 that the bus seemed to pick up speed.

The lake near yaeri kaattha raamar temple, Madurantakam: (the best that I could manage!)

Some hills between Madurantakam and Chengalpet that made me feel all the more as though I was travelling in a hill station. 😉

Chengalpet Lake, the lake that’s supposed to never dry up and a train passing by near Chengalpet Lake:

After that, the photos that I took (in fact, including the two above) turned out to be of very poor clarity. So, end of photos. The picture clarity of all these photos is nothing to boast about. So, click on the photos for large size at your own risk. 😛

I got down at Tambaram and got into the bus, 21G. This was the first time that I traveled by the Deluxe/Air Bus of 21G and I must say, the bus is very uncomfortable. The gap between two rows is so less that it’s sure to cause leg pain to all the tall people. Travelling by 21G for some 40 minutes turned out to be more uncomfortable than travelling from Mayavaram to Tambaram for 6+ hours! And once I entered the city, is there anything to say about the ‘scenery’ on both sides of the roads though the weather in Chennai on that day was super!

31 thoughts on “Mayiladuthurai to Mylapore”

  4. Ranjhith

    Those greener pics were good to watch. I hav a belief that majority of TN is dry. This travelogue seemed to travel only within the bus. 🙂

    Btw, “Are you game for it?” is still trying to lure ppl. 😛

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  7. Siva

    excellent.. great pictures.. cannot really believe these are pictures from a mobile..so clear.. also having taken these pictures traveling in a bus is even fantastic…

    i guess people around you in the bus must be wondering what are you upto – capturing photos all over the travel.. 😉

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  9. CHANDRASEKARAN

    What a coincidence. i also tarvelled in car the same day between Pondy to chennai and enjoyed the nature’s gift onthat day. Your photo’s are good

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  11. Aparna

    Adiya,
    🙂

    Sathej,
    Thanks

    Daneel,
    🙂

    Ranjhith,
    >belief that majority of TN is dry
    It’s a wrong belief
    Btw, removed the Are you game for it

    Siva,
    Welcome back 🙂 Yes. Thanks

    Ponnarasi,
    Thank you 🙂 Yeah took all these when the bus was in motion.

    Siva,
    Thanks. Even I was surprised that these photos came out this well 🙂
    Since I was sitting in the first row and took all the photos without moving from my seat, I guess not many except the driver and the conductor would have noticed 😉

    Arvind,
    Thanks

    Chandrasekaran Uncle,
    Welcome to my blog 🙂 Oh! Thank you.

    Karthik,
    Welcome to my blog 🙂 Thanks

    Reply ↓
  12. Sami

    Superb pics 😉 Really neat places. Always wanted to visit south arcot area but never went ahead of chidambaram (that too in my childhood). The places mentioned viz madurandhagam, vadalur, Bhuvanagiri etc reminds me the places in ponniyin selvan. Appadiye you should have come to trichy via mayiladuthurai-kumbakonam or tiruvarur-thanjavur-trichy.

    Have you visited veeranarayana eeri ie. veeranam eeri? next time athayum plan pannunga.

    kollidam is the river which keeps its breadth from trichy (where it splits from cauvery) to veeranam (where it splits in to many small branches).

    //koLLidam does not have even this much water most of the times….//
    kallanai-la thirundhu vitta kollidathulayum water varum…its name is kollidam, evvalavu thanneer venumnalum athil kollum..kollidam – thannir kollum idam. In 2005 kollidam was full. I have never seen like that…It was near to touch kollidam bridge

    Yes that was paalar which you have crossed…

    //paalar+a train passing by near Chengalpet Lake – aah..reminds me travel by pallavan express. neenga partha pothu 10.40am-a or 5.15pm-a irundha, it is pallavan express 😉

    sathiyama madras pathi onnum theriyalai 🙁

    and thanks a lot for reviving about those places 🙂

    Reply ↓
  14. Aparna

    Sami,
    Thank you 😉
    >the places in ponniyin selvan
    I haven’t read that book

    >you should have come to trichy
    I did come to Trichy, not on that weekend but the next weekend 🙂

    >Have you visited veeranarayana eeri
    No. Ok will will remember to visit it sometime. I too know why koLLidam is named so 🙂 But didn’t know about it being of the same breadth till Veeranam.

    I found out later that it was not Palar. Must be ThenpeNNai mostly.

    >10.40am-a or 5.15pm
    It was around 5 only. So it might have been that train.

    Chandrasekaran Uncle,
    Yes 🙁 She seemed to have been so busy.
    Ok will read it sometime soon

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  19. Rajesh

    please tell me good place which will be v nearer to railway station in chengalpet…..like lake or some good places…

    Reply ↓
  21. Krishna Kumar.S

    Dear Aparna,

    Nice writeup. I am also a travel writer. You can visit my travel blog:-www.exploringmotherindia.blogspot.com

    I write about Railways-Religion. I would be happy if you visit my link.

    Thanks,

    Krishna

    Reply ↓
  23. Krishna Kumar.S

    Hai, I remembered your blog so decided to pay a visit. Did you visit my webpage? And it seems, you update often. I am currently reading of mobile phones etc etc. All the best.
    -Krishna

    Reply ↓
  25. Prabhu.S

    Hi,

    Really i love to travel… particularly mayiladuthurai – chennai… your blog make me some beatifull rememberance…. thank u…

    Reply ↓
  29. Ramanan T K

    Hi Aparna,

    Your writings are really great and I appreciate for writing a lot in detail about all your experiences. I read a lot, but writing is my handicap. After reading your blog I also wanted to start writing, which I will try to do in the near future.

    Regards,

    Ramanan T K

    Reply ↓
  31. vasanth

    Hi aparna,

    It was a wonderful reading your blog, bcoz ur english was so good.I admired the words you were used.

    i just crossd the blog by typed mayiladuthurai in google 🙂

    Nice blog

    Reply ↓

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