Why chennai is one of the best city in India!!!

I accept your argument sriharsha, when you said it creates unwanted crisis, will try to refrain hereafter. Its just my perception and thats what my blog is all about and i have placed it in region and language category only. I would like to point out one small attribute by which i made the claim, you might disagree with it, but the fact is chennai is one city with zero terrorism. Thats all folk!!!

I have nothing to feel bad about it. Criticism is welcomed. It bounds to happen. Perception differs. I just have to reiterate that its just my personal view. 99.9% might not agree with me. Kindly note i have not criticised any other cities. I m not eligible to do so. I simply wanted to highlight the plus points of chennai. More than chennai, i like the places like kumbakonam, trichy, tanjavur, uttarkashi, kerala, thane, mathura and so many places. But its just about having harmony in the urban areas, thats my point.

I also wanted to say that, i have said there can be FEW cities, kindly note that too.

I rest my case!

A very valid point murali. Its a great concern.

Hi JK...

I believe emotional bondage takes precedence in matters like this. An objective analysis may or may not be valid. Inspite of all the terrorist attacks & attacks by political outfits, people from all over the country and abroad throng the place called Mumbai. I believe they do more so only because of their emotional bondage..

In such cases i believe objective rendering of the view is difficult. I go with sriharsha in this...

Dear JK,

I read your post, but some how, having the world's second largest Beach, or Kancheepuram for neighbhourhood, doesnt qualify a city to be the best. 

There are some points that you may want to consider:

1. How is the infrastructure? Is it comparable to New Delhi?
2. How accepting are the people? Are they as warm as that of Mumbai?
3. Weather? Does it beat Bangalore's?

Just my two cents.  I have nothing against Chennai or you, but i do have something against baseless evaluations.

thanks for the response shrini and ketan

I m happy that you went through my post. In my post itself i have talked about the warmth of people (hospitality) as well as the weather (thats one of the negative) Infrastructure is getting enhanced off late. As for the question w.r.t. kancheepuram and largest beach, Chennai does not have any famous monuments/spots for sight seeing, those info are just for tourist and people who are relatively new to chennai and would like to know places where they can visit in chennai. Delhi is the best for that. i accept your view of the post being a baseless evaluations.

Thanks for your comment Sriharsha. I would really appreciate, if you can enlighten me about bangalore. Though i have come there thrice, i have not got a chance to explore more about bangalore, other than jay nagar, richmond st, shanti nagar, IISC bangalore, ISKCON temple, lalbagh.

Weather in bangalore is enchanting. Infrastructure is world class. (but i was enthralled, when i stepped into delhi metro service) I didn't find any good vegetarian restaurant in the places i visited, so i m not going to talk about it. In chennai, saravana bhavan is a renowned restaurant. I have seen few anjappar here and there. but the one i can remember is in t. nagar.

finally, good to have a very constructive exchange of thoughts with you.

Thank you very much for the suggestions Sriharsha. Next time when i come to bangalore, i will try to taste food in any of those veg restaurant. i m not really a shopping buff. but will pass on that gyan to people who wants it.

Shopping:

T. Nagar is synonymous with shopping in chennai, you also have purasawalkam and parrys as other options.

For electronic goods you can try ritchie street.

Food

i have mentioned  saravana bhavan, you can relish food at murugan idly, geetha cafe in t.nagar. try those sometimes

Hey! thnx a lot for reminding! I did have idlis at Murugan Idli store! I must say it was too good! i loved the 'podi' so much tht i dint mind paying for it just to lick it one last time

I did not have enuf time to roam around T nagar last time. will keep that for next time

I have pleasant memories of all cities I have visited - even Kolkata! (@Choco - fire away) Why? Because what makes a city alluring to me is not the infrastructure, the beauty, food, shopping pleasure or anything similar. It is the people. And every place I have visited I have met some fantastic people. That includes Chennai.

And since this thread is specifc to Chennai - there are two places in Chennai that is close to my heart: Marina beach (I just love to sit there and watch the sun set - whenever I am there) and Tambaram (I grew up there - 4 years of my fantastic childhood)

You were at Tambaram? I studied there - 3 years at MCC.

A delightful thought amit.

Yes, one more thing about going to a new place is getting lost there. I mean being at an entirely new environment, meeting new people. In that sense every place is unique and that uniqueness is what enthralls.

tiruvananthapuram certainly is a hot destination, but evening will be very sultry there.

good to know about your passion for your city. keep it up.

PS : I have least affinity towards my city, though i have wrote about it. i love places like sri villiputtur, kumbakonam, trinelveli, etc.

Prolly it is coz ur city was as busy as this from the time u first knew abt it. But my city grew beyond leaps and bounds with me. So, it's like it has been reflecting me all the time. :)

I do agree with Choco. That exactly what i had in my mind when i wrote about hospitality within bracket except few people, i deliberately avoided those names not to hurt other's feeling ( who knows some local transporters might be reading blogs) in the world everyone are opportunistic and i have been a victim in that mega city, when i went there for the first time. So those people are smart in gauging people in a jiffy. i have written a blog on this matter long time ago, just as soon as i started blogging. you might be interested in reading that. Do check it out.

http://jkwillsay.blogspot.com/2008/02/uncrowned-kings-of-road.html

Read that. I would like to add(a little patriotically off course), that Kolkata auto's are a boon.

I know that they drive like there are no rules. But these are shuttle and can take you a distance of 5 to 8 kms in as less as 4 Rs. The rates and routes are fixed. And you can sit back and relax even if you don't know the way.

The particular write up is about rented auto, which is omnipresent. i do understand your point, we do have that facility in chennai in the name of "share auto" But the distance is limited (say 5 to 8 kms its 10 rs) Still the rate differs according to the area of operation (bus charges also plays a role in deciding the fare in share autos) This just indicates that things in vogue do get imported, if it is acceptable to public.

when i said distance are limited what i meant is, you won't be able to find them plying in all routes. Few busy routes have that kind of share autos. so if one have to reach their destiny say from airport or railway stations or hospitals, you left with no choice other than rented autos, whose drivers certainly charge a fortune (unless its an emergency i never board an auto and i won't recommend it to anyone whose life is economical)

The topic title should better be changed to 'Discussions about cities in India' ;)

Let me tell you, CHOCO, not only in chennai, even in Coimbatore if you speak bad-tamil they ll take you entire city ride. When I visit coimbatore monthly, my tamil being quite bad they ask double the charge. But lucky me who is quite familiar with these things and do manage to hire autos for regular fare.

Thank you for the suggestion amit, thanks for your comment

@Renie,

I was in Tambaram when I was a kid - and that is a looooong time ago. I studied in the central school from Class I to IV. And you know what? I revisited our quarters (in the civil lines - there are some airforce quarters) after I came back to Bangalore for job and had to go to Chennai. And coincidentally the person who lived in that house turned out to be from Bangalore. He let me go through the entire house to refresh whatever memories are left. It was nice.

If you ask anyone what their favourite city is, the answer normally is the place that you had or have your best memories. When you have great friends and make a life in a place..you stop seeing the dirt, ugly politics, lack of amenities and chaotic traffic.  So if you say Chennai is the best..this is because your best memories are here..and if you are missing Blore or Mumbai because you had a good life there at some point....then one of those cities will be your best!

I am saying this because I lived in so many places growing up...that I have no favourite place...........! They are all my favourite!

So you are a globe trotter!!! thats very good. By your comment i assume that you have had sweet memories from all the places you have visited. Also very interesting to hear a global perspective of the topic.