South India at one spot

Longing to visit places in south India and you have no time? Then Dakshin chitra is the place for you to have a glimpse of all the southern states at one spot. Located in the East Coast Road, Muttukkadu, it is a museum of various arts, culture, lifestyle, crafts of the southern states.  Everything is set up for the visitors to enjoy and learn about the southern states. Architectural aspects have been focused on by setting up houses like Chettinad, Kerala, Karnataka etc. These houses resemble the ones in southern states. The houses have a life added to it by having the common households that these states would have. It is just like entering a person’s house in their absence. There are several boards that explain about the household and its purpose. So you don’t require a guide to take you all along and explain what everything means. Ofcourse, a guide can be arranged if it is a school or college trip to educate and give a clear idea about everything there. The houses are set up according to the states and each state has a particular area where the culture, art belonging to that area is set up. So when you are done with kerela you can move forward to Karnataka. Special architectural program is conducted at Dakshin Chitra to understand the traditional vernacular architecture. Different dance programs like folk dance are arranged according to different culture. Apart from just seeing the entertainment you can be a PART of it when it comes to pottery, glass painting, weaving , mehendhi etc. The artisans give a demonstration and you can try it out and take your work home. You have a restaurant to refresh yourself but it is not pallet friendly though it is purse friendly. Apart from the restaurant there are tender coconuts and water available along the path. It has also street scapes, i.e. the streets resemble the ones that are in other southern states. This is to give a feel that you are actually visiting that particular state. A COMPLETE ambience of southern states is given and you could feel the sense of originality though it is not. There wouldn’t be any confusion in visiting the place provided you have a map with you. Your trip would turn tiring if you choose to go in the noon. Always opt to go in the morning or in the evening after 4. The closing time is 6 p.m. It is a good place for a one day tour with your family or friends. Children would enjoy the entertainment there so there is no need to worry if your children might be experiencing the boredom. Plan your weekend to the museum of southern states.

Zha café- perfect place to hangout!

One evening me along with my friends were wondering as to where to hang out.  We were in the Besant Nagar area and all we could think of was the beach or more popularly known as “bessy” by youngsters. Suddenly a friend came with a suggestion, “hey how about zha café? “ We all had the “what is that?” look on our face.  And then we decided to go there just to see what is so exciting about the café that we haven’t heard of!  We see the entrance of the café and look puzzled if it is really a café or a home run café because the building was an ancient independent house. So as we enter with a sense of hesitancy, a waiter receives us. “Please come in mam, where would you like to sit?” We look around and find few tables in the hall and the waiter suggests that there are rooms as well. So we found a Rajasthani themed room, snake and ladder room ( yes! You read it right! A table that has the snake and ladder chart and you get to play it!), bean bag room and so on. So we chose the game room and the first thing that came to my mind was.. PRIVACY!! Yes, the café has a good privacy and it’s like you are entering a house that serves whatever you want that’s on the menu. So we check out the Menu card and to our surprise we find dishes like Karupatti coffee, sukku kaapi (coffee)vaazhaipoo vada, varieties of sandwiches, milkshakes  etc. The eyes that saw cappuccino, burger, samosas etc where surprised to see such traditional items that were just heard off from our parents or grandparents. So after a long discussion we decided on the menu. Next, we find the table that has the popular snake and ladder chart and yes what do a group of girls do when they find such stuffs? There we start playing. The order comes and we happily relish the dishes while playing. This gave a feeling as if we were at a friend’s place and not a café and we realized this when we received the bill. So, a happy one hour was spent with a different experience and we leave with a sense of satisfaction and that the evening was not wasted. 

For those curious to visit, it is right opposite to Bharath School, Kamarajar avenue, Besant Nagar. Mind you, the waiters do not kick you out so you can spend a real long quality time with your friends or your partner. It is also a good place for parties!

Gardening can be made easy!

You love gardening but you are worried about the material you require to nuture your plants? Well, let me give you some brilliant ideas you can use for keeping your environment safe and green!

I was once on my assignment on “safeguarding our environment” and I met a person who owns a terrace garden. To many who knows what gardening is would love this scene where a terrace is filled with varieties of plants ranging from vegetable plants to plants that bear different varieties of flowers. When I looked around the garden I was asking myself..how could this person manage to buy so many pots and nurture these plants. Just as I finished this question I heard a voice saying. “Please have a look at the materials we use as the base for plants.” (did she read my mind? Was the next question in my head). To my surprise, I found amazing materials that were used for these plants instead of those that were to be in the dustbin. Those were materials like an old suitcase that could not be used for your travel but can be a good base for your plant. Next, I saw empty water cans that were half slit and placed horizontally to make it a suitable base. There were other materials like helmets, school bags etc that were used for a good cause. Once I checked out these surprising things, I saw another huge stuff that really was an ad on to my surprise. A broken, old bath tub was used as a base for these plants!! This idea really instilled the thought that many things that we have in our house and that are useless can be useful. So all those who are interested in gardening but cannot invest much please do make use of these simple ideas!! It costs you nothing!