Lalita Iyer

  HUGE WAVES AT THE REUNION I have been travelling quite a bit in the recent months. And each trip, five days off a suitcase, without my usual routine is now getting to me. And after some time too many people, too much socialising can really get me gritting my teeth. Having fun did not cease but you know what I mean. I just took my time writing about these memories because I was busy washing clothes, catching up with maid and the local society gossip and in general feeling good to be back to my chair and my remote..... But these two back-to-back trips were a treat. After the pampered Raj Bhavan stay in Jaipur we came down to Chennai and came to the VGP Golden Beach Resort. One among the oldest resorts, it was also known for being a location for film shootings. Our taxi driver informed me that serials are being shot into the nights even these days. In fact huge statues are still quite in vogue here and it is still a big-time wedding destination. And why not? The beach, fairly clean...

  AJMER SHARIF DARGAH WITH DEVOTED  CROWDS We drove into Ajmer to visit the Dargah. I had heard so much about it and sworn to visit it. The Governor saab indulged us. Higway No 8 was crowded and it goes right up to Ahmedabad via, Baroda, Surat and other places. Trucks, buses, cars and two wheelers abounded. Repair of highway is going on and so the siren whooped everywhere. At one toll booth one of the security guys would not allow us till we showed pass. He of course got a lesson in protocol. There is one dhaba famous for its 32 inch parantha, but we just had a sweet tea off a mud kulhad. And we reached Ajmer. Apart from the crowded roads, the highway is dotted with restaurants, dhabas, hotels, all along the way. Natural greenery but no agriculture because of lack of water. We had to go to Delhi Gate of the Dargah to be escorted and so we drove into the slimmest of roads with shops on either side. Shimmery stuff and had I walked I would have bought everything. It was dazzling ...

  Wed, 15 Feb at 8:42 pm GUESTS OF RAJ BHAVAN, JAIPUR I am in a bit of a daze. Post breakfast, my toes and thighs toasting in the sun, I am watching peacocks crying out and running around in excited circles, just a foot away from me, while orange bougainvillea leaves fall over me in the slightest of the breeze. The parakeets and various other birds woke me up, along with the rest of the nearby world from the plentiful green trees that surround this well designed place. You may not have guessed but Murali and I are guests of the Governor Kalraj  Mishra at Jaipur. Murali is on the advisory  board of the governor for MSME and Employment. This time I am the attachment. Luckily M has to attend meeting while I can be lulled by the distant traffic sounds, the bird calls and the entire magical beauty of it  all. They have these huge well appointed rooms with well designed beds and the warmest and softest of razais (someone actually asked me if I got up in the morning for a w...

  EMPTY ROADS AND SOARING KITES It always astounds me when there are no traffic bottlenecks in Hyderabad city. On normal days there is always a reason for the bottleneck. And the worst ones are created for the VIPs, including Mana CM.  Anyways all that was taken care of this entire week with everything being a cool ride and reaching destinations on time or before time. Thanks to everyone who was travelling in crowded buses  to their home towns for this festival of the new alignment of the sun.  All the favourite tea shops, bajji bandis, jilebi makers, vegetable vendors, bangle sellers had gone to Andhra Pradesh for the festival. The road leading to Kukatpally was a delight to drive on. In fact every road, every fly over, all junctions looked new, freshly paved and well behaved. Even as I write about it, it is time for us prepare ourselves to be back in the jam.  On Pongal day we were invited by Gopalaswami and his wife Ranjani for lunch. They live in Vietnam and...

  BLAME BUREAUCRATS FOR GIRLS NOT ATTENDING SCHOOL In fact one of the top reasons for girls not attending schools in villages and small towns is the lack of toilet facilities. Oops, I stand corrected. Not that our city is any better. There are many toilets built, under so many government schemes, but none of the mahanubavulus (read bureaucrats) thought that water would be needed. Build the toilet, inaugurate it, done and dusted. In the next power point presentation they will have the number of toilets built in each hamlet. And also expect a pat on the back and Central funding for the same. In fact there should be a follow up on how many toilets are in use. This follow up and holding the government accountable becomes the sole responsibility of the local stringer or journalist. Instead of passing urine on the roadside, he can visit the school bathrooms to see how much in use they are. We are also not toilet trained. Because we think we can leave turd in the toilet bowl and walk away...

  RETREAT WITH SHUFFLING DEALS I caught a day in Hyderabad, washed clothes, cooked a few meals and the next day left at 4 am to fly into Mangaluru for a retreat with the girls from my IC group. We were to be 10 of us but just the six arrived, bright and bushy tailed. From the airport we drove into Hotel Sadanand, in Suratkal famous for it's National Institute of Technology (NIT), all clean and popular and gave hell to the steward. Slowly he became indulgent and smiled through his service. The way we were eating chutney, surprised that they did not get a bucket of the same. The neer  dosas disappeared quickly as did the Mysore masala and the mooda idlis (longer version of regular idlis wrapped and steamed in a banana leaf). The unwrapping is exciting. Then we drove to Kollur Mookambika on National Highway 66. Super roads with an engrossing scenery of tall coconut and areca nut trees and nestled in this forestery are some of the most beautiful houses with tiered roofs made of Ma...