Tiled Roads

Of all states Tamil Nadu is most geared for encouraging tourism. Ooty is in perhaps in decline, but Kodaikanal is not. It is perhaps the cleanest and neatest of all Indian hill stations. While it will take a tremendous effort to reach the standards of say, Interlaken, I must say, given the general Indian standards of public hygiene, Kodai is pretty good.

Roads impressed me most. Most of the roads I traveled on are regularly maintained. Even the hill roads! As I climbed the Hill Road to Kodai I was first amused and then intrigued by patches of tiles on the road - the kind you would find on the side walk of big roads in cities. It took a while but then I realized what was going on. The authorities who maintain the roads do not wait for the whole road to be broken. Since, it would be foolish to haul up a road-roller every time a tiny patch of road breaks, they replace the broken piece of road with tiles. And it works just fine.

Now that is ingenuity for you.

Must Have Travel Books For South India

People travel all around the world. They have what is called the wanderlust.

I will be happy if I manage to cover, in one life time, the whole of South India - just the four states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. And I am restricting myself to only those places that fall on the tourist map. South of India is sufficiently rich to last me a life time.

Restricting myself to the south also means that I get to drive to my destination.

I depend mainly on two books for all my travels. And I would recommend this to anyone.

The first is part of the 'Outlook Traveller Getaways' series. It goes by the name 'Weekend Breaks From Bangalore'. Unfortunately the name 'Weekend Breaks From Bangalore' is misleading. Many tourists from the north and outside India may not use this book as they are more interested in a been-there kind of trip. That would be a mistake. Of all the books that I have checked at the local bookstores, this one is perhaps the best. The book dedicates at least 4-5 pages (or more) for each destination. The pages cover maps, routes, best way to get there by car, bus and train, where to stay, where to eat while traveling and at the destination, local interests and places of interest around the destination. I wish they would come up with the next edition soon. My book is getting tattered from use and the next edition would give me the excuse to buy it again.

Outlook Traveller also has dedicated travel books on Goa (I have) and Kerala (need to buy).

The second book I refer for all my trips is the India Road Atlas published by Eicher GoodEarth Publication. I hate maps that need unfolding and refolding (and in any case you can never get the folds neatly back again). The Road Atlas is a book that is of size that is little bigger than A5 and little smaller than A4 size paper - very convenient. There are two built in bookmarks that helps you navigate easily from one page to another. The map is sufficiently detailed. And even if you do not wish to travel by road, buy this Atlas. It is fun to trace roads on the map.

The town of Chandigarh

I have always maintained this. Unfortunately my wife is from Chandigarh and she does not like me saying so. I was therefore delighted when I first read the following in the book Himalaya by Michael Palin (Check out my review of Himalaya).

Chandigarh seems to consist mainly of roundabouts. Beautiful, well-kept, florally abundant roundabouts, sending the traffic spinning from one to another like some endless Scottish reel.

Verdant avenues of peepul, ashoka and mango trees connect this gently swirling system, leading, presumably, to a city of substance, for Chandigarh is the capital of two states, Punjab and Haryana. I say presumably, because in our short stay here it is difficult to see much beyond the roundabouts and dead-straight, repetitive avenues.

What I do see reminds me of Islamabad. Both are post-Independence cities, built in a self-consciously modern style to replace the architecture of the Raj with something new and fresh, and more in keeping with what Nehru called 'the nation's faith in the future'. Both are discrete, tidy and a little cheerless.

At least Chandigarh secured the services of the top man. Swiss architect Le Conbusier designed the grid-plan layout and the boxy, modular buildings in concrete and red brick that can be glimpsed every now and then between the trees.

When I enquire what sort of person lives in this mecca of modernism I'm told that it's mostly wealthy Punjabi farmers approaching retirement.

My local informant summed up Chandigarh as 'a town of white beard and green hedges'. And sadly I'm not here long enough to disprove it.

"Rubbish!" Did I hear someone say 'rubbish'? Come on! Defend your town!

Meanwhile, I brace myself to face my wife tonight.