hiii from chennai! I'm still calling it Madras coz I'm not used to the new names (which are actually the old, pre-British names). It hasn't changed at all since the last time, but for some minor differences.


Bid farewell to three guys/men at Changi Airport, all of them looking relieved to see us leave :P ("so much more peace in Singapore now!") The plane journey on SIA was good. There was quite a bit of turbulence, and me n amma were stuck with a really irritating guy next to us (well, he kept ON asking for brandy, thereby irritating us) but food was pretty decent and landing was smooth. I was looking forward to watching the Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants 2 but that dumb channel refused to work! Neither did the comedy channel showing Scrubs and 30 Rock. So I was stuck watching some unheard of movie called Ghost Town which was actually quite funny, tho not the brainless chickflick type I would've preferred. Anyway I was more thankful that BrandyGuy didn't barf so was in a good mood till we got to the immigration. Oh, the mess! 3 flights had arrived at the same time and there were just masses of people forming their own queues which all ended up at the same three pathetic immigration counters. It took 3 times longer than the usual long time it takes to clear immigration. And after that, baggage collection was a gigantic mess as well. They'd hyped up the security due to the Bombay bombings so we had to clear our hand luggage before getting our checked-in stuff. Luckily, thanks to appa's PPS card, our stuff was placed outside the carousel and we could retrieve it immediately. As we exited the airport, there was another mass of madly-waving people holding up placards, but we managed to find my grandma (patti) excitedly waving to us, standing right in front. So all was good.


On the drive home, the windows were down and the Madras breeze hit my face along with the sights and smells which I'd missed for one whole year - the ample billboards with actors and cricket players, the stench of the rivers, the crazy honking of the motorists for no reason at all (even after 10pm), the crazy driving of the motorists as they drive without adhering to any of the road rules (why do they even bother painting lanes on the road here?!) and the few places like Anna University and Bill Roth Hospital which are familiar to me. Finally we got home, and saw my grandpa (thatha) and great-aunt eagerly waiting at the gate. Here at last! Patti had made cake and custard as she does every single year, so at midnight we were happily having dessert and catching up on whatever we could, despite being thoroughly exhausted.


The next few days were typical and routine, but I won't get bored of this lifestyle for a month at least. Waking up around 8.30, having tea, watching TV, reading the papers (which are v v interesting btw), eating like mad, more TV, more reading, talking to the elders and more TV before sleeping. Lots of cricket, LOTS more bollywood - inexhaustible fun! It's just different coz teenu's still in Singapore and my cousin Adithiya's been posted to work at Mysore. Once they get here (Adi just came today), it'll be just like always. Every year is so similar, yet each day is different. That's what I love most about India.


There's cyclonic weather due to hit Madras tomorrow. So no plans to leave home. This rain, however, might bring in an onslaught of bloodthirsty mosquitoes which have been surprisingly quiet for the last few days. There has also only been one power cut so far which happened this morning. I'm praying that there won't be any more of those. There definitely won't be a water shortage here (dunno about Bombay). So it's just gonna be a fun and lazy two weeks before we set off for Bombay on the 21st.


Oh I went for a wedding today! Vijay TV Ramya's bro's wedding. It was lovely tho we were only there for half an hour. Saw actress Suganya and singer Harish Raghavendra. Oh and Prakash Raj!! But it was weird asking them for a photo coz they seemed to be in a rush. Probably would've seen more if we were there for a longer time! I'm finally getting to wear my few new saris. Haven't even done any shopping yet or gone to the library. I'm just too lazy to leave the house (and the TV)!


Alright, I'm getting enticed by the smells from the kitchen - patti's making a cake for adi's birthday tomorrow - so shall go hang around there now :P goodnight! Oh, did anyone go for the B&J ChunkFest today btw? Sadly there wasn't anything here. Clearly, I am hungry. Goodnight! :D