- Want to taste hot idli sambar and spicy masala dosa?
- Want to indulge in the divine spirit of Lord Krishna?
- Want to chill out and have an evening with friends and family?
- Want to watch a nail-biting ODI cricket between India and Pakistan?
- Want to take a tour down the lanes of history?
Triplicane also known as Thiruvallikeni ("Thiru alli keni" translated as "The Holy pond with Lily flowers") is a small yet beautiful town in the heart of the Chennai Metropalitan City in India.
It is densely populated with a variety of people like the Tamil Brahmins, Telugu businessmen (they do rice business, in large), the muslim community, the working bachelors and a variety of retail vendors from kaaigari (translated as vegetables) to clothing to grocery super markets. Not to forget about the kaiendhi bhavans(translated as fast food centers) and famous restaurants.
Ratna Cafe
This South Indian Vegetarian restaurant is very famous for its delicious Idli and Sambar ( a south indian snack prepared with rice and urid dhal with a spicy soup like side dish). Ratna cafe has a huge fan-fare from all over Chennai for its unique masala dosa and filter coffee. People even take "parcels" back home from this place. (To read an interesting anectode on how the word parcel is used in India and the US click here). To read reviews on RatnaCafe please click here.
Sri Parthasarathy Swamy temple ( A Hindu worship place)
Sri Parthasarathy temple is one of the 108 sacred SriVaishnavite temples and has Lord Krishna as its main deity. Partha Sarathy means "Charioteer for Partha alias Arjuna". As the epic Mahabharata unfolds, Lord Krishna himself takes the form of charioteer for Arjuna, one of the five Pandava brothers and enlightens him with The Bhagavat Gita (The Holy Divine Song from the Lord) leading the brothers to victory in the war against evil.
This temple is also known as "Brindaranya Kshetram". Sri Andal is the main consort of Sri Parthasarathy and Sri Rukmini Thaayar is the consort of the Moolavar Sri VenkataKrishnan. Even though the main deity today is Sri Parthasarathy, this temple originally had Lord Sri Narasimha as its main deity. The legend goes that Lord Parathasarathy requested Lord Narasimha to give Him a place in the temple so that He can rest after the tedious Kurukshetra war and He stayed there ever after blessing His devotees. Apart from Lord Parthasarathy and VenkataKrishnan, the temple also has the sanctum-sanctorum of Lord Narasimha, Lord Ranganatha, Lord Rama and Lord Varadharaja. In this temple, Lord Varadharaja offers Nithya Garuda Sevai ( The Lord sits on his chariot Garuda, the Eagle) to His devotees.
This temple is personally very special and close to my heart.
The Marina Beach
Asia's second longest beach, the marina is just the perfect place for an evening outing. Marina is a boon to the Chennai-ites given the scorching hot weather throughout the year. You cannot miss the paatani-sundal ( a spicy snack), molagai bajji (chili hot dog like) when you are out there.
The MCC Stadium
The Chepauk Stadium is no new name to Cricket fans all over the world. In fact, it is Sachin Tendulkar's favorite stadium as he blazes all around with his smashing shots. I was lucky to watch the third day's play of Australia-India Titan Cup Test Match at this stadium.
Down the lanes of History
All the places like Ratna Cafe, Sri Parthasarathy temple ,MCC Stadium are as old as my ancestors. Yet, thats not all with Triplicane. It has other famous highlights . One such monument is The Hindu Hr. Sec. School.
Some famous students of this "Red Buildi
ng" are Mahakavi Subramani Bharathi, Nobel laureate Chandrasekar.Vivekanandar Illam (associate this with Swami Vivekananda) or the "Ice House" is another famous landmark at Triplicane.
To Reach Triplicane,
Nearest Railway Station: Chennai Central ( approximately 3 Kms from Chennai Central )
Nearest Airport: Anna International Terminal, Chennai ( approximately 10 kms from the airport)
While you are there at Chennai, visit Triplicane. It definitely rocks!
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