Down South

South India promised to be intriguing. Chennai was first on his agenda. Never had he seen opulence and poverty contiguous, any where except in the Metro cities of India (The chilly Delhi, the jostling crowds in Kolkata, the equally populated Mumbai and now-Chennai).Slums encompassed these cities. The other important cities being the Hyderabad and the cosmopolitan Bangalore. What he absolutely adored was the food in the south. The people here served a three course meal on banana leaves. The staple food was rice. They usually served mounds of rice to be mixed(with your right hand) with Sambar (lentil soup),rasam(named by the English as Mulligatawny)-a thin soup made of tomatoes/tamarind, garlic and a liberal sprinkling of pepper and cumin seeds. Appalam( papad, in the north),vegetable curries.It was followed by rice with yoghurt served usually with pickles. All of the southern states followed the same norms while serving meals. The states were Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.

Chennai was not much of a tourist spot. But there was the eternally-spoken-about towns of Ooty (Ootachamund) and Coonoor with spattering of spectacular waterfalls, lush green vegetation and valleys and dales. Pondicherry (a Union territory) had French influences. Kancheepuram was celebrated for a range of temples with amazingly architectured Gopurams (intricately carved towering structures and gargoyles made of stone and metal)

It was also distinguished for its silk saris with heavy gold and silver embroidery made in looms. It was known as the temple town as every nook and cranny had these huge temple usually bustling with people and a couple of elephants.

Hyderabad, though, had Nawabi influences and was famous for the spicy Hyderabadi Biriyanis (spiced rice with mutton /chicken), Banjara hills, the imposing Charminar, and the tortuous Golconda Fort.

People spoke Urdu, Hindi and Telugu. Hyderabad was located in Andhra Pradesh. The

other important town was Vishakhapatnam(a port) . Andhra curries, chutneys, pickles were consumed humongously by the locals. They served a specialty known as Gonkura

Pickle( a sour-pungent delight)….

He jumped in to the train heading to Kerala…