The Whirlwind Tour Pt.2

 Day 2 

Ghee Pongal and Periyar

Nanna had asked me the previous day to search for a restaurant that would serve traditional Tamil breakfast. I wasn’t so optimistic as I opened Google. There were the routine restaurants on the recommended list, but they all seemed to be very modern, and not like the Babai Hotel we have in Vijayawada. I stopped thinking about it, but then Nanna asked me again and I had the same results. But I happened to spot an article right below the normal restaurants that had the generic “10 best places to eat in Chennai”. I had nothing to lose, so I dived in. I wasn’t particularly satisfied by any of them, but one name caught my eye. ‘Rayar’s Mess’. According to the author, it had been around for 75 years and boasted of the best filter coffee in all of Chennai. Now that seemed like a challenge. So I told Nanna about it, and we decided to just take an auto early in the morning and give it a go. 

The humble entrance of this amazing place.

We left our guest house at 7:30 in the morning and got an auto. The auto driver took us to be Hindi people and spoke to us in Hindi, which we did not mind. We went past the beach road and took a right near the San Thome Cathedral. This meant that we were officially in Mylapore. We took a right somewhere near a school and looked for the mess. We couldn't find it at first, but upon closer observation, we spotted the hotel, nestled in buildings and bikes, with a modest sign to proclaim its presence. There was a group of people standing outside; a family of three, two ladies who seemed like they belonged to the elite, and a plump man sitting on the stairs of a nearby apartment. There was a young man who seemed to be the greeter of the place. I could make out most of the conversation and translated to Nanna that we had to wait for our turn to go in. 

We stood near the door and waited. Meanwhile, the plump man at the stairs ordered a cup of coffee for himself, while giving out a lengthy order of 6 Vadas, and 8 idlis. That was a hefty order even for him. After a few minutes, a family of three came and joined us as we waited to be seated. After a few minutes, we were called in, and we followed a bald short man into the dining area. It was a small, short corridor to a small room with 4 tables, which could seat 16 in all. We sat down and had banana leaves spread out in front of. We washed them as is custom with the water in the glasses. After that, we were offered idlis, which I declined because I wanted to taste the vadas and the sambar. Next, they brought out big plates of pongal, which they scooped out with huge ladles the size of my palm. I took some of that and two vadas, and then we got some sambaar in bowls and some chutneys. 

And it was time for us to dig in. The Vadas were super crispy and just melted in my mouth, especially after dipping them in the sambar. The Pongal was soft and coated with ghee. It was the perfect Pongal, not runny and not powdery, just the right amount of consistency. The only downside was that it had big pepper seeds, so I had to watch out or I'd have a small bitter explosion in my mouth. There was a runny green chutney and I decided to try it out. I tore out a bit of Vada and dabbed it in there and put it in my mouth. What happened next would probably leave a white person hyperventilating. It was an explosion. Like pop pop pop in my mouth and just left me like “OH!” I had some of each. It all felt light and peaceful in my stomach, and I could finally understand the term ‘comfort food’. After we were done, we folded our leaves in half and put the glasses on top of them to keep them that way and made our way out. We asked for coffee and the greeter at the door asked us to just wait outside. A boy came out in a few minutes with a tray with two coffee cups (the ones with the glasses and the bowl thingy) and a tall glass with the black filter coffee in it. We took our glasses and the guy asked if we wanted to have some of the coffee and we said yes.

 As I was drinking my coffee, a group of men in their 40s came in through the tiny lane. How do I know they were in their 40s? Because they were wearing running shorts and had paunches. A few of them had iPhone Xs with them, and they asked if there was space in the mess. The guy at the door told them to wait, and it looked like they were regular customers because they talked in first name basis. There was one man who spoke in Hindi and looked like he was new to the place. I overheard him talking to the others and he was asking if there was another hotel that they could go to and the others told him to just stick with this one because it was good. That was enough to seal the deal with this place. If people who could clearly afford classier places still come to this place, that shows how good the food is. I told this to Nanna and he went up the guy at the door and asked how long this place had been around. He replied that there used to be a hotel at the main road since 1935 and that they had to retreat to a smaller establishment in 1972, but they’ve been around since then and Nanna made sure to tell them how good their food was. 

San Thome Cathedral.

We paid up, and left in another auto, reminiscing the food and the climate. Nanna was completely besotted with the hotel and thought that it was absolutely fine to just take a morning flight to Chennai and have some food at Rayar’s Mess and then take another flight home. We went back to the guest house and freshened up at 10 in time for the driver to pick us up, and left for San Those Cathedral which was around since the 1500s. It was in the middle of the road, technically speaking because this is India and every little space is important to the growing population. It was a pretty big cathedral, which was slightly Indianised, with the huge golden flagpole, which we use in the temples. 

We left our shoes outside and opened the big door in the front. There was a bowl of what I think is holy water, and an announcement board showing the times when the priests and all would be in to hear the confessions of the people. There were about 10 people all in all on the benches, and it was like the gothic church we visited in Scotland. Apparently, the San Thome church is one of the rare four churches that are built in the Gothic manner, not sure why though. We walked in the aisle and stood in front of the raised platform which would have the priests and the choir and all that.

I had been to a church once in Newcastle, its the one right opposite to the university. I really like the building, because its super tall and the bell tower looks like its gonna topple over if you look at it from right at its base. Its also the first place where I had my first (and last) sip of wine (long story.)

After the church, we went to the Periyar memorial. I wasn’t so sure who he was. I thought he was one of those great poets or something because Nanna seemed to know him and was keen on visiting his memorial. It was hidden behind a building called the Periyar building. We got down from the car and went to the memorial they had for him. It seemed to be pretty simple, with a few banners and pictures and some black marbles with stuff on them. I went closer to the banners for more information and came to know that this Periyar was way ahead of his time in his understanding of the corrupt system of casteism and patriarchy, and I was grateful that he did what he did to bring awareness in this state, and the people who listened to him were wise enough to understand and overcome the shackles of casteism and lead a life of equality. 

The Periyar Memorial.

If only we had someone like that in our little state. A part of me scoffed. There probably were a lot of people like him back home, and they might have been silenced to ensure that the wheel of power doesn’t get disrupted. 

Nanna and the driver had some tea nearby and we set off to a hotel named Krishna Vilas for some lunch. The food was pretty good, and the sweets were native to Madurai. They were heavenly to my famished tummy. 

We went back to the guest house and Nanna had a nap, and by 5:30pm, we were all set to go to Egmore station and board the Rameswaram Express. Egmore was smaller than the Grand Central Station, which was a brown version of the Kings Cross Station. Egmore was also younger than the former and seemed cosy, and a bit lazy. The train was already at the platform, and we shared our seats with a Tamil family of four, who were also going to Rameswaram for the first time. 

Rameswaram was the home of the former President of India, and also had a temple with a very special history, which was why we included it in our itinerary. 

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