All said, if you are planning to come, here are some pointers you may find useful.
Gudiyatham is in the Vellore district of Tamil Nadu state in India.
Reaching by road.
Vellore is the district capital and there are frequent buses through the day from both Chennai and Bangalore. It lies on the NH7 which connects Chennai and Bangalore.
Once you reach Vellore there are frequent buses from Vellore to Gudiyatham.
From Chennai, you can get buses from Koyembedu, through Guindy and all the way to Poonamalee. (Bus no 102). Boarding a bus bound for Bangalore is a better idea as they are usually faster and are more comfortable.
If you are taking a private vehicle, hit the NH7 through Guindy and Poonamalee and keep driving on it until you reach a place called Pallikonda (about 150 kms) via Sriperumbudur bypass and Walajapet. Ask directions to get to Gudiyatham.
From Bangalore, you can board the bus through the stretch on the Hosur road and again buses bound for Chennai are preferable.
If you are taking a private vehicle, hit the NH7 through the Hosur Road and keep driving until you reach a place called Pallikonda (about 200 kms ) via Natrampalli, Vaniyampadi and Ambur. Get directions to get to Gudiyatham from Pallikonda (10 kms).
From Trichy, there are precisely 2 buses per day to Vellore, a travel time of about 8 hrs. You can also reach Salem and take a train to Katpadi.
Reaching by Train
From Bangalore (only day trains here, for more details visit www.irctc.co.in)
1 2608 LALBAGH EXP 09:48 06:30 M T W TH F S SU
2 2610 CHENNAI EXPRESS 12:03 08:15 M T W TH F S SU
3 2640 BRINDAVAN EXP 17:53 14:30 M T W TH F S SU
From Chennai (only day trains here, for more details visit www.irctc.co.in)
1 2607 LALBAGH EXPRESS 15:30 17:33 M T W TH F S SU
2 2609 BANGALORE EXP 13:20 15:23 M T W TH F S SU
3 2639 BRINDAVAN EXP 07:15 09:08 M T W TH F S SU
4 2675 KOVAI EXPRESS 06:15 07:58 M T W TH F S SU
5 2679 COIMBATORE EXP 14:30 16:13 M T W TH F S SU
Once you reach Katpadi, there are direct buses from Katpadi to Gudiyatham every 20 miniutes.
By air and nobody laughs.
Reach the Chennai airport and follow instructions for travel by road or train from Chennai.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
Kangana Ranaut pics
this was the subject I wanted to add to the invitations I sent over email, hoping at least the subject would make people (sorry ladies) open the mail, though I did not do that for the fear of sending the mail to 'spam mail list' and firewalls rejecting the mail for the key words.
Sadly both my yahoogroups from college and school have very little activity these days and luckily I have this excel sheet that has most contacts if not all. And to my surprise I have had calls from people whom I was not sure were alive ! though the bad part is some of the calls have been to explain the inability to attend the marriage.
One of the calls was really special, it was from this one guy who had to quit college for some very sad reasons. When he quit he was fast becoming some sort of genius for, he never seemed to listen in the class, had a very bad hand writing, had this thing for the girls, spent a lot of time on the volleyball court, yet was the topper in the class and had lecturers struggling with his doubts (I hope I am not exaggerating). That mad guy is now married, has a beautiful baby girl and works as an accountant. He has promised me he would do his best to get to the marriage, what more could I ask for?
The other call was from, not the person I actually sent the card to; too bad I cannot actually call her up. She can neither hear nor speak and she had her friend call me up to wish me. Damn, this world is both cruel and beautiful.
Thank you Jones!! I love you..
And ofcourse I made a trip to Bangaluru (pray the spelling is right) to invite my friends not aware that most of them were back home filling up the 'gods own country'. I was lucky to meet a few of them though and all we had to talk was how beautiful the good old days were. Morality and law was another topic we spoke of but thats a totally different thing.
Beautiful and crazy people, awesome times, sweet memories and I needed a reason (read 'the invite to my marriage') to realize all these.. Scheiße!
Sadly both my yahoogroups from college and school have very little activity these days and luckily I have this excel sheet that has most contacts if not all. And to my surprise I have had calls from people whom I was not sure were alive ! though the bad part is some of the calls have been to explain the inability to attend the marriage.
One of the calls was really special, it was from this one guy who had to quit college for some very sad reasons. When he quit he was fast becoming some sort of genius for, he never seemed to listen in the class, had a very bad hand writing, had this thing for the girls, spent a lot of time on the volleyball court, yet was the topper in the class and had lecturers struggling with his doubts (I hope I am not exaggerating). That mad guy is now married, has a beautiful baby girl and works as an accountant. He has promised me he would do his best to get to the marriage, what more could I ask for?
The other call was from, not the person I actually sent the card to; too bad I cannot actually call her up. She can neither hear nor speak and she had her friend call me up to wish me. Damn, this world is both cruel and beautiful.
Thank you Jones!! I love you..
And ofcourse I made a trip to Bangaluru (pray the spelling is right) to invite my friends not aware that most of them were back home filling up the 'gods own country'. I was lucky to meet a few of them though and all we had to talk was how beautiful the good old days were. Morality and law was another topic we spoke of but thats a totally different thing.
Beautiful and crazy people, awesome times, sweet memories and I needed a reason (read 'the invite to my marriage') to realize all these.. Scheiße!
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Gudiyatam - trivia
Gudiyatham (also called Gudiyattam or Gudiyettram) is a city and a municipality in Vellore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a town located 31 km from the city of Vellore. The city has a population of more than 600,000.
The name stems from the yesteryear name 'Kudiyetram' which literally means 'a surge in population'. Time and in all probability British tongues lead to the now totally incomprehensible name Gudiyatham.
Gudiyatham is about 172 km west of Chennai and 165 km southeast of Bangalore. It borders the state of Andhra Pradesh. Gudiyatham also has more than 500 small villages around the town.
The sheer number of small towns and villages, surrounding Gudiyatham though incomparable to cities makes it a thriving commercial hub.
The proximity to Andhra Pradesh and the Muslim population contribute to the fair share of Urdu and Telugu speaking community in the city.
It is said that the Republic of India's first national flag was woven here, by the Palayakot Lungi Company; thought there is little evidence at least on the internet to suggest this.
The town's Gangayamman Temple is famous for its yearly fair on 14/15 of May (Tamil month - Vaigasi 1st) which attracts more than a million people from around the state.
Gudiyatham has a thriving small scale sector manufacturing safety matches, lungis, and beedis. The handloom lungies which are manufactured in this town are exported to many Arab countries.
Gudiyatham is also famous for its gold jewelry market.
Thirupathy-Thirumala is about 100 kms from Gudiyatham.
The is also a supposed dam "the Mordhana Dam", on the Gudiyatham - Palamner( a city in Andhra) road, around 8 km from Gudiyatham. It is more of a man made lake rather than a dam.
Gudiyatham is also close to the recently famous tourist spot/place of worship spot called the GOLDEN TEMPLE, Sripuram. The temple is mostly covered with gold; estimates of the total gold used, start from 1 ton.
Dr. Kamaraj, once the president of the Indian National Congress and for all his life a simple man was elected to the Legislative assembly from the Gudiyatham constituency during his tenure as the chief minister.
* Nearest Airport: Chennai
* Nearest Seaport: Chennai
* Nearest Railway Station : Gudiyatham, Ambur
* Nearest Railway Junction: Katpadi, Tirupattur.
Source : wikipedia, internet and my parents.
The name stems from the yesteryear name 'Kudiyetram' which literally means 'a surge in population'. Time and in all probability British tongues lead to the now totally incomprehensible name Gudiyatham.
Gudiyatham is about 172 km west of Chennai and 165 km southeast of Bangalore. It borders the state of Andhra Pradesh. Gudiyatham also has more than 500 small villages around the town.
The sheer number of small towns and villages, surrounding Gudiyatham though incomparable to cities makes it a thriving commercial hub.
The proximity to Andhra Pradesh and the Muslim population contribute to the fair share of Urdu and Telugu speaking community in the city.
It is said that the Republic of India's first national flag was woven here, by the Palayakot Lungi Company; thought there is little evidence at least on the internet to suggest this.
The town's Gangayamman Temple is famous for its yearly fair on 14/15 of May (Tamil month - Vaigasi 1st) which attracts more than a million people from around the state.
Gudiyatham has a thriving small scale sector manufacturing safety matches, lungis, and beedis. The handloom lungies which are manufactured in this town are exported to many Arab countries.
Gudiyatham is also famous for its gold jewelry market.
Thirupathy-Thirumala is about 100 kms from Gudiyatham.
The is also a supposed dam "the Mordhana Dam", on the Gudiyatham - Palamner( a city in Andhra) road, around 8 km from Gudiyatham. It is more of a man made lake rather than a dam.
Gudiyatham is also close to the recently famous tourist spot/place of worship spot called the GOLDEN TEMPLE, Sripuram. The temple is mostly covered with gold; estimates of the total gold used, start from 1 ton.
Dr. Kamaraj, once the president of the Indian National Congress and for all his life a simple man was elected to the Legislative assembly from the Gudiyatham constituency during his tenure as the chief minister.
* Nearest Airport: Chennai
* Nearest Seaport: Chennai
* Nearest Railway Station : Gudiyatham, Ambur
* Nearest Railway Junction: Katpadi, Tirupattur.
Source : wikipedia, internet and my parents.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
I can write more(Invitation idea 2)
yet another idea, relying mostly on my instincts which turned out to be sour, to say the least!!
thank you Mulla,Bali and kid for your suggestions..
I was happy until I was 26 and then I saw her…
at her sister's wedding that I was not even supposed to attend. I haven't wished her sister yet.
So we are like made for each other..
I weigh 73kgs and she is 37kgs, which is one match for starters.
She is a graduate and I am only 7 arrear papers away from being one.. (Please don't tell her.)
She is very religious, the closest I get to that is the expression 'Oh my God'.
Anyways my parents have decided I would get married on a hot summer morning in one of the hottest places in the state and on a weekday but I am taking none of that for a reason for your not attending my wedding.
I am going to need a lot your blessings as I have never been married before!!
Gifts in cash and kind will be gleefully accepted as I am actually planning my honeymoon in Switzerland, so donate generously.
The food is good and you will probably miss only 4 IPL matches max if you are looking for some good reasons to come and drunkards (i.e. most of you), you have another reason!!
29th MI v KXIP (4 pm); KKR v RCB (8 pm)
30th DD v DC (4 pm); RR v CSK (8 pm)
There will be an orchestra playing light music all the time; women are requested to maintain silence for the music to be audible. I am planning to sing a few songs, for those of you who have heard me sing before I will also not take that a reason for your not coming.
p.s: It is impolite to laugh at any posters or banners or the casrds, if there are any, of my picture or my future qualification.
thank you Mulla,Bali and kid for your suggestions..
I was happy until I was 26 and then I saw her…
at her sister's wedding that I was not even supposed to attend. I haven't wished her sister yet.
So we are like made for each other..
I weigh 73kgs and she is 37kgs, which is one match for starters.
She is a graduate and I am only 7 arrear papers away from being one.. (Please don't tell her.)
She is very religious, the closest I get to that is the expression 'Oh my God'.
Anyways my parents have decided I would get married on a hot summer morning in one of the hottest places in the state and on a weekday but I am taking none of that for a reason for your not attending my wedding.
I am going to need a lot your blessings as I have never been married before!!
Gifts in cash and kind will be gleefully accepted as I am actually planning my honeymoon in Switzerland, so donate generously.
The food is good and you will probably miss only 4 IPL matches max if you are looking for some good reasons to come and drunkards (i.e. most of you), you have another reason!!
29th MI v KXIP (4 pm); KKR v RCB (8 pm)
30th DD v DC (4 pm); RR v CSK (8 pm)
There will be an orchestra playing light music all the time; women are requested to maintain silence for the music to be audible. I am planning to sing a few songs, for those of you who have heard me sing before I will also not take that a reason for your not coming.
p.s: It is impolite to laugh at any posters or banners or the casrds, if there are any, of my picture or my future qualification.
you know what? I can write, (invitation idea no 1)
For the last four months I toyed with ideas for what I thought should be a special invitation. Poems, trying to be funny lines, a flash presentation among others.. though these did not make it to the final invite, I thought why not give them some light, hoping there is at least one visitor to this blog other than me..
and thank you kiddy for shaping this up.
Seriously,
For whatever I was,
I wouldn’t have hit on a doll,
but times how they pass,
I was just lucky this fall.
So,
I’ve known her for long
but not once in a way,
I’d decide where I belong
that very moment, that very day
but,
all I could muster
was the courage to say,
‘hey, see you later’
and quickly fade away
well,
I could pull the lines
with many a burst of this sort,
simply, it is some of my best times
that should keep the story short
Frankly,
I wish I could make you see
or I would never
how much you mean to me
and let you know the fervor
but for now,
just give me another memory
like the ones we have had,
cause it has always been my reverie
to have this moment, shared
be there...
and thank you kiddy for shaping this up.
Seriously,
For whatever I was,
I wouldn’t have hit on a doll,
but times how they pass,
I was just lucky this fall.
So,
I’ve known her for long
but not once in a way,
I’d decide where I belong
that very moment, that very day
but,
all I could muster
was the courage to say,
‘hey, see you later’
and quickly fade away
well,
I could pull the lines
with many a burst of this sort,
simply, it is some of my best times
that should keep the story short
Frankly,
I wish I could make you see
or I would never
how much you mean to me
and let you know the fervor
but for now,
just give me another memory
like the ones we have had,
cause it has always been my reverie
to have this moment, shared
be there...
Thursday, April 2, 2009
the reality
She called me like the third time this week; I was over the moon because I am only entitled to one call a week and also because today was the 14th of February.
“Shall we run away?” I asked her before she even spoke, before even thinking it could be her mother.
“You are out of your mind”, thank fully it was her.
“Why?”
“Because, if you don’t remember, we are already engaged”, she said with some mock anger.
“Yes, I remember how can I forget the 14th of October? The day I lost my freedom” I tried with some mock sadness.
There was some silence
“I would have laughed if you had actually remembered the date” she said after a pause.
There was plenty of silence before we spoke again as always.
“I actually thought I should send you some flowers today, you know like the filmi types” I tried starting a conversation.
“Oh my God, don’t even think of it” she said with out even a pause.
“I cannot do that? I cannot send flowers to the girl I am engaged to?” I retorted.
“No” “why?”
“Because you should not”
“And why is that?”
“I don’t know, because no one has ever sent me flowers before”
“Isn’t that the point?”
“Is it? I don’t know but I am scared”
“Scared of what, receiving flowers?
“No err yes”
“Oh! okay, I am sorry I am not sending you any flowers”
I heard a sigh of relief. “Better” she said.
“I am coming over myself with a big bunch of flowers tomorrow”
“Noooooo”
Another pause followed and again I had to kick start things..
“You know what? My sister is arranging our honey moon”
She did not say a thing
“She is getting tickets to Mauritius” not that I was serious.
“What is Mauritius?”
“It is an Island country down south, you know below Sri Lanka and Lakswadeep?” I wished I was right.
“I don’t know”
“What ever, we will start like two days after the marriage”
“nooooo”
“What?”
“noooo”
“Why?”
“Because I have never been on a plane before”
“So what? I have been on a plane only once”
“Why don’t you go alone?”
“Alone” “yes” “on our honeymoon” “yes”
“Wonderful” I needed a breather.
“hello?” “Yes”
“Do you realize you have never been married before?”, I waited.
“Oh my god, no, I mean yes”
“And we are getting married this summer” I completed
“I am actually scared and ..”
“nooooo” this time it was me.
“Shall we run away?” I asked her before she even spoke, before even thinking it could be her mother.
“You are out of your mind”, thank fully it was her.
“Why?”
“Because, if you don’t remember, we are already engaged”, she said with some mock anger.
“Yes, I remember how can I forget the 14th of October? The day I lost my freedom” I tried with some mock sadness.
There was some silence
“I would have laughed if you had actually remembered the date” she said after a pause.
There was plenty of silence before we spoke again as always.
“I actually thought I should send you some flowers today, you know like the filmi types” I tried starting a conversation.
“Oh my God, don’t even think of it” she said with out even a pause.
“I cannot do that? I cannot send flowers to the girl I am engaged to?” I retorted.
“No” “why?”
“Because you should not”
“And why is that?”
“I don’t know, because no one has ever sent me flowers before”
“Isn’t that the point?”
“Is it? I don’t know but I am scared”
“Scared of what, receiving flowers?
“No err yes”
“Oh! okay, I am sorry I am not sending you any flowers”
I heard a sigh of relief. “Better” she said.
“I am coming over myself with a big bunch of flowers tomorrow”
“Noooooo”
Another pause followed and again I had to kick start things..
“You know what? My sister is arranging our honey moon”
She did not say a thing
“She is getting tickets to Mauritius” not that I was serious.
“What is Mauritius?”
“It is an Island country down south, you know below Sri Lanka and Lakswadeep?” I wished I was right.
“I don’t know”
“What ever, we will start like two days after the marriage”
“nooooo”
“What?”
“noooo”
“Why?”
“Because I have never been on a plane before”
“So what? I have been on a plane only once”
“Why don’t you go alone?”
“Alone” “yes” “on our honeymoon” “yes”
“Wonderful” I needed a breather.
“hello?” “Yes”
“Do you realize you have never been married before?”, I waited.
“Oh my god, no, I mean yes”
“And we are getting married this summer” I completed
“I am actually scared and ..”
“nooooo” this time it was me.
the love story
I don't think I can ever forget that particular day when I fell of my bicycle, though it was not the first time I brought down some one else with me. She still does not know why she wanted to accompany me to a shop that day. I think I was 14 and she was probably 10 and I was taking a vacation at her place. Once we fell all I wanted to do was ask her not to tell her parents or her sisters; she promised me she wouldn't.
She walked in to her house crying.
I rarely saw her or talked to her again for probably the next 8 years, mostly because I was always away studying from hostels and partly for a while because I was angry she complained. The next time I spoke to her I had already started to work. She was with her parents at my apartment that I shared with my friend. We never spoke to each other then I think. She still remembers that poster of 'Aishwariya Rai' that decorated my closet then.
She very recently told me why she was laughing all the while that day. It was the poster and what was I thinking ?.
It must have been at least an year before I spoke to her again, we actually spoke a few times and one fine day she was crying to me for some reason she did not want to tell me. I was happy not because she was crying but because I thought she took me in to confidence. I gave her a few books and a Clint Eastwood movie collection a few days afterward.
Again very recently she told me she was already crying when I called her over a petty quarrel with her best friend and it had nothing to do with taking me in to confidence or what ever.
Girls (women?) came and left my life all the while; good friends, very good friends, silent admirers, very vocal haters, one girl I loved and one girl who loved me, to cut a very long story short.
Two more years passed before I talked to her again, this time I was at her house for something about her sister's marriage.
She suggested me to get a haircut and a good shave.
I attended her elder sister's marriage, though a little flustered for some reasons. That was when I saw her standing a little away from her elder sister, obviously uncomfortable with the crowd, the cameras and lighting. For a moment it was like one of those 80s movies, everything else was blurry, and she was at the centre of the blur, bright and beautiful in a flowery yellow salwar.
For no reason I suddenly walked up to her to say something and all I could muster was the courage to say 'goodbye ', damn. That was probably the first time I called her by her name and probably the 10th time I had ever spoken to her and possibly my first word to her in 3 years.
That evening I told my mother I wanted to get married.
Everyone thinks I was always in love with her, stupid but it helps cover my weird story..
She walked in to her house crying.
I rarely saw her or talked to her again for probably the next 8 years, mostly because I was always away studying from hostels and partly for a while because I was angry she complained. The next time I spoke to her I had already started to work. She was with her parents at my apartment that I shared with my friend. We never spoke to each other then I think. She still remembers that poster of 'Aishwariya Rai' that decorated my closet then.
She very recently told me why she was laughing all the while that day. It was the poster and what was I thinking ?.
It must have been at least an year before I spoke to her again, we actually spoke a few times and one fine day she was crying to me for some reason she did not want to tell me. I was happy not because she was crying but because I thought she took me in to confidence. I gave her a few books and a Clint Eastwood movie collection a few days afterward.
Again very recently she told me she was already crying when I called her over a petty quarrel with her best friend and it had nothing to do with taking me in to confidence or what ever.
Girls (women?) came and left my life all the while; good friends, very good friends, silent admirers, very vocal haters, one girl I loved and one girl who loved me, to cut a very long story short.
Two more years passed before I talked to her again, this time I was at her house for something about her sister's marriage.
She suggested me to get a haircut and a good shave.
I attended her elder sister's marriage, though a little flustered for some reasons. That was when I saw her standing a little away from her elder sister, obviously uncomfortable with the crowd, the cameras and lighting. For a moment it was like one of those 80s movies, everything else was blurry, and she was at the centre of the blur, bright and beautiful in a flowery yellow salwar.
For no reason I suddenly walked up to her to say something and all I could muster was the courage to say 'goodbye ', damn. That was probably the first time I called her by her name and probably the 10th time I had ever spoken to her and possibly my first word to her in 3 years.
That evening I told my mother I wanted to get married.
Everyone thinks I was always in love with her, stupid but it helps cover my weird story..
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