Anuradha Sriram will host a radio show on the Mozart of Madras
Singer Anuradha Sriram has taken on a new role – she’ll be hosting a radio show titled Rahman Ungaludan. As the name suggests, it will talk about everything about the Mozart of Madras – tales and trivia about the man of few words.
For the singer, who perhaps kick-started the idea of reality music shows in television when she hosted shows way back in 1996, it is a challenge and something to cherish at the same time. “Radio is a different ballgame but the fact that I’ll be speaking about a person who has been a mentor to me makes it exciting,” she says. Anuradha first sang for Rahman for Mani Ratnam’s Bombay; it was not a full-fledged song but a few notes that she hummed. “He told me then that my voice was divine,” she says, “With Rahman, there’s always space to improvise and experiment. He lets you be who you are. Perhaps that’s why the output is always good – from then to now.”
It will be a learning experience for her, she hopes. “As a singer and a person interested in music, it’s fascinating to see how great minds work. I hope to track Rahman’s journey in music…and learn from it.”
‘Anbendra Mazhaiyile’, one of her songs for Rahman, remains fresh in the memory of the classically-inclined. “He wanted me to sing that particular song because he felt I evoked divinity in listeners,” recalls the singer, who later also branched into singing fast-paced kuthu songs like ‘Malai Malai’ (Chocolate) and ‘O Podu’ (Gemini).
Few people know that ARR has a sense of humour too – the singer recalls how he used to call her ‘Gnanapazham’. “He was very interested in classical music and used to discuss ragas extensively. I will talk about those sessions in the show and try to provide a perspective of the composer that only a few people know,” says Anuradha, who also ventured into music composing when she, along with husband Sriram Parasuram, worked on Five Star.
Starting tonight, Rahman Ungaludan will play every Monday to Friday at 9 p.m. on 92.7 BIG FM
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Srinivasa Ramanujam / Chennai – June 15th, 2014
The 226th birth anniversary of John Sullivan, founder of the famous hill station of Udhagamandalam, better known as Ooty, which falls today, will henceforth be celebrated as ‘Ootacamund day,’ a top official of the Nilgiris Documentation centre said.
“The credit for finding Ooty was given to John Sullivan, who was appointed the Coimbatore Collector by British East Indian Company in 1817. As a mark of respect, it has been decided to celebrate June 15, his birthday as Ootacamund day,” D Venugopal, Director of Nilgiris Documentation Centre said.
An announcement to this effect was made by him today at a function in front of twin oak trees planted by Sullivan at Government Arts College.
Venugopal said one has to reflect that when Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka are locked in disputes over sharing river waters, Ooty has been attracting more visitors from these states. The Nilgiri mountains have been donating most of its
waters to the surrounding plains even while there is widespread water scarcity on the hills, he said.
John Sullivan, who was appointed the Coimbatore Collector by British East Indian Company in 1817.
This co-existence was the guiding spirit for declaring the day to be celebrated after Sullivan’s birthday, Venugopal said.
source: http://www.ibnlive.in.com / IBN Live / Home / by Press Trust of India / June 15th, 2014
K. Manoj Kumar (right) at work with his team members in his mushroom farm near Kadachanenthal in Madurai./ Photo: R. Ashok / The Hindu
Besides running mushroom farms, Manoj imparts training too
K. Manoj Kumar, who was born with hearing and speech impairment, never let his disability deter his dreams and success.
A B.Com graduate with gold medal from St. Louis College for Hearing Impaired in Chennai, Mr. Manoj’s entry into the league of achievers is motivating.
Seven years ago, Mr. Manoj and his wife M. Krishna Kumari, a microbiology graduate, started a small scale mushroom farm at Pudhupatti.
Ever since, there is no looking back for the couple, who run ‘Udayan Mushroom Farm,’ which now exports oyster and milky mushroom to Kerala, Hyderabad and Maharashtra.
“We had to shift our farm to Kadachanenthal because the environment at Pudhupatti was not conducive. Initially, when we started farming, we found it difficult to sell even one kilogram of mushroom,” says Mrs. Krishna Kumari.
Today, Mr. Manoj’s enterprise has 25 small scale mushroom farms functioning under it and he has trained around 500 persons in the past two years on mushroom cultivation.
His team of support staff in the farm include three hearing impaired persons and four persons who underwent rehabilitation for mental disabilities.
“I started my own mushroom farm inspired by their success and with the help of their encouragement. The business is quite profitable,” says Shantha Devi Akilan Davis, an elderly neighbour of the couple. She is also involved in the training activities undertaken by Udayan Farm.
J. S. Gopinath, who underwent rehabilitation at M.S. Chellamuthu Trust and Research Foundation, says he enjoys working under Mr. Manoj.
“He has taught me how to cultivate mushrooms. I also learned to rear ornamental fish,” he says. Mr. Manoj also rears “fighter fish” for his father’s farm.
According to P. Moorthy, co-ordinator of the training programme, a large number of differently abled people have benefitted from the training.
“There is a high demand for mushrooms in the market. Most of the people who underwent training here had physical disabilities or were from an economically backward background. This has helped them sustain their livelihood,” Mr. Moorthy says.
The simple person that he is, Mr. Manoj attributes his success to his wife, who has been his major support all along.
“People with hearing impairment generally tend to depend on others for income. We wanted to be self-reliant. We are also happy to support others in need,” signs off Mrs. Krishna Kumari.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Madurai / by M. Vandhana / Madurai – June 17th, 2014
The DGP office near Marina beach would have been razed around 20 years ago but for the efforts of a group of heritage lovers. The police department wanted to demolish the building and erect a modern skyscraper that would house all its offices. The local chapter of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach) filed a case against the demolition in the Madras high court, which ruled in favour of its preservation.
The judgment is widely hailed as a landmark in the heritage preservation movement in India. It is one of the earliest instances, in the entire country, when a voluntary agency successfully fought a legal battle against a government department for the cause of heritage.
The case inspired voluntary groups in other cities to fight for local historic structures. In recent years, Intach has approached the courts to save Chennai’s other historic landmarks such as Bharat Insurance Building on Anna Salai.
Although India is rich in historic buildings, there are hardly any laws to preserve them. The archaeology department protects a limited number of structures. It is in this scenario that the role of volunteers in heritage conservation becomes crucial.
For centuries, the task of conserving historic sites and monuments was the prerogative of the government. In the nineteenth century, people around the world realized the need for voluntary organizations for heritage preservation. These organizations, called National Trusts, were intended to supplement the role of the state and also question government action (or inaction!) in the field. Intach is India’s National Trust, started in 1984 and modeled on the English National Trust.
Throughout the world, National Trusts have been fighting court cases to save historic properties. Since 1970, the American National Trust has been involved in over 130 court cases including the most well-known Penn Central Transportation Co vs City of New York, 1978. In this case, the US Supreme Court prevented the erection of a 55-storey office tower atop New York’s Grand Central Rail Station.
Voluntary efforts need not always be channeled through the courts. Appeals and non-violent agitations can sometimes have the same effect. Right on Marina, Queen Mary’s College, next to the DGP Office, was slated to be demolished in 2003 for building a new state secretariat. But protests by citizens compelled the government to give up the plan. In 2012, the highways department, acting on appeal from Intach, changed the alignment of a proposed road near Villupuram to save a 1,000-year-old temple.
There’s a lot that people can do to stand up for heritage and it starts with just wanting to keep history alive.
(The writer is Tamil Nadu convener, Intach. As a Fulbright scholar, he earlier worked in American National Trust in Washington DC)
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Chennai / TNN / June 06th, 2014
Dr. Nandakumar with his Bonneville bike./ by Special Arrangement / The Hindu
Prince Frederick talks to T.M. Nandakumar about his love for big bikes
German being something that I barely managed to cope with at college, I’m a bit amused to find myself going back to a German dictionary this week. Ironically, to look up the word for triumph. It sounds close to English: noun is der Triump and verb, triumphieren.
The phonetic similarity is not restricted to German. In French, the noun istriomphe and the verb, triompher. In Spanish, it is triunfo and triunfar.
When Triumph set up business in Britain, around 1885, as an exporter of cycles, it was named after one of its two founders, Siegfried Bettmann. The Bettmann trade name was soon replaced by Triumph, as everyone agreed that this word would be easier on lips across the globe, as many people were either using it or using something that sounded almost like it.
The name has stuck, having weathered changes and is continuing to conquer newer lips. As you must be aware, Triumph Motorcycles has entered India with dealerships in place in major cities and the latest launch having taken place in Chennai on June 6.
With the journey of Triumph motorbikes beginning in 1902, when its first motorcycle — essentially a bicycle made to feel powerful by a 1.75 hp engine with a surface carburettor — hit the roads, the brand has had a long innings, riding on the shoulders of different establishments, which include the defunct Triumph Engineering Co. Ltd., and the current Triumph Motorcycles Ltd.
At various stages of its long existence, Triumph bikes have produced many stories that could be counted among the inspiring because they signified, well, the triumph of the spirit over the flesh.
One of these inspirational stories has to do with a biking enthusiast, Basil H. Davies who wrote regularly for a British magazine The Motor Cycle, which ran from 1903 to 1983.
In 1905, Davies was signed up for a novel and daunting exercise: he would test-ride the latest Triumph, one that was fitted with an engine manufactured in-house. His ride would last six consecutive days and his daily chart included having to chalk up 200 miles. The effort was seen as the best way to market the brand and its motorcycles.
In the words of Davies himself, as he writes in The Motor Cycle, following the ride clocking 1,279 miles in six days, taking a different route from Oxford every day: “The machine used was a 1905 3h.p. Triumph with a magneto ignition, and was an absolutely standard pattern. The only special point about it was the spring fork, with which the makers are experimenting for next year.”
As he approaches the fag end of his six-day run, Davies writes, “Only one day is left. Would my luck hold? I did not mistrust the machine, but my misfortunes are proverbial among my motoring friends, and I felt positive I should split a cover or collide with a cow.”
His fears were not unfounded. He was attempting the six-day ride for the second time. He had taken up the challenge the previous week, only to abandon it on the fifth day.
The front down tubes had broken down. The engine parts had also registered considerable wear and tear, though that was not the reason for the failed attempt. Davies succeeded the second time around, and it is reported that during the course of this successful week he had to strip the engine down a few times to fit in new valves. Following this, Triumph is said to have got in touch with a metallurgist and the quality of its bikes improved considerably.
Another inspiring story, in my opinion, happened this week. It was on June 10, when the Triumph showroom on Ethiraj Salai was visited by an interesting customer. T.M. Nandakumar, a medical practitioner from Krishnagiri, was there to take delivery of his Bonneville. The sprightly 76-year-old doctor started from the showroom at 7.30 a.m., rode all the way to Krishnagiri in four hours, whch included a 30-minute halt along the way, at Walajapet.
Only around a month ago, he had had a bad fall from his 1969 Bullet, while riding alone to his farm, around 8 km from Krishnagiri.
“I fell into a ditch and sustained three fractures on the right side of my rib cage,” recalls Nandakumar, who has evidently recovered fast to be able to take home his 865 cc dream machine. “I love British vehicles. In the 1970s, I had a 1954 Triumph Thunderbird,” Nandakumar explains his decision to go in for a Triumph machine now.
The doctor, who belongs to the 1959 batch at Stanley Medical College, is a key member of Wheeled Wanderers, a biking group from Krishnagiri. Consisting mostly of twenty-year-olds, some of them from Hosur, the group does long rides, which include trips to Munnar, Kodaikanal, Ooty and Meghamalai.
Over the years, Nandakumar has had various bikes, including a Matchless, a Norton, many Bullets and a Rajdoot.
“Now, I have a Suzuki Bandit 1250S, a 1969 Bullet, a 1988 Yamaha RX-100, a Honda Dio, which I use for regular rides around the town, and, of course, the Bonneville.”
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Prince Frederick / Chennai – June 11th, 2014
The gopuram of the ancient Sri Veerateswarar temple with the flag staff (Photo: DC)
Chennai:
Seeped in rich ancient political and religious history Thirukovilur, a temple town in Villupuram district near here, is waking up to development and is getting readied to welcome hundreds of visitors. Recently, the state government had come forward to provide more infrastructure and this initiative will ensure more amenities around the ancient Sri Veerateshwar temple. The town is also held in esteem by Vaishnavites as it houses the renowned Sri Trivikrama or Ulagalanda Perumal temple, on the southern banks of Krishnabhadra. Besides here, Lord Vishnu is worshipped as Ulagalanda Perumal at neighbouring Kanchi.
Thirukovilur, about 190 km from here, is one of the “Ashta Veeratanams” (eight places of bravery) and it is believed that Lord Shiva took various forms (incarnations) to destroy evil and establish justice manifested Himself at Thirukovilur. The goddess of the Veerateswarar temple, on the banks of river Pennar, is Brhannayaki. Legend has it that Avvayaar wrote the famous “Vinayagar Agavel” at this temple.
It is said the greatest Tamil king, Rajaraja Chola, and his brother, Chola Prince Aditya Karikalan were born in Keelaiyur, Thirukovilur. About 1,000 years ago, Thirukovilur was regarded as one of the four largest cities in the southern region almost on par with the all time famous pilgrimage towns of Kancheepuram, Madurai and Thanjavur. The Sri Raghothama Theertha Brindavanam of the famous saints of Sri Madhwa parampara, Sri Raghotamma theertharu, along the banks of river Pinakini, is located about 36 km from Tiruvannamalai and 2 km before Thirukovilur, on Tiruvannamalai — Thirukovilur highway.
According to an order issued by Mr R. Kannan, principal secretary, tourism, culture & religious endowments department, chief minister J. Jayalalithaa ordered to provide basic facilities at 14 important tourist centres, at a total cost of Rs 10.58 crore including Thirukovilur in Villupuram district. About Rs 1.27 crore would be spent to improve tourist infrastructure at Thirukovilur including establishing promenade, on Sannadhi street and sanitary complex around Sri Veerateswarar temple and water supply work.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Nation> Current Affairs / DC / by J.V. Siva Prasanna Kumar / June 01st, 2014
Drawing Artists – It is business as usual at the mini hotel in the Cholamandal Artists’ Village in Injambakkam. / Photo: M. Karunakaran / The Hindu
Tucked away in a corner of the Cholamandal artist village is a canteen that has been serving scrumptious food to artists and the public for more than two decades.
Sixty-five-year-old Augustin Raj had come here in 1990 from Puducherry and started selling tea and snacks in the locality. Little did he know that he would befriend some of country’s well-known artists. “At any given time, one can find artists coming here for tea and snacks. During shows, they order for food in advance,” he says.
Here, one can find dishes like puri, barota, chapatti, pongal and varieties of rice. Fish items are however the most popular, says Aughustin.
Though the canteen has been around for a while, it was only eight years ago that it was thrown open for the public.
“Now, people can make their purchases from outside. Our prices are easy on the pocket and have people from all sects coming and enjoying food here,” he says.
All the food is cooked here and the canteen is run by the family. “We start our day early in the morning and keep the food fresh. We follow authentic recipes and that is the reason we have earned some regular customers,” he says.
The best time to come here is the weekends, after a nice drive along the East Coast Road.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> DownTown / by Vipasha Sinha / Chennai – May 31st, 2014
A car from the good old world – Ambassadors are still a symbol of pride. / Photo: S. James / The Hindu
The Ambassador car will remain in the hearts of the people forever even after it goes off the roads
The street opposite the bus depot on Bypass Road is no different but for the dozens of ambassador cars tightly parked along the sides. Some rusted and laden with dust wait for a coat of paint, some wait for a repair and some await a buyer. ‘Ambassador workshops’, as they are called, dot the street.
Now with the production stopped, the Ambassador may soon join the line of vintage cars.
There was a time when a car meant just Ambassadors. For its Swadeshi tag, it was sought after by the netas.
The garage of the rich too had an Ambassador parked majestically.
It was the peoples’ car too. Some years later, Ambys became synonymous with taxis.
Many owners take pride on their sturdy car and still claim that it is the best of the cars. Some see the machine as an inheritance from their fathers and grand-fathers, some even consider the Amby as a member of the family! It is a token of remembrance from the good old world.
The Amby makes a perfect car for the jugaad experiments of the desi mechanic. Mechanics praise the versatility and simplicity of its mechanism. “It’s a mechanic’s car and one can do any kind of modification in it,” says Bhoopathy, an Ambassador specialist. Private workshops like his thrived on Ambassadors. “Ninety percent of the vehicles we repaired were ambassadors. People preferred these as the maintenance cost is cheap,” says Bhoopathy, who started fitting Isuzu engines in the car even before the manufacturer introduced it. He compares the car to a quaint village inn. “It’s simple and not extravagantly luxurious. But it is still comfortable and affable.”
After vehicle owners started drifting to other sophisticated vehicles, the mechanics also tried to shift their attention to new models but found it hard. “It is extremely difficult to change. We have been servicing ambassadors for years with trained professionals. Now again we have to start from the scratch,” says Bhoopathy.
The sprawling Thanga Niranjula Automobiles, which once buzzed with Ambys and their owners is now deserted. The owners have sold a portion of the mechanic shed for survival. “Ambassadors were not like the ready-to-use modern cars, even the brand new car needed some welding to fix the front and back seats properly. Most of the mechanical parts were made of lead making the car heavy,” says N. Ashok Kumar, one of the partners of the workshop.
Businessman K. Ganesh is a die-hard ambassador fan. His maroon-coloured 1957-model Mark-I Ambassador is a car with an antique moustache grille. “We were a big joint family and nearly 10 of us kids would go to the school in the car. It so easily accommodated all of us and our school and lunch bags,” says Ganesh, who repainted the car from black to maroon. “I have so many fond memories of the car bought from a royal descendant of Ramanathapuram.”
The ambassador was once a status symbol. It was parked only at palaces, mansions and bungalows. If the Fiat was called the ‘doctor’s car’, the Amby was called the ‘family car’.
“We have shifted houses in this car,” says 25-year-old Sharath Madhav pointing to his metallic gold Amby that his father bought in 2002. “It was my grand father’s wish to buy an ambassador car,” says Sharath. “Each time we returned from our native village in Nagercoil, we used to stack coconuts in the boot. It was huge and we have transported families out of cities.” Though the Ambassador is called the ‘man’ for its masculine and sturdy appearance, it is a car that everyone in the family loved and related to. “My mother never finds any other car as comfortable as the ambassador. It’s a kid’s car too, as there is so much of space for the children to play around and have fun,” says Sharath.
To R. Prabhu, an engineer, Ambassador is a statement. “You stand out when you drive the amby. It’s bulky and big and can never go unnoticed,” he says. In the age of luxury cars, the Ambassador continues to be a fancy among people and many give the credit to its ordinariness. “It’s a very simple and ordinary car. And that’s the beauty about it,” says Prabhu.
Several Amby owners remodelled the interiors and fitted power-windows, bucket seats, air conditioners and power-steering as the car’s ordinariness is also said to have gone against it. “Innovations were hardly introduced in the car. Even basic facilities came much later in the Ambassador. And that’s the reason for the drop in sales in spite of its engine performance,” feels P. Kumarappan, a car valater.
Best Taxi
Hindustan Motors’ Ambassador was rated the world’s best taxi at the Beaulieu’s World of Top Gear motorsport show last year. It started its life in Britain as Morris Oxford and introduced here with a name change to become one of the country’s most enduring vehicles. Ambassador saw off rivals from Britain, America, Germany, South Africa, Mexico and Russia to win the award.
R. Sarathkumar, actor and a car lover:It is a durable car and it ruled Indian roads for more than half a century. Though I don’t have one, I love driving this car. The bench seats are accommodative and are comfortable offering good thigh support. It has been the car of the masses then, now and forever. It is a preferred choice even now for its spacious interiors and ability to withstand bad road conditions. Whatever is said the goodwill of the ambassador will never die.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus> Motoring / by T. Saravanan & Shri Kumar / Madurai – June 04th, 2014
Showed his class : A.V.K. Rajasimhan. / Photo: M. SRINATH / The Hindu
A.V.K. Rajasimhan’s vocals had a vintage touch.
Reaching Sri Thyagaraja Sangeetha Vidvat Samajam in Mylapore and finding a safe parking space for the car was an ordeal. But the stress vanished once you entered the Samajam because of the divine vibrations prevalent there. Adding to the ambience was the imposing statue of the Saint poet, which gave you the much needed serenity as his kritis have done for centuries.
A.V.K. Rajasimhan, son of A.L. Krishnamurthy Bhagavatar (popular for his abhinayam-based sampradaya bhajans) was featured by the Samajam in its annual Tyagaraja Jayanthy Utsavam exactly five days after the his Jayanthy.
Tyagaraja was born in the Tamil month Chiththirai with Poosam as his star and this year it fell on May 6.
Like his father, Rajasimhan, who trained under O.V. Subramaniam, shines in samparadaya bhajan. His foray into Carnatic music is a recent phenomenon. The grooming in nama sankirtanam has really worked well for him. Here is a voice that has a vintage touch endowed with sweetness and the concert too bore that stamp.
However, the same could not be said of his selections that evening. While one expected him to delve into the ocean of the Saint’s kritis, that he included other composers was a mild aberration taking into account the occasion. Two such songs were Dikshitar’s ‘Sri Mooladhaara’ ( Sri) for the beginning and the other, Thanjavur Sankara Iyer’s ‘Ranajana mala,’ for the end.
Strangely, he left out the numerous utsava sampradaya kritis of Tyagaraja that one yearned to listen to. Despite the shortcomings, the evening’s fare showed his class. One was the alapana of Chandrajyothi, a real challenge, given the fact that there aren’t many kritis in this raga. Rajasimhan completed the essay with aplomb. And for veteran violinist M.A.Sundareswaran (M.A.S), it gave him ample scope to reiterate why he is a highly rated accompanist. That evening, his father and veteran violinist Parur M.S. Ananatharaman and flute vidwan N. Ramani were both present at the concert, which might have been an added inspiration for M.A.S.
A fast-paced thathva meruga tarama set the tone for the evening’s main Todi. He was able to paint a multi-coloured portrait of the raga with all its hues. M.A.S’s reply further enhanced the mood already created by the singer. Tyagaraja’s ‘Karuna Joodavamma’ was sung with devotional fervour that Sathguru had perceived.
Srimushnam Raja Rao, who has completed 50 years of service to classical music, was in his elements. His sollus bore the stamp of a maestro embellishing the concert. In the company of E.M. Subramaniam (ghatam), his tani was gripping.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> Friday Review> Music / by V. Balasubramaniam / Chennai – May 22nd, 2014
Chennai has a variety of options for biryani. / by Special Arrangement / The Hindu
Akshatha Iyer picks some of the city’s favourite biryani joints that serve the dish for Rs. 100 or less
Chennai’s biryani obsession has nurtured a wide range of cooks, styles and spaces — from the fancy five-star spreadto the delicious plate of the greasy variety served from a hole-in-the-wall down the road.
Real Kalyana Biryani
Hanging out in Nungambakkam? If you want a traditional meal, head to the blandly-titled Real Kalyana Biryani restaurant. Walking down the stairs to their basement dining hall, you can soak up the aroma of freshly-ground spices blended with well-cooked meat. As the name suggests, this place specialises in traditional Muslim biryani served at weddings.
Customers eat off freshly washed banana leaves, which are quickly filled with biryani, followed by a onion raita, brinjal gravy and a sweet, which changes every day. On the day we visit it’s a cheerful yellow kesari. Busy through the day, the restaurant draws about 150 customers for dinner alone. “Our biryani is authentic and tastes of home. We use pure ingredients and hygiene is our prime concern,” says Yasar, manager of the restaurant. Apart from this they cater for parties and family get-togethers. They are particularly popular with the offices in the vicinity, and are busy through lunch sending out parcels. “I come here because I feel the food is tastier than at any other biryani restaurant. I also like the fact that they have good quality as well as quantity. So it is value for money,” says Anand, who eats here at least three times a week.
Where: Nungambakkam High Road
How much: Rs.75 (for one)
When: Noon-4 p.m, 6 p.m.–10 p.m.
Tel: 9840480435/4282 21128
Bismi Biryani
The appealing yellow and red board of Bismi Biryani on Thiruvanmiyur main road is difficult to miss. Bismi Biryani has made its mark for over 10 years. Most of the customers we met are loyalists and say they have been eating at this joint for more than two years at least.
S.J. Hussain the owner of this branch (there are a number of restaurants bearing the Bismi name across the city — though we’re cautioned that only some are ‘original’) tells us, “Before starting this biryani centre I was poor and found it difficult to provide for my family. The restaurants have brought me wealth and laurels. Today I am well-settled and a very happy man.”
Customers particularly relish his chicken fry and mutton biryani, which are served as a combination meal. There is a crowd of almost 300 people at lunchtime, many of whom stand and eat outside, or order parcels due to the lack of space. Chef Ummar Ali, also known as ‘Master’ is a big draw for his chicken biryani. Between spooning out the dish, he says that customers come looking for him. “I am happy that my food makes them happy.”
Where: Thiruvanmiyur Main Road near bus depot
How much: Rs. 60 (for one)
When: 11 a.m.-10.30 p.m.
Tel: 99412 70613, 99411 87572
Al Taj Biryani
Triplicane is a tough area to function in when you are in the business of biryani. “There are around 40 shops in and around this area, and we still manage to stand out,” says Hussain, the owner of Al Taj Biryani. Claiming that they are one of the oldest biryani restaurants in the locality, and are still leading the pack thanks to their special ‘Vaniyambadi style of biryani,’ he says “we have almost 350 customers on regular days and around 600 customers on Sundays”.
Al Taj Biryani’s advantage is the freshly-made biryani, made with their trademark blend of spices sourced from Vaniyambadi. (A small town near Vellore, Vaniyambadi is famous for its Mughal-style biryani, influenced by the Nawabs of Arcot. In a nod to the origin perhaps, this restaurant features Mughal paintings on its walls.)
They are particularly popular because they were the first ones to introduce ‘combo meals’ among the small biryani centres in the area. Their combo consists of finely roasted chicken 65, steaming hot biryani with chicken or mutton along with an aerated drink. The combo made the restaurant hugely successful, drawing in many customers and party orders. They have branches in Mylapore and Royapettah as well. Mohammed Yasar, a regular customer, who reluctantly pauses mid-way through a bowl of bread-halwa (their speciality dessert) says that he likes eating here because the food not just tasty, but also hygienic.
Where: Triplicane
How much: Rs. 100 (for one)
When: 10 a.m.-11p.m.
Tel: 98400 74038
Chennai Rowther Biryani Centre
Rowther Biryani is best known for its huge dining hall which includes both AC and Non-AC seating, looking into an open kitchen. Airy and spacious, it accommodates around 100 customers at one go. Mohammed, who owns the restaurant, tells us how he, along with three waiters handle the service. “Two in the AC section. Two in the non-AC section. Work is tiring but interesting.”
He adds, “We use only the best quality rice and 100 per cent halal meat for our customers.” His customers include office-goers, college students and families. The open kitchen is the main attraction — you can see the cooks doing everything from cutting vegetables to tossing up plates of hot biryani. They also offer a range of other dishes, from tandoori to Chinese. However biryani is clearly the star here. “I am not from Chennai, I just came here for work. I live alone, and I don’t have time to cook. Rowther Biryani centre is a big help,” says Akhilesh, between bites of chicken biryani. “Service is fast and friendly. It is like a home away from home.”
Where: K.B. Dasan Road, Alwarpet
How much: Rs. 70 – Rs.100 (for one)
When: 11.30 a.m.- 4.30 p.m., 6 p.m. -11 p.m.
Tel: 93804 50979, 4323 0636
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Akshatha Iyer / Chennai –
