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Friday 5 May 2017

Chennai Chronicles Part IV

I learnt how to light the gas. That, as it turns out, does not your culinary skills make. I managed to screw up lauki and whined about it so much that my Tamilian roommate will never forget the Hindi name for the vegetable. Or she might, given my vow to never be stupid enough to voluntarily buy it again.

Podalunga means jhinge (snake gourd) and is a slang term for nonsense.

Manga maria means 'dumb mango' which has to be the cutest pejorative term ever coined.

You would think morning walks would be a universal experience. But a surprisingly large proportion of middle class men here walk in rubber slippers. I can't help think that Delhi uncles would shrivel up in embarrassment if they had to do that.

Men also walk in lungis. If you were not Indian, I would explain it as a wraparound skirt for men whose length can be adjusted according to convenience. And it's often short enough that the same length of skirt on a woman here would inspire scandal.

There is also a gym for adults in my neighbourhood park. To be fair, I have no frame of reference for this in Delhi, not having been to a park in years.

As a child, my mum often took me for a walk to a lane in my neighbourhood which she for some reason called sea beach. I don't know if it was the evening breeze or just whimsy.

My neighbourhood park here is probably equivalent to Central Park in Delhi, going purely by location and its importance on bus routes. Which makes me think wistfully about how lucky Delhiites are because this one is tiny. On the plus side this is not inhabited by loving couples and serial molesters/flashers.

A middle aged man leaned very close to me and wished me a good morning. I'm not sure whether that was an invasion of personal space or just regular politeness.
If he was trying to be creepy though, it was a very poor attempt.

Apparently there is a doggie style asana in yoga. It's where people get on their fours and pant like dogs.

I doubt if it's actually called doggie style.

I may have just enabled a large inflow of traffic to the blog. I would have said inadvertently enabled but then it would be a lie.

I also saw an exercise form where a man was lying on his stomach and another man walked over his back. Right in the middle of the park.

Maybe it was just a bunch of friends doing bakchodi. You know friends, those people you hang out with on weekends and after work.

Yeah I use a lot of words while writing that I wouldn't say out aloud. Bakchodi being one of them.

I figured out a route to the chai shop on my own. Well not my own, I was still aided by Google, but I figured out there was a shorter route. Also I may have pushed myself to walk by promising masala chai.

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