When I last went on the electric train (
Leisurely Journey), the desire to do a similar journey and take the kids again was strong. This time, the target was the MRTS or the air rail...which goes over the city.
I also was reading up about Chennai Fort, and was amazed that there was a museum open to the public. So it was a natural desire to make this the destination.
The air rail been here for more than five years - it came up during the previous govt, and I had never been on it. What a loss. Better late than never. From the train one can see the beach at one point, and it passed so close to the Chepauk stadium where the match was going on that we could see the players on the field! Though it was crowded onward due to people using this for reaching Chepauk Stadium to watch the IPL match, it was still an experience.
The Fort Museum - I can't believe that in all the years I have visited Chennai and lived in Chennai, I have never visited this museum. Ironically, I have even visited the fort on work to meet Secretaries of government, but the building (now the secretariat has shifted) was so yuck, so matchboxish, no wonder I never associated it with the British monument.
The museum is no great discovery. But it is very neatly kept, and relics from the British period along with the original wooden model make it a worthwhile visit. It is small, just two floors, and so my two children and my friend's daughter didn't get too bored. Maybe the fact that we fed them just before going in helped too.
There is a St. Mary's Church that was quite and peaceful, with a beautiful garden. I could imagine the 1700 Britain there.
We used a different route to exit the fort and reach the station. And now we saw evidence of the fort ramparts, the greenery and the British architecture. What a tragedy though that Ezhumbur river, which flowed through the fort, is nothing more than a stinking canal.
We returned by train, now quite empty. In the evening sun, the 20 minute journey seemed too short, and immensely "redoable". But Chennai heat had sapped our energies, and I was thankful for the tea my friend - who had come with her family with us - offered.
This trip definitely took me back to the days when we didn't have the taken-for-granted cars and roughed it out in large groups which made us forget the difficulties. The backyard from where we exited took us to places that I had seen from the road but never thought I would ever visit.
What next, my friend and I are wondering. The zoo?
