A load of crap from an idle brain

The picture in today’s Deccan Chronicle says it all.  Not many urban city slickers might want to admit, but the truth is that Andhra Pradesh has lost one of its most loved Chief Minister.

Though i do have a grouse against him naming each and every project in Andhra Pradesh after the Nehru/Gandhi family, one cant discount the amount of work he did among the rural folk in AP.  From cheap loans for womenfolk to healthcare benefits to millions of poor people, to free power for farmers, to massive irrigation schemes to the tune of 1 lakh crore,  to building a state of the art airport in Hyderabad to building the 160 km Outer Ring Road to decongest the city, there was a reason why more than 40 people died of either shock or committed suicide on hearing YSR’s death.

The only person not only to survive the NTR storm in the 80s and still manage to keep his seat, but also to singlehandedly survive the onslaught of a combined opposition of TDP, Communists, Chiranjeevi, BJP, Telengana crowd in the 2009 Assembly and Lok Sabha elections and still come out victorious is no easy task.

Rest in Peace, YSR.  You will be missed for sure.  Not only by your loved ones, but also by your rivals who in the back of their minds always looked up to you as a rival worth fighting against.

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A small tea shop somewhere on East Coast Road

Travelled on this bus from Chennai to Velankanni

Masala Dosa anyone?

The bus station at Velankanni

The main church at Velankanni

Shrines at opposite ends of the street

Back side of the church

Shrines at opposite ends of the street

A small chapel at St Thomas Mount, Chennai.  Its believed that St Thomas, a disciple of Jesus Christ who came to India to spread Christianity was martyred here.

A cross at St Thomas mount.  A lovely small chapel at the top of a small hill.  A great view of the Chennai city as well as the Chennai airport’s runway is visible from here

A statue of Jesus after crucifixion

Some engraving at the entrance of the church at St Thomas mount.  I guess the language could be Latin.  Anyone can confirm?

An extension of the above engraving

A 150 year old banyan tree in the courtyard of the church at St Thomas mount

A wind chime swaying in the wind at my home in Hyderabad

A flowering plant at home

The new Hyderabad airport

McDonalds at the new Hyderabad airport

A view of the airport village from the departure level at the new Hyderabad airport

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