Humanithan Writes

(In this blog, I have added the links of most of the plants & animals discussed for your reference. Kindly see them for a better visual & reading experience.) When I first came to Chennai a few years ago from my hometown Madurai, it was not at all surprising for me that the city & people were too busy, fast & felt like a timelapse which was easily an expected one. But the only thing that was surprisingly unexpected for me was the sound of the common squirrel. Here is a sample sound/call of Chennai's Indian Palm Squirrel also the sound of Madurai’s Indian Palm Squirrel . I don't know why they sound different. I asked a few of my friends and they told me like Chennai Slang Tamil & Madurai Slang Tamil, squirrels may also have different slangs. Similarly after a few years when I reached Bengaluru. Wherever I go on buses around Bengaluru I could hear a different loud bass sound from trees. I have waited to see it, but couldn't find it. It was similar to the ...

ஏப்ரல் 18, 2024. அன்று மாலை பெங்களூருவில் நான் வேலை செய்யும் அலுவலகத்தில் இருந்து விரைவாக கிளம்பி முப்பத்தி ஏழு நிமிடங்களில் மோஹித் என்ற "ராப்பிடோ" கார(Rapido) அண்ணா உதவியால், சாந்தி நகர் பேருந்து நிலையத்தில் இறங்கினேன். அப்போது சரியாக ஐந்து ஐம்பத்தைந்து மணி ஆனது. இந்த பயணத்திற்கு 101 ரூபாய் மொய் பணம் கட்டினேன்.  அன்று காலை தான் SETC யில்,பெங்களூருவில் இருந்து மதுரைக்கு பேருந்து முன்பதிவு செய்தேன், குளிர்சாதன படுக்கை வசதிகொண்ட பேருந்திற்க்கு 1055 ரூபாய். நான் இதுவரை பேருந்தில் இவ்வளவு அதிக கட்டணம் செலுத்துவது இதுவே முதல்முறை.  சென்னையில் இருந்த போது, எவ்வளவு கூட்டம் என்றாலும் இரயிலிலோ, பேருந்திலோ நின்றபடியோ, தொங்கியபடியோ வருவேன். அது எனக்கு அழுப்பையும், அலைச்சலையும் ஏற்படுத்தினாலும், பல கோடி நடுத்தர வர்க்க, விளிம்பு நிலை மக்களை சந்திக்கவும், அவர்களது வாழ்கையை அவர்களைபோலவே வாழ கிடைக்கும் சிறு சிறு வாய்ப்புகளில் இதுவும் ஒன்று, என எண்ணிக்கொல்வேன். ஆனால் என்னவோ தெரியவில்லை, இன்று நான் முன்பதிவு செய்து விடலாம், தேவை இல்லாமல் ரிஸ்க் எடுக்க வேண்டாம் என்று தோன்றியது, ஏனென்றால் பேருந்...

It's around 6 PM on a Sunday evening, the sun is setting and I am sitting at the terrace of a 5 floor PG hostel facing the mighty Agara Lake which has a walking pavement for people to walk/jog,few watercrows(neerkaagam) are swimming, fishes jumping out of water here and there making ripples on the water,up above the water many eagles are flying in a circular manner out of which few white necked eagles(Garudan), the ones that rotates in "Dasavatharam" when "Rangaraja Nambi" is taken, is also flying with the similar sounds, somewhere in a longer distance, I could hear few parrots' call. And then the roads are filled with all sorts of vehicles from cycles, bikes, autos, cars, and different kind of EV bike known as "Yulu" which looks similar to the one that Dhanush drives in "Velai Illa Pattadhari". All these vehicles are producing its own sounds even the EVs producing a sound kind of similar to a low frequency hissing sound, and then obvious...

It has been only a few months since the EdTech company which I was working in Chennai decided to provide leaves on the second and fourth saturdays. So we got excited and started to plan many places near and around Chennai like Yelagiri, Pondicherry, Tada Falls etc., but somehow things were not falling into place. As you know any trip is all about differences of opinions bundled up together to have the mixed feelings of tiresome joy and unexpected sorrows. These things only make the journey a great memory or a deadly nightmare or sometimes both. Likewise, it was the first week of April, Summer has already peaked. I had seen in my childhood, about the ads of many travel agencies which were only a box sized ads in "Dinamalar" about "Badrinath", "Thirupathi", "Navagraha tour" each priced in several thousands, but all I went for in my summer leaves was for Thiruchendhur and tonsured my head. And later I got a understanding that religion and spirituali...

Is this a fact or not, I don't know. "Some things, even if it feels like it is in our control, it is actually not in our control." It has happened to me many times, both in a positive and negative manner. Now, What's this quote doing in a Travel memoir ? Yes, it has a relevance to this. IMHO, Solo traveling is far more easy, convenient, freedom of choice, less expensive and a lot more personal experience. But, a group travel/trip with friends or family even if they are close to you, sometimes it feels a little bit difficult, inconvenient, restricted choices, a little bit expensive and this has a more shared collective experience. Here there are exceptions too for group trips like Lingusamy said “Orey sindhanai oda irukka nabargal kedaichaley, vaazhkai inimai aagidum".(If we get people with the same mindset and vibe, then our life gets wonderful) If the group is like minded and are so in sync with your tastes, then viola. It would be one heaven of an experience.  ...

My office colleagues were planning to go on a trip for quite some time. Before 2 months,after many discussions,we zeroed in on a place & budget which was comfortable for all 8 of us. And,Yes, the place is "Meesapulimala" (The one Dulquer says in "Charlie" movie). It was a trek into the mountain forests. The Trip's plan was from Chennai-Meesapulimala-Chennai.Tickets were booked to and fro for all 8 members but atlast I had other plans as I was in my native place Madurai. So I would join them separately in this journey.(It was like Mankatha movie dialogue "Kadaisiya than Vinayak Mahadev vandhan" ie., He came last 😜) They all started from Chennai Central Friday night and got down at Dindigul on Saturday morning around 6AM, and there they boarded another train which was going to Bodinayakanur through Madurai. So I got that train & assembled with them at around 8 AMin Madurai. The train halted for around half an hour, as there was no electric line ...