Pichavaram, Mangrove Forest

Recently we had a chance to go to Pichavaram, Man Grove forest near Chidambaram - the world’s third largest mangrove forest. It was a great experience to do boating in the backwaters - the mangrove forest trees are permanently rooted in a few feet of water and this place offers abundant scope for water sports such as rowing, kayaking and canoeing. Anish, Shruti enjoyed the boating to a great extent and there were lot of mosquitoes which made us to dance in the boat. After the boating in Pichavaram, we went to historic Chidambaram Natarajar temple where Lord Shiva is captured in pose as Nataraja performing the ‘Ananda Tandava. It was a day to remember with good family outing.

Cheers,

Sathish Kumar S

Chennai Marathon 2016 - 10 KM

Recently I had a chance to participate in Chennai Marathon 2016 10KM stretch along with my friends Praveen and Sridhar. The event was supposed to happen in December but postponed because of CM’s death, Varadha strom and finally happened on January 8th. The race began from the Napier Bridge, went along the Marina Beach, Light House, San Thome, RK Puram, Adyar and finally reaching CPT Grounds, Taramani. I gained lot of weight once I returned back to India and it was very difficult in the beginning to start the running even for 1 or 2 Kms in the tread mill. I practiced for around 2 months 3 to 4 times a week and gained confidence over a period of time. It was a great experience to run this short stretch of the Marathon in my home town which was pending for really long time. I finished 10 Km in 1hr and 22 minutes at a rate of 7.5Kms/hr. Thanks especially to Praveen who motivated me to take part in this event. It’s a distant dream for me to complete half Marathon at least once in a lifetime , let’s see how the eating habits goes :P

Cheers,

Sathish Kumar S

Munnar, Kerala

During Christmas holidays, we had a chance to go to Munnar, the hill station situated at around 550 Kms from Chennai, at around 1,600 meters above mean sea level in the Western Ghats range of mountains. It was a road trip from Chennai, halted in Villupuram in our relative’s house, then proceeded from Villupuram via Trichy, Dindigul, Periyakulam, Theni, Bodi and finally the hairpin bends drive to Munnar. It’s indeed a scenic hill station with picturesque tea plantations everywhere and we stopped at various spots to take pictures amidst the tea leaves.  

Mattupetty Dam is must see place in Munnar which is a confluence of the mountain streams of Muthirappuzha, Chanduvarai and Kundale river. The speed boat ride was a fantastic experience for all of us especially for Anish. Munnar Tea Museum, Top station are notable places to see in Munnar. We had a chance to make an elephant ride for the first time and it was truly rewarding experience for Anish.

The stay was fantastic with a panoramic view of the tea estates. We had a chance to celebrate New Year’s Eve in this scenic, picturesque, wonderful hill station and it was a much needed break between New Year and Christmas. Thanks to my wife who took bulk of the driving and certainly one of the best road trips to remember for.

Cheers,

Sathish Kumar S

India vs England, Chennai

Before Christmas, I had a chance to go to a test match in M A Chidambaram stadium, Chepauk between India and England. The match was heading towards to a tame draw and nobody expected a result on fifth day’s play with England needing around 300 odd runs and 10 wickets in hand and India’s 4th innings to follow. Even till lunch time, there was not even a single English wicket fell and I was mourning with my friend Praveen why did we come to stadium to watch this stupid match in the middle of the week by taking an off from office.

 It all changed after the lunch time with 3 wickets between lunch and tea with strong solid defense from England. Ravindra Jadeja took quick wickets in succession after tea and there was definite sense of victory for the Indians and it looked like English players were in a hurry to catch the flight for their Christmas celebrations. With just 30 minutes of play left for the day and India needed 2 wickets to wrap up the series, Jadeja finished the things off in style in one over. It was nice to see POMS getting thrashed in a bilateral test series after nearly 8 years. A day to remember to watch a perfect 5th day’s play with a result in the middle of the week and an off from office. 

Cheers,

Sathish Kumar S

Swindon, Bath, UK

In December, I had a chance to go to Business trip to Swindon, UK which is about 70 miles from London. It was a great experience to conduct the workshop with native speaking English folks and it turned out to be reasonably good show in the end. The Client took us to the dinner and Christmas Market in a city called Bath, hours’ drive from Swindon. Bath was architecturally superb with picturesque buildings, churches, antique shops etc. We drank a glass of Gluewein and kept ourselves warm in the biting cold. Travel from Heathrow, London to Chennai was pleasant and all in all a great experience to remember.

Cheers,

Sathish Kumar S

Indian Super League 2016 Edition

In November, I had a chance to go to a football match (Indian Super League-ISL) between Chennai and North East United in Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Chennai with my colleague cum friend Nats. Chennai being the defending Champions didn’t perform well in the 2016 edition with most of the key players injured, marque players suspended for this edition. Chennai took the lead and dominated the match right from the beginning but North East United gave a tough fight till the last minute by scoring a goal in the extra minute of the second half and equalizing the match by 3-3. Chennai finished at 7th position, Atletico de Kolkata were crowned champions for the second time in three editions of ISL. This League is definitely the one to watch out for in the next decade.

Cheers,

Sathish Kumar S