Though I have traveled to and fro Mayiladuthurai (Mayavaram) and Madras ever since the time I can remember, last Sunday’s bus journey from Mayavaram to Madras turned out to be one of the most enjoyable, thanks to the pleasant weather with the rain threatening to pour any minute but not daring to peep out from the clouds, and the nature in all its beauty, embellishing both sides of the road for most part of the journey in the form of green paddy/sugarcane fields and vaaikkaals/canals/rivers/ponds overflowing with water. Add to it the sky trying out every possible shade of blue, gray, orange and pink every passing moment! Sheer bliss! :)

Of course, it’s not as though I am enjoying the nature’s beauty in this part of the state for the first time. But, the wonderful weather and the cool breeze blowing made it all the more pleasing. :) The cool breeze blowing in some places left me wondering whether I was in some hill station. ;) With the beautiful scenery surrounding me everywhere, how could I resist the temptation to click pictures? :) I decided to try my luck to see how far I succeed in taking photos of decent quality from a moving bus with just my mobile. (Don’t mind the slanting shots and the parts of the bus being visible in some pics!)

The photo bug bit me just as the bus reached koLLidam. koLLidam does not have even this much water most of the times….


After koLLidam when the bus reached Chidambaram, it seemed as though the whole town was out on the roads, probably shopping for Diwali. The place was too crowded. It was yet another time when I got a gopura darshan of the Chidambaram temple. I am yet to visit the temple but. :(

After Chidambaram came the most beautiful stretch – between Bhuvanagiri and Vadalur. Some river near Bhuvanagiri:

There seemed to be only never-ending paddy fields in myriad shades of green on both sides of the road. Felt like singing pachchai nirame pachchai nirame :D


Amidst all this greenery was this dry river. Maybe Paalar. Not sure.

More greenery :)

I decided to try out the Black and White option of my mobile camera and took these two photos. That was a railway crossing some 160 km from Chennai.

The bus driver was driving the bus so slowly that by the time the bus reached Tindivanam, I got so bored. On top of it, the bus stopped at Vikravandi for some 20-25 minutes for lunch. How can I write about stopping at Vikravandi without mentioning about the songs that they play there? You should listen to all those remixed Tamil songs (remix in the sense, no changes to the tune, but completely new lyrics), old and new, to fully appreciate it. :P It was only after we reached NH45 that the bus seemed to pick up speed.

The lake near yaeri kaattha raamar temple, Madurantakam: (the best that I could manage!)

Some hills between Madurantakam and Chengalpet that made me feel all the more as though I was travelling in a hill station. ;)

Chengalpet Lake, the lake that’s supposed to never dry up and a train passing by near Chengalpet Lake:

After that, the photos that I took (in fact, including the two above) turned out to be of very poor clarity. So, end of photos. The picture clarity of all these photos is nothing to boast about. So, click on the photos for large size at your own risk. :P

I got down at Tambaram and got into the bus, 21G. This was the first time that I traveled by the Deluxe/Air Bus of 21G and I must say, the bus is very uncomfortable. The gap between two rows is so less that it’s sure to cause leg pain to all the tall people. Travelling by 21G for some 40 minutes turned out to be more uncomfortable than travelling from Mayavaram to Tambaram for 6+ hours! And once I entered the city, is there anything to say about the ‘scenery’ on both sides of the roads though the weather in Chennai on that day was super!