I have four friends from Vellore and they each have their own way of pronouncing the name of their hometown. A. says well-lore. J. says well-oor. D. says way-loor. Dont really remember how s. pronounces it as she was not there when the whole of Chennai llanded in Vellore. Well, ok not the whole of Chennai..but the ones who matter in Chennai took a weekend trip to Vellore on the invitation of J., A. and D.
Twenty two of the most important people in Chennai landed in Vellore @ 2 p.m IST on the 25th. Went staight to J. home for lunch. Got to meet J. sweet mother and his 'little' brother who aint that little let me tell ya. Super Lunch and why would it not be. Mutton Biriyani, Chicken Curry and the vegetarians got to eat...well..vegetarian food. Veg must have been lovely cos J. mom had cooked it, but I was too busy chewing on a Chicken leg to bother. Delicious Kesari for dessert, and 'little' Joel (J. bro) provided the laughs by bullying the life out of Sendil (the class bully/comedian)
After the traditional cakle cutting ( it was J. birthday ) was done with, we set off for Vellore Fort. Must say it is rather nice. Lot of history about the fort. Its believed to be the venue of the first sepoy mutiny in 1806 (i think) and there is a temple inside the fort, which has numbers on its pillars. According to A., the britishers had decided to destroy the temple and ship the granite pillar by pillar to U.K, but the ship apparently sunk on the way and hence the temple remains to this day. ( with the numbered pillars)
After the fort visit, we head straight to A. house, where her folks have spread out a buffet. The menu had veg samosas, pav bhaji, dal chaaval and paledu (not sure about the spelling but the taste was similar to sambar). Non-vegetarians had chicken fry. the dessert was lovely. A. called it a pudding but it was more liquidy than the puddings that i have had. No matter. It tasted super. Had two extra helpings, wanted to have more. Should ask A. to make it. Hope (and hope is like really really hope and pray and wish) she can do it make it as well as her mom. The buffet was a nice idea as they have a lovely terrace ideal for such occasions.
The girls who were staying over at A. house insisted on games and dances and the usual girly nonsense. The guys were too tired but we obliged and after BEATING them in Dumb Charades we called it a day as we had to wake up early to start to Yelagiri and we also had to walk back to J. house.
Next morning I woke up confronted with the thought of breakfast at D. house. The menu contained Idly, Pongal, Vada and Kesari. The sad part was i cant digest Idli and Pongal. I know D., the guy eats like a horse and expects everyone else to eat like a horse. When confronted with Idly and Pongal, I tend to eat like a sea-horse. So had to do something.. thankfully, Vinoth came to the rescue and graciously offered to share a leaf with me ( we ate on banana leaves, really traditional). The vadas were sumptuous, so was the Kesari...Vinoth took care of the Pongal and Idly...needless to say Vinoth has a healthy appetite...a real stallion.
Breakfast over and we jumped into the van that took us to Yelagiri after two hours. Have to admit, Yelagiri as a place is dissapointing cos there is not mush to do or see. Its an ideal getaway for individuals (who have failed in love or who have got married to the ones they loved) or small families who want to get away from the city for a weekend. But for twenty four( as A. stayed back to spend time with her family) college students it didnt offer much. We did try trekking into the forests and just when it was getting interesting we had to start for Vellore.
There are still many places for us to see in Vellore- we missed the Amirthi falls and forest and the hills of Bhagayam. But, owing to the start of training for those placed in CTS ( including A. and J.) we had to rush back. Nevertheless, it was a 'very,very' memorable trip ( it was OHMAAALE ) thanks primarily to the hospitality of JOSEPH, ALIFYA and DIVAKAR ( our hosts). Hope to exploit their hospitality soon to go see the places i missed out on and yes, to find out how exactly to pronounce Vellore.
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