Small town, big heart...

So I was telling you about how crazy the house hunt is turning out to be. However, there is one thing I noticed in the few days that we talked to brokers; brokers will be brokers. No matter which city, which town, perhaps even which village (shall I show you that field, it has the perfectly planned irrigation system, it is much bigger than this one, and you get the field caretaker's hut free with it. Free Free Free...), brokers are going to be all alike, and worried only about their commission.
I guess what I'm trying to say is, to judge a city's people, DO NOT go by how the brokers behave with you.
There was a friend of a colleague who offered to show us around a few houses through some contacts he had (remember how I told you - you have to know a guy who knows a guy). He roamed the town with us tirelessly, one day with his wife even, while we faced disappointment after disappointment. That's when I realized. This guy's actually doing this because we're known through friends. I'm sure he doesn't need the commission, and if he does, I don't think it's his sole motive. That day after looking around while we sat in his house, sipping Bovonto (oh yeah, Google it!), we had our first encounter with the warmth and humaneness that people in these parts unfailingly exhibit.
Big cities make us cynical. For instance, while thirstily taking in the cool, fruity goodness of Bovonto, I couldn't help wondering why they were entertaining us. They had literally accompanied us from house to house for over three and a half hours, just so that we would have the support of someone who knows the place. And the young wife, chatty as she was, was nonintrusive about what she asked me. But I couldn't just shake off the feeling that this wasn't normal. Why are they so friendly?
I know, that when you're new to a place, it is always better to be wary of whom you get acquainted with, and not entirely wise to be fully trusting.
But I guess, sometimes you instinctively know. And when that genuine warmth and friendship beckons you, it's very difficult not to shush your wary alter ego. 

Tiruchendur

A 40 km drive away from Tuticorin, is the temple town of Tiruchendur. The temple of Lord Subramanya Swamy or Senthil Andavan (Murugan) stands majestically on the shores of the Indian Ocean, and is one of the six most sacred abodes of the deity. "Aarupadaiveedu"or the six sacred abodes of Lord Murugan are Palani, Tiruchendur, Swamimalai, Tirupparamkundram, Pazhamudircholai and Thiruthani.

The Thiruchendur Murugan temple on the shores of the Indian Ocean

Of these six abodes, Tiruchendur is the only one which is not on a hill. The main deity of the temple is Senthil Andavan or Murugan. There is also a Panchalingam shrine (5 Shiva Lingas), to which Lord Murugan is known to have prayed. 

The temple is a place of pilgrimage for lakhs of people from South India, and especially on auspicious days people throng the shrine to seek the blessings of Lord Murugan. Beware of swamis who come and offer to take you into the sanctum sanctorum by jumping the queues, and offering you a special "archana". For those who want to skip the long snaking lines, there are tickets of higher denominations that can be purchased. 

For the crowd that it sees, the beach at Thiruchendur is surprisingly clean, and if you happen to visit in the evening, the sunset is a sight not to be missed. 

Thiruchendur can be reached by road from Tuticorin (40km), Tirunelveli(55km), and Kanyakumari(75km). Buses also ply from Madurai, Chennai, Trichy and Coimbatore. 

During the Tsunami of December 2004, the temple remained miraculously unaffected, despite the water level opposite the main sanctum being higher than the ground level of the sanctum. 

The Indian Ocean

Simple yet delicious snack of Boiled Peanuts , mixed with onions, tomatoes and coriander , being prepared at one of the many makeshift stalls on the beach! 

There is rail connectivity as well, from Chennai (Thiruchendur Express).

(Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thiruchendur_Murugan_Temple)

The House Hunt begins...

One would think that after four separate house hunts in a city like Mumbai, finding a place in Thoothukudi will be a breeze. Well, apparently not. Because there are about seven houses available for rent at any given point of time. Of those three will be on the fringes of the town where it's pretty deserted, two will have a dingy feel to them, one won't have place to park a vehicle, and one will have water problems. Anyway, RANT OVER. I didn't want to sound discouraging at all, promise. But I have to share my first hand experience, don't I?
In Tuticorin, the key is that you need to know a guy who knows a guy. It's all word of mouth, and there ain't no 99acres or magicbricks to help you. Perhaps because the options are limited. All this said, it's not impossible to find a house in Tuticorin to your tastes. It's all about the timing, if there's a house around the time you're looking, then you're lucky.
Some of the areas we've seen and liked are Bryant Nagar, and Teachers Colony. The beginning parts of Millerpuram are nice too, but not so much the interiors.
Since the town has a radius of about 5 km, you're never too far from anything, but it helps to know which areas are nicer to stay in.
There are brokers/agents who show you houses, but not all really care about whether you like the house or not; it's about their commission. I guess that's the case in any city, but we had some not-so-good experiences here in particular, what with one guy actually saying "there's one house in the area where you don't get regular water supply, it's a huge bungalow with excellent furnishing. Do you want to see?" I stopped listening at "no regular water supply". Simply because there are areas where there is a regular water supply! What a way to sell something! Dude, atleast be subtle. Clearly the brokers here could do with a lesson in Sales and Marketing.
A lot of houses here have the provision for an inverter to be installed. You remember the horrific power cuts we discussed? People here seem to have resigned to the fact that they are not going to be at the receiving end of too much electricity supply for their houses. "Too much?" you may ask. But well, it's all relative.
We've only just begun the search. Let's hope something clicks soon! 

First Impressions...

And we're here! On landing in Madurai, we were picked up from the airport and covered the distance of around 140 km in less than 2 hours, thanks to the extremely good road between the two places. The chatty driver told us about life in Tuticorin.
Today's my first day here, and I feel like I'm part of a Tamil film. I'm just waiting for Surya to materialize from around the corner on his Royal Enfield. I've visited this part of the country years ago, although not Tuticorin, but close enough, and while I knew approximately what to expect, it's still different when you come to live here.
There are two main roads, the Victoria Extension(VE) Road, and the Palayamkottai Road, where the majority of shops and offices are located, and the rest of the town is covered in a 5km radius around these roads. We are currently staying in a hotel called DSF Grand Plaza, on the VE Road, and it's pretty nice. Over the next few days we need to find ourselves a house, and move in.

View of Tuticorin town from DSF Grand Plaza

One of the major issues here is the 10 to 12 hour power cuts every day. It's quite unbelievable, considering there are so many thermal power plants here (I saw atleast 4 on my way here yesterday!). We have already heard horror stories about the summer time, when it's difficult to sleep and do pretty much anything else because of these power cuts. I should probably sneak into my husband's office during the day time at sit non-intrusively in a corner, while the rest of them work. Ssshhh!
Another first impression, which I can say with reasonable confidence won't change, is the delectable food ! I've had all of two meals here, and I'm floored. If this is how the dosas and pongal are going to be, then well, I'm quite tummy-happy. We've heard a lot about the "parottas" that are served in several "night clubs" (Yeah even I was wondering about that, but "night clubs" in Tuticorin mean small restaurants that serve excellent local delicacies after 7 pm).
Tuticorin, aka Thoothukudi, is home to one of the most important ports in the country, and its economy mainly depends on shipping, fisheries, salt pans. Thoothukudi is also known as the Pearl City, because it was earlier a major location for pearl diving.
In a nutshell, my first impression, while one of skepticism, is still hopeful. Having lived in big cities all my life, I am obviously apprehensive about adjusting to a new life. While that sounds extremely arrogant, I'm just being honest. What is different about this place, is that people here do give a damn. Traits that are quite difficult to find in a big city, like helping out a random stranger and politeness (Oh, sweet Lord, where did that go?!) flow in abundance here.
Here's to a new beginning ! 

Anticipation...

So it's final! We're moving down south, to the pearl city of Tuticorin. For those who consider anything south of Madhya Pradesh to be "Chinnai", well this isn't. It's about 600km south of "Chinnai". Here's a conversation I had with one of the guys at work, (oh well, ex-work! hurrah!):
Me: So, we're moving out of Bombay, to a town in Tamil Nadu called Tuticorin. It's a port town, in case you haven't heard about it.
Ignorant I-only-know-about-Chinnai-dude: Oh, but you could have worked from Chennai, na?
Me: This isn't Chennai. I'm moving to a different place. It's a 12 hour train journey from Chennai.
Ignorant blah guy: Oh, Ok. Anyway, good for you, you must be used to the Chennai weather, na? For us it will be very difficult in a place like that.
Me: <thinking to myself - HOW? I've never lived in Chennai! I have lived in Bangalore, which is nothing like Chennai, and then in Bombay, where you also live, and hence will know about the weather.> Hmmm.. yeah, I guess.
Ignorant blah guy: So both your husband's and your parents live in Chennai?
Me: No. Err.. I've got to run, bye!

Phew. I mean, I know that if someone told me they were going to live in XYZ-pur up North, I probably wouldn't know better than to assume it was a part of Delhi. But after being told it wasn't, I might just get the point.

Anyway...getting back to the point of this post, Tuticorin it is!!!!!!! After deciding that we would take the big leap, I've been reading up so much about the town that I know the names of various localities by heart. Tuticorin is going to be such a drastic contrast to Bombay, that it will probably feel like a permanent vacation. Well the boredom of having none of the recreational options that Bombay has will set in. But perhaps it is time to live that simpler life for a while and experience it. It's destiny's way of saying get over the damn rush and take some time to smell the coffee.

Just one more week to go before the move. More about the town and the beautiful shores of Southern India once we're there :)