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WALKS / TOURS

Registration for all the walks are on first come first serve basis.
Walkers are advised to carry drinking water, light snacks and wear light clothes and caps.
More walks  - photowalks, naturewalks - are being firmed up. Please keep visiting the website!

Heritage Walks

AUG. 16 / SUNDAY
Walk inside the Fort St. George
7.30 am - Walking tour of Fort St. George. In English. 90 mins. Report at parking lot opp. Fort ( eastern gate). Free.
Guide - Dr. Suresh, Archaeologist.
(Option; Fort Museum opens at 10 a.m. so you can check it out on your own. Admission by ticket).

AUG. 16 / SUNDAY
Kilpauk Walk
From 7:00 a.m to 8:15 a.m. Route: Halls Road - Landons Road – Taylors Road - Aspirin Garden - Kilpauk Water Works
Participants are requested to assemble at the school building, Votive Shrine premises, Halls Road, by 7a.m. Contact Co-ordinator Deepa Sekar - 98403 26354.

AUG. 23 / SUNDAY
'Namma Mylapore' is hosting a Heritage Walk in connection with 'Madras Day'. The walk will be conducted on Sunday Aug 23, from 7.00 am to 8.30 am starting from Nageswara Rao Park to Kapaleeswarar Koil and will cover the important heritage spots on the way. Interested persons may contact Suriyanarayan at 98415 97750 or Geetha Iyengar at 9382315999 to register. The walk is free.

Bike Tour

AUG. 22
TOUR BY MAD BULLS
Members of Madras Bulls ( a club of bikers who ride the iconic Enfield) are organising a city tour on Aug 22. They assemble at Cozee Restaurant on Elliots Beach (north end) Besant Nagar by 6.30 am and will visit the Riding Club in Velachery, Adyar Poonga in R A Puram, Kalakshetra campus, Light House and the power station in Basin Bridge before heading to the Seafarers Club (opp RBI) for lunch.
For more info contact Senthil at 93810 10200.

Heritage tours

Organised by Chennai Heritage, the following tours are priced at Rs. 250 per head and require reservations in advance. They all end with breakfast – a vital aspect of Chennai’s Heritage. Contact for reservation - editor@madrasmusings.com

Aug. 15 - The Justice Party Tour
. Starts at 6.15 am at Panagal Park entrance. Duration : 2hrs 30 mins.
The Justice Party tour itinerary takes you through T. Nagar and details the history of the party that was the founder of several present day trends in Tamil Nadu politics. Many of the leaders of the party are commemorated with streets names in this area. Many more have been forgotten. Come to celebrate the roles of Sir Pitty Thyagaraya Chetty, the Rajah of Paanagal, C Natesa Mudaliar, Dr TM Nair, J Venkatanarayana Naidu, Gopathi Narayanaswami Chetty, Sivagnanam Pillai, Sir AP Patro and many more.

Aug. 16 - Some Dubashes of Madras.
Starts at 6.15 am at the High Court Compound, NSC Bose Road. Duration:2 hrs.
Dubashes, or men who knew two languages – Dvi Bhashis played a tremendous role in the creation of Madras that is Chennai. Though largely forgotten, their contributions are worth commemorating, whether positive or negative. Come and celebrate the histories of Cassa Verona, Thambu Chetty, Alangatha Pillai, Sunkurama Chetty, Avadhanam Papaiah, V Perumal Chetty and family, Ketty Narain, Dewan Bahadur V Shanmuga Mudaliar and a couple of other surprises.

Aug. 16 - The Story of the Beach.
Starts at 6.15 am at the Mahatma Gandhi Statue. Duration: 2 hrs.
By foot and is a tour of the buildings around the area.

Aug. 23 - Swami Vivekananda’s Madras.
Starts at 6.15 am at the Ramakrishna Math, Kutchery Road, Mylapore. Duration: 2hrs 30 mins.
Swami Vivekananda’s two visits to Madras that is Chennai were studies in contrast. In the first he was completely unknown and the story of his movements here is a study of the citizens gradually discovering a treasure in their midst. When he came the second time, he was an international celebrity and the city rose in jubilation. Let us trace his path from through popular locations such as Ice House to the unknown sites such as Rahmat Bagh and Patters Gardens.

AUG. 23:
Living Statues of Marina Beach Walking Tour
Organised by World Storytelling Institute. Starts at the Kannagi statue, Marina Beach at 7.30 AM. Featuring brief performances and talks at the statues of 1) Kannagi, 2) NSC Bose, 3) Thiruvalluvar, 4) GU Pope, 5) Bharathidasan, and 6) Avvaiyar. Languages: English and Tamil. Admission: Free.

Guided tours to the Museum galleries
AUG. 22 to 27 between 10.30 am and 12.30 pm

The Government Museum, Chennai is the largest and second oldest of the State museums in India, established in the year 1851. This multi-purpose museum comprises 48 galleries pertaining to Archaeology, Anthropology, Numismatics, Contemporary Art, Geology, Botany, Zoology, Chemical Conservation and Children’s Museum.

Nature Walk

AUG. 22
Pallikaranai marshes
Madras Naturalists Society organises a Nature Walk in Pallikaranai marshes guided by Preston Ahimaz, a resource person from MNS. Starts at 7 am.

If you plan to drive, take the OMR, past the toll booth in Perungudi and take a right at the signal after the toll. You will come across yet another toll booth. Go past the tool booth and assemble at the Forest Department 'Protected Area' sign post at 7: 00 am.

If you take the Velachery main Road you can avoid paying toll. You have to take the Velachery Tambaram Rd, past the Vijayanagar Bus stand, the flyover and then take the left going towards Thoraipakkam. The Forest Department 'Protected Area' sign post will then come on the right.
The duration of the programme will be approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes.
Contact Preston Ahimaz - 94445751404, K. V. Sudhakar - 99625 15479

Photo Walks

AUG. 16
1. Back streets of Purasawalkam.
Meeting point: Traffic light at the junction of Brick Kiln road and Purasawalkam High Road/Ratna Stores. At 7 am.

2. Blue Cross, Chennai.
Meeting point: Velachery Aquatic Complex. At 3 pm.

AUG. 22
1. Ripon Building + Victoria Hall + Central + Southern Railway HQ
Between 7 AM and 11:30 AM. Come prepared to take loads of photos, and come with water, and possible a mask/large kerchief to cover face with – the Central Station is especially crowded, and potential carriers of the disease will be around.

2. Mint Street - Armenian Street
Start point: Mint Street Jain temple: 3:30 PM. End point: Armenian Church. Must shoot a) Mint Street post office. Must shoot b) Crown Theatre. Must shoot c) Armenian Church. Must drink d) Kakada Ramprasad’s badam milk.

AUG. 23
1. Markets of Yore, South-ish Madras
Meeting point: Zam Bazaar police station at 7 am.

2. Freemason’s Hall, Egmore
Between 4:30 PM and 6 PM

More details on: http://www.selectiveamnesia.org/2009/08/12/the-madras-week-photowalks/

Tree Walks

AUG. 16 / SUNDAY
Tree Walk at the May Day Park.
A walk inside the May Day Park in Chintadripet (opp Chintadripet MRTS station), reporting time 6.45 am. Walk between 7 and 8.15 am.

AUG. 23 / SUNDAY
My Ladye's Garden
A Tree walk at My Ladye's Garden, (near Central Station) between 5 and 6 pm.
To register for both the tree walks,  call 9445258328 or 9840744453 for details.

CITY TOUR at SPECIAL RATE

TN State Transport Corpn. (Villupuram) organises Hop On Hop Off Tour in Madras that is Chennai. The city tour is a full day affair with 16 destinations.
For Madras Day 2009, the TN STC says that it will make special offers for school and college groups who wish to explore the city via the tour.
STC runs 18 seater a/c buses and can put out 4 on the road to cater to a big group.
Contact Branch Manager Ranganathan at 94450 21373 or his colleague E. Ramesh Babu at 98417 22026.
Landline - 2538 3333.

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