Two beaches and us

A proper weekend holiday - Saturday being Lord Ganesha's birthday and a closed holiday for my organisation - meant that we could laze at home and rest our wearied souls. On Sunday morning, both of us took Mira alone to church (Ash was asleep) - to get the Lord's blessings for the birthday girl.
With my parents-in-law in town, we wanted to go somewhere for an outing other than the malls. Chennai doesnt have too many sight-seeing options and our visitors would not have enjoyed an archaelogical or cultural tour of the city, so we resisted taking the ECR road to Mahabs.
So after a late lunch, we readied ourselves (except the kids, who needed adult assistance) for an early trip to the sea at Marina. The Marina beach is one of Chennai's star attractions and there is always a huge crowd on Sundays. But for once we didnt have to fight for car parking space - the fact that it was still sunny and a cricket match relayed live on TV kept people at home.


The kids had a jolly ride on the merry-go-round. Ash so loved it that he kept whining for more even after we left the beach.



I took him out into the sea and let the seawaters wash our feet. And he peed into the water! It is a long time since I did that - I mean, stand on the seashore, not pee into seawater!. The sea at Marina is not as rough as the one at Besant Nagar or Mahabs. Except maybe when the tsunami came in Dec 2004 and the sea crossed the road and the waters went right up to the magnificent white edifice of the Police headquarters. The government is gearing up for a Marina beautification plan.


We then headed to the Shrine of St. Mary in Besant Nagar. There are two churches in the compound. A service was on at the church above, so we only visited the shrine and chapel. I told my son to pray for a cure of his eczema. Ash went up to the altar, showed his hands and neck and other joints which itch him most to the figure of Mother Mary and prayed something in his own language. I only heard the last part of it: 'Ants biting me...' (which is how he explains itching). The St. Mary of the Velankanni churches is known as Arogya Mary or Our Lady of Health, providing a cure for illnesses and afflictions of the body and mind.
We then walked to the Elliots beach.

And watched kids take rollerskating lessons in front of the Planet Yumm restaurant complex. Ash persuaded V to take him on a carousel again, while the rest of us munched boiled peanuts and corn. None of us wanted to walk in the sand again or down to the waters. There was not a whiff of breeze but luckily it wasnt too sultry or hot a day.