The days in Bengaluru are getting dark early, the weather outside is windy, damp and cold. Not cheery weather at all; and we were happy to get a brief escape from this dreariness and fly off to a quick but pre-planned celebration in the neighbouring metro city of Chennai.

I am flying into Chennai after a long long time; and from up above, the city is speckled in shades of white, radiating out endlessly. The ground below is chequered with squares of neatly separated building blocks; much more buildings dot the landscape than greenery when compared to Bengaluru. It is a lot of buildings, endless almost; Chennai is vast !

The weather is warm and instantly ups the spirits. The Chennai airport itself seems to be within the city limits and just twenty minutes from our hotel and connected to the metro station; we took a pre-paid cab to our hotel – the Park Hyatt. As we make way to the hotel, among the sights outside, the eyes are drawn to the colourful paintings on the metro pillars; there is a sign to the famous Marina beach, 17 kms away.

The Park Hyatt is a delightful place; the lobby is decked up for Christmas and a tall richly decorated Christmas tree with hanging gift requests take the centre stage. The gift wishes were made by the girls at an orphanage and can be sponsored by guests.

Behind the glass facade and at the very centre of the hotel, lies an open courtyard with a shallow lily pond framed by a walkway. There is an outdoor seating area by the pond for breakfast and all day dining; the mornings are ideal and later it becomes too sunny and hot.

The service is excellent and the food is yummy ! During our short and sweet stay there, we had the breakfast buffet and a brunch. For the brunch, we had their Chicken Club sandwich🥪; it was generous enough to be shared by two people, the chicken noodle soup, yummy 🍜 and couldn’t resist ordering a masala dosa; a pair of masala dosas came on a plate, the sambar was perfect !

The breakfast buffet had all the usual fare; but all the items tasted good and the Eggs Royale below was a standout,

Now back to the main event; we were in Chennai to attend a wedding. The first of the fourth generation in the family. It was an evening wedding function, the groom looked dapper in a black tux, while the bride wore a gown for the church ceremony. The bride’s manthrakodi sari was copper in colour; the metallic sheen seems to be a rage this wedding season. The ceremony at the church in Koyambedu started at 3:30 pm and ended by 4:45 pm, followed by light refreshments at an adjacent hall.

The wedding reception and dinner was a 7:00 pm at a place called M Wedding & Conventions on the Vanagaram- Ambattur road. The stage was bedecked with flowers 🌹

The whole event was well planned and memorable; the transportation was arranged to ferry guests from their respective places of stay, to the church, to the reception hall and back again. It was also a good get together for the family after a long hiatus.

The next day, we were flying out from Chennai and landed back in Bangalore, to be greeted by showers. But we didn’t feel the gloom anymore; we had packed enough warmth from family to see us through the new year.

Till next post, take care !!