Vellore_ A_Senti(mental)_Post

Vellore, a small city located at a distance of about 140 kilometers from Chennai. A town that is surrounded by broken mountain ranges of Eastern Ghats on its three sides and a river cutting across the city, a name which brings me some happiness ever since I left home to in search for a future. An industrial hub where in more or less all the industries ranging from Leather to Cotton to Chemical to Sugar to Ceramic to Engineering to Automobile industrial plants set up in and around the city. But the main occupation in this Fort city is Agriculture like the rest of the country. Don’t forget the Great CMC hospital in Vellore, where people from all over the country and even from around the world visit.

Any city is great as long as the people who live in that are lovely. The lovely people of this city, spread across the geography of this planet, so far but bonded to the city, an umbilical chord connection!

This is the entry /exit point to this lovely city. The Katpadi Railway station, when I was at the college used to travel for forty long hours to reach this place, and the sense of “feel good” factor that would overtake me in the last hour of the journey would be too good!
And the moment I land my feet at the station it is a sense of being home even before I reach home!!

The prestigious fort of Vellore, One side of the road crumpled with shops, hotels and supermarkets, keeping people busy and another side stands the history and culture of the city a fort built a Nayakkars, later used by Tippu sultan as a Shelter from the British!
Still standing in its complete structure this is truly a marvelous example of the 15th century architecture in the country!

The CMC hospital, again occupying acres of land in the heart of the city, a general public has everything to proud about this massive massive hospital that defines what State-of-art facility is to the other hospitals across the country and demonstrating how treatment can be done as a service than economics to all…you want to know what real medical service is…I can assure you get one of the world’s best service here!

The hospitality of the people is truly amazing! Even autowala’s don’t charge more than the normal even if you don’t speak Tamil. What more they speak Hindi, English and what more Even Bengali! A cosmopolitan in its own sense!!
Vellore institute of technology, which is becoming one of the famous college in the country.

In spite of all these there are some negatives about Vellore that I should share too!!
They are called the Seven Wonders of Vellore!!

1. Temple without God __The idol of god inside the fort temple was stolen that led to the closing of the temple for a few years till a new idol was made and kept. But the saying stayed!
2.River without water __ Blame monsoon, Blame Karnataka but you can hardly see water in Palar is a hard faced truth. But even with a decent monsoon there wont be a water scarcity even in scorching summer
3.Police without Power__ Sipoy Mutiny of 1806, the first war of Indian independence from the British started here. As the Indian Soldiers opposed to the British being given more power in comparison with an Indian soldier and there goes the saying!
4.Men without work __ No idea of why this came!
5.Women without Beauty __ lots of proof on this though!!
6.Fort without Garrison __ Well the fort was haunted for a century or so after the Nayakkars fell in the region and Tippu Sultan ruled from Mysore and hence the name!
7.Mountain without Trees __ Not so tall as its western counterparts are, the eastern Ghats are not really mountain ranges, but a cluster of broken pieces of mountains with height less than 1000 ft too! Many such surrounds Vellore and with no water and deforestation being one more major culprit there are less and less trees in the hills surrounding Vellore!!

P.S: this post is a result of the nostalgic feeling towards my Hometown!!The local buses which I travelled for over 12 years are waiting for me!!

With Smiles,
Bala