Chennai, The 7th Most Hated City in the World

Written by Dilip Muralidaran on October 19, 2009 – 4:28 pm -

After Krish pointed out Lonely Planet about some of the facts on Chennai, our beloved city, Lonely Planet did put a shabby effort to re-write the piece which does not look as miserable as it used to before.

Lonely Planet however, does have another interesting Article. They call it the Cities you really hate and they list a lot of cities and its anybody’s guess Chennai is on it too and it repeats again, like it did in the previous article…

We describe it as lacking Mumbai’s prosperity, Delhi’s history or Bengaluru’s buzz.

I’m going to merely repeat what has already been said before by many people on krish’s blog.

1. Mumbai’s Prosperity – Sure yes, they have bollywood. How come our Kollywood, the second most largest movie industry got ignored on this front? How come Chennai being the backbone of Indian automotive market got comfortably ignored? In Chennai, we don’t have Benz SUV’s running over people sleeping on the platforms and killing them at large and the driver walking away scot free. The poor get a little less poorer here some of the times and maybe richer too occasionally compared to mumbai’s “rich getting richer & poor getting poorer” as our super star rajinikanth would say. On one side lies five star hotels and Benz SUV’s (which are manufactured in sriperumbudur – an industrial town setup near Chennai) and on the other slums where people undergo untold pain and hardship. Ever heard of sustainable development/progress? That’s Chennai for starters. Finally, we definitely don’t have to worry about the underworld that bollywood is so famous for.

2. Delhi’s History – I will quote from Chandrachoodan’s words since i can never top him when it comes to Chennai’s History…

What history can Chennai claim? Besides being the first major city the British built in India, besides it 1000 year old temples and 500 year old churches and 200 year old mosques and ancient port towns and stone-age settlements, what history can Chennai claim? The city has absolutely no history, which is why even the Portuguese thought it not wise to give Santhome away as dowry to the British king, opting instead to give them Bombay. The city has no history whatsoever, which is why almost all of Independent India’s institutions had to be founded in Madras. The city has no history or why else would the British pioneer the architectural style of Indo-Saracenic, fusing Muslim/Persian styles with the classical styles of south India, in Madras?

3. Bengaluru’s Buzz – For starters, how about Chennai being the Second largest software exporter in India, behind Bangalore being ignored without any sort of hesitation? Secondly, how about Chennai being the backbone of the Indian Automobile industry with over 40% of production + distribution happening in plants setup in and around Chennai by Hyundai, Maruti, Tata, TVS and Mahindra. Answers where all those damn cars in Outer ring road (that clogs the narrow Bangalore roads and make the city hell to drive around) comes from, don’t it.

My only question here is this. “How do you hate a city?”

I mean i can understand if you are a foreigner and you are asked to relocate to a new city and you find the food and the culture and practices hostile and you hate life for that moment of time while you get adjusted to it or try and fit in desperately. I’ve been through that in Bangalore and i can accept that but then i eventually moved on and now i love that city and would not hesitate to move back if conditions favored. But as a “traveler” or a “tourist” how can you hate a city? I mean, if you get mugged or robbed or raped its one thing, still hating a city on the whole? I mean why would you even have an article that says “hate” on your site when your intent is supposed to be promoting factual, neutral and unbiased information about a place. I don’t get it, seriously.

The whole point of travelling, i feel personally is to experience. Its agreed not all experiences may be pleasant or something everyone would like. However, just because a few people wanted to play it too safe and never got to know the real local things to do and have fun in a place, does that make the place hated? Wow, this is possibly the first time im hearing such an idea.

Finally you also say…

Even the Movie stars are ‘not that hot’

As you put it and you even claim you are being kind. Kind for not being more sexist?

You seem to have this thing for rating a movie star based on looks and sexuality and nothing more, probably. While looks and sexuality are a major part of a movie star, which i completely agree on.. its not everything. I can agree with the fact that we brown and black skinned Tamilian’s are not as appealing and sexy compared to the white skinned north Indians. That’s the only way i can put it. I fail to see it in any other terms. I do agree our heroines are fat and yes, we like them that way. We prefer them to anorexic women with oversized implants whose silicon in the breast weighs more or less their own body weight, they diet so hard like “oh my god if i don’t eat one more meal i may die of starvation” looks. We have this fetish for some oversized women and i certainly do not deny that. Why else would Shakila be the most famous porn star in the country? Oh wait, did i say country? Wow, yes that includes my north Indian friends who are truck loads in number that love some shakila porn on their comps and always keep asking if there is something new, quite embarrassingly.. one has to admit, being south indian.

Nevertheless, if you knew who Trisha, Simran, Asin, Shreya are and if you ever looked at how our women swoon to see topless Surya or scream on seeing our Superstar Rajinikanth who is loved for his charisma on screen and Ulaganathan Kamalahasan’s exceptionally directed movies and acting skills, you would not really have made that naive statement. I guess sweaty Cleavages, almost nipple revealing clothing and always bare bodied hero’s of the north is what you are fond of, probably. I will admit, i get excited too, looking at deepika padukone or aishwarya rai’s [who by the way entered the movie industry via a “Tamil” kodambakkam (a place in chennai) film] frame but i do snap back to reality and don’t get carried away. There are to many lovely pairs of women’s bosoms and i cant be stuck with a few all the time. After all, variety is the spice of life. However when it comes to the movies, we like the usual masala flicks like any indian but get very serious about quality performances, script, story-line, sequencing, editing and playback which are all things we fight and argue about over a cup of filter kaapi at saravana bhavan or karpagambal’s mess. If you wanna know more on this read this too. If you still aint satisfied, i invite you to karpagambal’s mess where i will treat you to the world famous in chennai filter coffee and masala dosai to discuss this matter seriously with another 20 of us chennai’ vasi’s (fuck chennaikers) who will fiercely debate the issue with great passion.

I know, if at all i have any chance some Lonely Planet writer will drop by and put a politically correct statement in a decent manner (unlike the flair with which i use expletives and im so infamous for) stating some stuff which obviously will mean “that’s what people think abt Chennai, its full of shit so get lost” kind of remark that was already posted like this in Sharanya’s blog.

But hey, its a blog and unfortunately it happens to be mine. We are a democracy and everyone has the freedom of expression (unless you are messing with the real baddies in which case thou shalt be wrong) to say what they want, so there goes my 23 minutes of ranting on a random blog no sane person on planet earth would waste time reading or comment to result in futile results.

Share and Enjoy:

Tags: Chennai Sucks, Hated Cities, Lonely Planet, Madras
Posted in Chennai, country, crib, media, opinion, rantings |

23 Responses to “Chennai, The 7th Most Hated City in the World”

By Revs on Oct 19, 2009 | Reply

I read this on reader and though usually lazy to comment, just for that one last line I am going to leave a comment

I read Krish Ashok’s post and the review by Lonely Planet and was hurt by the fact that not once was there a mention of the rich culture of this city, extremely tolerant makkal (which is more than what can be said of Bombay and Bangalore. We may ridicule the amits but we still put up with them), the heat (yeah, i mention this as a positive because personally I think the cold in Bangalore makes people mandham - dunno the English word for this), the excellent transportation system etc.

And that point about Chennai’s history. Thats where I lost it I think. It just shows how much of “reading” went into writing that review. More the number of old dying monuments in the city - richer is the city’s history is probably the MOST gawaar thing I have ever heard of!! Gaaaah!!

I mean the review was soooo untrue and biased. and HOW DARE they put up Chennai on top 7 cities to hate. Audacious. I mean it pains me to have Chennai’s name being taken with Arusha and Accra - cities whose names I have never heard and whose GDP is probably as much Namitha’s weight. (no offence)

My point is the same as yours. how can anyone hate a city unless they have already made up their mind to and come with preconceived notions about it!! I have lived in a lot of cities and I cant say I have hated any one of them. Right from Sunabeda to Baroda to Babrala to Jamnagar to Chennai and I have found each place charming in its own right.

To rate a city based on its “not-so-hot” heroines and “buzz” is ridiculous and is the last thing you would expect of a travel guide of Lonely Planet’s fame. And to compare one city with another is the worst kind of travel journalism u can do. Its like saying Varanasi is a not so cool place coz it doesnt have malls and cineplexes like Bangalore does!! Ewwww!!

Phew!! Felt good to get that out of my system!! I sincerely hope Lonely Planet changes their review and if they dont well like my grandmother always says “Kazhudhai ki theriyuma Karpoora Vasaanai” or for the benefit of any amits reading this “Bandar kya jaane adrak ka swaad”

Nice post!!
By The Pseudonym on Oct 19, 2009 | Reply

Actually I don’t care what some book has to say about my city. I don’t even care to explain to them why my city is great. We are a wonderful city and we are wonderful people who are very patient… The keyword is wonderful.
By Ratzzz on Oct 20, 2009 | Reply

to be serious, i just got plain bored correcting people abt wat they think Chennai really is… at Indore, “Chennaikkars” are Ravana worshipping-Machi eating-lungi wearing-idli loving-blackies…

they just can’t get over the fact that we are far advanced than them…
By Farting Pen on Oct 20, 2009 | Reply

Dude, I am copying this content. And pasting this on my blog.

This post does not require appreciation. What it does require is propagation.

It needs more people to read it. And more importantly, the assholes at Lonely Planet whose only purpose in life is to give “modern-day nomads” tips to bargain at flea markets and with auto drivers.
By Nothingman on Oct 20, 2009 | Reply

I read the link from someone’s twitter feed on my phone, when i got to laptop I hunted down the link in that guy’s feed and then reached here, just to comment.

I liked what you wrote here but sudden drift about Shakila’s boobs made me say WTF.

Anyway, don’t you think it’s good if people hate anything? It’s better than being ignored and hey, any kind of publicity is good publicity.

Ah well, i wanna say a lot more here but nevermind really.

Take care!

N
By Vidya on Oct 20, 2009 | Reply

Dilip, you, KA and others seem to have made the LP guy too famous:-) Easy, easy… Btw, you guys need to mention in your posts that cartoons like the LP-wala make good ‘dhristi pottus’:-)

FYI: Posting the same comment in KA’s blog..
By ART on Oct 20, 2009 | Reply

WTF is peoples problem with Chennai? Do we go around talking ill of other states? Why can’t they let us be?

If you do not like Chennai…don’t come, ours is not a tourist oriented economy…so get the F$%^ out…seriously…

Chennai is nice and we do not need people from outside to tell us what is wrong with it.

The problem is we let others talk…we shud not listen to them! I am tired of this…

http://anurussell.blogspot.com/2009/06/this-one-is-for-you-meena.html

http://anurussell.blogspot.com/2009/06/milk-and-sugarlong-post-this.html
By Ramesh on Oct 23, 2009 | Reply

Dilip,
Well said. Who is categorizing all these? It’s like coming up with their own 7 wonders of the world. It reminds me of the mail chain that floated where a North Indian guy was blabbering about pani puri not available in Chennai and they don’t know Hindi bla bla bla crap where a Mallu girl replied very aptly. Who are these guys to rate something high and something low, even Mr. Chandrachoodan? Are they carrying a check list on what is “historical” to see if a city fits in or no. Most of the people including Indians does not know proper history about India, then comes Chennai. Yes, there are things which the Chennaiites cannot bear, it’s heat, its water scarcity, its politicians, its own people. But the things for which I love Chennai outruns everything else.

The bottom line is, this lonely planet dude’s opinion is rejected by the council of world city dwellers :-).

Regards,
Ramesh
By Karthik on Oct 24, 2009 | Reply

I read about the Lonely Planet’s idea of Chennai from KA and also from other blogs. Goodness gracious! I seriously can’t believe that a writer’s tone would be of such sexist and derogatory nature. Maybe LP’s idea is indeed in its title - making the planet as lonely as possible.
I think it would be of no use teaching/preaching the goodness of a city to others who have their ears closed and minds preoccupied. For those who know Chennai better, cheers. Chennai/Madras rocks!!!
By Revs on Oct 24, 2009 | Reply

I spoke to noted Madras historian, Mr.S.Muthiah on his views on LP’s article and this is what he had to say!! Needless to say I am overjoyed!!
Yayyy!!

“Must a city be prosperous, must it be historic, must it have `buzz’, must it have film stars who are `HOT’, to be loved or even appreciated? What a ridiculous way to judge the charm, warmth and enjoyablity of a place!

Per capita, Chennai is more prosperous than Bombay; it is rich with the 400-year-old history of being the first city a modern India, the city where virtually every aspect of modern India developed – from municipal governance to record-keeping to education – and as for buzz, there is no city in the world that has a bigger cultural season than the Madras Music Season or more festivals from the religious to the cultural to ones just celebrating the city.

The automobile capital of India, the medical capital of the country, a leader in education and culture, a paradise for South Indian food, a joyous celebrator of culture and traditions, Madras that is Chennai does not need the money-in-your-face attitude of Bombay, the commercialisation of the historical ruins of Delhi and the aggressiveness of its population, or the brassiness of Bangalore, to be considered a destination to visit by those who prefer visiting with history, culture, varied cuisine and green oases, all understated but appealing to the discreming and better read traveller”

Oh BTW I am totally in for any pro Madras activity!!
By Citizen on Oct 31, 2009 | Reply

You all members are IDIOT who are supporting CHENNAI. ITs one of the SLUMEST city in the world, YaAK !!!! how dirty it is, Always SWEAT,people in Chennai are not clean, no one baths’ even lady’s , they’re BLACKYS but use more Turmeric to cover the facial…………. No idiot cleans the city.
Waste fellows, no one knows HINDI, nor they encourage to learn.
They’re disciples of KING RAVANA, and we are disciples of Lord RAMA. then think themselves.
They look like Bull shit, no proper hotel to eat.The Chennai railway station is such a MOTEL kind , no idiot takes care to clean, everywhere FISH smell, Fecal on the TRACKS. They eat Fish from SEA, where they divert entire CHennai Drainage into that.

Bloody scoundrels, mother fuckers, Sluts of INDIA. They spoil the name of INDIA.
By Dilip Muralidaran on Oct 31, 2009 | Reply

@Citizen: Here is a tip while hate commenting from your office computer. “Don’t do it, it could cost your job like it did now.”

I’ve already reported you to your company IT admin email. Here is your info below for others to report you as well.

***********

haa haa, just playing ya! Don’t worry, you dont need to be scared of being fired and job hunt in this bad economy. JP Morgan Chase is a good company to work for and you shall keep your job to live on all by the grade of a filthy ugly chennai’ite in your own terms.
By RK on Nov 2, 2009 | Reply

To Citizen:

I really wonder from which part of India are you from, coz, whatever you have mentioned, can be seen in every city of this Country. Of course, the mind sees what it wants to see and you choose to see what is there in your mind. Filth, is what you wanted to see and you saw it. But why did you travel so far to Chennai? You could’ve seen that in your own place right? If you dare to mention which city you are from, I challenge you, the people who read these can give astounding proofs from the same city on the same thing you hate about Chennai.

No one knows Hindi? WTF? Why should we? If you wanna be in Rome, be a Roman or be like a tourist ass. Else, #$#@ off! Did we call you to rate our City?

People who worships Ravan? And the comedy is you are from the place who worship Rama? Rama had to depend on Sugreeva and Hanuman to get back his wife, mythologically speaking?

I am sure there is no sea in the slum you dwell or else you should have been the rotten bastard who eats pizza and lives a couch potato life. Otherwise, I could show you the exact same thing, eating from sea and diverting drainage to it. Every part of the world fishes from sea and eats it. Do you fish from drainage tank and eat it, probably?

As someone said, f$#k off!

PS: I liked the metaphor of Rama and Ravana, what a dumb headed imagination, just to prove your worthlessness? Ha ha ha. ROTFL.
By Kumar Appaiah on Nov 3, 2009 | Reply

What’s dumb is that it’s passed on as _our_ opinion, as in “Cities YOU really hate”. The nerve…
By Anirudh on Nov 3, 2009 | Reply

To point out something else, Aishwarya Rai is from Karkala(a small town in South Canara), and so is Shilpa Shetty. Deepika Padukone is from Mangalore and Sunil Shetty is from Padubidri(another obscure town in South Canara). It’s the Northies who make fun of our actors and I’d like to remind them that the actors who they call their own are all outsourced.
By Shaan on Dec 21, 2009 | Reply

Brown Tamils and White north Indians. C’mon guys are north Indians White? I used to think that they are fairer but from my experience I can tell you only a few are fair. I am a Tamil and I am fairer than many of my north Indian friends. But does that matter? Is color a criteria to measure hotness? Especially when most of the hot girls of India like Bipasha and Sushmita are dark. Moreover, many top north Indian actresses are Tamils and many top Tamil actresses are north Indians. Lonely Planet guys are idiots.
By Rameez on Dec 21, 2009 | Reply

The finest metro in the world….

That is what Tamil people think about Chennai. It must be the only place in the globe where you can describe the weather in just three words, i.e., HOT… HOTTER… HOTTEST… Trust me…. That is Chennai.
But Chennai doesn’t end here. Place where people hardly use water except for drinking and cooking. It doesn’t mean they never bath. Some men do take bath when they cut their hair. As far as women are concerned they already use water for cooking and so not interested in wasting any more water. I guess Chennai would be the only place in the world with underground water by 2050 or even till the world ends. See, how nature loving the people are! Never mind, ladies do compensate the body odor with the bunch of flowers. It seems to me sometimes that the flowers are part of their body. Anyway, hydrogen sulphide would be better compared to combined smell of flowers and body odor.
But one aspect requires special mention, the kind of recognition you get. Trust me… Unless you are an IITian or a Tamil Brahmin please don’t come to Chennai. Please… please… please… I am not going deep into it.
Oh my God, the main attraction in Chennai is the auto walaas. These guys deserve a place in Guinness Book for their in-depth knowledge in mathematics. For 2km journey, the fare would be as less as Rs.100 if you ask in English and may be around Rs.50 if you can manage with Tamil. See what generous people they are! Where else in India you can find such caring, understanding and kind auto walaas.
The horrible thing in Chennai is the rain. Just a few centimeters of rain is enough to put the entire city under water. Thanks to the basic infrastructure of the city. Drainage system is so good that it never allows any water to flow through them and maintain their dryness.
Chennai Police is the best of the lot. Show your PAN card when they ask for license and they will salute you thinking you are an income tax officer.
Its gonna be an endless one… But stopping for now…
P.S. Only climate is hot in Chennai… But not the galz… just kidding…
By ItMattersNot on Dec 31, 2009 | Reply

Hello! I suppose one should always begin with a ‘hello’.

Ordinarily, I have a personal rule against writing comments more than a few lines long on a stranger’s blog, but I suppose this topic demands an exception.

As an outsider living in chennai, I am-
a) shocked at the suggestion that the city lacks history and/ or culture
b) not so shocked that some guy who wrote an article somewhere doesn’t like Chennai very much.

Having lived for a while in a part of the country where the common man believes that anybody who lives south of the Deccan is a ‘Madrasi’, and that Tamil/ Telugu/ Kannada… are all variations of ‘the same old twangy ille po stuff’, it isn’t surprising that the prejudice is this deep- rooted.

In school, somebody was a Singh and somebody an Iyer and nobody gave a crap as long as they weren’t jerks; but as an outsider in Chennai, no matter how much you may like it, you realise that there is a dividing line- there are those who appreciate the charisma of Rajnikanth and those who just can’t live with it.

It’s a downright retarded sense of belonging and unbelonging over the most trivial things- and the accompanied idea of ‘this is the civilised world and that isn’t’ and ‘we’re better.’

Northies don’t hate Chennai. They’re just terrified that all they have ridiculed for so many years might just be better than what they have.
By Ambariish Uchiha on Jan 11, 2010 | Reply

WHOA
im from chennai too and this blog is amazing!
*bows*
*thumbs up*

chk out my blog when ur free
16bitthinking.blogspot.com

HAPPY BLOGGING!!!
By Jaisimha on Feb 2, 2010 | Reply

‘City jingoism’ is really interesting Yes it is possible to hate a city as much as it is possible to love it. For instance I hate Detroit - it’s depressing, violent, fun-less, mirthless. It’s a hell hole and 90% of US population agrees with that - it’s rated the worst city. I am from Andhra, but I hate Hyd -the heat, the unfriendly people, the rudeness. Mumbai though I still love because despite the same characterestics, it has enough other things going on to make it palatable. Chennai: it’s muggy, humid. It’s not a fun city for foreigners - and even people from other states. People don’t want to speak in Hindi. Yes the movie stars are butt-ugly. That doesn’t bother me coz I don’t watch them. There’s too much fanaticism about movies, rajanikanth (why the heck anyway - he’s not even tamil). The people come across as unfriendly and ‘racist’ - i.e. if you aren’t Tamil, you aren’t human. The autowallahs etc. are horrible.. I have witnessed fights in five star hotels between folks several times. This is the 15 times I have visited the city. I dread going there - and usually avoid unless absolutely necessary.
On the other hand I completely agree with you it’s a cultural haven. The carnatic tradition flourishes here. The ancient temples are magnificient. The history is amazing - just that the people there are wallowing in that, rather than take the city forward based on that history. Just sitting around insisting that ‘Lonely Planet’ is wrong isn’t going to help anything. We need to get out of this mindset that protesting loudly is the way to improve things.