Review of My AtoZ of Chennai,The City Viewed Through An Outsiders Eye

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I have been following Mayuri’s posts for quite a while now and when she published her book, I was piqued. So, here is the book review of My AtoZ of Chennai: The City Viewed Through An Outsiders Eye.

Title: My AtoZ of Chennai: The City Viewed Through An Outsiders Eye

Author: Mayuri Nidigallu

Genre: Travelogue

Rating: 4.5/5

About the author:

Mayuri strongly believes that she left her heart and soul in Bombay, the city of her birth and upbringing. She’s having fun though as she packs and unpacks, accompanying her nomad Husband, and experiencing life in different cities. Mayuri calls Chennai her City-in-law, as this capital of Tamil Nadu is home to her Husband, In-laws, and now her.

Chennai is her second pit stop, after spending 4.5 years in Bangalore. She hopes that her relationship with Chennai will move up a notch from being the cordial one it has always been. Writing this book is her attempt to offer it the olive branch. When she isn’t exploring Chennai, Mayuri is a Tarot Card Reader, a prolific Blogger at Sirimiri. She is a Bibliophile, and a reluctant Agony Aunt. This is her 2nd EBook.

Plot:

My feeling after reading this book was “Chennai is not just about temples, beaches, and heat”, what I had always presumed. It has much more than that. Through this book, the author will take you on a journey to the lesser known places in her city-in-law, Chennai. And I am sure once you finish the book, you will have a totally different picture of this Southern city. And you might think of planning a trip too and explore these destinations, like me. This book will come handy and help you plan a perfect itinerary of Chennai.

Summary:

The author is a natural storyteller and with her conversational style of writing, she has given this book a personal touch. Throughout the book, I felt she has been guiding me to the different places of the city. She has described all the places of attractions so vividly that I could actually visualize it and felt quite acquainted with the city.

As the title of the book indicates, this is a collection of 26 chapters. She started with the 450-year-old Adyar Banyan Tree moving to the amazing beaches of Chennai which are one of the vital parts of the city. Further, she has guided us to the Temples, Churches, flower markets, Dakshin Chitra, Pondy Bazaar, Panagal Park and a lot more places in the city.

One thing that I really liked in this book is that she has not only shared about the tourist spots but also educated us on the special foods to try and markets to explore which takes you on a cultural tour of the city. Be it the famous Higginbothams book shop or Zam Bazaar, the grounded yet must visit Karpagambal Mess or the LIC building, Mylapore to Nungambakkam, she has covered every nook and corner of the city. She has also recommended a few sweet and ice-cream shops too to satiate your sweet tooth. My three major and most interesting discoveries from this book are Elai Sappadu, Raj Bhavan Safari, and Oliver Ridley Turtles.

Mayuri has done deep research on all these destinations and shared the visiting timings, entry fee and the tips for visiting these places. This is an added bonus in this book. My perception about Chennai has definitely changed for good, after reading this fantastic book. I hope you will have the same opinion after laying your hands on it. So, explore the hidden gems of Chennai and grab your copy soon.

Availability:

This book has been written as a part of Blogchatter e-book carnival and can be download here: My AtoZ of Chennai: The City Viewed Through An Outiders Eye

So, this was my honest book review of “My AtoZ of Chennai: The City Viewed Through An Outsiders Eye” written as part of Blogchatter Book Review Program. Hope you will enjoy reading this book too.