Recommendations needed.

kkumar29 · Post by **kkumar29** » 29 Oct 2007, 23:23

Hi all,

I will be visiting Chennai around December 15th and am planning to spend around 3 - 4 days there. I would like recommendations regarding hotel accomodation (3star plus costing around $100 - $200 / night). The hotel needs be situated centrally so I could attend concerts at Music Academy and other sabhas near by. Since I am unfamilaiar with Chennai, I would prefer a location where I can walk back to my Hotel after late night concerts.

Please help me with your recommendations.

Thanks,
K. Kumar

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 29 Oct 2007, 23:34

>(3star plus costing around $100 - $200 / night).

Did you really mean $ there? Just want to make sure people don' send you to a suite in Hotel Chola..

I am sure you will get good responses. If I venture a guess, you may get a recommendation for the Woodlands Cottages within walking distance from Music Academy.

kkumar29 · Post by **kkumar29** » 29 Oct 2007, 23:39

Hi VK,

The price range is correct. I am more interested in a centally located place and I don't want to rule it out just because it happens to be Chola Cheraton. I don't want to get into an endless argument with auto rickshaws and other tranport providers in Chennai since I haven't travelled by any of these in Chennai in the last 40 years:)

K. Kumar

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 29 Oct 2007, 23:53

Ok, try this. http://www.newwoodlands.com/

This should be within 5 minute walking distance from the Music Academy. I will let others confirm if this is indeed true.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 29 Oct 2007, 23:54

kkumar,
You can search this on the web. You have to hurry up with your reservations if you are particular about the location. There is a high demand for rooms in hotels close to the sabhas. VK is right about the price of hotel rooms!

Suji Ram · Post by **Suji Ram** » 30 Oct 2007, 00:21

Ill be in Madras in December too. Can anyone tell me what sabhas are around Mylapore.
Madras is not my usual destination (and I have no sense of directions), but was arranged for a 2 day stay just for me!! How nice of my family!!

Sam Swaminathan · Post by **Sam Swaminathan** » 30 Oct 2007, 00:50

kkumar

Woodlands is your best bet. Walking distance to MA, NGS, Mylapore fine arts, sankara hall and if you feel like it, you can even walk to Mylapore tank and therefore, Bharthiya Vidya Bhavan. Yes, I agree with you, the bloody autos are a pain and thus should be avoided at all costs. You can consider Presidency at the other end of Dr Radhakrishnan salai...check out this site

http://www.southindia-tourism.info/sout ... otels.html

Best wishes, Sam

Sundara Rajan · Post by **Sundara Rajan** » 30 Oct 2007, 03:49

While Woodlands may be o.k. due to its proximity to the sabhas, it is not 3*. The last time I was in Madras in 2006, I stayed in Court House by Marriot in Teynampet on Mount Road and paid $ 140/day. The rates may be higher now, but I was quite pleased with the service that included excellent buffet breakfast, especially for a madrasi vegetarian. At that time thay did not have a bar, but I didn't care since I am a teetotaller. A bar was on its way. They have their own car service, but somewhat pricey compared to local taxies. I am sure you can look it up and also book on the internet. good luck.

mohan · Post by **mohan** » 30 Oct 2007, 03:56

Kutcheri Buzz has a list of accommodation at http://www.kutcheribuzz.com/decseason20 ... dation.htm

kkumar29 · Post by **kkumar29** » 30 Oct 2007, 06:48

Sundara Rajan wrote:The last time I was in Madras in 2006, I stayed in Court House by Marriot in Teynampet on Mount Road and paid $ 140/day. The rates may be higher now, but I was quite pleased with the service that included excellent buffet breakfast, especially for a madrasi vegetarian.

Hi Sundara Rajan,

Courtyard Marriot sounds like it will be a good place. Is it situated within walking distance of the sabhas and the academy? My problem is not knowing the city I might get taken for a ride (both literally and metaphorically) everytime I engage a taxi or an auto

K. Kumar

gobilalitha · Post by **gobilalitha** » 30 Oct 2007, 07:23

if you engage , what is referred to as a call taxi, for a day from morning to night (will be arranged by the lodge ,whereyou stay) you can attend performances from morning till night in and around mylapore area and TNAGAR where krishna gana sabha and vani mahal are situated . it may cost you totally 1500 rupees . no hassels about finding transport every time. about lunch,evening snacks dinner absolutely no worry , as the canteens inthe sabha premises provide wonderful stuff. gobilalitha

Sundara Rajan · Post by **Sundara Rajan** » 30 Oct 2007, 07:30

Hi KKumar29: I am not quite sure about the distance to various sabhas from Mariot; but one can certainly take a taxi or auto rikashaw. Most of the sabhas are within five miles, I believe. I understand that the autorikshaws now have digital meters. The porters at Mariot will be helpful in negotiating the price for the autorikshaws BEFORE you board them. Also, there are what they call as "call taxies" with digital meters, that can be arranged by the reception desk at the hotel. They are more reliable and I paid by the digital meter plus10% tip only. It helps NOT to let the auto rikshaw drivers know that you are from a foreign country. If you can speak in Tamil, that should make it easier. Hope this information helps. Sundara Rajan

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 30 Oct 2007, 09:57

See if this marked google maps shows OK. I have marked the Music Academy and the New Woodlands. You can zoom in/out from there.

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8& ... 11598&z=17

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 30 Oct 2007, 10:10

This is not a criterion Kumar mentioned but here is something on a lighter note. The high end hotels do offer better services and features and they do work hard in general for a better guest experience. But what I have noticed is, the higher end you go, the less 'South Indian' these hotels become with respect to food service. Say, you crave for some hot Upma, vadai and sambar in the morning, you may get some continental breakfast

And then there is 'Milaguttani Soup'...time to run for the exits.

rbharath · Post by **rbharath** » 30 Oct 2007, 10:17

mariot is on mount road. what used to be Srilekha once upon a time. it is next to congress grounds. defly not walkable from any sabha..

Savera and Woodlands are the ones right next to MA. from where u can walk to MA or NGS or sankara hall thro' the main road and even to MFAC thro' the cit colony...

to ragasudha, BVB and other places around the tank, you must be able to take an auto for about not more than 30-40 rupees. or there is bus stop right in front these hotels from where u could take a 29c to reach the luz area for 3 rupees...

there is hotel sangeetha at luz corner. hotel karpagam on north mada street which also have lodging. i m not sure of rates though. from these two places, only NGS and MA wouldnt be walkable.

star city serviced apartments are available on santhome high road near the church. but then again, getting to place from there definitely requires an auto and about 50 rupees for each trip to anywhere..

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 30 Oct 2007, 10:54

Woodlands is easily the best choice even if it not 5 star. Excellent ambience and loads of character - Id pick it over a 5 star any day. Unfortunately it may already be sold out. However since your budget is generous (for USD 200 you should be able to get a room at most hotels in Chennai.

From your viewpoint, Chola is not bad although among the 5 stars it is the most ramshackle. However, I believe renovations are under way. Other options I can think of:

Savera as mentioned by Bharath - reasonably good rooms and a great health club/pool - should be about USD 150. Right next to the Academy

The President is also a decent option although maintenance is a little tardy.

There is a good hotel on TTK road just off Cathedral Road - Ramada Park Inn. It is 2-3 stars and would be quite convenient for access to Academy, NGS, MFAC and Sivagami Pettachi (Brahma Gana Sabha). Nilgiris Nest (not 3 star) is another place popular with music tourists. It is next to the dept store of the same name on Cethadral Road. Marris, next to Chola throws in some great food (best meals in Chennai during off-season time!) along with well-maintained rooms. Again, sub 3-star. All of these should be within 75-80 dollars

The Raintree is an excellent (5 star Ecotel) option for access to Sabhas in Mylapore. It is located just off CP Ramaswamy Road near Kaliappa hospital. The academy is about 15 minutes by walk, Narada Gana Sabha/MFAC about 10. Sabhas around Kapali temple/Luz would also be about 10-15 minutes walk. Prices would probably be around 200. If you can stretch it this is my reco after Woodlands. They have a wonderful rooftop restaurant - my favourite in the city! If really want to live it up, Park Sheraton further along Chamiers Road is probably the best hotel in Chennai. Budget for 250+ during peak season.

For Sabhas around T Nagar you can try GRT Grand Days/Residency Towers/Residency - all around Pondy Bazaar and about 10 minutes from KGS and Vani Mahal. 20 minutes to Kalarasana (Gemini) down GN Chetty Road. Hotel Peninsula on GN Chetty Road towards Gemini is another nice place.

If you like a good walk, there are some good options around Gemini. Courtyard Marriot has already been mentioned. They now have a revolving rooftop restaurant. Also the best Pizzas in town. The Park is another swish alternative. It would be easy to access some great sabhas in T Nagar/1000 lights like Vani Mahal (15 minutes), Kalarasana (right next door at Gemini), BHarat Kalachar (10 minutes). It is a bit of a walk (20-25 minutes) to the Academy/NGS area but I can tell you that there nothing better than a nice walk along Cathedral Road, taking in the cool December breeze and humming the Thodi you just heard at the Academy! In terms of Sabhas covered this would be one of the best areas to stay. Star City mentioned by Bharath is also in this area.

Hope this rambling mail helps. December is around the corner again. Can't wait for the sabha hopping to start!

sbala · Post by **sbala** » 30 Oct 2007, 11:37

Vijay,
You must be one helluva good walker to cover Raintree-Academy stretch in 15 mins. I take 15-20 mins from Alwarpet signal to Academy but I would classify myself as a saunterer.

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 30 Oct 2007, 11:49

Suji Ram wrote:Ill be in Madras in December too. Can anyone tell me what sabhas are around Mylapore.
Madras is not my usual destination (and I have no sense of directions), but was arranged for a 2 day stay just for me!! How nice of my family!!

It will be a good idea to have the major ( and minor ) sabhas marked on Google maps ( like what I did for Music Academy ). Any volunteers. If the frequent visitors to the sabhas can provide the names and addresses, then I can make up the Google Maps Mashup.

gobilalitha · Post by **gobilalitha** » 30 Oct 2007, 16:02

.let me give some culinary advice, of course big starred hotels are very nice to stay. but the early morning coffeeserved by them . what with big jugs of decoction, sugar pack and milk packs will not satisfy your taste buds and the breakfast will not be typical south indian, especially the different chutneys sambar , gotsu etc so the advice is stay in a big hotel ,but avoid breakfast ,lunch etc gobilalitha

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 30 Oct 2007, 18:44

why bother with hotel breakfasts when you have the arusuvais ans gnanambikas to do your bidding! Even if the hotel breaker is free it is best to avoid.

Vk, am certainly game for your project. I am familiar with most sabhas but not so much with google maps. I can provide addresses and maybe even plot the sabhas on a rough map and you can do the rest....

Bala, let's see...Raintree to CPRamaswamy Rd is about 2 minutes. On to the Alwarpet signal is about 10. Another 5-7 minutes for the Academy...OK 20 maybe but not more...I guess walking is one of the few things I am good at!

annapoorne · Post by **annapoorne** » 30 Oct 2007, 19:23

There is Hotel Maris, just adjacent to Chola Sheraton. Though I have not stayed there, I have always treated myself to hot steaming idlis even at 10.30 in the night.

Sundara Rajan · Post by **Sundara Rajan** » 30 Oct 2007, 19:24

That is a lot of good helpful information that I could have used last year ! I have been away from Tamil NAdu/ India for almost half a century. I searched through the net and located the Mariot (old SreelEka) and was satisfied , especially with vegetarian south indian buffet breakfast and took the advice/help of the help desk for transportation, shopping etc. You may be better off, Kumar to listen to the others who are more familiar with the current Madras situation, distances etc. Enjoy your visit to Madras and the Music Season. I wish I could go this year, but it is doubtful. Sundara Rajan.

arunk · Post by **arunk** » 30 Oct 2007, 19:47

vk - your google maps idea is awesome!

kkumar29 · Post by **kkumar29** » 30 Oct 2007, 20:58

Folks,

You guys have given me a lot of information. I think now I should be able to search for a reasonably good hotel for my stay in chennai.

In response to the question about location of sabhas I had created a google map for my search for a suitable hotel. This is not a comprehensive list of all the sabhas, just the major ones. Here is the URL:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8& ... &z=12&om=1

Let me know if the link doesn't work.

K. Kumar.

sbala · Post by **sbala** » 30 Oct 2007, 21:31

vijay wrote:Another 5-7 minutes for the Academy...

I still maintain you are either underestimating that stretch or must have been trained in Singapore.

Suji Ram · Post by **Suji Ram** » 30 Oct 2007, 21:43

The google map idea is great, that gives me some direction of where I am staying. It looks like 2 km radius where all the sabhas are in mylapore. But I don't know in real-time how long it would take to get there.

Maybe a GPS system in my bag will help.

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 30 Oct 2007, 22:36

Suji Ram wrote:.Maybe a GPS system in my bag will help.

Oh Suji, I can imagine the scene: A sari clad young woman in front of the Mylapore tank, looking at her GPS to decide to take a left or right on North Mada street

Kidding aside, I am with you. When I lived in Chennai I have never consulted a map of Chennai to travel to places. It was all by major roads: Go on mount road, take a right on Eldams Road etc. Whether it is east or south, I never had a clue. In fact, only by looking at Chennai with Google maps or Google Earth, I realize how close things really are.

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 30 Oct 2007, 22:48

kkumar29 wrote:Folks,

In response to the question about location of sabhas I had created a google map for my search for a suitable hotel. This is not a comprehensive list of all the sabhas, just the major ones. Here is the URL:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8& ... &z=12&om=1

Let me know if the link doesn't work.

K. Kumar.

Kumar, the link works but some of the sabha locations may not be correct. For example, I do not think Music Academy falls at the right location. This may be a problem with the street addresses. The old number, the new number etc. would be alien to Google maps

Vijay, yes we can collaborate. I guess Kumar's attempt is a great first attempt. You can add to that after fixing any issues with it first.

Annotating Google maps and getting a link to that is relatively easy. Get a gmail account and then go to maps.google.com. Click on My Maps. Give it a title and description. Then go to the area you want. It gives you the facility to put placemarkers and descriptions. Just keep doing it until you get it right. Once you are done, there is a link at the top right "Link to this page". Click on that and it will give you the link. Copy and paste here.

( We can move the sabha and hotel map annotation discussion to another thread if it is needed later on )

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 30 Oct 2007, 22:53

Great input!
Add one more quality to the rasikAs on the forum--best navigators and guides. I am certain a lot of rasikAs are going to benefit by the first hand information you all provide.

Vijay,
I love walking. But how do I learn to walk where there are no pavements (sidewalks) and how do I cross the roads in the city at points where there are no traffic lights?
If you say, 'with practise', I would ask,' how can I get to be brave enough to venture out in the throes of traffic?'.
Call me a feeble-hearted old lady, but then, one needs courage to deal with the unpredictable nature of the drivers of various vehicles in Chennai, Bangalore and other cities...

rbharath · Post by **rbharath** » 30 Oct 2007, 22:55

about the maps. whoever has done the markings. they have got almost every place wronglly.. NGS, MA, BGS, GRT Grand, IFAS, Mudhra.. yellame thappa mark aagi irukku...

Suji Ram · Post by **Suji Ram** » 30 Oct 2007, 22:57

Oh Suji, I can imagine the scene: A sari clad young woman in front of the Mylapore tank, looking at her GPS to decide to take a left or right on North Mada street

I am pretty sure the GPS will keep repeating "you have arrivedâ€

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 30 Oct 2007, 23:13

arasi wrote:how do I cross the roads in the city at points where there are no traffic lights?
If you say, 'with practise', I would ask,' how can I get to be brave enough to venture out in the throes of traffic?'.
Call me a feeble-hearted old lady, but then, one needs courage to deal with the unpredictable nature of the drivers of various vehicles in Chennai, Bangalore and other cities...

Arasi, I completely agree, it is a scary proposition. In fact, I am reminded of a mildly funny incident on that very stretch. We were walking on the left side of the street from Anna Salai towards the Sea. The walk was pleasant but as you said, you have to cross all those side streets. On one such crossing, there was an Auto that zipped by, almost taking us with him, we had step back up quickly. As we recovered from that, we looked up and as with every Chennai compound walls there was this big poster plastered on it "Come to Jesus, the savior" and something like 'Yesu ungaLai karai sErPPAr'

Much needed comic relief to recover from the shock...

gita · Post by **gita** » 30 Oct 2007, 23:32

More than 'practice' what we need is 'confidence'. You have to imagine that no vehicles are on the road. It is still a nightmare for me to cross Pondy Bazar even after spending a few years in Chennai. I would be waiting endlessly for the vehicles to clear themselves out to cross the road until one day my school going son just dragged me in the middle of the road to the other side. The best way is to carry a 'stop' sign with you when you want to cross the road in chennai.

Suji Ram · Post by **Suji Ram** » 30 Oct 2007, 23:39

It is nice to see some information on crossing the crossroads and be safe. It is useful for visitors like me who want a pleasant concert experience and be prepared ahead.

BTW, I once used an auto to cross a road from one side to the other with a divider in between. I saw people standing on the dividers to cross to the other side and I cannot imagine doing that.

kkumar29 · Post by **kkumar29** » 31 Oct 2007, 00:21

From some of the feedback it appears that the locations of the sabhas in my map are wrong. I got the addresses from the artindia.net for the music season 2006. If you guys can provide the correct address I can correct the map and repost the link. I need it when I visit Chennai any way. So please keep the corrections coming.

K. Kumar.

Brahma Gana Sabha
Sivagami Pethachi Auditorium, 179, Luz Church Road, near Alwarpet flyover
Tel: +91-(0)-44-24942797

Bharathiya Vidya Bhavan
East Mada Street, Mylapore, Chennai- 600 004. Tel: +91-(0)-44-24643420

Bharat Kalachar
Sri YGP Auditorium, 15, Lake 1 Main Road, Nungambakkam, Chennai-34
Tel:+91-(0)-44-28223045 / 28226164

Indian Fine Arts Society
17, Prakasam Street, T.Nagar, Chennai 600 017. Tel: +91-(0)-44-28268441

Kalakshetra
Thiruvanmiyur, Chennai 600 041. Tel:+91-(0)-44-24524057

Karthik Fine Arts
'Bhargavi' 39, Bheemanna Garden Street, Abhiramapuram, Chennai 600 018.
Tel: 91-44-24997788. E-Mail:kartikfinearts@vsnl.net

Kalarasana
Rani Seethai Hall, 603,Anna Salai, Chennai- 600 006 (adjacent to Gemini Flyover)
Tel:+91-(0)-44 28294863

Krishnanjali
Venue: Vara-Sidhi Vinayaka temple, Besant Nagar, Chennai 600 090.

Mudhra
Auditorium: Ramakrishna Mission Matric. Hr. Sec. School, 71, Bazulla Road, T. Nagar.
Chennai 600 017. Tel: +91-9840072821/+91-(0)-44- 28264493.

Madras Music Academy
168, T.T.K.Road, Chennai-600 014. Tel: +91-(0)-44-2811 2231

Mylapore Fine Arts
45, Musiri Subramania Iyer Road, Mylapore, Chennai 600 004.
Tel: +91-(0)-44-2499 7755

Naadhabrahmam
Auditorium: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan (Main Hall), Mylapore, Chennai - 600 004.

Narada Gana Sabha
Venue: 314, TTK Road, Chennai 600 018. Tel: +91-(0)-44-2499301 / 24990850

Nandi Fine Arts
Venue: Vara-Siddhi Vinayaka Temple, Besant Nagar, Chennai 500 090.
Tel: +91-(0)-44-28133034

Nungambakkam Cultural Academy
Rama Rao Kala Mandap, Ganapathy Street, West Mambalam, Chennai 600 0033.
Tel: +91-44-(0)-91-44-2483 4823.

Sri Kapali Fine Arts
New No. 50, Bheemasena Garden Street, Mylapore, Chennai-4
Ph: +91-44-2499 4741/+91-98400-24639

Sri Krishna Gana Sabha
Venue: 20, Maharajapuram Santhanam Salai, T Nagar, Chennai 600017
Tel: +91-(0)-28140806.

Lecture-Demonstrations
Venue: Various Venues/Organised by different Sabhas/Organisations.

Shanthi Arts Foundation
Venue: Shastry hall, Luz, Mylapore, Chennai 600 004.

Sri Rama Bhaktha Jana Samaj
VENUE: Padma Seshadri School
S-17B, Ponnambalam Salai, K.K. Nagar, Chennai-78. Tel:+91-(0)-44-24830546

Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha
Concert Venue: 55, Bheemasena Garden Road, Mylapore, Chennai- 600 004.
Tel: +91-(0)-44-24991248

Sri Thyaga Brahma Gana Sabha
VENUE: Vani Mahal
103, G. N. Chetty Road, Chennai-600017. Tel:+91-(0)-44- 2815 2166.

Tamil Isai Sangam
Raja Annamalai Mandram, Chennai-600 108, Tel: +91-(0)-44-25341425

TVG's AIMA
Venue: Sidhi-Vinayaka Temple, Besant Nagar, Chennai.
Tel: +91-24466678. E-Mail: chembaividyaapeetam@yahoo.com

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 31 Oct 2007, 01:13

Kumar, the addresses are/may be right but Google does not spot it properly.

For example, if you put in the Music academy address from their web site, as you did, 168 TTK Road, Chennai, India in Google maps, Google does not really know the location of the number, it just marks a random place on TTK road ( south of Eldams road ). I tried the old number 306,it again marks the same spot. No matter what number you put in, it marks the same spot.

So those who know the actual location have to mark them. Let us nominate Vijay and Bharath to get this done for all of us.

If you use Google earth, someone had marked the right location for the Music Academy. Google earth, though the most impressive thing there is for such things, does not run well on all machines, so we better stick to Google maps or do both Goolge maps and Google earth.

rbharath · Post by **rbharath** » 31 Oct 2007, 09:48

i would be more than happy to do the markings correctly on a map. however, i m not able to figure out as to how to make a marking on the google map. could somebody run a tutorial for the same...

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 31 Oct 2007, 10:01

Bala - trained in Singapore? For walking faster?!!

Arasi you're quite right - most Indian cities are not walker-friendly...but one does get used to it. The trick to walk in the opposite direction of the traffic and of course, avoid losing yourself in music while on the road! Genrally avoiding the main roads and sticking to by-lanes is better but most drivers seem to have figured those out as well! Lack of sidewalks is a pity though...

Will take a shot at Google Maps sometime this week using VK's instructions.

rbharath · Post by **rbharath** » 31 Oct 2007, 10:07

m making a map. got around to finding a way to make the markings.. link will be put soon.

rbharath · Post by **rbharath** » 31 Oct 2007, 10:29

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8& ... &z=17&om=1

check it now

atlast, the correct map..

hope its useful to ppl

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 31 Oct 2007, 10:56

Great job, Bharath. Thanks. It is going to be very useful to a lot of people.

mohan · Post by **mohan** » 31 Oct 2007, 11:02

Bharat - This is great. I will put the link on my web page too!

sbala · Post by **sbala** » 31 Oct 2007, 11:06

Vijay - yeah, they were rated as the fastest walkers in some study. Generally, people tend to walk faster in the finance capitals. Chennaites should be a lot slower. My guess is that average walking speed of carnatic rasikas should be among the lowest in the world!

kkumar29 · Post by **kkumar29** » 31 Oct 2007, 11:38

Thanks a lot Bharath. This will prove to be a great asset for me during my visit. Teaches me not to trust google too much concerning India

Now that we have solved this issue would it be possible for me to meet some of you friendly folks from Chennai. I will be there between Dec 16 and Dec 19 and you can contact me at my email address from my profile.

Thanks a lot.

K. Kumar.

Suji Ram · Post by **Suji Ram** » 31 Oct 2007, 12:00

Just looking at the google map link itself is so exciting! Thanks!!

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 31 Oct 2007, 12:44

Bharat: If you feel like it, you can extend the usefulness of your work further.

1) This one is mostly cosmetic. You can change the icon of the pin. For example, you can show a house type of thing for sabha locations and another one for hotels. This is quite simple. Edit your map and then click on a pin location, a little ballon pop-up window will open up as before. The current icon will be there at the top right hand corner of that little balloon pop up window. Click on it. It will then give you a list of choices. Just pick the one that appeals to you as appropriate for that location.

2) You can attach a web site to each point in the map you have located. For example, it will be useful to have the concert schedule of Music Academy right from the map so people can click on the map and get to the sabha schedule page. To do that, again in that little ballon pop up window when you edit a particular location, click on the 'Rich Text' option, then type something in like 'Schedules', select that text and click on the chain link like icon ( it is the 5th one from the right in the row of icons just above the text window ). It will then pop a window to enter the actual URL that you want to insert. For Music Academy schedules, for example, you will enter http://www.musicacademymadras.in/2007-w ... ts_07.html and click OK. That is it. Finish the editing, get a new link to the map and post. The map now has more interactive content. People can click on a location, a balloon pop up will show up with a clickable link for Concert Schedule.

I have done this for the MA and New woodlands example I posted before here:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8& ... &z=17&om=1

In case you feel like it and have time, you can add such things to the map.

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 31 Oct 2007, 23:00

Excellent work Bharath and VK! I am sure people would be willing to pay for something like this!

Bala I wasn't aware of Singaporeans' unique distinction! But it does make sense...I was in Mumbai for a few years and also happen to be in the finance field! Maybe I would have done Raintree to Academy in 10 minutes if I was not also a rasika!

rbharath · Post by **rbharath** » 31 Oct 2007, 23:42

vk, the cosmetic surgery has been performed... the links, well, not (m)any have links... and hence i am not putting

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 01 Nov 2007, 05:09

Thanks Bharath. Nice work. I see you have given Music Academy a special status.. Cool

For schedules, may be some website will publish the schedules for most if not all the sabhas and we can post a link to that from Google maps. But that is all for bonus credits..

Thanks.

rbharath · Post by **rbharath** » 01 Nov 2007, 09:32

vk, after all, MA does deserve a special seat compared to the others... notice the flag on top...

the ultimate bible to chennai schedules is ram's blog.
http://ramsabode.wordpress.com/concerts-in-chennai/