When the likes of S.Muthiah and Narasaiah exists, it requires a lot of guts to embark on the mission of chronicling Madras. But Bishwanath succeeds in his breezy, almost-bloggish style of writing about Chennai and its people. It has a simple narrative style and interacts with lot of popular people but whose personal side I wasn't aware of (Muthiah). Inclusion of Narayana Reddy, Saroja Devi was a surprise. Sometimes the awe at brahminical things (Carnatic music, kolam, tradition with transformation, blah blah) is irritating but if you get past that, its fun. I definitely recommend this book. ( )