Praveen’s Magic Quill

Last week, I saw a huge bunch of posters around my area advertising some SnowBall event to be organised by a Chennai-based Dance company, Spellbound, under a commercial tie-up with the TamilNadu Tourism Development Corporation (TTDC), here at hot hot Chennai. The next day, The Hindu had reported that the venue not only had a visual treat, but a cool shower of ice to beat the summer heat. Driven by curiosity, we decided to hire an Air-Conditioned van (because my cousins and relatives were here as well) and then embarked on a visit to the Island Grounds near the Marina.

The entry fee for the adults was Rs.150 and children below 4 feet were charged Rs.100 each. So, by the look of the rates, I had begun to have an impression that this is gonna be a mini-amusement park or something. After some stupid band was tied on all our hands (for which there was absolutely no use inside), we went inside the entrance. The very moment I was inside, I could sense a feeling of dampness at the bottom of stomach.

There was a small toy train taking visitors around making a hell lot of noise. I was rooted to the ground gazing at the dumb scene all around me, when I sensed out of the corner of my eye that someone taller than me was standing next to me. Only when I turned around did notice that a Camel nearly double my height was trying to limp past me with another visitor mounting it. Damn the organizers! Don’t they have the common sense that camels are for commuting at soft earthy desserts and not on hard grounds? Poor creatures!

Then, we went inside an arch which was made of plastic snow, hoping that it would lead into the SnowBall Arena. But alas, it didn’t! Instead, we had seemed to enter a massive air-conditioned hall filled with a series of stalls dealing in consumer durables, souvenirs and food court, filled with mostly women pretending to be interested in the products of the sponsors which they never have the intention of buying anyway. It looked more like a Trade Fair than a Snow Arena.

Finally, we managed to rush past the crowd to enter the actual so-called Snow Arena. Once inside, standing on massive ice-bars, I watched dumb-struck at the scene in front of me. A shower of ice-crystals dropping out of ice-crushers positioned at a particular height at the sides of the enclosure. Some people were just grinding ice cubes and throwing the pieces on the innocent people within the enclosure, and they were also very happy to experience “Snow” falling on them. It was such a pity to watch the scene and more than that, I was angry at myself for becoming one among the victims of being taken for a ride.

I totally fail to understand how official agencies like MetroWater, TamilNadu Tourism Board, TN Pollution Control Board and others could have given permission for such a terribly damaging scheme of water use. I would definitely not recommend anyone to visit this event. If you feel you have enough time to waste and too much money in your wallet, I suggest you go to the movie Kuruvi. From Hari’s review, I feel you would feel much better to watch the movie than to visit the SnowBall event.