Of Lost Wax and Found Beauty

I was a mere five hour drive away from Madras and yet I felt as if I had time-traveled into another world and era, to a place where South India, as I saw it in my mind’s eye, still survived, gentle, calm, awash in devotion and tradition. I was in and around Thanjavur and the Kaveri River delta, and why was it a surprise that I felt this way, because life here seems to belong to another age, to move to a different rhythm. This land, this river, this city, these environs, had, for several centuries, been the jewel in the crown of the great Chola Empire. The winds of history have tempered its eminence, and this region is now quietly content to lie in fame’s shadow, to surrender its position of celebrity to the younger, brasher, livelier, more prominent and influential seat of authority to the north, Madras.

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Pitcher Plant Rice

I came upon this strange dish, Pitcher Plant Rice, which is popular with the locals of the Land Dayaks of Sarawak near the district of Bau and Serikin in Malaysia. It is a delicious Bidayuh food. The unique dish is “cooked hill rice (purple colored rice from Borneo) with peanuts in a cut opened pitcher”. Read more here

Unplanned outing to Chikballapur

Today, on Ganesh Chaturthi, we went to Chikballapur, but avoided the most popular destination Nandi Hills and went to see other places nearby. We had such a good time, at Sir MV's birthplace in Muddenhalli, Skandagiri, Sri Bhoganandeeswara temple and Devanahalli Fort. Read on

The No. 7 Train

Languages clash on engrossed cell phones
That are unmindful of public space.
Black and brown shoes rest in different pairs of legs;
Keep their distance like respectful strangers.
-GG
Read the complete poem here

Kabul calling

This was in 1967, when I was 29, unattached, and doing Europe overland. We were seven – a mixed group, aged between 10 and 50 – traveling in a 12-seater van on a London-Delhi run. Because of a nationality issue with Pakistan, Kabul turned out to be the end of the road for me...More...

A Walk in Harlem

The signal is red. The M 60 bus reaches the 116th & Broadway stop at 4:00 pm. It has three passengers, five more get in. Buzz-beep-slash: passengers swipe their Metro cards and find solitary seats. The driver’s belly droops over his belt. From behind his black goggles, he looks disinterestedly at those stepping in. A recorded female voice greets mechanically: “Thank you for riding the MTA.”

The bus takes a right turn off Amsterdam Avenue onto W 125 St . Outside the Harlem USA II Nails salon two black women stand smoking cigarettes. The shade of one’s jacket perfectly matches her brown highlights. The other is shorter, plump and wears a black jacket.

Are they poor?

Continue to read at Life Rules

Belum Caves, Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh

104kms from Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh are the Belum Caves. The very mention of the word ‘caves’ creates images of mountains in mind; surprisingly there were none around and in fact none in the vast stretch of land around. For a moment I thought... read more...

SUNDARBANS - WORLDS LARGEST MANGROVES

I arrived in Sundarbans, the World’s largest mangrove forest, famous for its chief inhabitant – the Royal Bengal Tiger, on a hot morning in April 2010. Now, getting here can be an adventure and perhaps a challenge in itself, because of the remoteness of this place.

Verona, Italy

Driving from Venice to Verona took us slightly more than four hours. It shouldn't have taken that long, but getting accustomed to the left hand driving, sign boards, GPS instructions and distracting scenic sights(for which we stopped often), delayed us considerably. Read more...

Brihadeeswarar Temple

The unique factor about the chola temples is that the tower over the sanctums is taller than the towers over the gopuram(tower) at the entrance. The temple tower is 70m high ad is credited to be the highest of its kind in the world. We watched the sunset of 26th Dec 2009 there, the darkness setting in and the moon rising over the gopurams, then we revisited the temple the next morning again just to see how it reflected the early rays of sun. Read more...

Krishna Mandapam, Mahabalipuram

The way the sculptor had sculpted the various emotions is amazing. I stood admiring the image of the cow licking her calf as she was being milked by a villager. The curve of her tongue and her half closed eye depicted the tender motherly feelings so well. Read more...

Salted and Dried Fish, at Poompuhar

We continued our journey through coastal Tamil Nadu. I was sure I would sight fish being dried somewhere along the beaches. Not faraway from Karaikal, at Poompuhar, I saw the women folk of fishermen community at the job. The villagers were using centuries old method of salting the fish and leaving them out to dry in direct sunlight. Read more...

Wat Phra Mahathat, Ayutthaya, Thailand

Wat Phra Mahathat famous for the Buddha head of sandstone embraced by the roots of a huge tree. A religious wonder; nobody knows how the head got embedded there. One of the theories is that a broken image could have been abandoned there after the Burmese attacked Ayuthaya and ransacked the Wats. Actually there are a lot of interesting stories around all these... waiting to be told. If only the language wasn't a barrier. Read more here...

The Tuk Tuks in Bangkok

Just like any other 'new arrival' in Bangkok I was eager to experience the rides in the famous Tuk Tuks of Bangkok. Tuk Tuks are similar to the autorikshaws of India, but are more spacious. The name originated from the sound of the motor of the vehicle and the sound really went tuk tuk tuk tuk... Read more...

Tales of the Seven Pagodas

For many centuries, there have been rumors and tales of temples submerged in the sea - of which now, just one, the Shore Temple, stands visible, lovely and lonely, gazing out to sea, its stark beauty enhanced by the barren vistas of sand and stone and wispy wind-swept casuarina all around. Marco Polo is said to have visited Santhome (in modern-day Madras) where he was regaled with tales of the lost temples of Mahabalipuram. His descriptions found their way, in part, to the Catalan Atlas of 1375. The Catalan Atlas is one of the most important atlases of the medieval era, and was put together by a Catalan Jew (from Spain) called Abraham Cresques. It shows India in peninsular form, and Mahabalipuram is mentioned there as "Setemelti", which is assumed to be an erroneous version of "Sette Templi" - or seven temples. More

FORMULA 1 SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX

Formula 1 GP Singapore just ended and I am feeling tired, my body and mind is winding down from all that adrenaline that was coursing through my veins all evening. The action was fantastic, those who have only seen the race on TV like I have for a long time, really need to get to a race and watch it live. The sound, the speed, the atmosphere, the fun, nothing comes close to being there. This time I found myself at the Pit Grand Stand, opposite the pit lane and garages, meters away from the starting grid! Read more..

SOUTH GOA - MOBOR - BETUL BEACH

My favorite time at Mobor is in the evenings. I like this a lot, warm waters gently lapping at your feet while you walk on the edge of the water and the soft sand of the beach. The sunset in the horizon, changing hues of orange to somewhat deep red before plunging below. The soft sounds of the waves and the gentle breeze. I like stopping by and watching little birds run behind small crustaceans on the exposed wet sand when the tide goes out and then they come running back when the waves return towards the beach. For me that’s what a piece of heaven would feel like. More...

DUDHSAGAR FALLS GOA

There was a princess who used to bathe in the falls a long time ago. She used to drink a jug of milk after her bath everyday it seems. One day she was startled to see a handsome prince (what did you expect) who had stumbled on to the falls and since she was in the buff, she grew red in the face and poured the jug of milk in front of her into the waterfall. This milky white water shielded her for a brief moment that it took the attendants to drape a cloth over her and protect her modesty. More...

MASKS EVERYWHERE!

First it was the Japanese who always went around the World wearing masks and gloves long before this new bug called H1N1 came along. Now, it seems Indians have panicked (thanks to the high decibel, repeated screeching of anchors on news channels there) and loads of them were seen wearing these masks without knowing whether the masks they had on were really going to stop the infection from hitting them or not.

MONSOON MAGIC - 2

Winding down the narrow roads of the Western Ghats with enough twists and turns to churn whatever is in the stomach, one finally emerges in the coastal area of Karnataka near Honnavar Town where the mountain road meets the so-called National Highway NH-17. The “highway” is quite narrow by International standards and was badly worn out and exposed in stretches. Swollen rivers and lakes were all around us as we drove North towards Goa, reaching a wet and windy Colva Beach (Colva is near Madgao for those familiar with the larger cities of Goa).