Elusive 42

Jaate The Goa Pahunch Gaye Chikkamagalur

2009-10-05T08:27:00.001+05:30

Translated, it means "Started off to Goa, turned up in Chikkamagalur". Goa, in the western coast of India, has fabulous beaches. And Goan cuisine along with the local drink "Pheni" is something to savor.

We (a group of 12 friends) started off to Goa on the weekend beginning this month. Though some of us wanted to drive our own vehicles, we booked two Toyota Qualis with drivers instead so that we have time to relax and have fun with the rest of the group. We left Bangalore at 10 in the evening, after an unfortunate incident of Corporation Bank ATM machine gobbling up a friends ICICI Bank ATM card.

We had to cross Karwar (in Karnataka) on our way to Goa. Karwar also has nice beaches and an island nearby. Actually we had also booked for a short stay at Karwar before reaching Goa. To add to our bad luck, the rain God, probably feeling insulted after being accused of nearly causing a drought, showered us with incessant rains for many days. Suddenly, after a long time, southern India had too much of water, resulting in something not so common - flood.

Karwar was one of the worst hit regions in the flood. We could not proceed further beyond just 30 kilometers before the city of Karwar. The roads were flooded and broken by the running water. After an hour long hopeful but futile wait, it was lunch time when we decided to retreat back. We tried our luck at lunch at a nearby Kamat hotel by the side of the highway (as did everybody else stuck on that highway) and quickly realized that it was chaos and the hotel staff was pathetically out numbered by the crowd and their flood of orders. We slipped out of the melee and had a lunch at a place called Ankola further away from Karwar.

It was late afternoon by the time we finished lunch. We decided to park ourselves for the night near "Om Beach" a place near Gokarna. A quick scouting of hotels got us the few rooms we needed. The resort, called Khushi Resorts where we got one cottage, was fabulous. I would love to go back there just to stay at that place. Lovely ambiance and great food. In the evening we went for a stroll at Om Beach. It was drizzling lightly all the time, the beach was dirty, and the water was muddy because of the rain water flushing mud and slush into the sea. Not very pleasant.

The rain continued even on the next day. We decided to move out and try our luck elsewhere. After a sumptuous breakfast, we lifted our lazy selves heavy with food and started back towards Jog Falls, Shimoga. The climb down the hills was scenic.

Jog falls was bursting with water and in its full glory. The misty surrounding and light intermittent drizzle was stuff of dreams (if you ignore the crowd... my dreams don't usually have too many characters). The marketplace nearby had great food (egg dosas, bhangada fish fry) that our ever hungry stomachs gobbled up. We hurried back towards the Shimoga city when it was becoming to get dark. It was not easy finding a place to stay at Shimoga on a Saturday night, that too on a long weekend and for so many people. The places that were left over were not too great, but there was no other option. We played some cards. The insignificant small nuisances were forgotten amidst the fun we had together.

The next day, our last one in this trip, started at Kemanagundi hills in Chikkamagalur. We went on a short walk on the z-point trail. The hills were beautiful lush green. And the tracks were dirty slushy brown. None of us was prepared for a hike and for the rain. The tracks were full of leeches. It was fun watching people shouting abuses at the leeches while taking them off, but equally disgusting when we had to take off a leech ourselves. I was disappointed that I had to keep my camera inside my bag to avoid it getting wet. I wish I could capture the misty peaks. Back from the walk, it took us another half an hour near the parking area to clean ourselves up from the mud and the remaining leeches sticking at impossible places. After a change on to dry clothes we headed downhill and towards Belur-Halebidu - the favorite stop over place of many en-route to Bangalore.

It was relatively sunny out at Belur and Halebidu. The setting sun was beautiful from the lawns of Halebidu. After the refreshing stop, we started on the final leg of our journey back to Bangalore.

On the way we stopped at a nice dhaba (highway restaurant) for dinner. Over dinner we reflected back on how this trip went, with our lack of planning and foresight and all the obstacles thrown in by nature. Overall we felt it was not a bad experience. Unexpected turns of events... a bit hard sometimes... but good company... different kind of fun... not bad at all.

By the time we reached Bangalore my watch just rolled over to the next day. It was time to drop dead on the bed and get some sleep for the next day at office.

Bhubaneswar Wall Paintings - Natural Beauty & Resources of Orissa

2009-08-04T12:24:00.008+05:30

Orissa abounds with natural resources and natural beauty. Many of the places in Orissa are beautiful but still uncorrupted by commercial tourism. Though, because of that, it is not easy for the regular tourist to visit these places, for the true nature lover this is a paradise.

Bhitara Kanika & Gahira Matha
Bhitara Kanika is near Kendrapara in Orissa. Its deep mangrove forests in saline waters are a natural breeding place for crocodiles. Apart from crocodiles, Bhitara Kanika forests are also home to animals like Boars, Deers, Monitors, Pythons and Cobras.

The Bhitara Kanika mangroves are isolated from the Bay of Bengal by the Gahira Matha (Gahirmatha) Beach. The Gahirmatha beach is the largest known mating and nesting ground of the endangered Olive Ridley turtles. Beginning November every year, when winter begins, a spectacle ensues here where Olive Ridley turtles throng this place, find their mates and bury their eggs in the sand. Eggs hatch in a couple of months time and the hatch lings immediately scamper towards the ocean. This is also a feasting time for other creatures, both at land and the sea. Only one out of a thousand turtle hatch lings survives.

Tapta Pani (Hot Water Spring)
Tapta Pani, which translates into "Bubbling Water" is a hot spring in the forests around 50 kms from the city of Berhampur, Orissa. The water of this spring abounds in sulfur and other minerals and is believed to have medicinal powers.

Khandadhar Hills & Water Falls
The Khandadhar waterfall is located at the Khandadhar forests, in Sundargarh district of Orissa. Apart from the beautiful perennial water fall, the Khandadhar forests are also home for animals like Elephants and Tiger. Recently a new species of limbless lizard discovered in the Khandadhar forest illustrates the still undiscovered rich biodiversity of these forests. These hills are also rich in iron ore which is both a boon and a bane (if careless mining destroys the forests).

Similipal Forests Similipal is located in the Mayurbhanj district of Orissa. The Similipal reserve forest derives its name from the silk cotton trees (called Simul in Oriya) that once abounded these forests. The Similipal sanctuary is also a tiger reserve forest and a crocodile breeding ground.

Farming & Cultivation
Organic turmeric cultivated in the Kandhamal district of Orissa is famous for its texture, color and flavor. Curcumic, the primary content in turmeric that lends to its properties, has been found to be the highest in the turmeric cultivated in these regions. Currently organized organic turmeric cultivation is being carried out by a division of Omfed in the Kandhamal region.

The drier regions of Orissa also engage in cotton cultivation.

Hirakud Dam
The Hirakud Dam, built across the Mahanadi river is the words largest earthen (earth filled instead of rock filled) dam. It is also one of the worlds longest dam at 26 km in length. That is more than the distance between Cuttack and Bhubaneswar and about the diameter of Bangalore city! The dam serves multiple purposes - controlling flood, irrigation and hydroelectricity. I remember having visited the dam and its hydroelectricity generation unit as a kid and it was one of the most awesome experiences I still cherish.

Chandipur Beach (Chandipur-on-sea)
Chandipur is a beach resort near Balasore, Orissa. The Chandipur beach is much flatter at the shore than other beaches because of which the sea recedes up to 3-4 kms back during low tide. Fishermen walk till the edges of the receded sea during low tide and place vertical nets on the beach which catch fish once the tide recedes after the next high tide. Chandipur is also a test range for the integrated test range of the Indian army where the army tests its missiles.

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Bhubaneswar Wall Paintings - Music and Dances of Orissa

2009-08-03T17:13:00.015+05:30

Orissa is culturally rich in its dance forms and music. It is the home to one of the eight classical dance forms of India and has many forms of folk dances. Many illustrations of these can be found in the wall paintings of Bhubaneswar.

Classical Dance
Odissi, which originated from Orissa, is one of the eight classical dance forms of India. Odissi as a dance originated from the dances performed in the temples. The uniqueness of this form of dance is the importance it places on expressions using face and hands and the 'tribhangi' posture where the head, middle body and lower body move independently.

Folk Dance
Folk dances are more from the heart than the brain. They have minimal rules and are easier so that they can be performed by the masses.

Sambalpuri dance is probably one of the most well known folk dances of Orissa. More than the dance it is the rhythm of the music accompanying the Sambalpuri dance that is attractive.

Ghumura is a folk dance from Kalahandi area of Orissa. Men perform this dance depicting war scenes. Each performer plays an instrument (typically a drum) and dances simultaneously as well.
Ghoda Nacha (Horse Dance) is a form of folk dance where the dancer puts himself inside a hollow horse made out of cloth and banboo and dances to a music. These dances typically depict tales from mythology.
Pala and Daskathia is a form of witty poetry recitation where a few people with musical instruments dance and sing witty poems. The themes of their songs can be both devotional or any other form of poetry or jokes.

There are several other forms of folk dances practiced in the interiors of Orissa, mostly by the tribals. These dances typically involve the men playing musical instruments and women (and sometimes men) holding each other and dancing while singing.

Martial Arts & Dance
The Paika Dance of Orissa is a form of dance showcasing martial art and swordsmanship skills. This was traditionally performed by the strong infantry men in the era of the Gajapati kings of Orissa. The dancers (fighters) practice in a place called the Paika Akhada (Fighter's Club) where the seniors guide and teach techniques to the newly initiated.

Musical Instruments
Below is an illustration of several traditional musical instruments used, mostly in the folk music and dances. There are too many small variations in the pictures below and I am not so knowledgeable about them to name them correctly. A few prominent instruments are:

Wind Instruments:

Turi and Kahali: Similar to clarion and trumpet but without a reed
Mahuri: A blowing instrument like Shehanai
Sankha: Conch shell blown into to produce music

Wooden Instruments:

Daskathi & Ram Tali: Wooden clappers that can produce rhythmic patterns of amazing variety and of very fast tempo.
Khanjani: (See below)

Bell Metal Percussion Instruments:

Khanjani: Pair of wooden frames set with small metal discs. The wooden frames are held in two fingers of the same hand and clapped together to produce both wooden clapping sound and metallic tinkling sounds.
Ghungroo & Ghagudi: Small & big tinklers
Jhanja & Karatala: Brass alloy cymbals
Ghanta: Bell metal disc hit with a cane stick

Stringed Percussion Instruments:

Behala: Violin
Kendera: A small violin like instrument made of a few strings pulled tight across a cane or bamboo stick with a coconut shell on one end.
Dhuduki or Ghooduki:Instrument made with one string tied with a wooden stick inside a wooden or pumpkin shell covered with animal skin.

Drums:

Mrudanga: Double sided drum made of wood or clay with animal skin covering both sides.
Dhola: Drums
Khola: Double headed clay drum
Madala: Large earthen drum
Nisana: Giant sized drum made of iron case
Tamki: Tiny one sided drum around 6" in diameter played by two sticks
Tasa: One sided drum

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Bhubaneswar Wall Paintings - Art and Crafts of Orissa

2009-07-12T10:34:00.022+05:30

Orissa has a rich tradition of arts and crafts. Orissa had many unique art forms and expert master artisans.

Skills have been traditionally passed down generations within the family. However with not enough returns from traditional arts and diminishing interest from the younger generations of some of the traditional families, the artist lot has been a dwindling population.

However in recent times many training institutes and schools have been started by master artists and entrepreneurs to train the genuinely interested and capable youngsters and also provide them with a channel for livelihood.

Palm Leaf Painting and Etching
Palm leafs have been used since very early days of civilization as a medium of written communication. Dried palm leafs are stitched together to form booklets or long pages and they are scribbled on with a sharp metal pen. Slowly, over a period of time, illustrations were included along with the text and that eventually evolved to a full art form. Colors, derived from vegetable dyes, charcoal and other natural products are used to give vibrant colors to the paintings.
The skillful hands of master artists produce unbelievably intricate pictures on palm leaves. This art form today is much respected and still practiced in may places. They can be seen prominently displayed and traded in the lanes of Cuttak, Puri, Raghurajpur and Chitrakarashi.

Patta Chitra - Cloth Paintings
The term patta chitra has its origin from the Sanskrit. Patta means vastra or cloth and chitra means paintings. Patta chitra is the art of fine miniature painting on a specially treated cloth.

Here again vibrant natural dyes are used to color the paintings. Mostly traditional themes from the religious scriptures are picked up to be depicted - mostly tales from the Mahabharata or tales of Krishna. Also painted are intricate dance forms depicting traditional dances.
In recent times, the traditionally prepared cloth is often being replaced with easier to handle silk cloth. Similarly synthetic colors and brushes make it easier to paint beautiful pictures today than in earlier days. However workshops and training sessions conducted by organizations try to keep the traditional knowledge alive, while still modernizing wherever necessary to have better scale and economics.
The indigenous process of preparation of pattas (the cloth canvas) is very interesting. A piece of cloth is washed neatly and spread out over a flat surface like a wooden bed or floor. Tamarind seeds are powdered and mixed with water and a special gum to create a paste that is applied over the cloth.
Before this piece of cloth dries up, another piece of similarly sized cloth is placed on it and a fresh coating of the same paste is applied on it again. The dual layer cloth is now allowed to dry fully in the sun. Once it is dried, a paste of soft white stone powder which look like chalk powder, and tamarind seed gum, mixed in an ideal proportionis is applied on both sides.
After both sides dry completely the cloth is cut into appropriate sizes and polished to make them smooth and suitable for painting. Polishing is a painstaking task involving rubbing the cloth with incrementally finer and smoother polishing stones. The final polished cloth looks white in color and can be painted on directly.

Applique - Chandua
Applique (Chandua) work has been one of the most important cottage industries of Orissa, mostly encouraged by temple rituals.

Applique art involves cutting small pieces of colored cloths into interesting shapes and patterns and stitching them over a larger base cloth. Tiny mirrors in different shapes are stitched on to the cloth to add glitter. Contemporary artists sometimes also use colored beads to adorn their cloth creations.

Chanduas have been used traditionally by temples as a shade on top of the diety, or umbrellas used by the diety or the priest. In recent times, many beautiful utility items are being created from applique cloth including lamp shades, bags, beach umbrellas, wall hangings and bed and table covers. The village of Pipili, mid way between Bhubaneswar and Puri, is famous for its beautiful applique work. Many artists from this village have won national awards for this craft.

Stone and Wood Carving
Stone carving is an integral part of the arts of Orissa. Orissa is so abundantly full with intricately carved temples and sculptures that it is natural to derive this fact.

Most of the stone sculptures are made from either the softest stone - white soapstone ("Khadipathara"), or slightly harder greenish chloride ("Kochilapathara"), even harder pinkish Kandolite ("Sahanapathara" or "Baulapathara") or the hardest black granite ("Mugunipathara"). The artists use a variety of chisels and hammers depending on the stone or the kind of carving. Softer stones and finer features are finished with scraping tools and files. 'Muna' (the sharp one), 'Patili' (the thin one), 'Martual' (hammer), 'Thuk-Thuki' and 'Nihana' are some of the local names of carving tools.

Most of the carvings are of Gods & Goddesses, animals and birds (e.g. elephants, lions, monkeys, peacocks, horses), mythological creatures (e.g. Gajabidala, Gajasimha), women (e.g. Alasa Kanyas, Sura Sundaris, Salabhanjikas), mythical events (e.g. from Ramayana and Mahabharata), and images of other temples (e.g. Konark, Puri Jagannath).

The same caving skills have also been extended to wood carving. Stained and painted wood carvings (masks, toys) are created by skilled artists of Baragarh and Puri using vegetable colors and more recently chemical colors and lacquers. The deity of Lord Jagannath of Puri is also carved out of wood once every year. The same artists spend their time and earn livelihood creating other beautiful carvings in the remaining times of the year.
Another kind of carving, that is done on plain white teak which is soft. This kind of carving is done mostly in Cuttack and surrounding areas. Thy try to create beautiful figurines as found in traditional stone carvings.
Artists of a town named Dasapalla are also famous for their carving work on rosewood. These artists mostly prepare utility items like bowls, jars and incense stands and flower vases.

Metal Casting - Dhokra
Dhokra is the traditional craft of bell metal or brass metal casting of Orissa. It has tribal origins and mostly practiced by Kansaris (metal casters) and tribal families in the districts of Puri, Dhenkanal, Nayagarh, Khurda, Keonjhar, Sambalpur, Mayurbhanj, Phulbani and Ganjam in Orissa.

Dhokra is an alloy of nickel, brass and zinc. When mixed in the right proportion, it gives an antique look. Lost wax technique is used to cast beautiful designs of lamps, boxes, tribal figures and Gods and Goddess. The motifs are mostly inspired by the folk culture. Contemporary artisans also make utility items like photo frames, door knobs & handles, ash-trays and stands for pens, candles & incense sticks.
In the lost wax technique, first a model is made with easy to mold wax. The wax model is actually created over a clay base. Multiple layers of clay and wax can be used to make intricate patterns. The final mold is then headed to harden the mold and melt away the wax. Metal poured into the gaps left by the wax reproduces the model in metal. The mold is then broken away to reveal the metal art work.

Other Handicrafts
Artists of Orissa are also adept at many other forms of art and crafts like pottery, terracotta clay art, handloom and textiles made from wool, cotton and silk, baskets and utility articles made from palm leaves, bamboo and cane.

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Bhubaneswar Wall Paintings - Festivals of Orissa

2009-06-14T00:32:00.011+05:30

They say Indians celebrate 13 festivals in 12 months, which is also true for the Oriyas. There are however some festivals unique to Orissa, or festivals that are celebrated in a different form that their more popular form of celebration. There are many depictions of Oriya festivals in the wall paintings of Bhubaneswar. I have posted some of them here. You can read more on them at Wikipedia.

Dola Yatra
In Dola Yatra which is held sometime in the month of March, deities (particularly Krishna and his various avatars) are carried by devotees on a palanquin to a special altar where they are worshiped. Sometimes the deities are carried from home to home where people can take their blessings before being placed on the altar. There is also special use of colored power (abhira) in the worship. This is a form of the Holi festival popular in Northern India.

Dhanu Yatra
Dhanu Yatra is celebrated in December - January in commemoration of lord Krishna's visit to his birth place Mathura. During this festival plays are organized depicting the life of Krishna. A particular village near the town of Bargarh in Orissa transforms itself into a live theater where every resident becomes an actor and the whole village becomes the stage. The people dress and talk like those in earlier times. Episodes of Krishna's life are enacted impromptu by people in the village.

Ratha Yatra
Ratha Yatra is the time when Lord Jagannath, who is visited by millions and worshiped throughout the year in his temple, comes out of his temple to visit everybody. More than 5 million people attend it in one city - Puri every year, probably making it the second biggest festival - second only to the Kumbh Mela. This is the time when anybody and everybody, irrespective of religion, caste and creed can see and touch the lord. The deities travel up to their mother's sister (Mausi Maa) named Gundicha, to another temple called the Gundicha temple. The lord stays there for few days before returning back to the temple in what is called the Bahuda Yatra.

Ashokastami Yatra
This is Lord Lingaraja's Ratha Yatra. This is the festival when Lord Lingaraja, the deity of Lingaraj temple in Bhubaneswar, comes out of his temple and rides on his chariot till the Mausi Maa temple. At the Mausi Maa temple, the lord stays for four days before returning back to the Lingaraj Temple.

Mana Osa
Celebrated by the women of the house, this festival falls in the month of November. This is primarily worshiping of goddess Lakshmi, done to aspire for prosperity. Walls and floors are decorated with beautiful patterns made with paste of ground grains of rice. Baskets of rice are also worshiped.

Raja Festival
The Raja festival is celebrated in the month of June, around the time when south west monsoon rains arrive in Orissa. This is primarily the festival for women, when women wear pretty clothes, decorate themselves and play on the swing. The festival lasts 3 days. Instead of the women doing cooking at home, sometimes the men of the house do the cooking during the festival. This is a festival for women.

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Bhubaneswar Wall Paintings - Oriya Culture

2009-05-30T23:28:00.009+05:30

Orissa has a rich culture with many unique festivals. With the advent of communication and mixing of population, Oriyas have gradually started celebrating festivals originated from other regions, but the unique oriya festivals are not entirely forgotten. In this post we'll go through a few such unique aspects of Oriya culture depicted in the wall paintings of Bhubaneswar.

Boita Bandana

In ancient times Orissa (then known as Kalinga) was a major sea faring nation. Kalinga had regular contacts with South and South East Asia where in merchants from Kalinga (then called Sadhavas) used to trade spices and other local products with those countries. The sailors used to set sail in the Asadha month (of Oriya calenar, rainy season) and come back by the Baisakha month (summer season). Women from the families of the traveling sailors used to perform rituals for the safe journey of the boats, which was called as Boita Bandana (Worship of the Boats).

In recent times, in rememberance of those days, a festival called Danga Bhasha (floating the boats) is celebrated. People make toy boats from the dry bark of banana plant with wood and paper and float them in rivers and ponds with a lighted lamp inside it. It is remiscent of watching the merchant boats sail away from the ports. In coastal Orissa, particularly Cuttack, a festival called Bali Yatra is also celebrated along the river banks. Tales of 'Taapoi' are also recited.

Bhagabata Tungi

Bhagabata Purana (or Srimad Bhagabata) is one of the eighteen puranas (old tales) of Hindu culture, dealing mostly with tales about lord Krishna. Reciting puranas is a fine art, and the people who took this on as a profession came to be known as Bhagabats. In villages there is usually one family that take Bhagabat recital as their profession. They are often non brahmins and hold their recital in a designated place in the village called the Bhagabata Tungi. The Bhagabata Tungi is also an invaluable source of informal education and philosophical discussions in the village.

Nagara Kirtana

Nagara Kirtana is a ritual where a group of people singing religious songs along with traditional musical instruments go through the village streets in a procession. This is also an illustration of 'Bhakti Yoga' where devotees forget everything else singing songs about God.

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Bhubaneswar Wall Paintings - History of Orissa

2009-05-17T09:36:00.004+05:30

The history of Orissa is over 3500 years old and has been mostly different from that of the rest of northers India.

In ancient times, it was known as Kalinga and was inhabited by a few large and prosperous tribes. As a major sea-faring nation, Kalinga had regular contacts with South and South East Asia. Merchants from Kalinga used to trade spices and other local products with other countries.

The Nanda Dynasty ruled over Kalinga from around 362 BC. Though Kalinga lost its independence, the Nanda rule brought prosperity to Kalinga through numerous developmental activities by the Nanda king.

In 261 BC, the Mayuran Emperor Ashoka invaded Kalinga. A fierce battle was raged at the banks of river Daya (now near to Bhubaneswar) which dragged over many days. The people of Kalinga resisted fearlessly, till their last resources were exhausted. There were a large number of soldiers slaughtered, from both armies, and the waters of river Daya was tinged red with the blood of the dead. At the end Ashoka won the war, but when he saw the devastation he had caused, it had a great impact on him. It led to the transformation of Ashoka, who was previously known as Chandashoka (the Cruel Ashoka), to be a kind and benevolent king known as Dharmashoka (the Pious Ashoka). He left the path of voilence and ensured good governance and ensured development in his empire.

That is what is depicted in the wall painting above which shows the armies fighting with the red tinged Daya river in the background and later Ashoka leaving the path of violence and embracing Buddhism by surrendering his sword to the Buddhist monks.

There's lot more on the history of Orissa. You can start from this Wikipedia article.

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Bhubaneswar Wall Paintings - Tribals of Orissa

2009-05-10T01:02:00.007+05:30

The Bondas are a very small tribe of people (around 5000) living in remote Malkangiri district of Orissa. The Bondas are not the only tribes, a few more are listed here. There are a few wall paintings depicting them and typical jewelery worn by the few surviving tribes of Orissa. Notice the thick neck rings and nose rings worn by the Bondas.

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Bhubaneswar Wall Paintings - Temples and Historical Places

2009-05-10T00:17:00.010+05:30

Temples abound in Orissa. Incidentally, Bhubaneswar is called the Temple City of Orissa. The following pictures of Bhubaneswar wall paintings are about the temples and a few historical places of Orissa. From top to bottom, they depict the following:

Lingaraj Temple
Mukteswar Temple
Arch of Mukteswar Temple showing Buddhist influence.
Konark, the Sun temple. It also has several depictions of the classical dance form Odissi.
One of the horse sculptures of Konark.
Tarini temple, Purusottampur near Bramhapur
Akhandalamani Temple
Raja Rani Temple, Bhubaneswar
Samaleswari Temple, Sambalpur
Khandagiri & Udayagiri caves
A popular fair that happens at Khandagiri & Udaygiri
Barabati Fort, Cuttack

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Bhubaneswar Wall Paintings - Oriya Food

2009-05-09T23:35:00.008+05:30

Here are some Oriya dishes picturized in the wall paintings of Bhubaneswar. This page in Wikipedia lists some more Oriya dishes.

In the above picture, roughly from left to right are:

Dali (Dal/Lentils)
Tarakari (Curry)
Dahi (Curd) hanging from a Sika. You see it hanging from a contraption made out of jute rope called Sika. The Sika is usually hung from the ceiling and used to keep food and items away from insects, animals and kids.
Basa Dahi (Creamy Thick Curd). The other type of curd is called Ghola Dahi (Skimmed Curd).
Saga Bhaja (Fried green leafy vegetables).
A typical traditional meal served on plantain leaf.

In the picture immediately above, roughly from left to right are:

Pakhala (Rice in salted and herbed water)
Enduri (Rice cakes wrapped in turmeric leaves and steamed)
Manda Pitha (Steamed rice cakes with sweetened/salted fillings)
Chakuli Pitha (Flat cakes made from a fermented batter of rice & lentils and fried on a pan. A type of Dosa.)
Arisha Pitha (Rice flour mixed with spices & warm jaggery water to make dough, made into flat round cakes and deep fried in oil)
Puri (Deep fried & puffed flour (typically wheat flour) breads)
Karanji (Folded oval shaped maida puris stuffed with sweetened & spiced grated coconut, sealed with decorated folds and fried)
Rasagola (Cheese balls immersed in light sugar syrup and boiled.)
Gulab Jamun (Balls of corn flour, cream and spices deep fried and dipped in sugar syrup)
Khasta Gaja (Sweetened fried maida flour)
Dali Gaja (Similar to the Khasta Gaja, but crusted with sugar)
Laddu
Chena Poda (Sweetened and spiced cheese baked in oven.)
Bada Osa Bhoga (A variety of Manda Pitha with tapered top made specially for a festival called Bada Osa)

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Bhubaneswar Wall Paintings - Tales of Orissa

2009-05-09T22:53:00.013+05:30

Bhubaneswar is more beautiful now with many of its walls beautifully painted. The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has taken up this activity since almost a year now. Some of the paintings are master pieces of art. The paintings have been weather coated and would last 5-7 years.

This has been a mutually beneficial program for both the BMC as well as the painters it hires. Qualified artists who were not able to arrange even 30 rupees a day for livelihood are now getting a steady source of income from the BMC. This has also served as a showcase of their talent and orders from other sources have also started to trickle in.

The face of Bhubaneswar has taken a new form in recent times under the able guidance of Ms. Aparajita Sarangi, the present BMC Commissioner. Roads are cleaner, vending and no-vending zones have been clearly demarcated. Road side vendors have been provided neat permanent shops in vending zones. Traffic has been better regulated and numerous directions put up in most roads. I sincerely hope for the continuation of the good work; there is a lot more to be done, and this is a very good beginning.

I had taken quite a few pictures of the wall paintings during my recent visit to Bhubaneswar. I intend to categorize them and present them in the next few posts as a narration of the culture of Orissa. This is not yet an exhaustive showcase of all wall paintings of Bhubaneswar. In case you have some pictures that I have missed, and wish to contribute them here, you are most welcome.

Puri Beach - Secluded in Summer

2009-04-24T23:06:00.001+05:30

Summer is not exactly the right time to visit a beach in India. The white sands are blinding white and hot as the sun itself. The humid breeze does not provide any respite. But there is one definite advantage - the blissful serenity in the absence of the milling crowd.

We intended to start very early from Bhubaneswar, targeting to return before the afternoon heat. The sun rises very early in April - as early as 5 in the morning. When we started it was 6:30 in the morning and quite bright outside. The road from Bhubaneswar to Puri was very good, better than what I expected. Not much traffic , no potholes, very few speed breakers. But we needed to drive carefully as there are lot of villages bordering the roads and many people traveling by two wheelers. Refreshing tender coconut are available at many places along the road. With a couple of stops we covered the 60 kms to Puri in an hour and half.

First visit was to the Puri temple. We had to park the vehicle in the parking lot a good 1km away from the temple and walk on the 'Bada Danda' (the road leading to the temple) till the temple. No cameras and mobile phones are allowed inside the temple. If you have any of those you must deposit them for safe keeping at a counter outside the temple. At 8:30 in the morning the temple was not very crowded. We dodged many attempts by the self proclaimed priests found aplenty to swindle some money out of us under some pretext or other. After visiting the deities we sat a while in 'Koili Baikuntha' garden. Not much of trees left in the garden which was once full with mango trees. Nearby was a museum of hand made idols depicting Hindu mythology and the history of the temple. After that we bought some 'Mahaprasad' and came out of the temple at around 10:30.

It was already quite hot and we quickly wore our shoes to give some relief to our feet. There are hundreds of shops lining the 'Bada Danda' selling small trinkets. We bought some while contemplating whether we should visit the beach in the heat. There was no harm in giving it a try and we started for the beach near the Panthanivas hotel.

The beach was secluded, only a couple of bicycles parked nearby and a few locals looking for some solitude were sitting around. An old man renting out tubes (inflated truck tubes used as a floatation device) was desperately looking out for customers.

The roofless shelters provide only psychological protection from the sun. If you are slim enough, you can probably stand on the shadow of the base of the erstwhile sun shelter, but there is nothing to protect you from the warm and humid breeze. After a while however we got used to it and actually enjoyed the sand and the surf.

There were lots of crabs scurrying around in the sand. They would quickly dig into a burrow the moment they hear footsteps. But if you sit quietly beside the hole they would emerge after some time. Crab eyes are sensitive to movement. So as long as you sit still you can watch them from close by. If you want to catch one, dig the sand with your fingers till you reach the crab. But be careful with the bigger crabs, they may pinch you with their legs.

On the way back we stopped for a short while at Pipili. Pipili lies on the way between Puri and Bhubaneswar and is famous for its decorative applique work. We bought some stuff to be gifted, took some photographs before returning back.

The ride back was smooth, the roads were still not very crowded at 12 in the noon. But still, next time if I visit Puri in the summer, I would make sure to start even earlier and visit the beach first to watch the sunrise before visiting the temple.

Ooty & Conoor - Day 3 at Conoor & Back

2009-03-29T23:45:00.007+05:30

Day 3 (Conoor):

We checked out of the hotel and started to drive towards Conoor. Conoor is around 30 kms from Ooty and the drive is pretty nice with lots of nice view points on the way.

We reached Conoor in half an hour and headed towards Sims park - a botanical park similar to Ooty boanical park, but a bit smaller. Sims park has nice flowers and a beautiful lake and is much less crowded. One can actually spend some nice quiet time in the park.

There is paid parking right outside Sims park for a very nominal charge of two rupee. I was trying to recollect when, if at all, I had paid such a low parking fee for my car.

There is no dearth of view points in Conoor. People create new view points to earn a living. It is sad to actually see people burn portions of the forest to create a view point so that they can attract tourists and set up their tea/medicinal oils shop there.

A guy with a telescope or binocular and a person claiming to be a guide are also stationed there to grab their share from tourists.

One of the better view points is called the "Dolphin's Nose" there. In fact, I have been to Dolphin's Noses at almost all the hill stations I have visited till now. :) Anyway, here the tip of the hill is pointed in the shape of a Dolphin's nose. From there you can see a waterfall far away. There is a telescope point from where you can spy on tribal villages and the waterfalls.
We started back towards Ooty by noon 2 pm. We did not find any decent eating joint at Conoor and so decided to have lunch at Charing Cross. It was 3 pm by the time we had lunch and immediately after that we rushed back towards Bangalore. We took the same 36 hair-pin bends down and stopped mid way for some time to cool the brakes.

We reached Bandipur by evening and stopped there briefly to watch the elephants in the camp. After that we rushed back towards Mysore and Bangalore. We stopped again to enjoy the beautiful sunset for some time.

Had food at a dhaba on Mysore - Bangalore road and reached back Bangalore by 11 in the night. The new NICE corridor roads are really good and we didn't have to enter the dreaded Kanakpura road stretch on our way back.

Before... Day 1 (Reaching Ooty) | Day 2 (at Ooty)

Ooty & Conoor - Day 2 at Ooty

2009-03-28T23:45:00.009+05:30

Day 2 (Ooty):

Next day morning was beautiful and after a hot breakfast of idlis and dosas at Charing Cross, we headed towards the botanical garden. We wanted to be there before the crowd gathered. The garden was beautiful with early morning dew all over the place.

We were out of the park by noon around 1 pm. There were lot of garment and trinket shops lining the parkng lot, all set up by people who looked to be from the North Eastern states. They had put up colorful flags around the parking lot, probably some celebration.

We had our lunch again at some place in Charing Cross and started for Doddabetta peak. The Doddabetta peak is supposed to give beautiful views of the city. After parking our car at the parking lot we had to walk briefly up through a road lined with peanut and toy sellers to reach the top. The peak was crowded beyond our imagination and we hastily retreated after taking a few photographs.

On the way back from the Doddabeta peak we passed through a tea factory that let you visit their factory and see the tea processing plant. A nice strategy for the tea garden to attract customers, earn a nice entry fee, and sell their tea at a higher rate directly to end customers. They also have an adjacent chocolate factory in similar lines. And they are in the process of creating a view point inside their premises. Couple of years later, people would throng that place just like Doddabeta and the tea and chocolate factories would most of their sales directly to the tourists.

Before coming back to Charing Cross we visited the Ooty meadows where scenes of many Indian movies are shot. It was enjoyable and not as crowded as the other places we visited during the day. After spending some nice time there we headed back to Charing Cross. At Charing Cross we bought some chocolates from the famous "King Star" chocolate factory outlet, took some photographs at the Charing Cross fountain, had food at some place there and headed back to the hotel.

The next day we had planned to start early towards Conoor and then back to Bangalore. We had probably made a mistake of visiting Conoor on the last day. There is a beautiful train journey from Ooty to Conoor and we could have visited Conoor and come back to Ooty on the second day's stay there. On the third day we could have seen around Ooty and left for Bangalore comfortably at noon. Anyway what was done was done and we slept nicely in anticipation of the next day.

Before... Day 1 (Reaching Ooty)

Continued... Day 3 (Conoor & Back to Bangalore)

Ooty & Conoor - Worthwhile though commercialized

2009-03-27T23:45:00.006+05:30

It was getting too hot in Bangalore and hiking/trekking looked too strenuous in the heat, so this pure commercial trip to Ooty and Conoor. Inspite of the hatred I have for places swarming with tourists, I tried to enjoy this trip as much as I could. There is nothing much to write, so I'll mostly say it in pictures.

Day 1 (Reaching Ooty):
We started early around 4 in the morning from Bangalore. Crossed Mysore early in the morning, spending time to take some snaps around beautiful green fields adjacent to the roads.

From Mysore the road goes to Masinagudi through Nanjangud, Gundlupet, Bandipur, Mudumalai and Theppakadu. The road after Nanjangud was not that great. Enroute we stopped at the Pug Mark Restaurant to have breakfast. The quality of food there has gone down greatly. I must remember not to go there next time.

On the way through Bandipur - Masinagudi - Mudumalai we saw a legacy of the dot com era - a lodge named after that. :)

Apart from the usual monkeys and spotted deers, we saw a couple of White Belied Wood Peckers busy pecking away the tree for worms.

From Masinagudi there are two options to go to Ooty - first the longer (70 kms) route on flatter roads and the second shorter (36 kms) but much steeper route. We chose the shorter route, of 36 kms with 36 hairpin bends. The Swift engine groaned and coughed under the load of three people, dragging itself over the turns, but managed to get us up.

We did stop midway for a short break at a place that had a coffee shop. The place mentioned some waterfall though none were there, I guess it was dried up in the summer. From there Ooty was another half hour including a refreshing break at the pine forests just before Ooty.

Once we reached Ooty we headed straight to the Boat club. Fooled around there with couple of rides and some photography before starting towards our hotel.

It was already 2pm in the noon and all of us were hungry. There was a hotel claiming to be a Punjabi dhaba and we entered that. The food was terrible but we gobbled it all up, not having the energy to search any further.

The LakeView cottages were nearby. We checked in to the hotel and checked out the rooms. The cottage was cute and clean, nice grass with flower beds all around the cottage, and ample parking by the side of the road.
After freshening up a bit in our rooms we set out for an evening walk at the Ooty rose garden. There are three levels of rose plantations out of which only one had flowers. The other two were getting re-planted. It had been drizling a bit and there was nice cool breeze all around. There were some beautiful flowers in the garden. And it was fun watching the sparrows in the garden.

We had food at a joint at Charing Cross. The night was cold but enjoyable as we tucked into the warm sheets. The plan for the next day was to get up early in time for the sunrise and visit the Ooty botanical garden before the regular crowd arrives.

Continued... Day 2 (at Ooty) | Day 3 (at Conoor & Back)

Fixing the Roots

2009-02-06T02:51:00.004+05:30

Came across this article named "The Big Fix" in NY times through Mr. Nandan's blog post. A very though provoking article. I sometimes am shocked to see the difference in the level of thinking and knowledge and analytic capabilities of some of our (India's) political leaders when compared to that of their peers in certain other nations and also when compared to their peers in business leadership.

I have watched movies on civil wars and political turmoils and I used to pity the people of those nations who are destroying themselves. The hero of the movie would be an outsider who would go through pains to make his point and improve the situation, and all the while you wonder if this person could be so motivated what's wrong with the nation's own children? I hate myself when I sometimes compare what I see or read to those movies. I know we are not that bad and there are worse situations elsewhere, but that still doesn't make us good enough.

When would our turning point arrive?

Trek to Kudremukh Peak - Conquering the Horse Face

2008-12-28T01:07:00.009+05:30

After another long gap we got an opportunity, in the form of a 4 day Christmas holiday, to go on an outing. It was late by the time we started planning and getting accommodation was getting difficult. After evaluating different options, we closed in on to either Conoor or Kudremukh. We got a booking in a small hotel in Conoor. But Kudremukh was more tempting as we had read quite a bit about it and it appeared more beautiful and pristine.

Kudremukh or "Kudere Mukha" literaly means "Horse Face". It gets this name from the highest peak in that region which resembles the face of a horse. It belongs to the Western Ghats mountain ranges of India and has 600 sq. km. of protected forests. There was a large open pit iron ore mine by KIOCL (Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd.) which has ceased operations now owing to environmental pressures.

So we tried our luck for Kudremukh next. Most of the telephone numbers of hotels and lodges in Kudremukh mentioned in the internet were old and after quite a struggle we got the numbers. There were not too many places in Kudremukh town itself, as it is mostly the KIOCL campus. The KIOCL guest house was closed for renovation and the forest department guest house was full. There were quite a few lodges in a place called "Kalasa" nearby (Around 20kms from Kudremukh). Kalasa is a religiously significant place in Karnataka, related to the "Pancha Teerthas". We got accommodation in a place called "Chandan Lodge". The total driving time would be around 8 hours and we intended to reach Kudremukh before noon. With everything settled, we decided to start early morning 3.00 am from Bangalore. That way we would be out of most cities on the way before daybreak. Starting in previous day evening and doing a break journey would have been more tiring; we would have had to tackle all the traffic jams on the way.

Day 1:
We took the Tumkur road and at Neelamangla diverted towards Mangalore. We crossed Hassan early in the morning. There is a nice lake with a view of wind turbines near Hassan where one can take a break early in the morning. From Hassan we quickly reached Belur and finally reached Chikmanglur around 7.30 am. We had our breakfast in a small road side hotel and then headed towards Kalasa. We had heard the road via Mudigere was pretty bad so we took the diversion before Mudigere which goes towards Sringeri via Aldur & Hallebennur. The road was decent, though not as good as the road till Hassan.

View Larger Map

Bangalore to Neelamangala, 21 kms, Good roads
Neelamangala to Kunigal, 43 kms, Good roads
Kunigal to Channarayapatna, 73 kms, Good roads
Channarayapatna to Hassan, 37 kms, Good roads
Hassan to Belur, 30 kms, Good roads
Belur to Chikamagalur, 22 kms, Good roads
Chikamagalur to Aldur to Balehennur, 50 kms, Decent roads
Balehennur to Horanadu, 45 kms, Decent roads
Horanadu to Kalasa, 10 kms, Decent roads
Kalasa to Kudremukh, 20 kms, Decent Roads

We went straight to Kudremukha, passing through Kalasa hoping to do some sightseeing before hitting the Lodge. The town of Kudremukha has nothing much offer, apart from the KIOCL premises, which is more of a ghost town now. At the entrance of KIOCL, the traffic circle has two interesting vehicle tires sculpted out of wood. There is a dam named "Lakya Dam" in Kudremukha built by the KIOCL company. The purpose of the dam was to collect and hold the waste materials and silt generated by the iron ore mining process. So don't be surprised if you don't see any water there, but just red mud. Entry is restricted to evening 4:30-6:30PM on week days and daytime only on Sundays. The silt is apparently dangerous like quick sand and there have been instances of animals getting trapped and drowning in the lake. There are guards posted at the dam entrance to prevent any dangerous mis-adventures by the visitors.

There are a couple of small water falls on the road side, but the biggest and most beautiful is the Hanuman Gundi falls. A set of stairs lead you down to the water falls which are more than 100ft in height. Monkeys abound in the trees adjoining the falls, thriving on leftovers thrown by partying humans. Parking is available at a small clearing near the entrance to the water falls. There is an entry fee of Rs.20 to the waterfalls.

We also went to the forest department office near the KIOCL gate. The officer there was friendly and showed us different trekking options. We selected the one to Kudremukh Peak and paid the trekking fees. Total fees for the four of us was Rs.650 (Rs.50 entry fee per head, Rs.75 trekking fee per head, and Rs.150 guide fees). The officer gave us a handwritten piece of paper as acknowledgment for the fees which was to be shown to the guide the next day. The trek was to start from a village named "Mullodi" where we were supposed to meet our guide. Mullodi could be reached by Jeep from a place called "Balgal" on Kalasa-Kudremukh road.

We came back to Kalasa tired and hungry as ravens and checked in to "Chandan Lodge". The rooms were clean, but the lodge was noisy from a crowd of noisy youngsters occupying the dormitory. Our rooms were clean enough and spacious, with hot water and a TV. We dumped our luggage and went out to have some quick food. We had great dosas (not oily at all!) from the nearby "Yatri Nivas" cafeteria. After having our food, we went for a stroll to the nearby "DakshinaKashi Kalaseswara Temple". This seems to be a pretty old but beautiful temple. There is a spacious parking place outside. You need to leave your footwear down and climb the stairs up. The temple has a big "Natya Mandap" near its entrance for public functions. Right at the entrance there is a big idol of lord Shiva.

Inside, the courtyard is spacious, at the center is the main temple with beautifully sculpted wooden doors. The temple is apparently very old. There are quite a few ancient stone pamphlets with some ancient writings preserved at the rear of the temple. Guys have to enter the main temple bare chested.

It was dark and I had only my point and shoot camera with me. I decided to come back again sometime during the day just to take the photographs and we left the temple and walked back towards the Lodge.

Back at our rooms, we had nice bath and some rest till 9PM. At 9 we dragged ourselves out of bed for dinner. There was a restaurant at the ground floor of Chandan Lodge. On entering we found that more of a drinking place than eating place. The plates that the waiter brought were dirty. He apologized, went back and came again with dirty plates! Yuck! We immediately left the place and went out to another place we had spotted during the day - "Hotel Vijaya" on the same road as "Yatri Nivas". The place was clean, the owner friendly, and the food appetizing.

Thus ended our day 1 and we all went to sleep. There were no mosquitoes to trouble us.

Day 2:
We woke up early in the morning at 5:30AM. Outside it was misty and cold in the morning. The only place open for breakfast was the "Yatri Nivas". I stocked myself with two plates of steaming idli and one hot coffee before driving down to Balgal. We parked our Swift near the shops and hired a Jeep for the ride up to Mullodi. Mullodi is around 5km ride among rocky uphill road that only the 4WD Jeep can travel. Of course, you can also walk if you want, but budget the additional time for that. The Jeep ride costs 350-450 one way, depending on how far up your assigned trekking guide lives.

Our trekking guide had already started with another group and we were supposed to meet them at Satisha's place in Mullodi. So we had to go up to Satisha's home which lies just by the side of the trekking route. We started after a brief wait at Satisha's place. The initial route was flat with some mild up and down slopes. The path had many beautiful streams crossing it and beautiful wild flowers among the grass.

On the way was "Lobo Mane" or Lobo's House. This was one of the houses made by Simon Lobo, a priest who stayed in the Kudremukh ranges. Lobo's house is apparently used by trekkers for overnight stay, but it is today in a sorry state.

Distances along the trek path were marked by mile stones made by piling up stones. It was around 13kms one way from Satisha`s house to the peak. The beauty of the path can only be experienced first hand. The few pictures will not be doing full justice. It is only after one gets a clear picture of the hills can one see why it is called the "Horse Face". The cliff does look like the outline of the face of a horse looking up towards the sky. Have a look at a comparison photograph I've posted below.

The steepest part is an one km distance around 3-4 km from the peak. This is where I had to leave behind Mitu & Mamuni and carry on alone. From the steepest part one can see the shola forests on the adjacent mountain. The last 3 km is blissfully flat. There is a small stream around half a km from the peak. I was out of water, but resisted drinking from the stream.

A few hundred meters later was the peak. Standing on the peak was an experience in itself, you feel like a king having conquered everything around you. Everything around you stands below you. The cool breeze blows unhindered at the top.

It had taken us 5hrs to climb to the peak. I started climbing back after spending few ten minutes at the peak, came down towards the stream and sat there. As I removed my shoes I saw some leech bites, the leeches had already fallen off. I sat there dipping my leg in the cool water. The water looked clear and clean, I couldn`t resist anymore, and I filled up my bottle and drank some. It was such a relief! I drank almost half a bottle, filled it up again for the walk back and started back.

On the way back we spotted a Sambar grazing in the jungle below. I felt sorry that I did not carry my 300mm lens with me to the top. I got only a hazy shot with the 55mm lens I had. Walking back down was also not easy, as the leg muscles were already worn out.
I met Mitu and Manumi half way down and we walked back together towards Satisha's house. We spotted the same sambar again near a stream downhill, but it ran away hearing our voices. By the time we reached back at Satisha's house it was 5:45 in the evening. The Jeep arrived at 6:30 and carried our tired bodies back to Balgal. The 26km trek without enough rest and food was too draining. A better option is to stay overnight at Satisha`s place (they charge around Rs.150 per head for stay and dinner) and start early in the morning, have some lunch at the peak and climb down after some rest.

By the time we reached back at Kalasa, it was 8:30PM. We headed straight to "Hotel Vijaya", had Chicken Curry, Fish Fry, Egg Curry, Dal Fry, Chapattis and Lime Soda. At the hotel all of us fell down to our beds and had a refreshing sleep.

Day 3:
We started late at 8:00AM. Had a filling breakfast including Neeru Dosa, Upma, Idli, Vada and Coffee at "Yatri Nivas". Then we started towards the "Annapurneswari Temple" near Horanadu. We reached there around 9:30. We came to know that you get delicious lunch there, but there was a daunting looooong queue even for the darshan and we came back. We decided to come back to Kalasa after having some tender coconut water there. Back at Kalasa we re-visited the "Dakshinakashi Temple" to take some pictures and buy some honey. Then we checked out of the hotel, had lunch at "Hotel Vijaya" (Egg Fried Rice, Fish Fry, Egg Curry and Buttermilk) and started back towards Bangalore. On our way back we came by Mudigeri (by mistake). The road from Kalasa to Mudigeri was not great.

By afternoon 3:30 we had reached Halebidu where we stopped by and visited the temple. We started again from Halebidu by 6PM towards Bangalore. We crossed Kunigal at 9:30PM and had our dinner at "Shark Dhaba" midway between Kunigal and Neelamangala. The food was delicious and service efficient. We reached back home at 12 in the night.

Telephone Numbers & Useful Links

Chandan Lodge Kalasa, Board Number: 08263-374209/219
Chandan Lodge Kalasa, Manager Mr.Ravi: 9480070244
Satish Mullodi (Guide and Place to stay at Mullodi): 08263-249595/9481074530
Forest Department Bhagawati Nature Camp: 08263-255998
List of Hotels in Chikamagalur District
Trekking Routes
Blogs I referred to while planning this trip:

Wikipedia (To which I contributed back some of my photographs from this trip):
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalasa
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kudremukh

All in a day - Beautiful Bhubaneswar

2008-12-17T01:37:00.006+05:30

This is a short video representing a typical day at my hometown during the rainy months. This is my first attempt at (or rather I should say the first serious effort at) making or editing a video. I have put the subtitles as well, don't forget to enable them. And Google has a nice translation feature where you can translate the captions to your language. And thanks to Louis Armstrong for having sung the "Wonderful World" for the background track.

Even after considerable editing and cutting out of unnecessary portions to bring it down close to 4 minutes, I still feel it is dragging at certain points. The clips that I have edited were recorded more than a year ago over a period of two weeks. The sequence of the original video was not at all the same as you see it. I hope my stitching together has been smooth and the flow correct. Your opinions are welcome.

Shivaganga, Bangalore - In Pictures

2008-11-10T00:01:00.010+05:30

Shivaganga is around 50 km from Bangalore, towards Tumkur. It is around 15 kms from the highway. Shivaganga is a rocky hill with two temples. Pay the parking fees (20 rupees) to some youths guarding the entrance near an arch long before you reach the temple. I guess after that you would be free to park anywhere, but there is a good parking place available near a large pond, at the bottom of the hill and very near to the path to the top.

Steps cut on the rock and steel railings along the path guide you to the top. You can keep your shoes on, though you would see quite a few people barefoot. The place might be crowded on a weekend, and if you don't relish that ensure you walk quickly and right to the top most peak. Not too many people manage to endure the climb till there. On the way you would pass numerous refreshment stalls. You would also pass through a couple of temples, one right at the bottom of the hill and another at the top. At the bottom of the hill there is a curious wall kind of structure on the hill, probably to guide the rain water down the hill.

Watch out for the monkeys. They are one of the most interesting items to watch, as long as the feeling is not mutual. Don't carry any food in open bags, strap your bags and bottles carefully. There was this monkey that snatched a water bottle from a kid and was trying to drink. It was lifting the bottle and putting the wrong end to his mouth and was probably wondering why no liquid was coming out. It would then look carefully into the bottle to check the existence of water and try again. But only after a few attempts it realized that the bottle cap was on and deftly unscrewed it!

While there, one should relax and enjoy the isolation. Patience and a camera would be invaluable companions here. Driving back in the sunset with crop fields lining both sides of the road is also enchanting. Not too many good eating joints out there, so make sure you have your fill someplace on the highway or carry your food if you plan to stay for a long time.

Diwali Crackers & Fireworks, 2008

2008-10-29T01:18:00.002+05:30

Hogenakkal Falls - a different perspective

2008-08-16T02:09:00.006+05:30

Hogenakkal falls is in Dharmapuri, Tamilnadu; around 180 km from Bangalore. The drive from Bangalore to Hogenakkal falls took us through Hosur - Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri. At Dharmapuri take a right to the State highway that leads to Hogenakkal. Driving time was around 4hrs without any breaks except an "Air Break" offered by a lorry and helping out a group of bikers, one of whom skidded out of the road and was more shaken than bruised.

As soon as we got out of the car, we were hounded by numerous offers for fish fries, oil massages, and boat rides. We settled for a 1hr boat ride. The boatman risked his life by letting us try our hand at rowing, showed us how the local fishermen kept excess fish wrapped in a net and submerged in water, and gave us a mighty spin. If you are feeling light in the stomach (and heavy in the wallet) a floating shop can help you out with titbits to munch & drink.

Hogenakkal falls gets its name from the local language term for "Misty Rocks". It is a series of waterfalls and it usually looks as if a big earthquake has split the earth into two and all the water of the seas will get flushed into the crack. But what we got to see this time was different. It had been raining quite a bit in these parts recently. While we did expect to see lot of water, we never expected so much of it. The mighty waterfalls were all submerged under water and water was just flowing over the rocks and the gorge. There were no high cliffs from where kids jump into the water. There were no waterfalls that you can drive your coracle under and get drenched. All that was there was a sea of water with swift currents. As if an element of nature has been tamed by another wilder one. There was one place near the bridge and watch tower where you could see a short but mighty water fall. The place was wet and misty, true to its name.

By the time we got out of water, it was a solid 3hrs and it was getting dark. Time flew... We thanked the boatman, watched him wash his coracle and carry it up to the shore as we leisurely walked back to the car. The drive back was faster and we reached back home before 11PM including a dinner break at Hosur.

Where the hell is Matt?

2008-06-30T12:34:00.002+05:30

Well Matt Harding has been enjoying life and having a helluva time! Watch him, and he'll surely put a smile across your face. :)

This is the latest video from Matt. There are more from his YouTube Channel.

You can read his story from his website here. Lucky guy! And just search YouTube for "where the hell is matt" and enjoy some more videos.

Colors of San Francisco Bay

2008-06-15T20:56:00.003+05:30

Check out the pictures below. You get to see these while flying over the San Francisco bay. You must click on them to see them in their full glory...

Amazing, aren't they? These are salt ponds used to make salt from sea water. The color is because of the different types of photosynthetic bacteria, algae and other sea creatures that grow in them. Colors range from green to orange to deep red. Colors change based on the salinity of the water as different life forms thrive at different levels of salinity. With low to mild salinity, green algae make it appear greenish. The orange tint is from millions of small brine shrimp that thrive in medium salinity water. At mid to high salinity, Dunaliella algae and halophilic (salt loving) bacteria make the water appear red.

These satellite pictures from Google earth do not the kind of clarity you would get while flying over them at lower heights. They are a delightful sight to watch on flights to San Francisco. The colors dilute and sometimes disappear when it rains heavily in these parts as the water gets diluted. So next time you are flying over San Francisco, watch out for these beauties!

Download the KML file here and see these places in Google Earth.

Trip to Waynad

2008-04-08T14:39:00.006+05:30

We had been to Waynad couple of years back, but didn't mind going there again. It was one of the few relatively quiet places, not crowded by tourists yet. There were quite a few attractions nearby, and one trip was definitely not enough to get our fill. So we readily agreed for our second trip to Waynad. The maps and numerous printouts we had collected during our previous visit came handy in this trip.

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Members: Gopi, Ratish & Us

Day 1 (5th Apr):

We started the trip stuffing the car with our tents and bags along with Gopi's three cameras (which he claims to love more than himself and they never left his sides through out the trip). For the first time in any trip I felt the space in my car not enough and wished I had a bigger car. It was a beautiful day, with clear sky, and a nice drive. We stopped for breakfast at the popular Kamath Lokaruchi on Mysore road. It appeared as if half of Bangalore was traveling out for the long weekend and had stopped at Kamath on their way out. Kamath was jam packed, but that didn't deter us from waiting patiently to taste the delicious dosa, idli and vada. While waiting we also made evil plans on how to get people eat faster and leave so that we can get a table. Finally the only plan that we had a chance of implementing partially was Leepsa's which involved standing near the table of a sweet couple sipping coffee and looking accusingly at them from time to time to make them feel guilty of making four of us stand. I think the plan worked, because we did get the table after few minutes. After having our fill of the yummy dosas, idlis and vadas, we hit the roads again.

Our next stop was near a lake not very far from there, for photography. The sheep being herded by shepherds, the beautiful lotuses in the water and the birds feeding themselves in the lake was quite alluring for taking snaps. We hit the roads again quickly after taking snaps for some thirty minutes.

We passed Mysore and took right on the ring road towards Kabini river. As the day got hotter, the road started getting from bad to worse. We finally managed to reach Kabini Jungle Lodges Resort. Gopi spoke to the resort manager and though we did not have any reservations, we were allowed to roam around the resort, take pictures and have lunch if we wished. We sat for sometime near the lake with the shutterbugs amongst us busy taking snaps. We also walked a short distance in the woods nearby looking for interesting subjects to shoot. We also saw a snake crossing the road and Gopi took a nice snap of it. We decided to have lunch there as all of us were hungry and the lunch looked sumptuous. Lunch was indeed good at 200 rupees per person. After the heavy lunch we started towards Meppadi. The car had become hot like an oven and we also lost our way in the maze of streets in the village outside JLR. To add to the misery the roads were horrible with big ditches. With the car fully loaded it was scraping the bottom over huge speed breakers, so people had to get out of the car couple of times to go over big bumps. We took the jungle route towards Meppadi (instead of the normal route) hoping to see some wild life. But as luck would have it, the road was very bad and seemed endless with no wild life. Fortunately it rained and matters cooled down a bit. We drove for around 4 hrs (for a road of 15 kms) in the rain to reach Meppadi.

By the time we reached Meppadi, everyone was completely tired. While re-fueling the car, we realized that we forgot to withdraw cash before leaving Bangalore and cards are not accepted at all at Meppadi. We desperately needed to withdraw cash from some ATM and managed to do that in a Federal Bank ATM. The hotel that we had booked looked a bit shabby. While we were waiting in the car, Gopi & Ratish went ahead and checked out the rooms and completed the check in. We got a room in the 3rd floor which was 'supposed' to be a deluxe room (with torn window screens). To park the car we had to do a bit of hiking and finally managed to squeeze the car through narrow lanes to park it behind the hotel. Everything here closes down by 8:30 pm, so we freshened up a bit quickly and started for dinner at 7:30 pm. It was a small restaurant just beside the hotel but the food was awesome. We had soft Kerala parathas, egg curry, fish curry, biriyani and mango juice. The fish curry was really tasty - typical Kerala style, made with tamarind and Kerala spices.

We decided to drop the idea of going for a walk after dinner since the roads were already very lonely. Back in the room, we called up couple of people in Kalpetta to arrange for the trek and camp on Chembra peak the next day. We were planning to trek half way through and put up tents for the night. Early morning we would have enjoyed the sunrise from those heights and climbed to the peak. Nothing concrete could be arranged as unfortunately the next day was a Sunday. We decided to try our luck the next day at Kalpetta and made a backup plan anyway, if we couldn't stay back on the mountains the next day, was to go to Edakkal Caves instead and splash in some waterfalls before coming back to Bangalore. We played cards for some time and watched the TV before going to bed early, looking forward for the next day.

Day 2 (6th Apr):

Next day, we got up at 6, since the plan was to start by 7 and reach Kalpetta by 8 to start the trek. But by the time all of us got together it was late and we reached Kalpetta only at 9. We spoke in the forest office there only to find out that they are not organizing any treks and no one is allowed to camp on the mountains. We just got permission to go up the peak and come back the same day.

The path to Chembra peak is through a private estate. We had to drive through the estate to a bungalow, park our vehicles for a fee of Rs.20 and walk through the coffee estate for some distance till we hit the base of the mountain. There was a small watchtower at the base of the mountain from where the trekking path starts. By the time we started off from there, it was already around 11 in the morning. After the initial getting used to phase, we climbed at a steady pace till the lake. The area around the lake was pleasant and perfect for camping. The lake was heart shaped - nature's tribute to matters of heart. We went further up to the next level where there was a nice plain land where we took some rest and took some photographs. We could see the clouds hitting the Chembra peak and rolling over. The lake below looked like a jewel surrounded by the green grass.

It was already 2:30 by that time and we had 2 more peaks to go before the highest Chembra peak. We quickly climbed up the first one. Leepsa decided not to continue further from there. So I stayed back with her while Gopi & Ratish went further. It was decided that once they come back, I can go to the top and then come back while they stay with Leepsa. We (Leepsa & me) relaxed there for some time and experimented with the camera. It was getting darker and still there was no sign of Gopi and Ratish. I knew I can go to the peak anymore, so Leepsa & myself started climbing back slowly. Mobile phones were working even at that place! So it was a relief to be able to talk to them. Once at the base, we washed ourselves in the refreshing cool water flowing in a stream and waited for them, while watching the sun set.

Once back, we rushed back to Kalpetta to find some place to stay overnight. Most of the places were full, but found a small place after some searching to stay. Booked our rooms, went straight for dinner - similar spread of parathas and birianis. Once back in the room, had a nice clean bath and slept off. Gopi went on his night stroll.

Day 3 (7th Apr):

Next day morning was foggy and we tried to capture some moments in our camera from the roof top of the hotel. After that, had a good breakfast of idiappams and dosas, bought some fried jackfruit chips and started off for Edakkal caves. On the way we went to Soochipara falls, had a nice bath, took good snaps of birds and bees and of local lads frolicking in the water. After the nice bath we also had traditional Kerala meals with fish curry at a local restaurant and drove towards Edakkal caves, fighting sleep all the while.

At Edakkal caves, we had to park our car at the foothills and take the jeep service up to the top at Rs.70 per jeep for a round trip. The road till the top has been cemented recently and the jeep just flew on those roads. From that place there is another short climb till the most popular cave with ancient cave drawings and writings. This is considered to be one of the earliest centers of human habitation, around 7000 years old. There are some inscriptions in a language similar to the ancient Pali language. After the tiring cave exploration, we had refreshing lime soda while waiting for the jeep to take us back.

Back at the parking lot, we also had ice creams to beat the heat and started off in the direction of Bangalore. We did not see a single wild life while coming back through the Bandipur forest roads. But we quickly forgot the disappointment as we watched a spectacular sunset just after we entered Karnataka, still quite some distance from Mysore. At Mysore, the palace was lit up that day, it being Ugadi. We did visit the palace for a short time before rushing back to Bangalore.

Skagen - My new watch

2008-03-26T10:01:00.000+05:30

My trusty Casio watch has finally got something to envy. After sticking to my Casio for close to a decade, I finally decided to give a chance to my new Skagen watch.

I liked (and still like) the Casio for being a no nonsense functional wrist watch. I have purchased three Casio watches over the last 20 years - but the same model. :) The time is rock solid, never falters till it's time to replace the battery, and battery lasts a lifetime (7 years). It gives me all the basic functions, date and day, alarm and a stopwatch to play with. I use the stopwatch to play fastest fingers. :)

This Skagen was a gift from my brother. He wanted to gift me a good swiss watch. He probably knew my preference for simple functional electronic stuff. But unfortunately the Swiss don't make good electronic watches. Skagen's website lists my watch here.

Skagen designs are modern, minimalistic, light, thin but industrial. It is a Denmark based brand. Skagen is the name of a small fishing Hamlet at the tip of Jutland peninsula in Northern Denmark. Skagen's clean and straight designs reflect the beauty and serenity of this place.

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The pictures in the slideshow below, from Flickr, are simply breathtaking:

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