Exotic Expeditions...

Bihar - Madhubani Arts

2010-12-20T21:02:00.000-08:00

Traditionally this art was practiced by women only to decorate their huts during religious and important occasions. Nowadays men have also taken up this art form and paintings are done on paper, cloth, canvas etc. But even though women in the villages around Madhubani have been practicing their folk art for centuries, the world at large has come to know about these women and to consider them to be "artists" only in the last thirty years. Even now, most of their work remains anonymous. The women, some of them illiterate, are in any case reluctant to consider themselves individual producers of "works of art" and only a few of them mark the paintings with their own name.

The colors used were traditionally derived from natural sources like plants, charcoal soot, ochre etc. Black color is obtained by mixing soot with cow dung.Yellow color is obtained from turmeric or pollen or lime and the milk of banyan leaves. Blue from Indigo. Red from Kusum flower juice, red sandalwood or rose. Green from the leaves of apple trees, White from rice powder, Orange from palasha flowers.

Madhubani paintings mostly depict nature and Hindu religious motifs, and the themes generally revolve around Hindu deities like Krishna, Rama, Shiva, Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswati. Natural objects like the sun, the moon and religious plants like Tulsi are also widely painted, along with scenes from the royal court and social events like weddings. Generally no space is left empty ; the gaps are filled by paintings of flowers, animals, birds and even geometric designs. Objects depicted in the walls of kohabar ghar (where newly wed couple see each other in the first night) are symbols of sexual pleasure and procreation.Legend says that this artform originated during the time of Ramayana when King Janak commissioned artists to paint pictures of his daughter Sita getting married to Rama.

A Madhubani painting in the Godana style by Chano Devi, depicting a scene from the myth of God Salhesa. (right) A painting of Goddess Kali in the Bharni style by Krishnakant Jha.

MITHILA, the birthplace of Sita of the Ramayana, lies in the state of Bihar, bounded by the Himalayas in the north and the rivers Kosi, Ganga and Gandak in the east, south and west respectively. Over centuries, the people of Mithila have developed their own tradition of art, popularly known as Madhubani painting, named after a district and a town in the region. What is unique about this tradition - which dates back to the 7th century A.D., and is prevalent even today - is that it is the women who mastered and practiced it.

In their earliest form, Madhubani paintings appear as aripana (floor paintings) and kohabar (wall paintings), done by the women of the Brahmin and the Kayastha castes. Painters today do it on paper. An exhibition of such paintings, titled "Mithila Paintings", was held in Kolkata from January 3 to January 12. It was curated by Neel Rekha, an art historian, whose dissertation on the women painters of Mithila titled "Art and Assertion of Identity: Women and Madhubani Paintings" is to be published shortly.

Traditionally, Madhubani paintings were made on the eve of certain rituals and ceremonies, such as pujas, vratas, or weddings. According to Neel Rekha, who has stayed with the painters and traced the roots of the folk art tradition, these paintings may have had their origins in tantric rituals. Mithila has from time immemorial been a seat of the tantric tradition, with strong leanings towards the Saiva and Sakti cults. The tradition found expression in domestic rituals, and that is perhaps why the art form was once restricted to women. But that did not stop the artists from transcending the domain of practical utility in order to create something exquisite from an aesthetic point of view.

I have created a Blog to depict the entire Work and art of Madhubani.
http://madhubanii.blogspot.com/

Rajasthan Trip - Jaislmer

2010-11-10T08:49:00.000-08:00

Once a sleepy desert city, Jaisalmer has transformed itself into a major tourist destination of India. Situated amid picturesque Thar Desert, the Jaisalmer city commands premiere position among the tourist attractions scattered all over the desert land of Rajasthan. The Jaisalmer city is revered both by Indians as well as foreign tourists.

Let the picture talk and describe the journey.

Like various other cities of Rajasthan, you will discover different facets of Jaisalmer as you explore this wonderful city with us. Tough there are historical monuments scattered all over the city but the Jaisalmer Fort will immediately command your attention. Made of sand stones and locally known as Sonar Quila, the Jaisalmer Fort is a dominating structure amidst sands. The Jaisalmer city is also known for its old mansions, better known as Havelis. Among many of them you will find Salim ji ki haveli and Nathmal ji ki haveli as the most striking. There are other monuments too, which are equally important because of their distinct and individual architecture. The amalgamation of ancient and the medieval era architecture will catch your fancy.

The Jaisalmer city is a prominent educational as well as cultural hub in the region and regularly showcases the vivid cultural aspects of Rajasthan. Among others, it includes folk dances as well as semi classical and folk music.

The city is easily accessible and people are warm and welcoming. In spite of harsh living conditions, Rajasthani people are known for their warm hospitality all over. So come to Jaisalmer and enjoy the traditional rhetoric of 'padharo mahare desh' (welcome to our lands).

Kerala

2010-09-20T10:15:00.000-07:00

Kerala - The God's own Country

Kerala is probably one of the greenest places you will ever see. Kerala has got a lot of unique reasons to be called a paradise. A pleasant climate, sun kissed beaches, backwaters, hill stations, exotic wildlife, breathtaking waterfalls, Ayurvedic health holidays, enchanting art forms, magical festivals lot more.Traveler's come to see Kerala's wildlife sanctuaries, historic cities and temples. Stressed out urban dwellers rejuvenate themselves at the ayurveda spas and resorts in Kerala.

I was fortunate enough to be apart of documentary where I encounter many species, flaura, fauna and Traveling expeditions.

Leh and Ladakh

2010-08-27T03:31:00.000-07:00

I was fortunate to have a trip with Aaj take team, a very dear friend of mine Siddharth Tiwari.

Carrying my Canon 400 D with my entire kit and sid was carrying his video cam and entire crew.

Let me just fill you with a little bit of wiki-knowledge here, for those who have basic doubts...OMGWTF Leh and Ladakh? Ladakh is a region situated in the Indian state of Jammu & Kashmir, it consists two districts Kargil and Leh, the latter being bigger and touristy than the former. Ladakh region, known as Little Tibet, borders with both Pakistan and China. It's known for it's mountainous landscape and it's unique culture not to be found anywhere else in India. This discourse is a general write up about Leh city, not too much of travelogue kinds.

If I had to describe Leh in keywords, those would be - Mountains, Blue skies, Army, Stupas, Buddhism, Monasteries, Tibet, Art markets, Gompas, Indus and Capricious climate. The city of Leh has only two terrestrial approaches: Manli-Leh highway and Leh-Srinagar highway, both of which are seasonal, they're closed during winter. Leh is served by Kushok Bakula Rimpochee airport (code: IXL), located in the Spituk village on the outskirts. It's both a military as well as a commercial airport. Jet airways, Kingfisher and Indian Airlines have flights from New Delhi. Leh is literally cut off from the rest of the world, if the weather Gods decide to be violent.

The life in Leh is extremely tough, especially in winters. Water could not be supplied in pipes due to ruthless sub-zero temperatures during winter, so you happen to see people with a queue of metal cans anxiously waiting for the water supply tankers which suck up water from Indus and supply to homes. I still remember a bent and broken Buddhist lady with her cans, asking me when we stopped for photographing Thiksey Gompa, if we saw the water tanker coming. And in winter I was told that, people have to hammer-and-chisel out chunks of ice and heat it to get water. Hibernation is the only occupation of the locals during winter.

Overlooking proudly over the downtown in the Leh palace atop a mountain, a gigantic palace modelled on it's Lhasa counterpart. Shanti Stupa, is definitely the most visited landmark in Leh city. It's a gleaming white Stupa designed by a Japenese architect, standing atop a mountain from which the panorama of the Leh city is breathtaking. The ambience around the Stupa is very tranquil and placid, which was very welcoming for me. The best photograph that could be composed from Shanti Stupa is a distant monastery in the mild yellow evening light wherein the backdrop would be auriferous mountains and blue skies.

A dream come true

2010-06-12T02:30:00.000-07:00

A boy born in India with a dream .....

1. Snow surfing in Kashmir.

2. Watch Sun Rise in Kanya kumari.

3. Camel racing in Thar Desert.

Sunrise at Kanyakumari -The very famous sunrise at kanyakimari . It was cloudy to begin with, but we were lucky as the clouds cleared up by the time the sun god decided to come.As the sun rose from the ocean, it was view worth capturing on film.
The golden brown sun was magnificent to look at.You have to see it to enjoy it.In the background we can see the rock. The rock is the Vivekananda rock. On the rock we can see the Statue of thiruvalvar (The great Tamil poet) A ferry ride will take you to the rock.

Actually the statue and the memorial are on two different pieces of the rock. The ferry will drop the passengers first on one rock and then after some time, the ferry can be boarded again to go to the next rock.

Mysore - Karnataka

2010-03-27T03:35:00.000-07:00

A small city with great history, the city reminiscence the great warrior of all time "Tipu Sultan". The name Mysore is derived from the demon name Maheshasur who ruled here and was killed by Chamundi after fierce battle. Initially the city was named as "Mahisuru", then transcends to Mysooru and then finally became Mysore. Few years back the proposal was put to rename the city back to "Mysooru" (not sure where this proposal is standing now)

It was an overnight journey from Bangalore directly to Mysore. Mysore requires at least two days. I took one day tourist bus trip ("Sri OM Shakthi"), booked the ticket from the railway station itself (they have tie up with some private bus operator) cost Rs 120 per individual (food excluded) and Rs 170 (the Guide took in advance for all entrance ticket, he provided the tickets for each place we visited, thus avoided the queue to purchase the same, a time saver).

One prudent thing i realized after the trip is over that is "Its better to cover few important places in detail then to cover everything in rush". Its virtually not possible for any tour operator to give you ample time to look around all the places he promised for, after all it was a one day trip. They didn't cover few important places like Chamundi Temple, Big Bull, Statu of Mahishasura and few in Srirangapatna despite being listed in their one day trip pamphlet.

Nandi Hills, Bangalore, Karnataka

2010-02-27T03:33:00.000-08:00

Nandi Hills (also called Nandi Durg or Bull Fort/Hill) is situated around 60km from Bangalore City and is well connected by broad road. Gov bus also runs up to the top from Bangalore. This lies in Chikballapur District of Karnataka and located in close proximity to Bangalore International Airport. The road is smooth and away from the Bangalore hectic traffics.

Just after around more then 20km from NH-7 (after Devanahalli Town), left diversion on this road identifies the start of the hill which is around 15km from here to to top of the hill. This hill road is wide enough for two buses to cross each other but believe me it requires great skills as visually you can't say its that wide enough. Its prudent to stop for few minutes and enjoy the hill view and have some best photo shoots.

After 2 hours of the drive from Bangalore here finally I reached the entrance gate shown above. The entrance gate is not that big and secured as other forts are used to have (i haven't seen even the doors, so curious how it was secured?).Tickets per individual is Rs 5. An interesting thing is, two wheelers are not allowed beyond this point whereas four wheelers are (except Buses).

Cheerapunji

2010-02-17T02:33:00.003-08:00

On My 9 Day trip to North East, Here comes the stop of Cheerapunji.

I left around 8: AM from Shillong towards Cherrapunji a.k.a Sohra. Even though the distance is just about 56km, stopovers at many viewpoints enroute make the journey a prolonged one. From Shillong downtown, our car revved up the pinewood covered mountains which last all the way till head of Eastern Air Command (EAC) headquarters. The uneven landscape of Shillong city evens out after crossing EAC with farms on both sides of the roads, the busy city transforms into a beautiful laid-back countryside in not more than 10Km from its heart.

Our first stop, most tourists' for that matter, was at the Duwan Singh Syiem Bridge near which the forest department has made a view point. That is the first view of the Mawkdok Dympep Valley which extends all the way upto Cherrapunji. One has to be lucky to have a good view of the valley, most times it'll be obscured by clouds. For us the view was pretty clear with clouds kissing the top of the mountains. The name Meghalaya (abode of clouds) will be justified by just one look at this valley. There are shops selling food and handicraft near the bridge.

We went a little ahead of the bridge and stopped over for breakfast on the ridge of the valley. It was one of the most romantic breakfast I've ever had...seated on thin grass cover over the edge of the canyon we had delicious parathas and alu sabji. The panorama was breathtaking, a hazy valley in front of us with cloud-kissing-mountains in its backdrop. Our next stop was at Wahkaba tourist spot, but the visibility was very low and the valley was completely covered by clouds. We could hear the roar of the waterfall but see nothing, we hoped for a better weather on our way back and continued to Cherrapunji.

shilong

2010-02-17T02:33:00.001-08:00

On 9 day trip to Nort East , here comes the stop of Shillong.

A city once known for its natural beauty - hilly location, fresh air, pine forests, blue skies and fleecy clouds. When I arrived at Shillong after a tiring journey from Guwahati, I had a totally contradictory image about the city, I had reckoned it to be a laid-back town with few houses dotting the mountains, a very rustic kind of picture I had in mind, but it turned out to be just the other way round.

Elephant falls is located in upper Shillong, slightly ahead of Eastern Air Command (EAC) HQ. Somehow I felt it's over-hyped by the websites and local tour operators, I would rate the place very ordinary. They charge 10 bucks per person and 20 per camera, it's not worth a farthing. A faint stream fell down the rocks and formed a pool and I didn't feel it was touristy and worth visiting at all. I was wondering how many unnamed waterfalls I've seen in our Thirthalli-Sringeri region more elegant than Elephant falls of Shillong.

I went to Shillong Catholic Cathedral, it's gigantic but not very elegant, especially for me after having seen some of the most grandiloquent cathedrals in Mexico, I felt it was just a concrete structure with few embellishments. The design isn't that great, the blue paint makes it worse. Don Bosco museum in Shillong is definitely one of the must-visits. Just check for the regular power-cut timings of the city before you head to the museum, for they charge a lot more for switching on the generators. The best part of the museum is the power saving mechanism they've employed, they have person actuated lights - the moment someone enters the room the lights are turned on automatically. The museum explains everything about north-east not just about Meghalaya. There are arts, crafts, ruins, photographs, hunting & harvesting tools, house plans and everything one could think of about north-east in the museum and it requires more than an hour to see everything in detail.

Aurunanchal Pradesh - tawang

2009-10-31T02:34:00.000-07:00

Patna

2009-06-27T03:40:00.005-07:00

2009-06-27T03:40:00.003-07:00

alwaye

2009-06-27T03:40:00.001-07:00

Cochin

Kerala

2009-06-27T03:39:00.004-07:00

kodamanglam

Tirupati Balaji

2009-06-27T03:38:00.005-07:00

Tirupati-Balaji is a sacred town and is famous for the shrine of Lord Venkateshwara, which is visited by a large number of pilgrimages from far corners of India. The breathtakingly beautiful setting of this holy town makes it another lure for the tourists who want to experience a spiritual tinge on their tour of Tirupati-Balaji. There are many tourist attractions in Tirupati-Balaji among which the notable ones are:

Sri Venkateswara Temple:

It is the most prominent landmark in the entire town and the presiding deity is said to be an incarnation of Lord Vishnu himself. The temple is located on the southern bank of Swami Pushkarni. The temple is a wonderful example of Dravidian architecture featuring gold plated Cupola and called as “Ananda Nilayam”. The Gopuram of the temple is dexterously carved out and attracts a significant number of tourists who come here to seek the blessings of the deity.

Sri Kapileswaraswami Temple:

It is located three kms to the north, at the foot of the Tirumala Hill and is devoted to Lord Shiva. This is one of the most remarkable among the tourist attractions in Tirupati-Balaji and has a gorgeous setting. There is also a sacred waterfall called Kapila Teertham located beside the temple that adds to its beauty quotient.

Will add more pics and data in some time.

Kanchipuram - Tamil Nadu

2009-06-27T03:38:00.003-07:00

"City of 1000 temples", "Golden City of Temples". Kanchipuram has many names to its credit and is one of the oldest city in South India. It underwent many name changes, in ancient times it was called Kachi, Kachiampathi and Kanjivaram in different periods. This city of temple is ruled by many dynasty from Pallavas, Cholas, Vijaynagara & Mughals to British. Few temples are incarnated during Pallavas dynasty (3th-9th centuries) period and later extended or added during Cholas & VIjayanagara Dynasty. The city is revered as one of the seven sacred city in India and is in 2nd place next to Varanasi. The remains of Budhist stupas reminiscence the presence of Buddhism religion at that time. Jainism is also prevalent here. The majority of spoken language here is Tamil and Telugu. You might know the art of Shoulin Temple is preached by an Indian Buddhist Monk, the same monk was hailed from this city only.
Its 75km from Chennai and is well connected by Buses and Train. Regular buses ply from Chennai as well as local train

Vishakhapatnam

2009-06-27T03:38:00.001-07:00

Popularly known as Vizag is one of the most popular tourist destination of Andhra Pradesh. The port city of Vizag has something to offer for every tourist, whether he is a nature lover, a pilgrim, an adventure sports lover or someone who merely wants to relax and rejuvenate. Sprawling golden beaches, splendid monuments, ancient temples, a natural harbour are some of the snapshots that has made Vizag so popular among tourist fraternity. Visakhapatnam is a city of cultural & religious diversity which truly depicts the essence of “Incredible India”.

For Sight seeing you have,

Kailashgiri – This small and charming hillock facing the sea front is at an altitude of 130 m within the city. The hillock owes its name to the magnificent open air statue of Lord Shiva and Parvati. Kailashgiri has been developed as a major tourist attraction by VUDA. The park developed at the hill top offers breathtaking and enchanting view of the sea, beaches, lush green forests and the bustling city.
Ropeway that takes people from the foot to the top of the hill and back is an added attraction to this wonderful place. One more new attraction is the toy train operating atop of this hill top park.

Ramkrishna Beach – The beach is commonly called RK Beach and is one of the best and most popular tourist spot of Vizag. This long beach though not ideal for swimming has a landscape beyond comparison. Apart from being a favourite and nice spot to spend time relaxing on the softy sand the place is also ideal to enjoy the sunset and sunrise amidst the tranquil waters.

I will cover araku valley, a popular hill station in India in my next blog.

Daman n diu

2009-06-27T03:37:00.002-07:00

Coimbature

2009-06-27T03:37:00.001-07:00

Tiruchahhrpalli

2009-06-27T03:36:00.002-07:00

Aurovile and Pondicherry !!!!

2009-06-27T03:35:00.001-07:00

If you go to Auroville for a prolonged period (anything above two days) there are a couple of recommended steps to take:

1) Book your accommodation well in advance. There are quite a few guest houses in Auroville, but there are also a huge number of tourists. At the moment, there are around 1800 people living in Auroville, but in high season at least the same number of tourists will be staying there. Consequently, it can be hard to find somewhere to stay. We had booked a cottage in Atithi Griha guest house, which happens to be the official Auroville guesthouse . It is relatively cheap, compared to other guest houses in Auroville, at around Rs. 700, and it is an excellent place for meeting other people; be it other tourists or Aurovillian newcomers who are waiting for permanent accommodation.

2) Go to the Visitor's Centre to get a map. Without a map you are destined to get lost; even with a map any adventurousness will see you lost at some point.

3) Go to the Guest Service (on top of Solar Kitchen in E3 in the map above) and get a guest account. Auroville is, in theory, a moneyless community making the "purchase" of food etc. complicated without a guest account. Unfortunately, you are only likely to get an account if you are planning to stay for at least two weeks. The account can be recharged with real money at the Town Hall (in E3 in the map above).

4) Rent a moped or another two wheeled motorised vehicle. We did, being environmentally conscious, do the right thing, which is to rent a pedal bike. However, we soon were alerted to the fact that distances in Auroville are huge; getting from one end to the other is a 10 kilometre ride. Add to this that the bikes that are for rent are prehistoric (one gear and saddle sticks that are way too short for any male of average height) and that the road quality is exceptionally poor, and you have a recipe for constant pain in every fibre of your body. The reason for the poor roads is a degree of delusion amongst the leaders of Auroville (yes, there are leaders in this place even though it pretends to uphold distinguished principles of democracy etc.). Auroville was created because the Mother had a vision. Her closest ally, the French architect Roger Anger, had his own visions which included a particular road layout. Unfortunately, this road layout was never created and roads developed organically. After all, people need roads in order to be able to travel from A to B. As these roads weren't in accordance with "the Plan" the authorities haven't been willing to maintain and repair them. So, today, almost forty years after the creation of Auroville, people have to travel on gravel roads full of holes and bumps. In the Monsoon the roads are, more or less, unusable because the gravel turns into a thick clay like sludge. Rumour has it that any real improvement of the Auroville infrastructure (read: the application of tarmac) won't happen until the old Mother lovers have died off. The photo below should give an indication of the road quality.
We were able to rent a moped for less than Rs. 100 a day from Atithi Griha, but there are plenty of places advertising their moped rental services on message boards around Auroville.

5) Find one or more eating places. For the first two weeks, where we stayed at Atithi Griha, which included breakfast and dinner, we didn't have to use the other eating places in Auroville. For the last two weeks, where we stayed at Needam Guest House, which has a small kitchen attached to every room, we were able to cook most of our meals. However, we found three places where reasonable food can be had. First, there is the Solar Kitchen (in E3) where you can get a comprehensive daily lunch (booking recommended). Second, there is a small café next to Pour Tous supermarket (in H5) which serves thalis at lunch time. Finally, the café at Repos Beach (in I5) has quite a few good dishes and sandwiches. In addition it is blessed with a view of the Bay of Bengal.The main problem will actually be to find dinner. Ideally, you should stay in a guest house that either includes dinner or has a kitchen attached, because, as we will return to, it is not recommended to go out at night in Auroville; unbelievably, taking into account that this is meant to be a haven where people of all nationalities can live together in peaceful cooperation, there are significant problems in the relationship between Auroville and local Tamils living outside Auroville. This has resulted in a number of alleged rapes and even murder. There have been suggestions to make Auroville into an American style gated community, but that idea has luckily been shot down by the sensible people of Auroville. If you are willing to travel on the hopeless roads in the pitch black darkness of night amongst mosquitoes and other potential dangers, it is possible to find dinner at Solar Kitchen, Repos or at the Visitor's Centre.

So, why exactly would anyone want to go to Auroville? We'll look at that in the next post.

Surat

2009-06-27T03:34:00.000-07:00

Bengaluru

2009-03-19T11:24:00.003-07:00

Nasik

2009-03-19T11:24:00.001-07:00

"Welcome to City of Pilgrimage" is with what Nasik(or Nashik) welcomes you when you reach their by road. It was my third day of Shirdi/Nasik trip. Nasik is one of the most holiest places in India and is sacred as it is in this place Lord Rama along with Devi Sita and brother Laxman spent their part of the exile period and has witnessed several mythological events. Its is one of the four cities which hosts Kumbha Mela which occurs every after 12 years (next is on 2015).

Legend has that during Sagar Manthan the Demigods while they tried to hide the Nector of Immortality from the demons, four drops fell onto the four location on the earth (other location are Prayag,Haridwar and Ujjain). Thus these four places are believed to have acquired mystic power and hosts the Meha Kumbha Mela every after 12 years ("Kumbha" means "Pot of Nector" and "Mela" means festival) where dates are calculated depending upon the certain planetary positions. In the medieval era several temples where built by devotees along the bank of river Godavari.

The name Panchavati it got is from the five banyan tree present in the vicinity where Lord Ram and Sita spent their exile period. The name Nasik also has a legend, during exile period Laxman (brother of Shri Ram) cut off Shupernakha's Nose (In Sanskrit Nose means "Nasik") and throws it on other side of the river Godavari (Ganga) which then christened as "Nasik" or "Nashik".

Thus on one side of the sacred river is known as Nasik while other side where five banyan tree is known as Panchavati. Various legends are associated with each of the places here and its to be noted that Lord Rama hasn't consecrated any of the Idols during his exile period here though some of the priests here falsely claims that some Shivlingams are consecrated by Lord Rama himself. Most of the temples falls in Panchavati province where only one or two resides other side of the river Godavari i.e. in Nasik.

Feeling tired at 2:00 AM in the morning will cover the rest of the story later.

Keep watching this space for more info....

Cheers !

Kudremukh

2009-03-19T11:21:00.007-07:00