View at Picasa 28-Mar-2009 18:58, Canon Canon PowerShot S3 IS, 2.7, 6.0mm, 0.04 sec

Akshi has a nice beach front covered with causarina trees. A few bed and breakfast places along the narrow street lead to the beach. The Akshi beach is a beautiful white sand beach. The beach has very shallow waters and one can enjoy walking on the shoreline watching the beautiful sunsets in solitude. The quiet beach at Akshi can also provide the perfect setting for a small group of friends to party with a small camp fire. During the day time, there are a few stalls which dot the beach.

View at Picasa 29-Mar-2009 09:31, Canon Canon PowerShot S3 IS, 2.7, 6.0mm, 0.017 sec

We went to Akshi for a leisurely weekend and lived in a small bed and breakfast homestay strolling on the beach with all the time in the world, having fresh home cooked food served three times a day and enjoying the beautiful orange black sunsets on the beach. We were served food cooked from the vegetables plucked straight from their vegetable garden. Here is one snap of their superb brinjals.

View at Picasa 28-Mar-2009 18:44, Canon Canon PowerShot S3 IS, 4.0, 6.0mm, 0.008 sec

How to reach Akshi Beach:

Akshi is at a distance of around 100 kms from Mumbai and 140 kms from Pune and is easily accessible from Alibaug which can be accessed by ferry or through land from Mumbai. Regular buses also run all the way to Akshi village from Mumbai as well as Pune. Please check out the MSRTC  timetable on its website for further details about the bus timings as there arent too many buses leaving for Akshi from Pune. Travelling by a bus which goes through the lush green towns and villages along the Konkan coast is a wonderful experience.

View at Picasa 28-Mar-2009 11:02, Canon Canon PowerShot S3 IS, 4.0, 11.1mm, 0.002 sec

View at Picasa 28-Mar-2009 10:59, Canon Canon PowerShot S3 IS, 4.0, 6.0mm, 0.005 sec

In fact, Alibaug was named so due to its abundant plantations. Alibaug was once home to the Bene Israeli Jewish community which has since migrated away to places like Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Israel. One of the more famous members of Alibaug’s Jewish community was Bene Israelite Ali who used to possess many plantations in the area. Due to this the region came to be called as Alibaug (Ali’s Gardens).

One of Alibaug’s attractions is the Kolaba Fort – not to be confused with Mumbai’s Colaba. The Kolaba fort was fortified by Shivaji Maharaj after the whole of south Konkan came under his command.

View at Picasa 28-Mar-2009 12:38, Canon Canon PowerShot S3 IS, 4.0, 6.0mm, 0.002 sec

View at Picasa 28-Mar-2009 12:32, Canon Canon PowerShot S3 IS, 4.0, 6.0mm, 0.005 sec

View at Picasa 28-Mar-2009 12:05, Canon Canon PowerShot S3 IS, 3.5, 41.6mm, 0.004 sec

How to reach Alibaug

For those travelling from Mumbai, there are ferries or catarmans available from the Gateway of India, regular MSRTC buses from Mumbai Central apart from the option of travelling by cars or even bikes. The roads leading to Alibaug are smooth and generally well maintained. And as is the case for most of Maharashtra, travel by MSRTC will be painful and beautiful.

Udaipur lies in the foothills of the Aravalli Range, the oldest mountain range in India. It is said that while the Himalayas have grown in size over the years, the Aravalli mountains have shrunk to a much smaller, weather beaten form. The mountains have been heavily mined for stone and have fuelled construction activities in the states of Rajasthan and Gujarat.

[simage=5,max,y,center,]

The Gujarati’s love of travel is complemented by their desperation for “Daaru”. And as we crossed the border of “Dry Gujarat”, the demands for a stopover at a local thela started in the bus. The landscape throughout the ride was typically non descript. Gujarat has some of the worst terrain I have seen in all my travels. Even the fields look disgusting with their prickly cotton plants. I wish they could at least grow some sunflowers. The houses and huts all along the road to Udaipur were made of slabs of coarsely cut stome. Hyderabad and the villages around it also had houses built in a similar fashion. The numerous lakes in both these cities can also be attributed to the rocky terrain besides the lack of regular rain.

We jumped on our boat from one end of the Jaisamand Lake, which, as we later learnt, was the marble dam created by Maharana Jai Singh over the Gomti river to create the largest man made lake in Asia.

[simage=1,max,y,center,]

The Jaisamand Lake Resort is a beautiful, royal retreat in the midst of this huge artificial lake.

[simage=3,max,y,center,]

Near the resort, on its marbled shores, there is the Hawa Mahal, and a few other palaces on hillocks nearby. The Hawa Mahal was considered to be the Summer Palace of the Maharana of Mewar and the queens it was believed, used to live on the hillocks around. How they commuted, living such far apart and if they were divorced is still a mystery. but here are some views which do explain why the Maharana would not leave the Hawa Mahal.

[simage=4,max,y,center,]

Noticed a few honeypots on the way back too. Did you know that the honey we usually eat has HUGE amounts of anti biotics – to protect the bees and kill us.

[simage=2,max,y,center,]

And finally, another wonderful view of the gorgeous Jaisamand lake resort.

[simage=6,max,y,center,]

Somehow i feel that i am one of the few unfortunates blessed with good taste, a high sense of self worth and bad looks. The combination makes me particularly vulnerable to the dangers of singlehood. An inveterate introvert like myself has few options for socializing and fewer still to meet like minded individuals while socializing. Thats what i do lament at all times living in this city. The Mecca of Architecture sure does have more than enough to enthrall its visitors, yet sadly the local populace lacks the sense required to appreciate its landmarks. Somehow in our quest for money we don’t give art the importance it deserves. The result is that even in a college of repute like Nirma we fail to find students who can really understand and create beauty. Beauty in writing, in music in any art. Rather the paucity is of students willing to sacrifice their time in these seemingly meaningless pursuits. The result is that you have to contend with nincompoops who dress up in fashions that reflect the tastes of all the decades starting from the 50′s. The nadir is when compelled to complement them on their impeccable style.

Just add up Kashmir and the North East to the map of Naxal affected areas and take a long hard look at the map of the world’s largest democracy – burning due to inept governance. While the Naxalite problems have flared due to poor state government policies, the Kashmir issue has been protracted due to the presence of the Army.

The Kashmir issue though, is not just a problem between two nations, but also one between the Hindus of Jammu and the Muslims of the Kashmir valley. A predominantly Hindu army, inept media which speaks more than it listens, local politicians with vested interests and the long drawn struggle for freedom have all contributed to exacerbating  the problem.  The Kashmiris are livid about the atrocities carried out on them and they are responding with violence. Why?

Because there is no one to listen to their pain.

Because there is no government to govern, no media to report, no police to protect and no army to defend them.

Because for all of us they are just a few words in our morning newspapers that we tend to ignore.

Because they are a part of a nation which doesn’t give a damn.

Grandiloquence Muted

But the most distinctive feature of the rooms of Khilwat Mahal are undoubtedly the huge chandeliers made of Belgian crystals. One single chandelier can fill up a normal room. Coupled with the white marble it presents a stunning picture of royalty.

Inside the beautifully Chandeliered Chowmahalla Palace

William Dalrymple visited the Chowmahalla Palace much before it was opened to the public. He writes “What we saw was extraordinary, as if we were in the palace of Sleeping Beauty. In one underground storeroom, thousands of ancient scimitars, swords, helmets, maces, daggers, archery equipment and suits of armour lay rusted into a single metallic mass on a line of trestle tables. In another, album after album of around 8,000 Victorian and Edwardian photographs of the Nizam’s household were covered in a thick cladding of dust. A unique set of 160 harem photographs, dating from 1915, lay loose in a box. On the walls, dynastic portraits were falling out of their frames. In one room were great mountains of princely dresses, patkas, chaugoshia and salvars, drawers of Kanchipuram silk saris, and one huge trunk containing nothing but bow ties. There were long lines of court uniforms as well as sets of harem clothes once worn by the Nizam’s favourite wives. Almost 8,000 dinner services survived, one of which alone had 2,600 pieces.”

This huge collection is now being sifted through and presented to the public in the exhibition at Chowmahalla Palace. The major galleries in the Khilwat Mahal are:

Silsila-e-Asafia(Legacy of the House of Asafias) which focuses on the lives of the Asaf Jahis and their contributions to the state. The Nizams gave the city a lot from the awe inspiring Osmania University and the still used Afzal Gunj bridge to an array of palaces.

Mahallat is a photographic exhibition gallery, one of its kind where there are photographs of the women of the Zenana.

Seileh Khana is a gallery of arms.

Taihniyat Mahal houses the manuscripts and the records of the palace which are now being restored.

Princesses at Aftab Mahal, Chowmahalla Palace, Hyderabad

The Aftab Mahal contains an exhibition called Tamanna-Reflections of the Royal Zenana. The exhibition shows statues decked in the clothes of the women of the Zenana. Various traditions are enacted in these exhibition from the birth of a child to the Nikah and Bidaai in a palanquin are all displayed in this exhibition.

Chairs at Mehtab Mahal, Chowmahalla Palace and the Beautiful Golden Fish - Mahimaratam

The Mehtab Mahal exhibition entitled Shaan – Glimpses of the lifestyle of the Nizams tries to capture the lifestyle of the palaces of the Nizams. There is a fish standard or the Mahimaratam which is used during processions and ceremonial occasions in the middle of the chairs in the picture above. There are sample dining rooms and drawing rooms as well as a bedroom with a palatial bed in the middle as seen in the picture below.

Palatial Bed at the Chowmahalla Palace, Hyderabad

There are a lot of different pieces of furniture present all along the Mehtab Mahal depicting the lives and times of the Nizams.

Some more ornate furniture at Mehtab Mahal, Chowmahalla Palace, Hyderabad

The plush interiors of the Chowmahalla Palace which was just one of the many palaces of the Nizams are testimony to the wealth of the Nizams . The death of the Seventh Nizam brought Mukarram Jah to the throne and found himself in to a grand mess. In the word of William Dalrymple

“He had inherited a ridiculously inflated army of retainers: 14,718 staff and dependents, including 42 of his grandfather’s concubines and their 100-plus offspring. There were around 3,000 Arab bodyguards, 28 people whose only job was to fetch drinking water and 38 more to dust chandeliers; several others were retained specifically to grind the Nizam’s walnuts. Everything was in disarray: the Nizam’s garages, for example, cost £45,000 a year to keep petrol and spare parts for 60 cars and yet only four were in working condition, and the limousine supposed to carry the new Nizam from his coronation broke down.”

More about the broken vehicles and beautiful chandeliers soon.

I have loved reading Indian authors as they give us a better and closer feel of the time and place. Vertigo, Maximum City Mumbai and a lot of Salman Rushdie novels have long been my favorites. My last visit to Landmark though was a disappointment as I didn’t like what I saw of the new Indian authors writing in English. Some famous bloggers like Sidin Vadanakut and Amit Verma have also penned their books. Most of these books talk of how a college going or freshly passed out protagonist fights the world and gets a girl, money and fame.

I do realize that the authors need to churn what the publishers want and the publishers go by popular demand. But I think that churning out books like this helps neither the writers nor the publishers. True readers know a good book when the read one and these good books sell – irrespective of their price tag.

I think that the root of this problem lies with Chetan Bhagat. I believe that 100 Aamir Khans can’t inspire a wannabe to join films as much as what a Tushar Kapoor could. It gives immense self confidence and pride to anyone trying to become a silver screen star when they see someone like Tushar Kapoor being one. They all tell themselves that if Tushar Kapoor can do it, so can we. And so, while the Indian film industry has Tushar Kapoor for its idol, the Indian publishing industry has Chetan Bhagat.

The Chowmahalla Palace was built by the Asaf Jahis of Hyderabad in the late 1700s. “Chow” means four and “Mahalla” implies palace in Urdu and the Chowmahalla Palace is a structure that has four palaces within its walls. Nizam Salabhat Jung is accredited with starting the construction work of the palace. The palace was completed during the reign of Nizam Afzar-ud-Dawla Bahadur. The Chowmahalla is a replica of the Shah’s Palace in Teheran and it consists of two courtyards, the Grand Khilwat or Durbar Hall, fountains and gardens. The four palaces that make up the Chowmahalla palace are Mahtab Mahal, Afzal Mahal, Aftab Mahal and Tahniyat Mahal.

Travel Photographs of the Chowmahalla Palace, Hyderabad

Enough of the history, here are some of the photographs. The Chowmahalla Palace was opened to the public recently in 2005 and is the best place to get a sneak peek into the lives of royalty.

The moment you enter the beautiful precincts of Chowmahalla Palace, you see the Khilwat Mahal, the seat of power of the ruling Asaf Jahis.

The beautiful Khilwat Mahal greets you. The day I was there, the Chowmahalla Palace was still being repaired and so the disarray in the photograph.

The long corridor of Chowmahalla Palace not only makes for a wonderful picture, but is also the way that leads to the Khilwat Mahal and is bordered by a string of servant quarters.

The long corridors on both sides of the Northern Courtyard lead to the main part of the Chowmahalla Palace, the Khilwat Mahal.

A close up view of the Khilwat Mahal at the Chowmahalla Palace, that houses the seat of power of the Asaf Jahis in Hyderabad.

A close up view of the beautiful Khilwat Mahal which has been a home and host to many famous parties and functions and now is open again for more such celebrations.

One of the palaces of Chowmahalla Palace, Hyderabad

One of the four palaces of the Chowmahalla Palace. I do not remember which one exactly.

One of the palaces of Chowmahalla Palace, Hyderabad

One of the four palaces of the Chowmahalla Palace. I do not remember which one exactly.

The Khilwat Clock Tower is maintained by a family of clock repairers since 250 years, Chowmahalla Palace, Hyderabad

The Khilwat clock tower is one that has kept time for nearly 250 years by now. There is one family that has been taking care of the clock tower since the centuries. The family also has a shop in the Laad Bazar, near the Charminar.

The beautiful windows of the Chowmahalla Palace.

There are many more photographs of the interiors of the Chowmahalla Palace coming up in the next posts. The palace is far grander and very well maintained from the inside compared to any others that I have seen.

Coming back to the point though, the second best part about the whole IPL Shashi Tharoor-Lalit Modi fiasco, besides the obvious entertainment is that the fight led to the downfall of both the bigots involved and hence justice has been done to the politicos for once. I just hope though, that something comes out of the IT probe and something more is revealed by Lalit Modi which will help ensure that instead of closing their ranks as they usually do, these politicos get what they justly deserve.

Red Corridor : Naxalites in India

I abhor violence, love Gandhiji and Gandhigiri, and in no way do I subscribe to the methods of the naxalites.  But I also tend to agree Gandhigiri doesn’t work in real life as well as it does in and for the movies. I just did some research about Naxalites after yesterday’s attack and came to several conclusions. Through this post I intend to clear several misconceptions about the Naxalities tormenting our country. I have taken a fair bit from Hindustan Times and Wikipedia to explain my position, but they just help me make my point.

Wikipedia defines Naxalites:

“Naxalite or Naksalvadis (name from the village of Naxalbari in the Indian state of West Bengal where the movement originated), are a group of far-left radical communists, supportive of Maoist political sentiment and ideology. Their origin can be traced to the split in 1967 of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), leading to formation of Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist).”

Samar of Hindustan Times explains how it came into being:

Naxals are driven by the inequities heaped on the people in the liberated zone — in part, certainly; for the rest they are just a murderous mob — while India was busy with its great economic leap. Indeed, much of the fuel for that leap has come from the mines, rivers and land of the red corridor, often to the detriment of the impoverished locals. They, frankly, are not the subjects of our democracy, living as they do in an unseen feudal/tribal twilight world beyond the horizons of modern India.

From the Iberians who harassed the imperial Roman army before the birth of Christ to the Marathas who harried the Mughals in medieval times to Che Guevara who romanticised the Cuban revolution of the 1950s, guerrillas have always thrived in societies with such split personalities, inequities and a strong culture of intellectuals. India, where we ignore wretchedness like no other people, is fertile ground for the guerrilla, who wins local support by living among the ignored and implementing social reform. Thus has emerged the red corridor.

Mao Zedong, the great Chinese communist leader has remarked:

A revolution’s need for a base area… is just like an individual’s need for a buttocks. If an individual didn’t have a buttocks, he… would have to run around or stand around all the time.

Naxalites have created a base for themselves in India only in those regions of the country where poverty is rampant and government apathy is visible for one and all to see. At its height in the 70′s, the Naxalite movement in India found a lot of followers in colleges like St. Stephens of Delhi – where the rich political class of India studies and graduated from. Those who have seen the movie “Hazaaron Khawishein Aisi” will recollect how the rich, young Kay Kay Menon fought for the poor. The dichotomy of India is that the inaction and apathy of the great Indian middle class is what helps India grow at 8% a year and it is the same middle class that makes the rich richer and turns a blind eye to politicians’ digressions.

Coming back to Naxalite insurgency, Samar, in his HT article mentions how Peru had a Maoist insurgency problem, similar to the one present in India. It was aggravated because of the social inequity to such and extent that in the 1990′s there were nearly 10,000 Maoists who were responsible for the death of nearly 70,000 people in a nation of 28 million. Peru eventually was able to shake off insurgency after it arrested the leader and improved public facilities. In Samar’s own words:

The unravelling(of Maoist insurgency) was borne on two things: war-like military action using crack troops and equipment, and rapid economic growth after Guzman’s arrest.
Last year, I travelled through the Peruvian Andes, a dry, poor area that was once the stronghold of the Maoists. Though poverty is still widespread, you can see the state’s war efforts: concrete pavements in the poorest villages, the rapid spread of electricity and smooth mountain roads maintained by workers so well equipped that an Indian can only marvel.

Even Mr Chidambaram seems to agree as he said in a statement that the onus of ensuring that the Naxalite movement doesn’t increase depends on the state government.

The Naxalite movement and its spread in nearly 30% of India indicates how deep rooted the problem is. I wrote this post to clear a few misconceptions people have about Naxalites. They are murderers, no doubt, but then so were Che and Lenin. Their victories ensured that they were remembered differently.

We hope that development occurs at the grass roots and not just the rich are pampered by the government, but some consideration is provided to the poor of this nation too.

P.S.

I have been a life long fan of Ayn Rand. Yet it seems I am turning communist in this godforsaken country.