The Journal of a Vagabond

A day out at The Silent Valley National park.....

2011-02-11T14:03:00.003+00:00

Tucked away in the Western Ghats, is a pristine valley that the world has left behind...It’s home to numerous threatened species, including the Lion-tailed Macaque,the Nilgiri Langur and is a naturalists’ delight. The Silent Valley (located in the Nilgiris ,Palakkad district,Kerala) ,true to its name is the single silent survivor of the tropical evergreen rainforests that once covered a larger portion of the Nilgiris and have long since vanished. It was declared a National Park in 1984, after a prolonged period of uncertainty over a certain power generation project that was proposed over the ‘’Kunti puzha’’ (River Kunti) that runs through the forest’s heartland. The project was abandoned by the Government after a feasibility study conducted implied a vast ecological damage. So thankfully, what we have today is around 240 sq kms of virgin nature, almost holy in its exuberance of life and unfathomable in the mysteries concealed in its luxurious green foliage…

It was New Years’ eve and Swaps had come down to Coimbatore to spend New Year with us. We’d planned on driving down to Ooty. But as things turned out, we couldn’t go ahead with the plan as we were told that the roads were in a terrible state on account of the heavy rains and landslides were reported at Coonoor (enroute Ooty). We ended up in a fine pickle. An entire day stretched before us and we had nowhere great to spend it! That was when the snoring travel bug in me woke up with a yawn and gave me a violent nudge – And out came my suggestion that we make a day trip to The Silent Valley :-) A reserved forest was not exactly where Swaps and Viv wanted to spend New years’, but they agreed to humor me after all the enthusiasm I showed @ the thought of actually spending an entire day in a national part amidst wilderness – what an adventure, it would be!!

A tiny house in the attapadi hills..

We set off from Coimbatore, though I wouldn’t say ''nice & early'', next morning and were in high spirits along the scenic drive towards Palakkad. The road took us thru the ''Anai katti'' Range and we were greeted with spectacular views at every bend and turn of the ghat roads. The silent valley is around 40 km from the Anai katti ranges. The entire area is within striking distance of the elephant territory and if you’re really lucky (or unlucky, as the case might turn out to be) , you just might have the pleasure of a tete-a-tete with a stray wild elephant or two! !On the way, we passed the Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON),established by the Govt of India, in honour of India’s finest Ornithologist and naturalist ,Padma Vibhushan Salim Ali. I made a mental note to come back here later for a longer visit. After numerous stops and long sessions of photography, we were in the Attapadi tribal area.

The temple with the policemen sentries!!

Now, Attapadi – a cluster of tiny hamlets, is inhabited by the Attapadi tribals, who are traditionally, self-sustaining indigenous people (adivasis) . This area was once identified by the Kerala Govt as the most backward community in the state. Over the years, numerous development programmes have improved the lot of the tribals here. There are over a 100 hamlets in Attapadi. The population of the valley is mostly Muduga, Irula and Kurumba tribal people with a small section of settlers from Tamilnadu and Kerala. It is said that, the Malleswaran peak (in the silent valley) is worshipped as a gigantic Shivalinga by the adivasis who celebrate the Sivarathri festival there with great fervour. As we drove along, we passed a few funnily built houses, temples with statues of policemen (as sentries) and a board that actually read ‘’TRIBAL YOUTH CLUB OF ATTAPADI’’! Somehow, all I could think of was young men clad in animal skins and head gear made of feathers and leaves, jumping and dancing around a fire, singing in an alien tongue ;-) My bad! All thanks to Indian movies, the very word ‘tribal’ evokes such prejudiced scenes in my stunted imagination :-)

yet another attapadi tribal temple....

The Attappadi Reserve Forest is actually an informal buffer zone bordering the Silent Valley National Park to the West. We could make out that we’d entered the forest zone, by the very feel in the air. The air was cool, fresh and strangely invigorating.. A few more miles and we were at the base camp of the silent valley, Mukkali. The core forest region is around 19 kms from this camp. There was a tiny office set up with a few chattering staff, who seemed to be extremely busy with a big bunch of college kids who were there on a day trip. We had to loiter about aimlessly till the staff bundled the entire group off into the forest department jeeps and finally turned their attention to us. Viv and Swaps left the talking bit to me as the staff weren’t comfortable with either tamil /hindi / English.We were told off by a stern looking official, as walk ins were not welcome and prior booking was necessary for day trips to the park. I used my best Malayalam on him and with a lot of helpless, dejected looks interspersed with numerous ‘’pleease chetta…’’, convinced him to allow us into the park ;-) Sadly enough, we could not go for the actual 5 hour guided trip into the heart of Silent Valley as it was already late afternoon when we reached the camp and it wouldn’t have been possible for us to get back to the base camp before 6 pm, after which the forest is off-limits. We instead opted for a 2 hour guided trek to the River Bhavani , a tributary of the Kunti river.

The trek to Bhavani puzha..

Our young, and enthusiastic guide Jobin , impressed us with his thorough knowledge of the forest and its flora and fauna…The trek itself wasn’t a difficult one, and all along the way, Jobin regaled us to funny anecdotes of wandering stray elephants that were more scared of people than they of them! We were asked to watch out for snakes along the path (Swaps went into ‘’worry mode’’ after that!)I could somehow feel the entire forest alive and teeming with life, though we hardly crossed paths with any animal all along the trek. It was uncanny, the way I felt that the forest itself was a pulsating living being, silent and ever watchful….Oddly enough, I wasn’t scared, Exhilarated is a more appropriate word to describe what I feltJ J We were welcomed by the gurgling, frothing white waters of the river Bhavani and I was euphoric. The Malleswaram peak loomed large on the other bank, like a blue black giant watching over the bubbling river. The lush green rainforest across the river marked the green gateway into the unknown. The place was eerily calm, no birds sang , no cicadas cried out. All of us were silent, half afraid to speak up and break the tranquillity. I now realised where the forest got its name from... No leftover traces of tourists – no cigarette stubs, plastic litter or Styrofoam cups... Even the grass was untrampled and defiant. Treading softly, we walked along the entire river bank, wetting our toes in the cool, clear water and taking in the silent wilderness with delight…

The River Bhavani.

The Malleswaran peak can be seen in the background...

We were all strangely silent on the trek back to the base camp. That was when our guide Jobin surprised us saying that he was a college student at Mannarkad (a neighbouring town) and hung around the park during holidays and weekends doing odd jobs, working as a part time guide so he could complete college… my heart went out to the boy and I silently sympathised with him. After a while, as if my thoughts had percolated into his, Viv took out a 500 rupee note and gave it to the shell shocked boy. Later, back in the car, Viv said, ‘’If anyone today deserved that 500/-, it was that boy’’. Its moments like these, that inwardly make me glow with pride and affection towards this wonderful guy whom I’m married to :-p and yawning wide, I stretched myself out comfortably and drifted off to sleep hoping to dream of a primeval life within the silent valley, chasing lion tailed macaques and dancing round fires!!!!!!

To the Greatest Masters of Art, from the Louvre - A Eulogy......

2011-01-20T10:46:00.002+00:00

Chronologically, this post should‘ve come after the travelogue of our Paris getaway, but frankly, how does it matter?!

It isn’t that I’m an art lover, but somehow, I find it simple to relate to any form of art and creativity in many ways than one. Personally, I am at times at a loss to understand how people could be untouched by paintings ,poetry , sculpture , dance ,music ,photography or just any form of art – I’m sorry if I sound judgemental, but honestly , it does surprise.. Last evening, I happened to watch yet again, Tom Hank’s ‘’Da Vinci Code’’ and couldn’t but go back and revisit The Louvre of my memories…

So after the movie, I went about making a list of my personal favourites at the Louvre-Speaking of which, I’m sure you know that the Louvre is the world’s most visited museum and one of the largest as well. Seated right at the heart of Paris in the Palais du Louvre, the Musee de Louvre was opened to public in 1793. As of 2010, the collection is divided among eight curatorial departments: Egyptian Antiquities; Near Eastern Antiquities; Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Antiquities; Islamic Art; Sculpture; Decorative Arts; Paintings; Prints and Drawings.

It surely takes more than a few random hours to appreciate all the art at the Louvre. It is said that it would take months to view the museum’s entire collection, allowing a person 30 secs for each of their dispalys – 30 seconds?????? I mean, some of the paintings were so astounding that I couldn’t take my eyes of them until V literally dragged me along to the next J Honestly, as a tourist, It’d be really hard to do justice to the museum, unless you take a week’s pass or so and visit the Museum every day and spend the entire day in there J J But believe me dears, there were many art lovers who actually were doing just that! In an entire day, we had to simply skim past most of the sections so that we could dally a bit more in the department for paintings, which we were most keen on. Later on, we were to realize how sensible we’d been in doing so, as we could see quite a few disappointed tourists who actually couldn’t manage to even see their favorites before closing time for the day. That’s The Louvre for you!

Without much ado, let me list out my personal favorites of the lot – I reiterate on the word ‘’personal’’ as I’m a trained art lover by no means and the views expressed are entirely of my own, without any disrespect to any of the talented artists whose collections , the museum showcases.

1. The Lacemaker by Vermeer:

The painting somehow endeared itself to me through its sheer simplicity – a young woman sewing away busily with a quiet concentration. With her head bent over her sewing, the young lacemaker’s is at work intently. The theme of this painting is that of traditional domestic virtues of the medieval women. Caught in an intimate, impalpable moment, in a world removed from ours, in a clear, gentle brightness that seems to cling to the objects in soft specks of light,this timeless painting captivates your senses.

2. The Wedding feast at Cana by Veronese:

This huge painting,graces an entire wall in the Louvre and at first sight literally took my breath away, in its sheer vividness, rich interplay of colours and light and the decpiction of even the most smallest details.The setting for the painting is the wedding feast where Jesus’s first miracle took place. The clear blue sky in the background, the lovely costumes and jewelry and the depiction of the sumptuous wedding feast were a visual treat to the eyes. Definitely, a not- to- be- missed masterpiece!

3. Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci:

Forget all the hype,all the controversies, debates surrounding this timeless painting and look deep into her shining eyes and you’ll actually see her half smile widen and hear her break out into lovely laughter!! I could swear that no other painting could look more life-like or make hearts tremble, by its sheer subtlety. No surprises then, that the room holding this work is crowded all through the museum opening hours J J J

Tip: The best way to view the MonaLisa is to hold one’s patience,wait at a corner of the room for the most excited (read ‘loud’) tourists in the crowd to leave ,and then join the (less agitated) group and enjoy the painting to the heart’s fill..

4. Balthazar Castiglione by Raphael Santi:

This is a very simple and natural portrait of Balthazar Castiglione, a famous writer of the time and one of Rafael’s close friends. More than anything,it really is the natural immediacy, freedom of attitude, the vivacity of expression in the clear blue eyes,that make this life-size portrait extraordinary.

5. The Cheat with the Ace of diamonds by Georges la Tour:

This LOL painting is quirky and sarcastic, as in - the theme is that of a young rich man being cheated in a game of cards by another guy , who noticing that the young chap is engrossed in his cards, tries to pull out an Ace of diamonds card from beneath his belt discreetly, while a voluptuous courtesan looks on!!! So remindful of the Bollywood movies of the 80’s huh?!!!The oddness of the composition, and the comical aspect of the subject matter tickles your imagination and makes this painting stand out from the rest.

6. Death of the Virgin by Caravaggio:

As the name denotes, the theme is the death of Virgin Mary and was commissioned by the Church to Caravaggio. But it was rejected on the grounds that it was unfit to decorate the church… The reason being, the innate rawness of the scene was in conflict with the traditional iconography that was generally used to depict divine characters. Caravaggio's brutal view, very realistic and virtually devoid of holiness, provoked strong reactions in the public of his time. The painting is a stark contrast to the others on the same theme and hence stands out as one of my personal favourites.

7. The rebellious slave by Michaelangelo:

This marble sculpture (along with another ‘’the dying slave’’) is really a thought provoking one, because of the undertone conveyed by the figure. A young slave is engaged in a violent struggle for freedom – whether Michaelangelo intended to represent the struggle as that of the soul trying to getfree from the body or the struggle of enslaved passions is a million dollar question!!

8. Venus Di Milo:

This highly sensual greek statue of Aphrodite is an epitome of female grace and beauty.The goddess's air of aloofness, the harmony of her face and her impassivity stand out. Its a fine example of tastefully done female nudity. The statue appears to be arrested in time, frozen for eternity…

I could go on with a dozen more of my favourites from the Louvre , but I do respect your time too :-) ;-) :-p But you could always check out the official Louvre Museum website, to browse through their collections, if not for anything else! Its http://www.louvre.fr/llv/musee/alaune.jsp?bmLocale=en

And at the end of it all, I wouldn’t be surprised if you feel you’re Robert Langdon in the closing scene of the Da Vinci Code, when you consider going down on your knees in reverence to these resplendent , timeless masterpieces tucked away in their galleries within the magnificent monument to Universal Art – THE LOUVRE…..

Pic Courtesy - Wikimedia.

''Yadu Kondala Vada ,Venkatramana, Govindaa…..!!’’–(O Venkatramana, do bring us joy,fulfilment & Prosperity!!)

2011-01-17T22:52:00.004+00:00

YES everybody, it is indeed my next travelogue, though the title might indicate otherwise JJ

It was a much delayed trip – I’d wanted to visit the Tirupati shrine after our wedding almost two years back and for reasons that couldn’t be helped, the time never was right. It worried me a bit, that none of the plans we made actually materialised – that was when amma told me , ‘’ You’re not the one to decide when to visit Tirumala , but Balaji(Lord Vishnu) who calls you unto Him, as he chooses to.’’. I laughed when she said that, but in retrospect, it really was how things came about……

It was our yearly visit to India in the months of Nov- Dec for a couple of weeks and we’d a thousand things to be done, that could very well take us a month to accomplish (working overtime!!!).But well, that’s really how our trips to India usually are!!! More work than fun! This time around though, visiting Tirupati topped our ‘’To Do’’ list…The only daunting part of it was that, it wasn’t going to be a normal ‘’go there-queue up-do the darshan’’ trip this time – We were planning to do the journey from the foothills of Tirupati, up the seven great hills, to the holy shrine on the seventh hill , at Tirumala , by FOOT….

Yup, we LITERALLY had an ‘’UpHill’’ task ahead!! V wasn’t all that excited, devout though he is, in his own ways… As for me, I wasn’t worried about the actual trek; I was more worried about the plans having to be cancelled yet again as it had happened time and again before. But, I believe, Balaji was quite happy to have us visit him this time around and so our journey began one afternoon from Chennai, with Daddy and Mummy in the tow as well! It was a pleasant drive all the way – all four of us chatting nineteen-to-the –dozen and thoroughly enjoying ourselves. Tirupati’s about 150 kms from Chennai by road and is also well connected through rail and air as well. Bangalore is around 260 Km and Hyderabad around 500 km away from the town.

Along the way, V surprised us all by sharing with us the legend behind India’s richest and most visited temple. Legend has it that, Srinivasa (again, another of Vishnus ‘Sahasra’ namas) married Padmavati here after he was given a huge loan by Kubera (The Lord of wealth and prosperity). The seven hills are said to denote the seven heads of Adishesha - the Holy serpent of Lord Vishnu. The seven peaks are called Seshadri, Neeladri, Garudadri, Anjanadri, Vrushabadri, Narayanadri and Venkatadri. The sacred temple of Sri Venkateswara is located on the seventh peak, Venkatadri, and lies on the southern banks of Pushkarini River. While, his consort, Padmavati ( Goddess lakshmi) has her temple at the foothills. Devotees visit this temple first before they go up the hills for their darshan of Srinivasa. The temple dates back to 9^th century and has been patronised by the kings of various southern dynasties like the Pallavas,Cholas and the Vijayanagara rulers.

We were in Tirupati by evening and checked into our hotel, which, by the way was really decent, given the scathing reviews available online, about all the hotels in Tirupati . You could actually have it on your list of hotels to choose from, the next time you’re there - http://www.hotelsindhu.com/. We had dinner brought up to our rooms and simply lounged about, taking in the sights,smells and sounds of the bustling town beneath us from the balcony . We’d a long day ahead of us and hit the bed at the stroke of ten.

I realised,Decembers could get really cold at Tirupati (about 1000m above sea level), as we were up by 4 am the next day, showered and all set for the trek. Daddy surprised us by saying that he’d join us on the trek, as well. Mummy chose well and stayed behind. To be honest, I was slightly worried about daddy getting exhausted halfway through the climb, but then, I couldn’t have been more wrong, as daddy came out as the slow and steady ‘’tortoise’’ who won the race ultimately, and put the hasty ‘’hare’’ to shame!!!! We drove up to Alipiri, the base were the footpath for the walking pilgrims started. We had our job cut out for us – It was a 14 km climb, 3604 steps in all! And the icing on the cake was that it started raining cats and dogs just as we started the climb! But that wouldn’t deter us , or the other pilgrims who swooshed-splashed-pattered up the wet,slippery,cold steps at amazing speeds barefoot, whilst we gingerly climbed up, one step at a time, running shoes et al J

The Map of the climb.....

As we slightly warmed up, we found that climbing the steps were far easier than we thought it would be. Though, of course, we took frequent breaks along the climb up. As we trudged up, M.S.Subbulakshmi’s enchanting voice, singing the morning ‘’Venkatesha Suprabhatam’’,on the loudspeakers, sounded as if it were waking the sleepy town below us into another glorious day of life…The first 250 steps brought us to the ‘’Mysore Gopuram’’ where we were relieved to find numerous tiny shops selling tea ,snacks and yes, precious water!! We were careful not to have anything too filling for breakfast, as the climb would just get harder, instead, had long swigs of water (lest we get dehydrated). And without much ado, continued up the steps….

The rain simply wouldn’t cooperate and poured on all around us. But yeah, the steps were sheltered and we were kept from getting drenched to the bone. Morning dawned lazily around us and the thick greenery on either side , glistened wet and smelt wonderful and fresh. It was, in a way, invigorating. I’d anyday have preferred a rainy day over a hot,sunny one to have done this trek! Im sure, you know how notorious the ‘Andhra summers’ can be! J Another two hour climb and we were at step 2083 – the ‘’Gali Gopuram’’ where we were issued biometric darshan tickets. By the way, I do have to tell you that, Tirupati has the most elaborately planned and executed Queue regulation systems to tackle the ever increasing rush of pilgrims to the temple.Its estimated that around 75000 pilgrims visit the temple each day!! A normal free darshan could take as much as a few hours to an entire day depending on the crowds for the day. There are special paid queues as well that could reduce the waiting time quite a bit, but , in Tirumala, it is an undisputed fact that , whatever queue you be in, whaterver special pooja you do, there is always a prolonged wait….You could always have a peek at the Tirumala TTD website for all the info - http://www.tirumala.org/

By the time, we’d covered 2200 steps, we’d taken to a bit of snacking here and there, plus all that water was making us take frequent breaks as well. I was panting hard and wishing I weighed a few pounds less, V was showing signs of exhaustion as well, but surprise! Daddy was slightly behind us, yet steadily plodding along!! At times he even left both of us panting and tagging behind him… Along the way, we passed the deer park, which recently was in the news, cuz of the stray panthers that it attracted. There had been an instance of a panther attacking a few pilgrims along the walking trail and the path had to be closed until the panthers were safely caught..I did try to lighten up the mood by joking about panthers lurking in the thick greenery around and stalking us, but V and daddy were both so intent on climbing the slippery wet steps that the jokes were’nt a hit JJ

The deer park enroute...

At the 7th mile -A milestone reached, Whew!!

Step no 2910 brought us to the start of ‘’Mokkali mitta’’ from where started the last 600 steep steps, and the hardest ones to climb of the lot, cuz of their uneven, varying heights. Our breaks increased and chit-chat was almost reduced to nothing, except for our heavy breathing. Cries of ‘’Govindaa Govindaa…’’ from devout pilgrims chanting the lord’s name for encouragement, filled the air. Those steps, by far, was the toughest part of our entire climb and I found myself inwardly crying out to the lord along with the others… There were times when I thought, I really wouldn’t be able to make it, but voila, before all hopes were gone, I saw the last of the 3604 steps right ahead of me and broke into a wide grin JJJ We patted each other in lieu of the successful climb and went right along to queue up at the temple complex after depositing cameras ,mobiles and other stuff.

We were told that there was a special queue for the pilgrims who’d walked all the way up. Dodging the heavy crowds, we thankfully headed into our queue… The queue was much, much shorter compared to the standard queue timings of tirupati and we had a wonderful darshan, that probably lasted a whole 5 SECONDS J Lucky Us!!! After the darshan, we again were engulfed by the multitude of masses queuing up for the copyrighted Tirupati laddoo prasadam (which I must admit, does taste DIVINE) !! J

But as I already said, in Tirupati, that’s how it always has been… And despite the 5 hours climb, the rush,the pushes and shoves, in those 5 profound seconds,in the epicentre of faith, I found myself , 3604 steps nearer to cognizance……………It was a humbling experience, indeed.

PS- Sorry for the sloppy photographs, they were clicked on V's BBerry, as cameras arent allowed in the temple....

Upon the white cliffs of Dover.....

2010-11-23T08:41:00.001+00:00

''The sea is calm to-night.
The tide is full, the moon lies fair
Upon the straits; on the French coast the light
Gleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand;
Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay.
Come to the window, sweet is the night-air!'' - Mathew Arnold.

The melancholia symbolising Mathew Arnold's 'Dover beach' was never apparent to me as I sighted the delightfully picturesque seaside town of Dover with its towering white cliffs. The port of Dover was of strategic importance to England in the 18th century as it directly overlooked mainland Europe.It still looked busy and bustling with activity today as I walked along the promenade. As I headed out on a steep, narrow climb to the gateway to the white cliffs, I couldnt but admire the lovely view of the deep blue sea, though, the steady hum of vessels and machinery at the port, almost drowned the roar of the sea.

And finally , I could see the chalk white cliffs looming ahead and quickened my pace. Milky white cliffs,scattered over with lush greenery - segulls,by the
hundreds, calling out, swooping, flying and circling the cliff tops..It was nature - unrivalled and almost untouched.Behind the cliff face are miles of hidden tunnels that were created during the Middle Ages and later played a role in the defence of Britain during the Napoleonic Wars. The tunnels were later enlarged to become the Secret Wartime Tunnels beneath Dover Castle. It is said that the walk along the white cliffs of Dover are one of the best coastal walks of England, and now I knew why.. Lying ahead were miles of lovely greenery with narrow, well worn,white paths..For a walk in the rugged cliffs,the ups and downs were'nt all that steep, making it a very pleasant walk altogether, without much huffing-puffing!

All along the walk, I'd hardly have counted a dozen people, which made it all the more tranquil.. After every stretch of climb, the land gently fell away,and every living soul that moved in the valley below for miles and miles could be seen ..I couldnt but help think that this would surely count for the worst ever hinding place in all of England!!! As I walked further along the ridge for a few more miles, I almost came to the very end where the last white cliff ended. Right below was a 180 feet fall.. There was this tiny cove at the foot of the cliff, completely inaccessible , but with a lovely, cosy little beach.. It looked wonderful, almost reminded me of Robinson crusoe's lonely island... I really wouldnt have minded being a castaway in such a place of beauty!

I just sat there at the ridge , gazing over at the vast sea stretching to the french coastline far far ahead and wondered if there was someone out there watching me too.. Rudyard Kipling's poem "The Broken Men" , came to my mind, which ends with the lines "How stands the old Lord Warden? Are Dover's cliffs still white?" referring to the homesickness of the English exiles'.. And I replied to myself ''Yes, white still they are and shall forever remain the towers of reassuring strength of humanity...

The Great Egypt Experience!

2010-11-15T19:01:00.000+00:00

I'm quite surprised I hadn’t done this earlier-blogging about my maiden trip with V after the wedding last year ,to a destination that had been in my visions perhaps from my earliest childhood-Enchanting Egypt...I can vaguely recall how my fascination of Egypt originated years ago-Me in my 4th grade-a history lesson on ''wonders of the ancient world'' - my immense wonder and acute curiosity at the existence of a land so obscured in mystery - And lo , arose the desire of a lifetime to experience someday the wonder I saw in black and white in the pages of my history text!

No other travel destination has managed to remain as enticing as Egypt in my mind, and I'm sure, as is the case with the multitude of travellers who visit Giza every year to gaze in wonder at the iconic pyramids, the ancient cities and the colossal temples of Luxor and Aswan along the banks of the sinuous, endlessly stretching Nile.After 3 months of planning – actually 2 months of convincing V that it was indeed a romantic getaway (and a safe enough place to visit) and not a trip planned to purely gratify that ‘amateur archaeology geek’ in me who can never get enough of ancient history, culture and legends – we finally had an itinerary ready and set off to explore the great country.

I must say I really didn’t feel so much enthused as we landed in Cairo close to midnight and were received by a chubby, garrulous guide from our travel agent. Keen as we were to explore Egypt on our own at our own pace, V was somehow comfortable having a local guide show us around as he thought he’d be able to enjoy the trip more thoroughly if he didn’t always have to worry about navigating our way around safely (I still think all his worry about safety was uncalled for, Anyways!). Watching the city at night from the 8^th floor balcony of the Intercontinental Hotel, uncannily reminded me of our very own Mumbai at night... Pavements streaming with pedestrians, endlessly hooting traffic, tiny, colourfully lit shops selling souvenirs, food and other bric a brac... And the Nile flowed along ceaselessly, almost as an ironic mockery – a river lazily drifting along the banks of a city of tumult and chaos.

Day One dawned nice and bright and I couldn’t keep still in the car until I could spot the tell-tale mammoth pyramids looming ahead in the far distance miles before we’d reached the destination! Ah, I lack words to describe my glee at the glorious sight – V literally had to restrain me from jumping about in my seat with the excitement of a 6 year old ;-) Though I had read and re read all the known facts about the great pyramids, I did enjoy bombarding our guide with numerous questions (I wouldn’t like to repeat all of it here as much of it is as familiar as a bedtime story to most of you). A few lesser known facts though:

-The pyramids of Giza are the last surviving members of the Ancient Wonders of the world.

-The mesmerising Sphinx, carved out of a single block of stone, stands in the pyramid complex, gazing down and weaving magic upon thousands of tourists.

-Giza's three pyramids and the Sphinx were thought to have been constructed in the fourth dynasty of Egypt's Old Kingdom.

-It is believed about 20,000 labourers were used and approximately 2 million blocks of stone, each weighing 2.5 tons, just to build the Pyramid of Khufu.

-There are numerous, mind boggling conspiracy theories shrouding the question of how the pyramids were built by the Egyptians with the help of aliens. Here’s a link on that for the interested - http://www.outerworlds.com/likeness/aliens/aliens.html

PS: Forty centuries of history looking down upon you from the heights of these colossal pyramids can have the effect of making you skip a few heartbeats like it did to me!

Inside the Great Pyramid.

I wouldn’t tire of clicking photos around the pyramids for hours and hours (though a few I've used in the blog are from other copyrighted sources) and had to tear my eyes off the sphinx. And the day just got better when we managed to get tickets to actually get inside the great pyramid! We were quite lucky as these tickets to the interior of the pyramids are quite limited.All my excitement died down as claustrophobia washed all over me as we descended into the subterranean narrow , angular shaft –like passage that took us to the heart of the great pyramid…I was almost hyperventilating by the time we were at the central burial chamber. As I stood right at the centre of the chamber, the very thought of tons and tons of solid rock piled high above me scared me shitless!!!!! I couldn’t get out of the pyramid fast enough ;-) So much for my ‘Pyramido-mania’!

The second stop of the day was to the ancient capital city of Memphis and the step pyramid at Saqqara. The step pyramid, I must admit, is the lesser known predecessor to the great pyramids. The first ever pyramidal structure designed and built by the royal architect Imhotep (Yeah, I know, that’s the name of the evil emperor in ’The Mummy’ series). Saqqara was the ancient necropolis of Memphis and is today a World heritage site (UNESCO).There are almost a dozen pyramids scattered all over the place and we could see a few archaeological camps still at work , busy unearthing more buried history to lay bare to the world…

The step pyramid,Saqqara

We were experimental enough to try out the famous sleeper trains that run all over Egypt for travelling to our next destination – Luxor (or Thebes in Egyptian). We were blown to smithereens by the lovely hospitality shown to us by the train attendant (probably for the huge tip he received, though I wouldn’t speak so highly of the food or the other services on the train). The train chug chugged all through the night and we reached beautiful Luxor early next day. Our second guide who received us in Luxor was far better than the previous one and entertained us with so many local legends, myths and even the political scenario there – Just prod him with a question or two and he would go on endlessly entertaining you with ancient folklore and current affairs until your mind was overflowing with legends and facts!

The temple of Karnak with its mammoth colossi,pylons,obelisks and sphinx complex was awesomeness , pure and undiluted! A few facts on the temple for the interested:

- The complex is a vast open-air museum and the largest ancient religious site in the world. It believed to be the second most visited historical site in Egypt, second only to the Giza Pyramids.

- Approximately thirty pharaohs contributed to the buildings, enabling it to reach a size, complexity, and diversity not seen elsewhere.

- One of most famous aspects of Karnak, is the Hypostyle Hall in the Precinct of Amun-Ra, a hall area of 50,000 sq ft with 134 massive columns.(Whew!)

The karnak temple complex

Though the afternoon heat was relentless upon us, we went on to the temple of Luxor and spent the rest of the afternoon there.We were back to the karnak temple in the evening for the Sound and Light show – a star highlight and a must see – the powerful strobe lights illuminating the entire temple complex was eerily ominous and the impressive vocals that narrated the construction of the temple by pharaohs and the gods who dwelt there was surreal!

We called it a day after the show and thankfully crashed in our hotel beds, secretly wishing tomorrow would be here sooner for more exploring J

Sound & Light show,Karnak

As anticipated morning greeted us with the sun blazing hot by 9 am and we were off with our ‘know-it-all’ guide to the west bank of the Nile – The great valley of Kings. Now there’s a very interesting fact- Ancient Egyptians built all their settlements, temples and set up farming only on the eastern bank of the river and made the left bank their necropolis . As they were sun worshippers, they believed that life would flourish where the sun rose and the afterlife would continue where the sun set! Amazing levels of reasoning for a civilization dating back 5000 years! We spent the day exploring tombs of the greatest of pharaohs buried deep in the valley of kings built with amazing complexities to throw grave robbers off track. On our way back we visited the temple of Hatshepsut – the only female pharaoh to have ruled over Egypt. A great piece of architecture again…We had to bid farewell to our guide as we were heading back to Cairo that evening. We’d really become fond of him and couldn’t tip or thank him enough for his wonderful services…

We were in Cairo the next day and enjoyed our last day at the city in the vast and dusty old Cairo museum, so filled with treasures that it would take a week at the least to even glance at the collections there. We were fascinated by the treasures retrieved from King Tutankhamun’s tomb and spent hours gazing at his death mask, his sceptre and his adornings. The room of mummies that housed the ridiculously well preserved grinning mummies of almost all the major pharaohs kind of made me queasy ;-) After lunch, we visited the great citadel of Saladin, the great fort built to protect the kingdom against the crusaders. The Mosque of Mohammed Ali Pasha with its wonderfully adorned interiors was a beautiful sight. And the view overlooking Islamic Cairo was amazing. We chilled out in the evening over dinner and walked along the busy streets of Cairo and whispered Goodbyes to the Nile from the banks.

The citadel of saladin

I was quite subdued in the flight back to London, as realization finally struck that we were headed back to reality, far from this Neverland of ancient legends and buried mysteries…..

Our keepsakes from the land of the Nile.

Ancient Rome - Day One

2010-10-01T22:09:00.001+01:00

Modern Rome, the city of stunning fountains and dusty alleys - of churches simple and splendid, where papacy is inextricably intertwined with the architecture,with a history rich and vivid... Our week's holiday in the city took us back into time,down the lanes of the great Roman empire and into the very heart of Christiandom.

What I write here really doesnt do much justice to the grandeur of the city,nevertheless, I shall strive here to capture in black and white the beauty of the city which was rightly named 'The most beautiful city' of the

ancient world.

The Foro Romano

Let me start off with our visit to the ''Foro Romano'' .Of all of the ancient structures in Rome, The Roman Forum could win hands down in best representing the ancient city's grandeur and its gradual decay.What began as the republic's main market square,soon became the commercial and legal hub of the city.

Though in ruins today, it was easy to to imagine how the ruins would have looked like at the zenith of the Roman regime.Spectacular triumphal arches,temple complexes and intricately carved pillars - each having a story of its own,glorifying the great emperors who once ruled over the ancient city. Trudging along, under the sweltering afternoon heat (August, generally being the hottest month for the city) clicking photos,I could almost see how , as the Roman empire declined,this great complex structure followed suit in falling to decay and oblivion. Today,The Temple of the Vestal virgins and that of Castor and Pollux (The divine twins), The temple of Jupiter, The column of phocas, The great triumphal arch of septimus severus and the arch of Titus, are all but mere shadows of their past splendour. As I clicked the last of my pictures and left the crumbling but yet impressive Forum, it seemed to me all the more a venerable structure even in its ruins.

The brilliantly lit colosseum by night

To the South west of the Foro Romano lies the palatine hill where Romulus the Founder and the first emperor of Rome founded the great empire in the 9th century BC.We left the Palitine hill and took the narrow path that led us to the Colosseum - The monumental amphitheatre,completed around 80 AD which for centuries has been the tourist insignia of Rome.It is said that the name 'Colosseum' was derived from the huge colossi (statue) of Nero that once stood outside the structure.Rome owes this architectural marvel to the emperor Vespasian and his son Titus.The Colosseum was where the Emperor,senators and the public were entertained by gladiatorial combats and hunting games.It is said that the colosseum was ideally built close to the Roman forum , the commercial centre of the city, so that the people could be entertained after their busy day at the market square.It was also where thousands of gladiators and hapless beasts met their valiant but unfortunate deaths.But as humanity prevailed , these mindless killings of man and beast were banned by around 525 AD.Sadly enough, this marvel of Roman engineering was partly destroyed in massive earthquakes and what remaind intact today is only a minor part of the colossal structure.The underground rooms which served as the caging area for wild animals and storage for weapons and armors can be seen even today.The colosseum , despite the wear and tear of centuries ,in its evening illuminated brilliance, was indeed a noble sight.

Despite a long tiring day,we literally had to tear ourselves away from the colosseum and drag our tired souls into our hotel rooms.Even long after the 'goodnights' , it was hard to fall asleep as my mind was still in awe of what it had seen in the course of the day!

PS - Watch out for the next instalment of travel and history....In 'Day Two' of Ancient Rome..WIP :-)