Malhar

Melaka (Malaysia) 4 (Concluding)

2014-05-15T13:12:00.002+05:30

Authored by
PN Sampath Kumar,
Cochin Shipyard, Kochi

The rule by the English East India Company, Calcutta, attracted Indians to Melaka and other parts of Malaysia to be employed in Plantations and Tin Mining and also to work in the Harbour. They reached Melaka and other parts of Malaysia through the Madras-Penang route. Their second and third generations are the people having Indian connections and still maintaining their contacts with India and are owning number of trading establishments and restaurants.

The Migrants of Parameswara era / or even prior to that were seafaring traders who controlled the Trade / banking in Melaka are limited in number and have no connection with India except their religion, i.e. Hinduism. They are the Melaka Chetties.

It is said that these Chetties who were controlling the trade along with the Chinese, supported the Portuguese in their war against the Sultanate. It would have been a retaliation against the possible attempts of Sultans to control the community including religious conversion.

The biggest beneficiary of the Portughese invasion was the trading community, the Chetties of Melaka and it would have been the golden period for them. It is astonishing that the Portuguese, who were notorious for religious conversions, spared the Chetties. But this supremacy was short lived. History has its funny ways of keeping the checks and balances. When the Dutch attacked the Portuguese to take control of the port, the first thing that they did was to demolish whatever the Portuguese had created including the business controlled by the Chetties. The Chetties had to abandon their profession and shift their base to other territories to engage themselves in Agriculture in the fertile lands of Melaka to cultivate rice, groundnut and sugarcane. It was during this period, they built innumerable temples to protect them as part of their agrarian culture.

The next day, after finishing our rounds in the temple circuit, and the Sai Baba Temple, we proceed on foot to the Chetty Street, in the outskirts of the city. We continued walking and decided to take a public transport en route, but unluckily, the views on both sides of the road prevented us from taking one. Roadside eateries are aplenty. We bought three polythene cover full of sugarcane juice from a lady extracting and selling sugar cane, opposite to a recent Chinese temple paying one ringit (about Rs.18) each. Further down, we misunderstood one huge Hindu temple dedicated to Kartikeya and Shiva to be the Chetty area. There was some meeting going on to sort out issues of parking space in the temple premises. Speaking in Tamil, they were complaining of non cooperation of members and their lack of interest even in attending meetings. After offering our prayers, we proceeded further.

At Gaja Street (Gaja = elephant) again a small temple welcomed us at the entrance. You have temples on both ends of the Tamil Streets. The street resembled some old Tamil Agraharams in Palakkad. The only difference is that they are all independent houses having sufficient space on all sides.

All houses are neatly maintained and roadsides are cleanly with flowering plants and flower pots.

Walking through the road, out of curiosity, we just knocked at the gate of one of the identical houses. A youngster came out to enquire what we wanted. When I told him that we were from India and had come to know about their culture, he welcomed us inside. I did not know how to begin and what to speak. There is a sit out, an elevated platform for the men at home and guests to sit and chat, typical of the Tamil Nadu houses. Sitting their I introduced me and my family to him. The youngster apologising for his inability to speak in Tamil, introduced himself to be Mr Jagan, a college student. While generally explaining to me about the Malayan architecture and he mentioned about the elevated platform on which we sat to be the THINNAI ( a tamil word)

By the time, his aunts, Janaki and Meenakshi, came out and took us inside. Other members of the house who then had gone out were Jagan’s parents and one sister, who is in law school.

Mr Pillai’s mother is of Srilankan origin. The grandparents at the maternal side are originally from Jaffna.

Inside the house, the furniture and interior resembled a decent old Tamilnadu house. They have preserved passionately items used by their predecessors and also collected from neighbourhood, big utensils made of bell metal and brass, idli makers, coffee filters, appakkarais to make pancakes, etc, to name a few.

Meenakshi took us even to the kitchen where we found a big fish is getting cooked in a Chenna Chatti (Chinese Frying Pan) by her elder sister Janaki. On enquiry about their food habits, suddenly came the invitation for lunch but we declined with due respect for being vegetarians. They cook Malay food - Rice, vegetables curry and fish are commonly liked food items. There was a time when the Chetties could not bring in brides from India due to ban on their travel of women to cross the seas. It was then these men were allowed to adopt Malayan women in to their community in marriage and caused the changed food habits.

Friday is the temple day for them and they don’t eat non vegetarian food on that day.

While chatting, having fruit juices and cut fruits, the father of Jagan, Mr Pillai, who had gone out came home with his Chinese wife and daughter. According to him, Melaka Chetties consists of not only Chetty community in Tamilnadu but also other castes like Pillais, Mudaliyars, Pandaram, etc, to name a few. After the fall of Melaka, many of them migrated to Penang and Singapore and gather together during festivals like Pongal, etc.

They cant speak Tamil, they shifted their food habits but are still maintaining their religion, Hinduism and Hindu names to their children.

They are patronising number of temples in Melaka. There are a dozen temples dedicated to different deities in Melaka.

The Poyyatha Vinayaka Temple, oldest Hindu Temple in Malay peninsula is the presiding deity of the Melaka Chetties.

It was time to leave. We walked to the end of the street to survey the temple at the other end (which was closed as it was noon) marking the border. While coming back we found Meenakshi at their gate with packet full of fruits as a gift to us as they could not feed us properly as per our choice. We were overwhelmed and had no words to express.

Now we have one more family friend outside India.

The Melakan authorities have done a wonderful job in conserving their heritage. They have shown passion towards their culture and heritage and are able to project it with glory and pride to the tourists. They have succeeded in conserving the sites and also ensuring that the city succeeds in its role as a living city for residents and business.

All the modern day constructions are along the coast of the Melaka Straits, consisting of major hotels, shopping malls and residential buildings. There are options like hop-on-off bus service throughout the city, duck bus, which travels on both road and water and of course the famous colourfully decorated cycle rickshaws. We tried the hop-on-off bus once to have an understanding of he length and breadth of Melaka.

There are a few very good shopping malls in Melaka selling all sorts of domestic products. We tried in a couple of malls so as to have a feel of it.

At last it was the turn to try some authentic Malay food. We found one vegetarian Chinese restaurant (meant for the monks and vegans) where we tried a Malay combo food having some rice, spicy chutney made of tamarind, ginger & mint and a portion of fried potato and beans. It was not that great but was tasty and did not damage our digestive system.

And it was time to check out. We thanked our friend Chua, our Host in Melaka and proceed to the bus station by noon to catch a bus to Singapore with fond memories of the land and people.

Melaka (Malaysia) 3

2014-02-27T09:03:00.000+05:30

Continued from previous Post

Authored by:

PN Sampath Kumar,

Cochin Shipyard,

Kochi

The best way to feel Melaka is to undertake a river cruise. We reached the river mouth near the sea which is the point of embarkation. We set go our journey at around 6 PM. It is a ten kilometres to and fro ride in the same river taking about 1 hour. The buildings on both sides of the river are facing the river, some of them have been modified into restaurants with a touch of heritage in it, eying the tourists. The buildings are well lit and painted artistically, without losing the ethnicity. It is the reply of the east to the great boat cruises of Venice.

Melaka attains her full charm in the evenings and night. Well lit, with shops and restaurants open with fragrance of spices cooked, in the air, Melaka welcomes her guests till midnight.

On the other side of the river, Jonker Walk is a much sought after activity among the tourists. It is the weekend evening market. Spices, Chinese medicines, Chinese Tea, Malaysian Coffee, Malay food, Chinese food, handicrafts, furniture, fruits, flowers….everything. They say that the market place is the reflection of the culture of the land and one should visit the market atlest if nothing else is possible. We tried some street food and bought few souvenirs.

Melaka in daylight has its charm too, if you are ready to walk through the pricking heat. Melaka has no specific season. It rains whenever it felt like. But it did not rain all the three days when we were there.

After a quick breakfast, we were ready wearing shorts and T-shirts to explore the other side of the river Melaka.

This is used to be the commercial hub those days. The buildings stood as a testimony of that. We were proceeding to the Harmony Street (what a beautiful name), where the three major places of worship of yester years stood. The one that we visited first was a Buddhist temple.

The “Chen Hoon Teng Temple” is said to be originally built in 1645 using the Chinese materials, in conformity with the principles of Feng Shui, by some Kapitan (Kapitans were the community heads those days in Malaysia). Here we had a different experience contrary to the one that we had in Indian and Srilankan Buddhist temples, possibly they are practicing something called Taoism. There were no chanting by the priests. Disciples bring along incense sticks to be burnt in front of the deities. We prostrated before the son of the King Suddhodhana, in our own style.

The deity next room was an interesting one. He liked smoke of Cigarettes not incense sticks. Even liquor bottles were seen offered before him.The temples are cultural centres too. Buddhism is no exception. They have opera theatre built in traditional style.

The next temple we visited was a Ganesh temple, named Poiyatha Vinayagar Temple. This temple is said to be built in 1781 with the help of Dutch? and is the oldest Hindu temple in service in the whole of Malaysia. The exteriors and interiors differed from the traditional Tamil Style of temple architecture.

Built at the site provided by Kapitan Thaivanayagam Pillai, this temple is the presiding deity of the Chetties of Melaka in particular and the tamils in general of Malaysia and other Malaysian Tamils migrated all over the world. Many of the visitors to the temple are from Singapore who migrated in the past, in search of greener pastures.

We spent some time in the serene atmosphere and left after offering prayers to Ganesha, only after having the “Prasad” offered by the priests (tasty pongal having ingredients like rice, grated coconut and ginger in it).

The next monument, located at the end of the harmony street is Sasjit Kampong Kling. Again built in the Dutch era, and explained to be in the Sumatran Style, this is again considered to be the oldest mosques in Malaysia, having lot of interesting art objects inside.

Unluckily for us, this monument was under some repair and was not open to tourists. We had to satisfy ourselves with the magnificent views from the outside.

There are a number of places of worship throughout Melaka with contemporary construction. The floating mosque is one among them. There are other few other churches, many number of Buddhist temples with different faiths and practices , few other Hindu temples and even a Gurudwara, that are built at different periods.

We came across a (Shirdi) Saibaba Temple which is the meeting place for all he Indians in Melaka, who have kindly offered us lunch on one of the days of our stay in Melaka.

The Dutch are blamed for disturbing the commercial system prevaiing till the Portuguese ruled. They were not keen to maintain the Melaka Harbour as a commercial centre. The disturbance caused to the trading community would have aggravated the situations. They simply maintained the place as a military point and the fall of Melaka as a commercial port began.

The other theory is that the British who took possession of Melaka as part of a treaty, in the process of gaining importance to their own port city of Penang, demolished the Fortress of Melaka. They even shifted the Melakan trading population of around 15000 to Penang and made the Melaka Port City look deserted. Almost at the same time, development of Singapore by the British also caused the fall of Melaka.

To be continued ....

Melaka (Malaysia) 2

2014-01-22T21:33:00.000+05:30

Authored by

P.N. Sampath Kumar

Cochin Shipyard, Kochi
Emal: sapath_63@redffmal.com

We proceeded to Melaka on a two day trip last summer from Kuala Lumpur in mid March.

Melaka could only be reached by road. Its location is about 200 km south West of Kuala Lumpur and located in between KL and Singapore almost midway, though one need not touch Melaka to go to Singapore.

The inter city bus stations in Kuala Lumpur are no less than an international airport in design systems and facilities. One has to report 15 minutes in advance and wait at the air conditioned boarding area. Buses could be boarded through assigned gates only upon arrival of the bus; very professional.

The journey was comfortable and took about 3 hours. Malaysian landscape is full of oil palms and rubber trees and occasional patches of forest.

We landed at Melaka Central (Malaya language has no script of their own; they use English alphabets to write) at around 2.00 noon. We hired a taxi, paid 20 Ringgits and safely landed in the ‘Old Melaka Guest House’, located in the heart of the city.

After a quick shower we left on foot, in search of some food to begin with, with a city map gifted by our friend Mr Chua, the owner of the Guest House.

Melaka is famous for its food but it was not the right time to experiment. So we tried the first Indian restaurant we found on our way. The food was predominantly non vegetarian which is not to our liking. We got satisfied with the limited options available.

The streets had shops on both sides varying from grocery shops, hardware shops, flour mills, restaurants, etc.etc., owned either by Chinese or Tamils. Most of them proudly displayed in their shops portraits of their grand / great grand parents. The footpaths of most of the roads were seen floored with the then famous decorative Chinese ceramic tiles.

This town is spread over either sides of the river flowing east-west, connected by bridge (only one bridge those days) which could be covered in two days time on foot. (Subsequent land reclamation of course changed the course of the river and flows southwards towards the end) Northern side included the sultanate, which was later converted into a fort by the invaders. Southern side of the river had the warehouses and trading / business / public establishments.

Walking towards the north we reached the famous bridge which played a major role during the Portuguese strike. (This bridge was knocked down by the Sultans to block passage of Portuguese warriors but was rebuilt by the attackers with the help of trading community, crossed the bridge and surrounded the palace. The sultan had by then vacated the palace and fled to Johor on the back of his elephant)

We decided not to cross the bridge and turned to our left and walked through the banks of the river, guided by our son, who was holding the city map. We ventured into the first monument sighted, a church. Oh, this is the on seen in the Melakan tourism literature. My son exclaimed. This (“Christ Church”) built by the Dutch, is said to be the oldest functioning protestant church in Malaysia. Originally built by the Dutch in 1753, and subsequently taken over by the British and consecrated by the Archbishop from Calcutta. This Church, has in its front a beautiful fountain built commemorating the visit of British Queen in the early 20^th Century.

Walking further up, following other tourists, we arrived at the hill top from where the sea and the surroundings are visible. Here stands the historic St Paul’s church, built by Portuguese in 1521. When the Dutch took over, they demolished it and created their own place of worship for some time. When the British came subsequently, they used this monument as their gunnery and a strategic vantage point.

The church seems to have had a prayer hall, an altar, etc. but the major visible proofs of its past history are the graves. Here is the European priest St Francis Xavier lived for a long period and converted few thousand locals to Christianity. He died, on his journey to

China

and was cremated in some island from where his body was brought back to Melaka and later to

India

. The five hundred year old dead body is now preserved and kept on display in the Church at Panaji, Goa.

The Portuguese constructed a huge Fort, after demolishing the Sultan’s palace, around the Malaka hill, facing the river. One of the monuments that withstood the test of time is ‘AFAMOSA’ (meaning the famous), the gate of the fortress, leading to the hill top, located on the foothills of the St Paul’s Church. This claims to be one of the oldest surviving European constructions in Asia.

Excavations around Melaka are still on. In some places, even the excavation sites are showcased with creative lighting and adequate safety measures where wall constructions of different period are identified.

Traditionally, Malaka has a unique architectural method. Wood is used abundantly to construct buildings.

The Royal Palace of Parameswara and his successors is reproduced in its full size to the left of Afamosa. It would have been a huge challenge before the archaeological architects. Made of wood in traditional style, it is claimed that the palace has been assembled without using a single Nail. The mere sight of it from a distance itself is mind-boggling. The palace acting as a museum is open to public, wherein the whole history of Melaka is displayed with great imagination and creativity. The landscape surrounding the palace is recreated to suit the period. Interestingly the forbidden gardens meant for the queens are reproduced (though not known exactly what type of plants and trees were grown), with rare species trees and plants.

Walking towards the river, a giant wheel was seen at a distance on the bank of the river. We went closer. It was a wooden water wheel, reproduced and erected, based on the information available. This system was employed to keep the water at navigable level by drawing sea water to the river.

Thanks to the innovative work of the archaeological engineers to reproduce such structures. Another such structure is the replica of a famous Portuguese ship which sank in the coast of Melaka. This is now a maritime museum covering exhibits of various periods.

To be continued.....

Melaka (Malaysia) 1

2013-11-24T09:28:00.000+05:30

Authored by

PN Sampath Kumar

Cochin Shiptard, Kochi

The Port city of Melaka was ruled by one Parameswara, a Hindu King, who is said to have embraced Islam and established the Melaka Sultanate. His successors were defeated by Portuguese led by “Alfonso de Albuquerque” of Goa. The Dutch followed, them and then British and later the nationalist movement culminating in independence.

The chronology of events recorded in the annals of history of most of the port cities in the east, as made known to us by the Westerners are very similar. And this commonness they shared with Cochin, my current home town,

attracted me to such heritage cities in the east.

The picture portrayed in my mind about Malaysia has a lot to do with the readings in my younger days. Cities of Penang and Melaka had already been there in my childhood mind and I wanted to visit these places as a wanderer when I grew up.

Places like Perek, are even more historically important as far as Indian connections are concerned. The “Chola” kings have either conquered or had treaties with most of the states throughout the east. Interestingly there is mention of one ‘Gangai Nagara’ that existed in the Perek State of Northern Malaysia. It is possible that King Rajendra Chola had been honoured with the title of ‘Gangai Konda Chola’ after his conquering Gangai Nagara a very rich kingdom in Malaysia, which was under the rule of the Sri Vijayan Dynasty.

Due to time constraint, when I had to choose one among the three, I opted “Melaka” for its proximity to Singapore.

Legend is that after he was made to flee from Singapura, his earlier base, Parameswara a Sri Vijayan King, landed on the banks of the small river mouth (Bertam River) sometime in the year 1405. While resting, he witnessed the interesting scene of his hunter dogs being chased by a mouse deer, forcing them towards the river. He considered this to be a good omen and decided to establish a port City in Melaka. To deal with the initial opposition raised by Ayuthaya, the Thai kingdom, he approached the Chinese kings for support and took the local pirates (Orang Lauts) along. For centuries, Melaca was a strategic trade point. The sailors had to rely on the trade winds before setting sail to the next point and had ample time to trade and accumulate goods till the winds changed direction.

Hundreds of languages were spoken in that city. Hundreds of ships called on the port each month. Traders from the west, Arabia, Java, South India, Gujarat, Bengal, China and Thailand traded their commodities like spices, sandalwood, camphor, tin, etc…

As this fetched good revenue, the rulers employed professional services of Wharf masters, repairers, hydrology experts, etc, who maintained the river navigable and provided security. The strong trading community provided sufficient warehousing, transport and banking facilities.

But all these are history book stuff. We wanted to witness and feel it. I had slight fear of getting disappointed as this place never figured in any so called “conducted tour operator’s” programs promoted in India. Initial surfing in the internet also did not suggest much more than this. However, it turnedf out to be something to cherish.

To be continued....

Look alikes

2013-08-26T19:38:00.000+05:30

Friends may help in identifying them.

Elephants returning home

2013-08-07T12:59:00.001+05:30

At Thrissur (Kerala - India) the famous Vadakunathan temple arranges an annual feast for the temple Elephants. This year it was held somewhere on the 17th July. Although we could not witness the event as such but we were fortunate to be there to see the guests off.

Finally ready to start the return journey.

Emotions

2013-07-10T17:51:00.000+05:30

A Cat frequenting our home became pregnant. It was searching for a suitable hideout for confinement. Day before yesterday it was missing and my mother predicted that it could have made it some where. In the evening itself we could hear the baby cries. All of us at home were curious to locate them and finally my niece who is here on a similar mission found two little ones screaming.

Next day when the mom came to visit the kid seems to have complained about our intrusions.

After carefully listening she would have consoled and fed them.

A little annoyed for being photographed

And this one is perhaps waiting for an opportunity to make a meal of the babies!

Moods

2013-06-09T12:41:00.000+05:30

Coconuts

2013-05-14T13:07:00.000+05:30

“If you could count the stars, then you could count all the ways the coconut tree serves us.”- Philippine proverb

While roaming about in Rattan Bazaar, Chennai, I came across broken Coconuts being sold on the pavement. There is nothing strange about it but they had reached the sprouting stage. There was a white sponge like ball protruding and I was told that this growth is edible. It is tasty as also has great nutritional value. I was unaware of any such thing. We never considered that part as edible and never also attempted to have a taste of it. We just used to remove it and throw it out. Therefore I was a little bit surprised. However, now I learn that if that white portion turns yellowish, it becomes toxic.

In our own garden we have some 60/65 Coconut palms and some times we do find in fully matured Coconuts, a small spongy but a little hard ball. We used to get rid of it in the manner stated above. If the Coconut is allowed to remain for a longer period on the tree, the ball get enlarged by absorbing the water and the meat inside the shell. During summers it is quite common to come across Coconut water vendors on the streets. They may look big but are still in their infancy. They may contain nearly 1 litre of sweet water to quench your thirst. Incidentally this water could also be used as a substitute for Dextrose therefore administered to patients intravenously. After consuming the water from the Coconut the nut is broken in two halves. A thin layer of pulp which sometimes resembles the egg white (boiled) is delicious.

If allowed to further ripening the meat inside the shell becomes hard with lesser quantity of sweet water. This is the stage at which Coconuts are generally plucked. The white semi solid portion is used in various parts of India as an ingredient for various dishes after grating. When the shell is broken and dried in Sunlight the white meat could be peeled out. At this stage it is known as Copra. Coconut oil is extracted from Copra in an expeller. There is one more method of extracting oil by householders. The meat of the nut is removed, grated and squeezed (any good method) and a milky substance gets extracted. This is the Coconut milk. When this milk is heated in a pan, the residue is the Oil in its purest form. The Coconut milk is used for making sweet dishes (Payasa/Payasam/Kheer). The Coconut milk is also added while cooking fish.

If we take out the round shell from the outer coir casing, we find three eye like formation on one of its poles. One eye is a little fragile and any thing a bit sharp could be driven in and the water drawn out. If the nut is too ripe and in its germination stage, a sprout will come out of that hole. Two roots will also come out from the remaining eyes. When still on the tree and the Coconut ripens fully, the outer layer would become brown and eventually fall on the ground . They then sprout and the roots will try to pierce through the ground.

Normally over ripening of Coconuts while still on the tree is very rare as they get plucked much earlier. However due to paucity of farm labourers particularly those who could climb the palm has made this possible. Even if some one turns up, the fee demanded to climb one tree is prohibitive. If some one with higher remuneration is engaged, the additional cost incurred for removing the outer layer makes the economics to fail. Now a days I find a great influx of farm hands from states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Assam and Rajasthan and they are willing to work for less than 1/3rd than the locals demand. However, climbing a Coconut palm is not their cup of tea.

Victoria Public Hall, Chennai

2013-04-30T11:20:00.000+05:30

when you get down at the Chennai Central Station and proceed towards the car parking , it would be difficult to escape a grand old building staring at you at a distance. This building happened to be an inviting curiosity for me even when I was a child. The need to catch a taxi to reach home quickly was so overbearing that I could never find time to go nearer to the imposing structure, except while passing by, seated in the car. Now that I have been in Chennai for a couple of months , I ventured to visit the building a couple of times with a view to gain an entry. However all my attempts were thwarted due to the Chennai Metro Rail Project. They are constructing the underground portion of the project and the tunnelling work was in progress just adjoining the place. The area was cordoned off with corrugated tin sheets and a watchman has been posted to prevent entry to the premises. Therefore I had to satisfy myself with few snaps from outside. The building referred to is the Victoria Public Hall commonly known as the Town Hall.

During the 1880s a need was felt to have a community hall where cultural and social programmes could be held. A meeting was organised by prominent citizens in 1882 and the participants had contributed around Rs.20,000 for the purpose. A separate Trust was also created to implement the project. The civic body i.e. the Corporation of Madras also provided land admeasuring 3.14 acres on a 99 years lease. A foundation stone was laid in December 1883 and by 1888 the construction could get completed. The architect credited to have designed this beautiful building was Robert Fellowes Chisholm and as with many other buildings of Madras this too was a derivation of Indo-Saracenic architecture. To commemorate the Golden Jubilee of queen Victoria’s accession to the throne, it was named after her.

The main building has two floors. There are four beautiful wooden staircases leading to the first floor. both floors put together has an area of 26000 square feet and every floor has a seating capacity for 600 people. Once having been opened to the public many a social organisations jumped in. Plays were being staged every evening on a regular basis. Swami Vivekananda, Subramania Bharati, Mahatma Gandhi, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel were amongst the great men of yester years who addressed public meetings at this venue. The hall was also used for screening some 10 English films in 1892 by one T. Stevenson the owner of Madras Photographic Stores. Incidentally by that time the Indian Cinema was yet to be born. The first Tamil film “Keechaka Vadham” without a sound track was produced only in 1918.

With the passage of time, the health of the building started deteriorating and by the second half of the 20th century it became critically ill due to continued neglect. There had been some attempts to rejuvenate it but they proved inadequate. For the last 45 years the hall is in a state of Coma. In between the Trust leased out the spaces around it for commercial purposes. Taking advantage of the situation certain unscrupulous traders also made their intrusions to put up their stalls/shops. Disputes surfaced between the Corporation and the Trust when the 99 years lease term expired. Fortunately the Corporation was in a position to take over the building after eviction of all those illegal occupants. Due to continued hue and cry made by heritage lovers the Corporation sanctioned an expenditure of Rs.3.39 Crores for complete renovation/restoration of the building and work started in 2009. When the work was half way, the Metro Rail Project commenced its construction work resulting in a temporary stoppage of the renovation project. However, the Chennai Corporation has announced recently that by end of July 2013, the Victoria Public Hall would be in its original shape. At the moment we do not know whether the hall would get opened up for social/cultural purposes as was originally envisaged.

Under the Chennai Metro Rail Project, the trains are to travel over pillars and they will go underground in busy areas. As has been stated earlier, the tunnelling work is in progress near the Victoria Public Hall and they have also encroached upon the area in front of the building. A beautiful fountain which existed thereat has since been removed and moved to the right hand side of the hall. In the process some ornamentations have been broken/lost. This fountain too has a story of its own.

During the British rule, Government’s budget proposals were introduced by James Wilson in 1860 for the first time when the capital of the country used to be in Calcutta. Losses sustained during the Freedom Struggle of 1857 were sought to be bridged by taxing the personal income of citizens. Every individual with an income of Rs.200 was within the ambit of the proposed tax net. This move was highly resented and there was a hue and cry amongst the people. Charles Trevelyan who happened to be the Governor of Madras Presidency in those days, supported the people’s movement and expressed his anguish by sending a telegram to Fort William, Calcutta. As an after effect he had to compromise with his job. When Trevelyan was the Chairperson of the Madras Corporation, he made available potable drinking water for the people and also created a beautiful park in the heart of the city. A fountain was built in front of the Victoria Public Hall in his fond memory which is known as Trevelyan Fountain.

Incidentally there is another heritage building known as Victoria Memorial Hall which houses the National Art Gallery. This building too remains closed for the last 10 years or so on account of some cracks having developed inside. This building awaits restoration.

Vypin Island – Pallipuram Fort

2013-03-01T11:01:00.000+05:30

After having taken our lunch, we had two options in hand, either to go for a Siesta or for a long ride. My younger brother with whom I am staying had no problems either as it way a Sunday. However the cloudy weather was dissuading me from venturing out, for the camera could not be put to use. Nevertheless the call of my brother to move out before it really starts pouring made me get ready. When we drove out it was drizzling. We headed towards the Marine Drive of Kochi yet the destination remained undecided. Moving further we crossed over to Bolgatty island. Here we thought of visiting the Palace now converted into a Hotel, Unfortunately we could not gain entry due to some big gun having reserved the entire hotel for some private purpose, presumably a marriage reception. Then I said let us now go to Vypin Island. In between there an another island known as Vallarpadam which is a very large container terminal. Here one could see hundreds of trucks lined up for transporting containers to and fro from the hinterland. Soon thereafter my brother stopped the vehicle at one point and told me come this is Vypin. I could not believe it but then the signboards did say so. We got down and surveyed the area, particularly the topography. I could visualise that we were standing at the Southern end of the island and farther south it was Fort Kochi. From the Boat Jetty we could see steamers arriving and departing with loads of passengers and vehicles.

Six major rivers emanating from the Western Ghat Mountain Ranges submerge into the Arabian Sea near Kochi passing through the Vembanad lake. The deltas and soil erosions appear to be the cause of six scattered islands except Wellingdon which is man made. All the islands are inhabited and movement of people used to be through waterways in the past. Now all the islands are made accessible overland with interconnecting bridges. From Fort Kochi if one has to travel by road to Vypin Island, it would be a long distance and therefore the ferry service thrives carrying passengers as well as all vehicles.

Thanks to trade relations with China in the distant past, some amount of technology transfers have also taken place in the area of fishing. The local fishermen deploy “Chinese fishing nets” which were installed in the vicinity in large numbers. We could witness them while they worked. However they have limitations as regards water coverage. Nevertheless they have managed to sustain themselves by mechanising the operations.

After having observed the operations at the boat jetty and the Chinese fishing nets, it was time for us to move. My brother asked me, now where should we go. Vypin Island is a peace of land which is around 26 kilometres long. The main light house of the Port of Kochi is located in this island. There is also a beautiful beach known as Cherai at the north western side. What I had in my mind was a Portuguese fort at the northern end which I had seen some 5 decades back but at that time approached it from the North and not from the South. Fortunately I could remember the place name and told my brother to proceed to Pallipuram in the North direction. He also instantly said Oh! Pallipuram. There is a fort there. I have heard about it but the location was not known. I said, I am also not very much sure but the fort is in the northern end.

After travelling for over 20 minutes, we came across a hoarding to our right with the name of the fort. We parked our vehicle on one side and got down. Although there was no need to consult any one, my brother seeing an otherwise educated looking lady going that way, casually enquired about the fort. She said Tipu Sultan’s fort is here and showed us the pathway. She also said if the fort is locked, we may check with the guard there. When I had visited long long ago, the fort could be viewed from the road but now a school building has come up in front and the approach is round about.

Western side while we approach

Pallipuram Fort in Vypin Island is the oldest European construction anywhere in South East Asia. ‘Fort’ appears to be a misnomer. It is a hexagonal watch tower constructed by the Portuguese in 1503 AD. This was the first building they constructed on the Indian Soil for regulating/controlling sea farers from all the three sides. The Dutch defeated the Portuguese and took over the fort in 1661 AD and sold to the principality of Travancore in 1789. The entire construction is made of laterite stones and the walls are 6 feet thick. Each side measures 32 feet and the height of the three tiered tower is 34 feet.

The main entrance is towards the East through a small iron gate and few stairs lead you onto a platform constructed above 5 feet from the ground level. There is a small opening at the right side and it appears that the space below was used for storing arms and ammunition. Apart from the ground floor two more floors above would have existed as there are spaces for mounting cannons at two different levels. In the middle there is a circular plastered space and it is presumed that a heavy wooden pole could have supported the two floors (also made of wood). This could have facilitated reaching and manning the cannons positioned facing the sea on three sides. Right now it is open to the sky.

Although the monument is under the State Archaeology department, it appears to be grossly neglected. A broken lock was found on the main gate and no care taker was found during the duration of our stay at the place. There was lot of unwanted vegetation growing close by obstructing a clear view. Some plants have also taken roots on its walls. If the situation remains the same, the monument may not survive for long.

Buffalo

2012-11-16T18:57:00.003+05:30

A guest post by:

P.N. Sampath Kumar,

Cochin Ship Yard, Kochi (India)

Not very long ago, in our villages, when farming used to be our main vocation, there lived a kind of livestock, Buffalo.

This lazy looking cattle, unlike its cousins, a cow or a deer, doesn’t converse with you with its eyes and erected ears. It has a skin that matches much with the muddy waters where it always desired to be in. The set of hones conveyed that it is always on an ‘attack’ mode.

No wonder, Yama, the god of death, chose him to be his vehicle. Devi Durga (Mahishasura Mardhini) is portrayed as the killer of “Mashisha Asura” (A devil in the guise of a Buffalo). In Kerala, Lord Ayyappa is said to have killed ‘Mahishi’, the buffalo demon, who distracted the Rishis from their rituals.

Its milk is avoided for religious rituals and in ayurvedic formulations. Local dialects have many examples of abusive phrases synonymous with Buffalo, to address someone who is lazy and insensitive.

Somewhere, man tamed him to work in the farm to plough and subsequently for milk. Possibly taming them happened much later than the Cow. Initially those who domesticated it would have been comparatively uncivilised and hence possibly this animal continued to be the paraya livestock.

Pakistan has a considerable amount of Buffalo wealth. Those days, down south, “Ravuthars”, a group of Tamil speaking Muslim community, travelled across the remote villages in Kerala, engaged in trading buffalos amongst other things and popularised it in the villages. The divinity associated with cow among Hindus would have prompted Muslims to take up Buffalo rearing.

With all these taboos associated with this animal, it too formed part of festivities in some parts of our country. During one of those ONAM days, in central Kerala, just before the muddy paddy fields are prepared for planting, Pothottam (buffalo race) is celebrated, though on a low key basis now a days.

For a farmer, working in the field, this is an important day. The rituals are held outside the house where the animal is tied to a tree after it is washed and garlanded applying sandalwood and other decorations. After the short prayers and other offerings including alcohol to the gods, the animal is fed with the food items including alcohol. The rituals are well supported by drum beats.

Once lunch is finished, it is time for the buffalo to be taken to the village ground. It is a huge task to untie the animal and guide it to the venue. It needs five six people on either side of the big rope to manage and guide the already hyped animal. The rituals would be reminding it of its feral origin.

There are at least half a dozen such groups assembling at the grounds. The community heads meet there, exchange pleasantries and reaffirm the leadership of the chieftain, who subsequently sits on the top of a tall stone seat, a throne and conducts durbar.

In the evening they come back in a procession dancing to their traditional tunes. It is difficult to make out whether they are elevating the animal or reducing themselves to the animal. Whichever way, it is recognition to the friend ‘Buffalo’ who partnered with them in the field.

When milk started selling in big cans, house to house, and cow’s milk became scarce, people in towns opted for buffalo milk. Its rich fat content made it an instant hit amongst the tea shop owners, the main consumers of milk in a town, and buffalo milk started selling at premium though the by-products, mainly butter, was often sold at a discount.

When bullock carts were ruling our roads, buffalos enjoyed better status elsewhere. In East and South East Asia, it was used only as propulsion in carts and for ploughing farmland.

Veterinarians classify them into two types, the ‘riverine’ and ‘swamp’. Riverine is the lactating breed found throughout Indian sub continent whereas the swamp variety, dominant in the East Asia and south East Asia is a power house to propel and till the farms.

The water buffalos that we would have encountered in our childhood would have been the low yielding swamp varieties which always loved to be submerged in mud. The black and white photo albums of yester years by any photographer would be incomplete without having in it a photograph of a herd of water buffalos led by a peasant boy on the back of one of them with a long stick in his hand. No visitor to a village those days would have missed the sight of village boys travelling on the back of a buffalo.

Thanks to the white revolution. Cross breeding of local varieties with high yielding ‘Jaffarabadi’ and ‘Murrah’ varieties produced a new genesis of a hybrid variety, resulting in increased milk production. 60% of total milk produced in India and around 70% in Pakistan are from Buffalos. It will be surprising to know that India is the highest producer of buffalo milk constituting about 65% and together with Pakistan, it constitutes more than 85% of world production. We earn considerable money from dairy products. Yet, it is pity that we are unable to develop an international brand for our Paneer (cottage cheese) and Kowa.

Italy is the only country outside Asia, which boasts of their water buffalo rearing tradition. Their pride, the Italian mozzarella cheese, available world over, is made of water buffalo milk. It is another surprise that they have less than 1% share of the total buffalo milk production in the world. Italians are said to have set high standards for the genetics, breeding and hygiene in buffalo rearing. But it is doubtful if our buffalos can stand the so called ‘hygiene’.

But the problem with cross breeding is that it created a generation of cattle without a genetic identity having low immunity level and inability to cope up with the extreme climatic conditions. Their maintenance became a burden to the farmers whereas the traditional low yielding variety produced high quality products with lesser care, though lower in volume. Farmers attempting to milk the water buffalos with the assistance of dummy calves made of straw and stuff like that has been a regular sight in our villages. The calves have high mortality rate when domesticated.

As in any other sphere, technology eliminated these living tractors from the fields and roads. But occasionally, during our long train journeys, we get as a surprise, visuals of a farmer ploughing the fields with a set of water buffalos, singing a song, often coupled with the rich smell of fermented mud, ready to take seeds and saplings into its womb. We jump out of ecstasy. The poor farmer would not have heard the proverb in Malayalam meaning “it is useless to chant ‘veda’ into the ears of a Buffalo”. He believes that buffalos enjoy his song?

It was interesting to note a cultural tip given to the visitors to Thailand in one of the tourist websites as follows:

“Water buffalo are called “kwai” in Thai. It is extremely rude to refer to a person as a ‘kwai’ because water buffalo have a reputation for being stupid and stubborn.”

Painfully, we still maintain the same primitive attitude towards this very useful animal across different cultures.

He deserves some more dignity.

Dragonflies/Damselflies

2012-11-06T09:43:00.000+05:30

During our childhood we used to run after butterflies. Occasionally we used to succeed catching them (without the net). At that time we learnt that the patterns/colours in their wings would get transferred on to our finger tips instantly when caught. However their sheen would also vanish. Since we were too young, we were not into collecting them and it was simply for fun. After some time our attention was drawn towards a different kind of flying creature which was equally beautiful. They were dragonflies/damselflies and were easier to catch. When caught we used to have a weight lifting competition. Each one of us would make one’s dragonfly sit on a small pebble. When lifted up, the dragonfly would have the pebble underneath. We will snatch the small pebble and make it to sit over a larger one. Every one of us would do the same with the fly in their hands. This goes on and at the end we decide as to which one lifted the heaviest pebble. That one will be the winner and then it is freed to fly away. Other dragon flies undergo a second phase of torture. A 5 feet thread is tied to the tail of each one of them. They are released to fly keeping the other end in our hands. The one which flies higher is declared the winner. They remain suspended in air for not being able to move forward and after some time they seek the ground, fully exhausted. We used to release them thereafter either by untying the thread or cutting it close to the tail.

Certainly we were very cruel to those harmless creatures but at that time our pleasure seemed to be more paramount than the pains the creature were subjected to. Today while I was roaming about in our village home, I came across many dragon flies of various hues flying around. That enabled me to live in the past for a while remembering the childhood days. When the trance was over, I picked up my small camera and went after them.

Similar to Butterflies, the Dragonflies too have a life cycle, Egg, Nymph and the Adult stage. Eggs are dropped in still water bodies where they hatch and turn to a Nymph. The Nymph sustains itself by eating smaller insects etc. and said to live up to four years in that stage and then the metamorphosis takes place. The dragon fly emerges and flies away in search of food in the open. Many of us could have observed Dragonflies hovering over water bodies. Factually they are endeavoring to find a suitable locale to lay their eggs.

Here is a chart which depicts the life cycle of a Dragonfly.

Masala Dosa - an Indian Cusine

2012-10-23T13:50:00.000+05:30

A guest post by:

P.N. Sampath Kumar,

Cochin Ship Yard, Kochi (India)

What is the most favoured Tiffin across the world? I wrote my answer in one of the questionnaires supplied to me through some magazine as ‘Dosa’.

This circular magical recipe made of fermented batter prepared with rice, split black gram and fenugreek seeds in some proportion, made on a flat iron pan, has been the lifeline of people south of the Vindhyas. No mother in this region could be said to have not perfected the art of making dosas. No child in these regions could be said to have not had it as part of their regular menu. No wonder the moon like Dosa found its role in many a lullabies and stories.

Its first cousin, the Masala Dosa should have been the invention of some creative hotelier less than a century ago. Often semi circular in size, pregnant with potato curry stuffing in the middle, served with steam hot sambar and coconut chutney is the first choice of any south Indian foodie.

Masala dosas are not generally cooked at homes, unlike ordinary dosa. I am certain that no house wife in this world has ever perfected the art of making masala dosa. The testimony of it is the high demand for masala dosas in restaurants.

Somehow, the name Mysore is associated with masala dosa (as Mysore Masala Dosa) to show its superiority and also suggesting Karnataka as the birth place of this recipe. Similar is the case with Mysore Rasam and Mysore Bonda. The state of Mysore, which had been a very strong princely state with connoisseur kings, had attracted to it, several intellectuals, artistes, musicians and along with it, great cooks too. The Shivali Brahmins, basically from Udipi, Karnataka, who had the monopoly of south Indian Vegetarian restaurants across the world, would have spread this connotation. The credit for popularising masala dosa (along with filter coffee) throughout north India should go to the Indian Coffee House restaurant chains.

As Children, the word masala dosa always rejuvenated our taste buds. Those were the days when a visit to a restaurant was considered to be a luxury. My first adventure to a restaurant to have masala dosa happened when I was in 8^th class. I often skipped the last period in my school and reached home late to give company to my classmate so that he can skip his tuition class which he never wanted to attend. The bribe offered to me was a masala dosa in the Krishna Bhavan Restaurant near the school. And that was the best masala dosa that I have ever had in my life. The aroma it had was awesome.

One has to begin with a piece of dosa from the corner, dipped in the chutney. The ecstasy ascends while approaching slowly towards the middle where the spicy potato masala is hidden. Then the potato curry starts getting invitingly revealing. By the time you finish the last mouth with whatever chutney and sambar left in the plate, it was like conquering the Everest or listening to a musical concert with a grand finale.

The aroma of the mixture of the masala, sambar and chutney stayed in my hand for hours and I often refused to take the regular boring evening dinner at home to keep the fragrance. I continued this friendship for want of Masala Dosa often risking myself getting caught at home. At last Masala Dosa won and I failed in studies.

The physical properties and chemical characteristics have been clearly sounded in the unwritten Masala Dosa Manual in vogue with south Indian hoteliers. It should be crispy and of size 15 to 18Inch dia. Unlike ordinary dosa, Masala dosa is not reversed while cooking.

As regards the chemistry, dosa’s presence should be felt from a distance by mere fragrance of fried batter particles in butter oil coupled with the flavour of the potato curry escaping through the pores of dosa. Sambar, made of small local onion with asafoetida in it adds to the overall flavour of the cuisine. The prescribed overall colour is ‘golden’ with more thicker golden colour towards the centre of the circle.

The process is highly professional. Slightly fermented batter is spread on a large flat hot pan that can take 6-8 dosas at a time, with the bottom of a bowl, which is also used to measure and also to pour 2) By the time the cook spreads the eighth dosa, the first one would have been ready to take the stuffing 3) Place stuffing made of a secret combination of potato, onion, ginger, green chilly, turmeric powder and curry leaves and 4) By the time stuffing is placed in the eighth dosa, it is time to start folding the first dosa, into a half circle and serve with hot sambar and coconut chutney. More creative cooks have changed its physical property by presenting it in the form of flat cylinder, a cone, etc, depending upon their artistic fervour.

As a grown up, during my visits to the Town (Trichur), I always ventured to visit few of the famous restaurants that served good Masala Dosas. Prominent among them were Pathans, Ambadi, Dwaraka and Bharat. Bharat is still going strong. The other names have vanished over a period of time and new names appeared. I have heard my senior college mates talking about one Modern Swami’s café in Trichur which was more popular among masala dosa enthusiasts. By the time I reached college, this restaurant was closed for ever.

This healthy, very affordably priced food had/ has fans like Raj Kapoor and Khushwant Singh. Krishnaswami Sunderji, one of our yester year army Generals remembers in his memoirs, his younger days in Kashmir where they used to eat Masala dosa with mutton curry as stuffing in it in one of the roadside eateries regularly. Such is the transformation this wonderful dish has undergone over the years. Masala Dosa has travelled all over the world. We are hearing about Masala Dosa being served at White house on special occasions. I am sure that no town in the world which does not have a restaurant that serves Masala Dosa in some form or other.

But when I asked my son of his choice of something to be ordered to eat, his immediate answer was Pizza. I am wrong when I rated Masala Dosa as the most favoured in the beginning. My son’s taste buds charge up when he thinks of cutting out a piece from a medium pizza having abundant amount of sticky cheese spread on it, often flowing out, decorated with pieces of capsicum and tomato over it and seasoned with salt, pepper and red chilly flakes. The name masala dosa never evoked such a feeling in him.

But I am not disappointed. Though my town Cochin cannot boast of a great dosa tradition, there are a couple of places where only ‘Dosas’ are served. The ‘Pai Dosa Centre’ at MG road is one which serves 36 varieties of dosas. A recently started one near my home at Tripunithura, named ‘Dosa Corner’ too specialises only in Dosas, having 50 variants including chocolate dosas.

And at last the newspaper has come out with their results rating masala dosa as one of the 10 delicacies one should have in India.

A number of recipes are available in the net to attempt cooking Masala Dosa at home. But I wont’ suggest any as I do not want any of you to attempt it at home. This delicacy is meant to be relished while eating out.

Photo source: Wikimedia

Bio-diversity - After the Rains

2012-10-15T15:10:00.000+05:30

Fortunately I was at my village home in Kerala during this Onam. Incessant rains were downing my spirits. Later the rains went on a casual leave and there was bright sunshine for a day or two. Finally rains departed. The climate was soothing. I could see wild growth of vegetation everywhere. Tubers, bulbs and seeds of various plants which were in hibernation, under the soil, ran havoc. There were plenty of flowers everywhere and they come handy during this festival season for decorating the courtyards with beautiful patterns using the petals of flowers. Boys and girls start collecting flowers in the wee hours well before Sun Rise. My village happens to be at the North Western end of the village. There is a road in the front which runs through the village and opens up on the Highway.

My own home compound affords me an opportunity of moving around seeking appointments with various plants and flowers they bear. Since the land area is a little larger, I need to take several rounds everyday. Many of the species happen to be known ones but there were many others hitherto unknown or un noticed. Apart from flowers there is an abundance of other life forms like colourful flying or creeping insects. I regret for not having studied botany, insect science etc.

One day while strolling around I found a beautiful sparkling green beetle resting on a leaf. My mother was telling me the other day that green grass hoppers were not to be seen these days. Incidentally they were very much there. Probably they are not entering our house enabling mom to sight them . She seldom moves out because of her poor eyesight. Two more grass hoppers bent upwards and one over the other were also sighted. When I went closer to them they got separated. They looked a little peculiar for they were a little bent and their stomach portion had red dots. Instinctively I thought of catching them for some careful examination of their belly but something prevented me and I walked past them.

Beautiful butterflies were flying over my head and one was too large. Although they sat on the tender leaves, they never allowed me to photograph them. They flew away even before I could focus my camera. Thus I was denied the opportunity of photographing some thing extraordinarily beautiful. It could have been an endangered specie and I could have won laurels for their discovery! Then there occurred a hairy larvae which was also beautiful but can not say if it was something special.

While reaching our front gate I found few bright red beetle like insects examining a bud of a wild climber. On closer look they were quite like ants but differed in their body structure. I wondered as to why Nature has given such an attractive colour for they would be susceptible to being picked up by birds. I discovered later that these ants were in fact waiting for the Pub to open. The bud blossoms into a beautiful flower and the ants would then have the nectar in it.

I happened to walk out of the main gate and turn towards the right when I saw several buds, flowers and fruits clinging to the fence of my uncles house. They belonged to the same family. Buds turn flowers and when they wither a fruit comes into being. Yes they are the phases I murmured. The ripe fruit is yellow in colour of the size of a berry. I remember to have seen them in the past too. Let me consult mom I thought as all my childhood learning are attributable to her. I plucked those fruits and went straight to my mom. She felt happy for I still valued her knowledge about such things. She informed me that the fruit is not normally eaten. Some poor children do eat them. It tastes like one’s mucus coming out of the nostrils. Immediately images of small children with a running nose licking their upper lips came to my mind.

That evening was spent at our backyard which also had its share of some wild growth. There were plants around four to five feet high and the leaves resembled that of ginger or turmeric. Many of them had beautiful white flowers while some others of the same kind had dark pink flowers which appeared to be much more beautiful. They are supposed to be distantly related to Ginger plants and have use in traditional medicines. I was told that the Ayurvedic practitioners send their people out hunting for the roots of these plants.

Avantipur (Kashmir)

2012-10-08T16:21:00.000+05:30

We were actually heading to Pahalgam but as we had instructed, our driver stopped the vehicle in front of the Avantipur temple ruins which were on the way. In one of my earlier posts, I had mentioned about a visit to this place which is around 30 kilometres South East of Srinagar and the attraction being the ruins of a 9th century temple. My friends were intrigued for they had known about one Avanti in central India, sometimes misunderstood as being the ancient name of Ujjain. On the lines of the Greek city states, India during its classical age had 16 republics known as Mahajanapadas known to us through ancient literature and religious texts. Avanti or Avantika was one such region. One of its capitals was Ujjain or Ujjaini. Avantipur on the other hand was once a capital of Kashmir.

The imposing ruined structure was before us. A watchman posted there advised to procure tickets from the counter at the left. We obeyed the instructions and found a Sardarji (Sikh gentleman) sitting there. There was a notice board which contained the entry fee payable. Additional levies were prescribed for still cameras and video cameras. Before I could tender the cash, Sardarji enquired “yes sir, where are you from”. We told them that we are tourists and are interested in taking some photographs. His next anxiety was to learn about me as to my vocation and if I am employed. I said I am no more in service and casually (or may be to establish my credibility) told him that I am an amateur archaeologist. Perhaps my words were music to him as he instantly said Sir, you need not buy any tickets. For you it is free. I apprised him that we are in all 10 to which he countered, so what?. My next query was what about the cameras we are carrying. He said in a typical Punjabi tone “who prevents you”. Thereafter I called in all the people who were still tied to their seats in the vehicles.

During the 12th century there lived a highly learned sanskrit scholar and poet in Kashmir whose name was Kalhan. He was the author of a work known as Rajatarangini (a history of ruling dynasties). He states that Raja Avantivarman (855 – 883 AD) of the Utpala dynasty founded the city of Avantipura in an area known as Vishwaiksara where Hindus performed religious rites for the salvation of their dead. The jhelam river (ancient name Vitasta) was also nearby. Such a presence of a water body is not only ideal, is also necessary for the religious rites. We could infer that the place was considered to be a holy one much before the establishment of a City named Avantipura. Avantivarman, the King, was a follower of Vaishnava cult ( a Vaishnavite – worshippers of Lord Vishnu) and he continued to be so till his death. It was he who got a grand temple constructed for his Lord during the 9th century. The central deity installed in the Sanctum Sanctorum was christened as Avantiswamin. The King had a minister named Sura who was very dear to him but Sura was a worshipper of Lord Shiva. Therefore Avantivarman got another equally grand temple constructed for Lord Shiva just a kilometre away. The temple is known as Avanteeswara which is also in ruins. Unfortunately we were not aware of its existence at such a short distance and we missed it.

Sultan Sikandar Butshikan, the 14th century ruler of Kashmir hailed from Afghanistan. To appease a spiritual leader Syed Ali Hamadani in that country, Sultan Sikandar engaged himself in a crusade and ended up in the massacre of Kashmiri people and destroying their holy places ruthlessly. All kinds of stage plays including music and folk songs, folk dances etc. were banned. Consumption of wine/liquor was made an offence. People were compelled to embrace Islam for fear of life. It is said that in the entire Kashmir only some 11 Hindu families escaped. We could perhaps draw a parallel with the Talibans of Afghanistan. Along with other temples, the Avantipur Vishnu temple was also not spared. However, it is said that the construction was so strong that it took over a year to have it demolished, part of which still remains to tell us its past glory. Sultan Sikandar’s title “Butshikan” itself means a destroyer of Idols. Incidentally his second son Jain-ul-Abidin (1423 – 1474) was tolerant and considerate towards Hindus. He came to power after his brother proceeded to Mecca for a pilgrimage. However by the time Jain-ul-Abidin came to the scene, none of the Hindu temple structures had survived.

There was a well laid out pathway leading to the main entrance. The huge door, made of lime stone blocks approachable through a flight of stairs stood majestically. The upper portions were in a broken condition together with the tall massive columns with ornamentation. The intricately carved main entrance would have been a sight to behold. Apart from the destruction it was subjected to, weathering has also played its due role. Many of the sculptures are now difficult to be recognised. The temple is rectangular with a huge courtyard measuring 170.6 x 147.6 feet. After entering through the main entrance we need to go down for being in the courtyard. There is yet another elevated structure at the middle with stairs leading to the sanctum sanctorum. There is an array of cells arranged around the periphery of the paved courtyard similar to Buddhist Viharas. We are not certain as to the purpose of those small rooms/cells. Could only presume that either they were used for meditation facing the central shrine or for placing large sculptures.There are remains of four smaller shrines at the four corners of the courtyard.

During the early part of twentieth century excavations were carried out by a team headed by D.R. Sahni resulting in the reclamation of the temple ruins up to the floor level. The excavation yielded a rich crop of antiquities including 121 coins issued by Toramana, Sultans of the Shah Miri dynasty, Durrani Afghan rulers etc. Sahni also excavated the quadrangle of the Avantisvara temple and brought to light a small earthen jar having 108 copper coins issued by various rulers, fragments of birch manuscripts containing accounts of articles of worship, inscribed earthen jar etc. The sculptures from this site are presently displayed at Srinagar Museum.

Temple architecture is supposed to have reached its zenith during that period with some sprinklings of Gandhara and Greek styles.

The Avanteeswara temple, a kilometre away and the Martand Sun Temple 8 kilometres away from Anantanag (Islamabad) built by Lalitaditya in the 8th century, though in ruins, are similar in style and construction. However, we were not fortunate enough to visit them.

Around Pahalgam (Kashmir)

2012-09-15T07:00:00.000+05:30

11th June 2012

We got shifted to a new hotel closer to the main market early in the morning. Soon thereafter there was a call from the reception asking us to proceed to the dining hall for the complimentary breakfast. We had our fill and asked our driver to call for two local taxies to take us around. Strangely you are not allowed to take the taxies brought from Srinagar. The rates to various packages are predetermined and are prominently displayed at the Taxi Stand. The taxies need to line up at the stand after getting a token/number. Any body desirous of a taxi shall go to the booth for booking. The person manning the booth will in turn summon the waitlisted drivers in order of seniority. The rates prescribed are exorbitant compared to what prevails elsewhere in the Country. The gullible tourists have no other option but to get exploited. The important and most visited places around Pahalgam are Betab Valley, Chandanwari and Aru Valley. All of them fall within a radius of 16 kilometres and get covered in about 4 hours for which the minimum charges are Rs.1,500/-. The taxies arrived in due course of time and we were on the move.

Arrangements for the annual Amarnath pilgrimage, which will commence by 28th June, were in full swing. Pahalgam plays an important role in this pilgrimage (Yatra), it being the base camp. Tents were being erected at numerous locations for the purpose. We were heading to Chandanwari and the road runs parallel to Lidder river (aka Lambodari) for quite some distance. Several families were picnicking on its banks. Vehicles were either parked on the road side or taken down, may be for reasons of safety. The gushing waters of the river, the meadows, pine/Devdar tree on the mountain slopes and snow covered peaks were lending a heavenly grace to the topography.

The road further ahead was winding through mountain ranges/passes at a higher elevation and by the time we were around 6/7 kilometres from Pahalgam, we came across a very quiet beautiful valley with a river which had masonry embankments. There was a pucca walkway by its side for a long distance enabling people to stroll along. The area has been developed as a picnic spot by the local authorities with certain basic amenities. A bollywood film was shot here in the 1980’s titled Betab. “Jab ham jawan honge, jaane kahan honge” a song from that film was a hit and is still liked for its lyrics and music. From that time onwards the valley is being referred to as Betab Valley while its original name was Hajan Ghati (Valley).

Though there was a separate road diversion leading to the valley, our driver seemed to be in no mood to take us there. Instead he started explaining to us that the view from above is quite satisfying and that if we go down we need to pay Rs.150/- per head in addition to parking charges. The later part made some sense and we refrained from climbing down. We clicked our cameras to capture whatever was visible and continued our journey.

Once again we were travelling through lush green hilly terrain with devdar/pine trees lending their own charm. On reaching Chandanwari, the vehicles got parked appropriately and we walked down. Finally when the spot came under view, it appeared more like what we had seen at Sonmarg. However, the glacier was not there instead we see waters flowing from the hill frozen for a very long stretch. People enjoy frolicking on its bed. Whenever there a fresh snow fall people get more jubilant for the fun it affords. There was quite a number of families with their kids enjoying at the spot. The snow was a little brownish as there had been no fresh snow fall for a day or two. A pathway exists to the left which goes to Amarnath. The actual trekking for the annual pilgrimage to the Amarnath shrine starts from this point i.e. Chandanwari covering a distance of around 30 kilometres.

After having enjoyed Chandanwari for over an hour, we decided to leave and proceed to Aru valley. As usual the road to Aru was also winding through the mountains. By and large the road was OK but it was narrower than what we had experienced so far. It started raining when we reached at the Bus stop. It appeared to be a little town depending on tourists for its survival. We could get into a covered space to shelter ourselves from the rains. Within moments an old man arrived with few umbrellas. He was making a livelihood by renting out his umbrellas when it rained. We perceived this as an innovative service which was not capital intensive. But then the rentals quoted appeared to be more than the cost of an umbrella!. However every day is not a rainy day. He demanded Rs.100 for one which made us to ask him whether he is selling them or lending them. He blushed and came down to Rs.70/-. When he understood that the rains may stop any time, he agreed to take Rs.150/- for all the five he had. This enabled us to come out of the shed and follow others who were going in one direction. The road was lined up with small shops and restaurants. We had a glimpse of the meadows ahead. There were horses/ponies available to take you round but we preferred to walk. Even before coming here we were advised to walk around to enjoy the surrounding beauty. We had a divine experience looking at the meadows, streams, snow capped mountains, devdar trees all in one place. There was a Lavender Farm with a medium sized nursery and a hotel (Alpine hotel) run by the tourism department at a distance.

There was not much to do here unless one chooses to opt far trekking to several points in the vicinity. Kolahoi glacier is one where some people prefer to go. We also came across a hoarding regarding guided tours to various destinations from here. There is also a wild life sanctuary deep inside. These visits need to be pre arranged with advance bookings.

We started feeling hungry and decided to return. The rains had vanished by then. The owner of the umbrellas came to us all the way to collect them back. Finally we landed at a way side hotel and were fortunate to get good food. We were told that the cook was from Gujarat. While coming out of the hotel, we could meet the cook as well and thanked him for the nice preparations.

We were back at Pahalgam by evening and many of us spent time roaming about in the market area.

Nageen Lake (Srinagar - Kashmir)

2012-08-25T07:00:00.000+05:30

On our return from Gulmarg, we were lodged in a House Boat with all amenities. The location was away from the madding crowd at a serene Nageen (Nagin) lake. The house boat itself was named “Peace of Mind”. It was not very difficult to get a House Boat in the Dal Lake which is the general choice. Then it seemed that the Dal Lake is too much crowded and you are saddled with the problem of so many vendors calling on you in their boats. After settling down, we enjoyed some late evening views of the lake and then went for our dinner. Dinner was arranged in another floating restaurant nearby. In fact Nageen lake is also a part of the famous Dal Lake separated by a bund.

Our house boat was anchored (should rather say grounded) on the Eastern Bank of the lake. Early morning we could only see, the Sun rays falling on the lake waters and beyond and a beautiful view of the Hill opposite (Hari Parbat) over which a fort stood. Some people in boats were busy fishing deep inside as also closer to its banks. In between Stray flower vendors did visit us in their boats. After enjoying the views from the boat, we were at the table in the dining area for our breakfast. After the breakfast we were on Shikaras (boats with a canopy) for a two hour trip. Ours oarsman was one Mr. Shafi and amidst his renderings of ethnic songs. we sailed through the still waters.

While we were still enjoying the traditional songs sung by Mr. Shafi, another boat with merchandise drew closer to us. He wanted to show us various items made of Papier-mâché for which Kashmir is well known. We had seen them earlier at various curio shops at Srinagar and elsewhere. We also had an idea of the prices of certain items. Our ladies had a dig and also obliged him by purchasing few pieces about which they were comfortable. It is customary for the Kashmiri traders to quote more than 100% of the real price and they know for certain that the gullible tourist may not seek a reduction of over 50%. Therefore logically the fair price should be around 40% of what he has quoted. When the other boat was away Mr. Shafi consoled the men folk stating that, had we been in the Dal Lake, we could not have had time to move around as we will be confronting some one or the other all the time.

When we were at peace, we prompted Mr. Shafi to speak about himself. He told us about his stint with an Orchestra group for about 5 years. Then he bought a Shikara and started earning by becoming a part of the hospitality business. He is also a part of an International organisation engaged in providing rafting experience in the rapids of rivers like Lidder, Jhelam etc. He knows several languages because of his interactions with people coming from different lands. However he could not cultivate any writing skills as he had no schooling. Nevertheless he is ensuring proper education to his own children. Kashmir has a high literacy percentage and the women folk are also not far behind. He told us that his family stays on the other side of this lake on a small island kind formation very close to the main land. The area is known as Khayarbal and is very close to the old city but lacks a proper approach. The villagers have constructed two bridges making use of the local timber which has become old now. The Government does not do anything as the habitation there is considered to be unauthorised. It was quite interesting listening to his story which prompted us to ask him if it would be convenient for him to take us on a visit to his place. It seems he was very happy to do that and enthusiastically said it would be his pleasure. Now we were sailing to the far end on the other side of the lake.

From a distance itself it appeared as if we were moving to yet another paradise. We passed through an area where water lilies were being cultivated. There were very many floating islands for vegetable cultivation. Although they looked like any other aquatic vegetation/growth, we learnt that a wide platform is built with reeds with an overlay of soil mixed with organic manure to form a bed. This remains floating. This is the backyard farm of the settlement there. These explanations came a little later and by that time the floating vegetable gardens were beyond the range of our ordinary cameras.

Soon our Shikara slowly stopped by a wooden platform enabling to disembark and proceed towards the village. Some of the houses there appeared to be partly on the land and partly fixed up over wooden pillars drawn into the waters of the lake. It was some thing very beautiful to look at. Mr. Shafi’s house was less than 100 metres away. The area surrounding his house was pretty neat and clean. We could meet Mr. Shafi’s mother, sister and his daughter-in-law in the court yard of his house. Once we were introduced, we were warmly invited and led into a hall on the first floor. A wooden staircase goes up. The floor was fully carpeted in the traditional manner and a lone sofa was lying at a corner. Therefore all of us made ourselves comfortable sitting on the floor, the side wall supporting our backs.

Soon we were once again interacting with Mr. Shafi. We wanted to know as to what use the big hall serves and he told us that during marriages people sleep here. Conversation got shifted to the militancy and hostilities in the valley. We learn that the Kshmiris hate the Indian Army as they visit house holds at odd hours and harass people. They pick up any one during nights suspecting them to be terrorists. Many innocent people suffer on this account. This resulted in mass resentment and many youths preferred to cross over the border (to Pakistan), get trained and come back with arms for retaliation. But then this backfired. The armed youth started harassing their own people. They started lootings at gun point by identifying the well to do. The guns made them to go mad. While they were able to elicit initial sympathy from the general public, their own high handed actions made them unpopular and became unacceptable in the society.

While we were conversing, Mr. Shafi’s daughter named Hadeesa brought us some snacks with tea, which she served personally to each one of us. She was studying in a nearby school in the Xth standard. Soon thereafter, Mr. Shafi’s wife came along with two girls. One was again their own daughter while the 2nd one named Reshma (2nd on the photograph) was from Laddakh studying at Dalhousie who was on a visit. All of them obligingly lined up for a photograph. We got invited by Reshma to Laddakh who offered a home stay arrangement at their house.

After remaining there with that family for some time, we sailed back to our house boat thanking them and bidding good bye. The entire family came to see us off at the small wooden jetty. We profusely thanked Mr. Bashir for the hospitality extended by him. In turn he wanted us to stay with him on our next visit to Kashmir.

Nature has its own crayons

2012-08-18T07:00:00.000+05:30

This morning I was checking my blog to find out as to how my previous post is faring in terms of “comments” received. There were no new additions to make me feel happy about. However, an uncharitable invite was peeping out to join the bandwagon of competitors for Capture the color contest. Though it was not something unfathomable to identify photographs with the 5 colours but it was the thought of roping in 5 more gullible bloggers that was agonising. I also strongly feel the way Nisha has indicated while writing on the subject.

Its has now become incumbent on my part to make a quick search and produce whatever I have. I shall, however, desist from explaining the attributes, significance or otherwise of the various colors as they have been dealt with at length by many of my fellow bloggers so far.

THE RED:

Recently when I was on a visit to a wholesale fruit market in Chennai, I came across some red fruits looking like plums. On my enquiry, the vendor told me something in the vernacular which could not be registered in my brain.

GREEN:

On the 3rd of this month I received a telephone call from Coimbatore asking me to come out of my apartment at Chennai and to look at the sky to witness a beautiful view of the Sun having a disk around it. I went up and looked at the sky from the terrace of the building. It was all black clouds preventing the Sun to show off. This phenomenon was reported by our friend R. Ramakrishnan the same day in his post titled Disc around the Sun. While still on the terrace I looked around and noticed the Neem trees below full of fresh foliage.

WHITE:

White too has many shades. While at a garden in Srinagar, this flower known as Magnolia Grandiflora with its thick petals seemed something exotic.

BLUE:

Blue skies and blue waters have always been soothing to ones eyes. The Ekambareswara Temple tower (Gopuram) at Kancheepuram has a beautiful sky as its backdrop. I am yet to write about the splendid architecture of this temple complex.

YELLOW:

The Papaya fruits on sale at Chennai fruit market. They have great medicinal properties apart from being tasty. “Pepsin” is derived from raw Papayas used in many stomach ailments.

Now the most undesirable and uncharitable part of this post is to rope in 5 more blogger friends to carry the contest forward. With due apologies I list them hereunder:

1. A man on the move

2. Ramblings and Musings

3. Green Tomato

4. Speaking through the Lens

5. Travel Magic

Moving to Pahalgam – Sayonara Srinagar

2012-08-10T08:58:00.000+05:30

10th June 2012:

It was an unique experience to be able to meet the family of our Shikara operator at their residence and be able to have a glimpse of the traditional houses in the secluded quarters. We were bidding good bye to Srinagar and were proceeding to Pahalgam where we intend to stay for two days. Our vehicles were being loaded with our luggage. Looking back, we had regrets for not having been able to visit many other places of interest and importance in or around Srinagar. The Shankaracharya Temple (Takht-e-Sulaiman), Tulip Gardens, Shalimar Gardens (Our group is to be blamed), Pari Mahal, A boat cruise in Jhelum cutting through Srinagar, The fort on the top of Hari Parbat and shrines of Sharika Bhagawathi, Hamza Makhdoom and the Gurudwara (Chatti Padshahi) are some of them. They called for a further stay of 2/3 days to explore.

Front View

Backside View

Very old picture

Pahalgam is also a much sought after tourist destinations in Kashmir which is 94 kilometres South East from Srinagar. While making a move, we requested our driver to make a brief halt in front of the arched gate at the foot of Hari Parbat. The locality is known as Rainwari and the massive gate itself is called Kathi Darwaza. The vehicle stopped as requested and without wasting time I jumped out and went inside to have an appreciation of the inhabited area there. Once the Moghul emperor Akbar wanted to etablish a township in the fort precincts to be known as Nagar Nagor and a wall running round the hill was constructed. I was looking for some kind of centuries old ghettoes but the houses/buildings seemed to be of recent origin. The present settlement inside is supposed to be unauthorised but then they are not devoid of civic facilities.

I had to remain contended with whatever I could see, although there was a road which probably leads to the top of the hill fort. Getting inside would have entailed delays because of other inviting monuments in its precincts. After traversing through the narrow lanes we entered the highway within the city. There were many shops displaying colourful bowls and household utilities made of a kind of local reed. Farther ahead were shops selling carved stoneware. Shortly we were out of the city limits and were proceeding to our destination at optimum speed. We had also requested for a stopover at Avantipur, 30 kilometres ahead. I was on the look out and while passing through a small town, a ruined structure to our left made its appearance and immediately I asked for the vehicle to stop. The vehicle was already slowed down and the driver responded that he remembered it. Yes this was the Avantipur I had in mind. The ruins still majestic in appearance stood there. It was a temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu built by a king known as Avantivarman during the 9th century CE which was destroyed by the non-believers as a part of their crusades in the 14th century CE. This deserves a separate post.

Avantipur Ruins

En route we came across several traditional houses in a state of disrepair and looked as if they have been abandoned. Some one amongst us also screamed “look at those houses, there is no life”. As a matter of fact I was so much engrossed looking at the beauty all around, I did not pay much attention. I remained oblivious of the fact that these were the houses of the original inhabitants of Kashmir, known as Kashmiri Pandits. Infiltrations and militancy in the valley made them to move out en-mass in 1990 leaving behind all their possessions. For a moment I was sad but then thought of diverting my attention. I requested the driver if he could take us through the country side so that we can have a feel of the rural life. Soon we came at a point where there was a diversion towards the right with a small hoarding which read “Apple Valley”. The driver was kind enough to heed to our request and leaving the highway drove through the narrow road. We came across a shepherds driving their flock of sheep for grazing. Our driver clarified that the name Pahalgam has been derived from these shepherds. Pahalgam means a Valley of Shepherds.

There were plantations of Walnut trees followed by Apple and Cherries. The fruits were either not visible or were too tender and small. Cultivation of Apples for which Kashmir was famous is now dwindling. The farmers have switched over to Cherries and Kiwis (native fruit of New Zeraland). The later largely gets exported to various countries. Then there were paddy fields as far as we could see. Women folk was engaged in transplanting operations in the water filled slushy fields. This sight was similar to what we could see elsewhere in India except that women here were well clad. There was a small village in between where they had good houses and some remnants of the past also existed. They were the wooden two storied houses since abandoned. There were similar structures where the lower portion had the shop and the upper portion was used as a dwelling. It seemed that the rural population is also fairly affluent. There were no traces of any poverty as could be encountered elsewhere in India.

After passing through few more villages, we were once again on the highway leading to Pahalgam. The Liddar river (originally Lambodari) on the way mesmerized us and we stopped on its banks to have a photo session with the beautiful views behind. This river is full of rapids and had we stayed there for some more time we could have had a rafting experience.

Finally we arrived at the main bazaar area of Pahalgam and had a late lunch at the Nathu’s Rasoi, one of the best in the town.

Thereafter walked through the streets window shopping. We were booked at Hotel Baisaran but due to some communication gap, we could not be accommodated there. After several telephonic calls to the Hotel Centre Point at Srinagar (they were the people who arranged the package) we were led to a nondescript (but good) hotel some where up in the hill. Probably the village was Ladipura. However the surroundings were scenic. We checked in for a night there, only to move out next day early in the morning to a central location.

Father and Son

Gulmarg (Kashmir)

2012-08-01T06:00:00.000+05:30

Literally the term Gulmarg refers to a place with abundance of flowers. Situated at a distance of 56 kilometres South West of Srinagar, Gulmarg attracts the largest number of tourists among all hill resorts in Kashmir. It has one of the longest and highest (12000 feet) ski slopes in Asia. This apart, the World’s highest (8700 feet) Golf Course is also located here. Many of the foreigners who come here are skiing enthusiasts, though there were very few of them when we visited. We were told that they arrive in large numbers during winter when the competitions are organized. Gulmarg was known as Gourimarg centuries back but in the 16th century Sultan Yusuf Chak excitedly called it as Gulmarg and the name lives on. This place was a favourite with the Emperor Jehangir of the Mughal Dynasty. He used to come here frequently and seems to have attempted to make out an inventory of various species of flowers growing here.

We were camping at Srinagar. By the time we were ready to proceed to Gulmarg it was nearly 10.00 AM. The hangover of our visit to Sonmarg a day earlier made us to sleep a little longer. The extra sleep energised us and we were geared to enjoy Gulmarg to the fullest extent. We commenced our journey without wasting further time. Our driver had foretold the desirability of reaching Gulmarg as early as possible. He was also in touch with the Guide who was waiting for our arrival. The road was quite wide and straight except a diversion. Soon we were at a township known as Tangmarg and it took only 40 minutes to cover the distance of 40 kilometres. From here we had to climb a mountain on a narrow winding road. But before that we were required to equip ourselves with heavy winter clothing, e.g. gum boots, hand gloves, fur caps etc. We also procured long rain coats as well, keeping in mind the previous day’s experience at Sonmarg. All these gears were available on hire at that point. As said earlier, the road up the hill was narrow. We were told that during winter tourists can come up to this point only and thereafter they need to board special vehicles which are equipped with chains on their wheels. This facilitates navigation through the snow covered path.

We continued our journey on the mountain road with Pine trees all around. This stretch needs about 30 minutes drive to cover around 15/16 kilometres. Finally we arrive at a point with a gate to the left and disembark from our vehicles as tourist vehicles are not allowed to enter. Nevertheless there was a road leading inside with meadows to the right as far as the eyes could see. To reach the snow covered mountain ranges, we had three options. We could go on horse back up to the foot of the snow clad mountains or reach the base station for the Gondola (Ropeway) service. Horses/Ponies were available to our right but we decided to walk the distance and followed many others who were on their foot. Although we could have covered some 2 kilometres, it was a pleasant walk passing through the beautiful tourist villas/cottages to our left. Very soon we were at the Gondola Station which had a very long queue in front of the ticket counter. Fortunately our Guide was with us who volunteered to fetch our tickets for the Gondola ride. We escaped from locating the tail end of the queue and standing there for our turn. Perhaps the guide had only such jobs to perform and was fully experienced. Incidentally Kashmir is also plagued with corruption at every level.

The cost of the ticket was Rs.300.00 per person including children above 3 years and that too up to the 1st stage at Khilanmarg (Kungdoori). On getting the tickets we proceeded to board the Gondolas. After a little wait we moved in. The Gondola has a seating capacity for 6 and is fully covered. One can, however, get the beautiful views through the transparent panels (wind screen). Use of cameras got restricted as the wind screen was not clear enough to obtain sharper images. During our upward journey we came across small huts with flat roofs beneath. Some kind of vegetation was visible over the roof tops, a rustic kind of roof garden for growing seasonal vegetables. It did not take much time to reach the first stop at Khilanmarg where we were required to get down. Once again we needed to buy tickets for our onward journey to the 2nd and final stage at Apharwat costing Rs.500.00 per head. Now we were very close to the snow covered hill slopes of another mountain. The ticket counter here was also over crowded but we were not much concerned as we had with us an experienced guide!.

We observed that the the issuance of tickets was being interrupted followed by announcements about the bad weather conditions uphill. It was resumed within 20 minutes or so and then again a similar announcement followed. We, leaving our guide back, engaged ourselves in exploring the area. We learnt that another rope way from here, a Chair Lift, which was not operational at that time, goes up to the snow covered mountain slopes ahead where skiing competitions are held during winter. Snow Rugby matches are also organised occasionally. The skiing slopes known as Marry Shoulder is supposed to be one of the best in the world. They charge Rs.200.00 per head but children below the age of 10 are not permitted to board the Chair Lifts which have a capacity for four.

After about an hour and half, we had our tickets and could board another Gondola to take us to Apharwat. The onward journey commenced. After some time we found ourselves amidst clouds and it started raining. The gondola stopped in the mid air and after remaining suspended for some time we were on the go. Finally we entered the Gondola station where we readied ourselves to get down but the doors refused to open. Lo! we were returning. We could perceive that the weather conditions were not conducive thereat. Finally, after being airborne for over 40 minutes, we were back at Khilanmarg. Another ride on the Gondola brought us to the base from where we walked back to the main road. We reached our vehicles and headed to Srinagar.

Though we regretted for not having been able to disembark at the top of the mountain, at least I was a bit relaxed for I could have had problems in breathing at that height of over 13500 feet. Nevertheless all of us were happy for at least having had an opportunity of riding the most elevated ropeway in the world. Gulmarg is an all-weather resort with refreshing summer meadows and pastoral scenes. Its legendary beauty, adventure opportunities, prime location and proximity to Srinagar naturally makes it one of the premier hill resorts in the country. The beauty all around is heavenly.

Note: Online booking facility (E-Tickets) for Gondola tickets for both the stages is available at:

http://www.gulmarggondola.com

Sonmarg (Kashmir)

2012-07-23T08:01:00.000+05:30

Memories of Sonmarg bring shivers into my spines. I am just recapitulating the enthusiasm we had while proceeding to this place which withered away eventually. That could have been one of the most enjoyable trips but we underwent extreme suffering due to our own faults and lack of proper guidance. Sonmarg which means 'Meadow of Gold' lies some 87 kilometres North East of Srinagar on the highway leading to Leh in Laddakh (topmost area of India). If one continues the journey on that highway for another 9 kilometres, one would reach Joji La (Pass) which is a vital link between Srinagar and Leh. Since we were not heading towards Leh, we stopped at Sonmarg. An important glacier known as Machoi is approachable from here at a distance of 8 kilometres towards the right. The melting ice of the glacier forms a river known as Sindhu which flows for 108 kilometres and becomes a tributary of the river Jhelam. On the way to Sonmarg this river flows parallel to the highway (NH 1D) most of the time and affords a beautiful view against the backdrop of the mountain ranges. The flowing waters, greenery created by the Pine trees and other vegetation makes the drive enjoyable. We were happy for we thought we were seeing the famous river Indus (called Sindhu in India) but we were mistaken. The river Indus has its origin in Tibet and passing through Laddakh it flows through Pakistan.

On 8th June 2012 we had our breakfast in the morning at Srinagar and could reach Sonmarg by Noon. There were several temporary shops on the left providing overcoats, hand gloves, woollen caps, gum boots etc. on a rental basis. The ground in front had wet mud all around and was slushy, a place for all the ponies waiting for customers. The shops there arrange for everything you need, including ponies. The economic principle of demand and supply becomes operational when it comes to determination of per head charges. It is obvious that it varies from time to time.

It was drizzling when we reached there but soon the sky was clear and the weather looked inviting. We geared ourselves putting on the overcoats and other things and finally were on the horse back for the 8 kilometre ride. The caravan proceeded towards the glacier scaling the steep ups. While we were mid way, it started raining. We were wearing woollen overcoats which got soaked in rain water and created discomfort. By the time we were at the foot of the glacier, we were completely drenched and shivering because of extreme cold. All of us were riding a horse/pony for the first time in life. Fortunately at the point we got down, there were numerous temporary sheds where hot tea was available. There was a fire place where we could get some warmth. But that was of no avail because the moment we got out it was a back to square one situation.

The glacier stood before us and some how we prepared ourselves for the climb. You are pulled up on a sledge which is a wooden plank by the people rendering this service. Their charges are also negotiable. There are some imaginary points across the glacier viz, 6, 12, 24 and so on. One could choose any one of them and the farther you wish to be carried, you need to pay more. We settled for a point described as 24. The journey upwards over the sledge was cumbersome as you need to balance yourself. I fell down twice. We were still shivering and the height at 13500 feet had a telling effect. Abruptly, even before we could reach the so called point 6, the man pulling the sledge asked us to get down and cover the steep stretch by foot. We did the short trek but then got exhausted. We were unable to breathe properly. There was no strength left to go any further. We settled ourselves on the snow unable to make any movements. There were cries in the air. A child aged 9 or 10 was weeping profusely. We then decided to return back. Even on our way back we got thrown out of the sledge because of the steep slide.

Ready to go back

We came back to have another round of hot tea and getting some warmth at the fireplace of the tea shops. Looking back at the glacier we realized the beauty of the place but failed to appreciate it to the extent it deserved because of fatigue, physical as also mental. Now we were looking for our horses/ponies and they got located soon. While returning from the glacier, over the horse back, we were going down and at many places it was very steep. It seemed to be a very tiring exercise to remain at 90 degrees and balancing ourselves while the horse was manoeuvring through very narrow passages circumventing large boulders, stones and cavities. Finally we reached the place where our vehicles were parked.

Our driver immediately came to our rescue. He pulled out our gum boots and socks and to our horror we found ice pieces coming out along with water. Thereafter we removed the drenched overcoat and other things which were sent back to the shop owner. We also removed our shirts and pants and got seated inside our vehicles. The heater was turned on and we were feeling better after 10/15 minutes.

We had observed that there was a good road going to the glacier from Sonmarg but only the local vehicles (other than taxies) were permitted. Probably this practice is in vogue so as to enable the local horse/pony keepers to make a living.

The greatest blunder we committed was by not insisting for rain coats. The weather conditions in high altitudes are not predictable. But then we were provided with woollens only which got drenched and created all the problems.

While returning to Srinagar, we stopped at a wayside restaurant and had our late but hot lunch. The Alu Parathas (bread with potatoes) was heavenly.

Nevertheless it was an experience more akin to an adventure.

Jamia Masjid (Mosque) - Srinagar

2012-07-12T15:11:00.001+05:30

After having visited Hazratbal, we thought of going to the Jamia Masjid (Mosque) at Srinagar. However, our driver had some reservations. He informed that the Mosque is at the centre of the old part of the city and is a disturbed area. Cannot be considered to be very safe. Then he remembered that it was a Thursday and not a Friday. Fridays are special when the area is fully crowded for the prayers at the Mosque. (Before I could make out a post, there was a news that a 300 year old “Dastagir Sahib”a holy shrine of the Sufi order, went into flames under mysterious circumstances. To contain the violence that followed, curfew has been clamped through out Kashmir. Even people have been restrained from offering their Friday prayers at Jamia Mosque on the 29th June) Therefore the driver obliged us and took us through the streets of the old city. From an otherwise thinly populated areas we were proceeding towards high density area.

The houses and buildings on our way had a an old world charm and we could not resist clicking our cameras. Soon we noticed a tall tower at a distance resembling that of a church but then our driver corrected us saying that it is the Jamia Masjid.

We were now crossing a main road to go down. The mosque was at a lower elevation and now it was in full view. The main entrance is from the Southern side. The mosque seems to have had entrances from North and East as well. There is a broad lane surrounding the mosque with show rooms and shops on one side stocking items ranging from cloth, utensils, handicrafts and other domestic needs. It is said that the market here is cheaper as they primarily cater to the needs of the local population.

The arched doorway is huge but then the pagoda type superstructure resembles that of a Buddhist shrine. There are no domes and minarets which we generally find associated with mosques. Practically all mosques in Kashmir are devoid of domes. The mosque is supposed to be a unique representation of the Indo-Saracenic architecture.

On entering through the main doorway, we find a magnificent square courtyard with well maintained lawns and ornamental trees. Towards the West is the main prayer hall wherefrom the Imam (Head Priest) directs the congregation. Just in front of the main prayer area there is a large square pool with flowing water used for ritual washing of hands before entering the hall for praying. There is a LED display board inside which shows the exact timings for the 5 times a day prayers. This main complex is surrounded by a very broad corridor on the other three sides with fully carpeted flooring.

The Jamia Masjid is located in the Nowhata area of Srinagar. This was got constructed by the local ruler Sultan Sikandar in the year 1400. Later extensions were carried out by his son Jain-ul-Abidin. As said earlier the architecture is of Indo-Saracenic type. As a matter of fact it is an amalgam of Gothic, Mughal and Indian styles. Here they have used fully baked bricks for the whole construction. It has a wooden ceiling over which corrugated tin sheets have been placed angularly to facilitate easy clearance of snow during winters. the ceiling is supported by 370 very tall pillars made of pine timber. The mosque has a capacity to accommodate a congregation of 33333 people under its roof. Unfortunately this mosque too had to suffer great amount of loss due to fire which broke out at least thrice so far. The last renovation after a major fire was carried out by a Hindu ruler Maharaja Pratap Singh during the later part of 16th century.

Amongst all the mosques we have seen in India, this one is unique and justly called the pride of Srinagar.

Hazratbal (Srinagar)

2012-07-12T15:04:00.000+05:30

Very close to the Nishat Baug at Srinagar there is a very famous place known as Hazratbal. Once it was a village which now is a suburban locality of Srinagar. “Bal” literally means a place and it is some times misconstrued as “Baal” meaning “hair”. Hazratbal if literally translated could mean a holy place. Interestingly it does have an association with the “hair” of the Prophet Mohammed, the precursor of Islam. It is believed by the muslim community of Kashmir that a strand of hair from Prophets beard is preserved at a shrine thereat which is also referred to as Hazratbal. A gang of terrorists even occupied the shrine with an intent to take away the holy relic and in the shoot out that followed, the security forces succeeded in eliminating them. Even thereafter there had been few skirmishes. Now it seems that peace has finally dawned. There are hundreds of pigeons here and people say that the white ones, representing peace, are on an increase. Because the entire area is sensitive, security forces have been posted at the shrine.

The structure as it appeared in 1920

The holy relic gets exposed to public view five times a day for the whole week during during Eid-e-milad and Meraj-un-nabi celebrations. Thousands throng to this shrine during those occasions just to have a glimpse of the relic. It is said that during the beginning of the 17th century a high official of Shahjahan’s court got constructed a beautiful building (Isshrat Mahal) with gardens spread out. In those days the surrounding area was known as Sadiqabad. When Shahjahan visited the place in 1634 he ordered the building to be used as a prayer hall. Historians are of the view that the relic was brought to India from Medina by one Syed Abdulla a descendant of the Prophet, who settled down at Bijapur in Karnataka. After his death the relic came into the possession of his son Syed Hamid. But then the area came under the attack of Mughals who annexed it. During the turmoil, Syed Hamid lost all his properties and was not able to take care of the family relic. He, therefore, sold it to a rich Kashmiri merchant named Khwaja Nur-ud-din Eshai. When Aurangazeb (Mughal emperor) came to know about this, he got the holy relic confiscated and sent it to the shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti at Ajmer. Nur-ud-din Eshai was arrested for possessing the relic and jailed at Lahore (now in Pakistan). It seems that after some time Aurangazeb’s conscience deplored his own actions and then he decided to return the relic to it’s owner Nur-ud-din and set him free. However by that time Nur-ud-din, while in jail, had already departed to his heavenly abode.

It was in 1699 that the remains of Nur-ud-din Eshai’s body as also the holy relic were brought to Kashmir. Inayat Begam, daughter of Nur-ud-din got the remains of her father’s body cremated and a shrine erected at Hazratbal. She also took the holy relic under her protection. The present structure made of marble was constructed by the Muslim Aukaf Trust administered by Sheikh Abdulla (a renowned politician of yester years). The construction started in 1968 and got completed in 1979. The shrine, apart from religious activities, was also a nerve centre of all political activities at Srinagar. Sheikh Abdulla used to address the public from this venue and became very popular. After his death, his son Dr. Farooq Abdulla desired to have control over the affairs of the shrine but terrorists had a upper hand from 1990 onwards. The shrine proved to be a safe heaven for them.

We roamed about the residential areas adjoining the Shrine and then proceeded towards the left. The road was going down, not steep though. To our right there was one opening leading towards the left side of the Holy Shrine. Amidst a well laid our lawn, there were some ornamental trees. The main dome of the shrine had scaffoldings and it appeared that some restoration/repairs were being undertaken. There was a group of Kashmiri women at the extreme end of the lawn singing and rejoicing. We asked a gentleman there, probably belonging to that group, about the happenings. We were told that a family from a nearby village had no issues and they had prayed at the Shrine earlier. As a result a baby was born and that the family has brought the child here and were expressing their gratitude. We sought their permission to take few photographs and they gladly agreed. After enjoying their traditional group song with the accompaniments, we proceeded towards the shrine. There were not many tourists. Most of the people there were local women who were entering a side hall to offer their prayers. We had a peep through a window. When we were proceeding towards the front side, we encountered few security personnel. We once again enquired if it would be proper for us to take photographs. We were advised not to do so inside the hall leading to the main Shrine (tomb). There was a covered porch outside through which we could enter the main hall, The hall was fully decorated and carpeted and looked like the hall of a church without the seating arrangement (benches). Thereafter we came out and we were on the main street after passing through an arched gate.

The visitors from different parts of country generally pay a visit to the shrine. In the past, even the political delegations, including from the BJP, also made it a point in the past to pay obeisance at the shrine. Former prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Atal Behari Vajpayee, and Presidents Neelam Sanjiva Reddy and APJ Kalam had also visited the shrine. But now a days It seems that tourists are not very comfortable coming here as it is perceived that any thing could happen anytime.

Here is a small video:

Nishat Bagh and Harwan Garden (Srinagar)

2012-07-05T12:23:00.000+05:30

After having spent about 2 hours at Chashme Shahi we had to return taking the same road via the Governor’s residence (Raj Bhawan). The second largest Mughal garden known as Nishat Bagh was again located on the main road on the Eastern bank of Dal Lake with the same Zabarwan mountain ranges as its backdrop. The waters flowing out of the garden has been made to slide down from about 15 feet high into a rectangular pool by the side of the road.

Once upon a time the waters straight away fell into the lake but now there is the road in between. Nishat Bagh literally means a garden of joy or merriment which was got created by Asif Khan the brother of Noor Jehan (Mughal Empress) in the year 1633. It is rectangular in shape running some 1800 feet towards the mountains with a width of over 1100 feet. The mountain slope has 12 terraces, representing the Zodiacal signs. There is a mountain spring at the top which has been made to flow down through water channels built with polished stone. There are pools on every segment of the terrace with beautiful fountains. The entire length of the water channel also has fountains at regular intervals.

There was a large crowd at the ticket counter and almost all of them were Indians. We too joined them and after getting our tickets we could gain entry. At the far end there were large Chinar and Cypress trees. Their number seems to have dwindled and instead a new variety of flowering trees have come up whith a lotus like large fragrant white flowers identified as “Magnolia Grandiflora”. They are known as “Him Champa” in Hindi.

The long water channel with pools and fountains and flower beds were really a feast to our eyes. Our group members were not very much inclined to explore all the terraces fully as it seemed that their earlier visit to Chasme Shahi was very much fulfilling. In fact the upper reaches are said to be much more beautiful. However, the group as a whole was not keen to invest more time here and wanted to move to other destinations. It was some thing like a kind of dictatorship of the proletariat. The majority had the say.

After having visited Nishat Bagh we were to visit Shalimar Gardens as per schedule but before we could take our seats in our vehicles the group members started shouting in unison. The question was what is going to be there except the same flora and fauna. Sensing disinclination to visit Shalimar Gardens, our driver said “well I shall take you to a place which is different and not visited by any one except the locals”. It was again a garden, couple of decades old and not centuries. The location of Harwan garden was beneath a dam.

By the time we reached there and came out of the vehicles, it was drizzling. We procured our entry tickets and got in. We realized after our entry that what the driver was suggesting was nevertheless true. There were no outsiders there excepting ourselves and it looked as if this garden is reserved for Kashmiris. Interestingly we could not come across any of the locals in the two gardens we visited earlier as if they have developed a kind of apathy for them. May be they needed seclusion but here we are clearly encroaching upon their territory.

The garden has neat pathways with arched gates. There were climbing roses adoring the arches in full bloom and looked heavenly. The waters from the dam ran through a deep channel on one side passing through several age old shady Chinar trees. However the leaves resembled a Maple. The greenery all around captivated us. Several school children were on a visit that day. There were many girls sitting under a Chinar tree and singing together. Some Kashmiri families were also enjoying their picnic lunch.

It was drizzling but unmindful of our getting wet we climbed up the dam and could enjoy the beautiful view at the far end though it was a little foggy. The earthen slope of the dam also had a nursery of rose plants and some of them were also in bloom. Some school girls ventured to go inside to have a closer look at the flowers. We found that the girls were keen to have them photographed in their traditional attire. This facility was being provided by a photographer at the garden.

Yes it was a different experience and we had the satisfaction of having visited a place which is not frequented by tourists.

We were hungry and it was time for lunch too. We moved on and got down in front of a restaurant on the banks of Dal Lake. Our garden visits thus came to an end.