Of People and Places

A pen & watercolor sketch of the gopuram ( gateway), Thanjavur Brihadeeshwara temple Not so long  ago, my parents had visited Thanjavur and were in raptures about the place. Ever since, I have been told by them on countless occasions that 'You MUST visit Thanjavur... there are many interesting places to sketch there. The big temple is unexpectedly beautiful' When my uncle and grandmother came to Bangalore with the aim of going to Kumbakonam, it was a good pretext for me to go and see what it was all about. My four year old cousin would also be with them, and she is an immensely fun, mischievous girl to be around - so I said yes, I would accompany them. What awaited was a splendid specimen of Dravida architecture. A hot sultry day lay in store and the temple was lit brilliantly. A lot of tourists from Tamil Nadu and Kerala were trooping in. Some wore colored garments representing their groups, in bright colors of red and yellow with vibhuti on their foreheads. The te...

Ever since I've started learning the language, I have been fascinated by all things Japanese. But, I suppose that's natural. Learning a foreign language is like a portal into a different universe, and it's exciting to discover what that universe holds. In an event two years ago, I had a chance to eat authentic Japanese food, and I quite liked it. It was a vegetarian menu ( I was with a large group with mostly vegetarian preferences). I can imagine the chef scratching his head, wondering how in the world he could make an all- vegetarian Japanese menu! Many around me were excited to begin with, but slowly their enthusiasm petered out. First came Miso soup, and one of the ladies went a bit pallid after three mouthfuls. She barely touched the food that came after that! I for one, love Miso soup. It's very comforting and to me it tastes a bit like our Vaali Ambat ( a konkani curry) with a foreign twist. Then we had Yaki udon and it was fantastic. It's nice, once ...

Gautami Putra Vihara, Pandavleni Caves, Nasik  If you ever go to Nasik, don't miss the Pandavleni Caves. It is a beautiful complex of about 24 caves carved into the Trirashmi hills. There is a lovely view of Nashik town from the top and since we had visited in the monsoons, a pleasant drizzle made the panorama a visual treat. These rock cut caves used to serve as monasteries for Buddhist monks. The sketch I have made is of a relief sculpture found in Cave no.3  (Gautamiputra Vihara)  It was pitch dark in there and  our old friends the bats made their presence felt. When I turned on my torch to have a better look, I was astounded by the scale of the sculptures. This one in particular, seemed to loom from above, and I was really spellbound by the planning of the architects of those times. Speaking of which, you must visit Ajanta and Ellora caves at least once in your lifetime! Visiting these places makes me feel really humbled by what they were able to achieve...

Bharnee/ Bharani Ceramic jar The other day I took out our bharnee ( Ceramic jar) to do some watercolor studies. It has been with us since before I was born. My parents have always made this super- delicious, super -simple Konkani lemon pickle in it called 'Limbiya kanchee'. As children, me and my sister were often sick with the flu - liquid gold, if you know what I mean :D and our mealtimes were made of hot rice gruel and kanchee or rice and milk and kanchee.Amma used to feed us both, while we sat cross-legged on the floor, waiting our turn, nose dripping, sneezing, coughing.( Speaking of coughing, amma used to give us juice from a grated onion mixed with honey as a decongestant - I remember it used to work well) I still believe that it was because of the pickle that we recovered faster. Some rice gruel ( pej) and Lemon Kanchee and you are ready to conquer the world! I think most Konkani people remember this pickle from their childhood days. This is one of the few no...

We went to Kasargod two years ago on a vacation, and saw the beautiful Ananthapadmanabhaswamy temple en route to Bekal Fort. It was in the monsoons, and Kerala was like a green shining jewel in the rains. The temple is built in the middle of a lake, a small bridge connecting it. There is a cave through which, according to legend, lord Anantha Padmanabha made a way towards Thiruvananthapuram. From the temple, we looked at the fishes in the clear green water under us.  While the temple and its precincts and the scenery around it are lovely, the most interesting thing about it is a crocodile named  Babiya , claimed to be a vegetarian crocodile who guards the temple and apparently loves the Rice and Jaggery Naivedyam that they feed her twice a day. The priest was very excited to talk about Babiya . He claims it is a divine crocodile who guards the cave and the temple . According to him, every time a crocodile dies, another one appears to take its place. He also claims that...