Of People and Places

We were given an assignment to build an impression of Mandu through illustrations. We spent a week there, explored all the places and monuments to our heart's content and built a relationship with the place. This doesn't often happen when you travel as a tourist. So, I was glad. This assignment made me focus on the place, on what made it different from other places I had visited and the kind of mood and ambience it had. As soon as we enter Dhar, the landscape changes slightly. There is a fantastic view of the valley and a very prominent gorge enroute - called suicide point. Cliched really. I wish it was called something else. The current name is not befitting something as magical as Mandu.  We enter the fortified town through a large, ancient gateway.It is quite dry and arid outside. The Vindhya ranges that Mandu is located in show their characteristic flat- topped, plateau-like peaks. The Gray Langur, more human than animal, watches us from the tree near the ruins. The...

For most people Goa is a holiday destination, a place of endless booze and partying, fresh seafood, expensive restaurants and weekend getaways. Not for Konkanis, though. As a child, I hated the fact that visits to Goa were mostly restricted to visiting the Mangeshi Mutt (temple), with an occasional trip to the beach and I longed for all those touristy things that other people did :) As I grew older, I began to see that a lot exists beyond both these things. A vast part of Goa is unexplored, untouched by the madness that tourists bring with them. Take Chandor, for instance,  a charming village in South Goa. It is a small village that can be explored on foot. In the monsoons, this place is too beautiful for words. Luckily, we had a friend who lives there to show us around. On the way to Chandor, amid stretches of forests, you will see typical Goan houses. The houses have covered porches that face the street, and invariably you will see someone sitting there, reading a newspap...

Originally built as a durbar, Hindola Mahal is a unique representative of Malwa architecture. It seems to have borrowed elements from different architecture styles and come up with something entirely original.  Its sloping side walls give it a distinct look. The entire complex is made up of arches that let in a lot of light and wind. For me, the colors of this place characterizes Madhya Pradesh. If you look at the landscape, you will see earthy shades of pink,red, brown, ochre and burnt umber and these colors are captured in the monuments found in the ancient city of Mandu. While I sat sketching inside the deserted Mahal ( Monuments are wonderful to visit in the mornings when there are no tourists about)  a cheeky squirrel gave me a lot of trouble. Perhaps he was in want of company too and followed me about wherever I went. I finally had to perch myself awkwardly on a pedestal near one of the arches while the squirrel went around looking for me. He managed to spot me...

Sittilingi is a valley in Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu.Everywhere you turn, you see  green-blue mountains and the valley is a vast bamboo grove. There are peacocks in the fields and trees and many birds, especially the small ones that make the most noise. It is lovely to be outdoors in the morning and late evening. Daytime is sweltering hot. The night sky is spectacular. I had the privilege of seeing the blood moon ( Total Lunar Eclipse) there and it was breathtaking. I hear from my friend that it was cut off from the outside world for a long time. It is a small hamlet with Malayalee / Malayvasi ( adivasi), Lambadi  and Dalit families.Twenty six years ago, two doctors -Regi and Lalitha started the Tribal Health Initiative in a small hut in Sittilingi and now it has turned into a full - fledged hospital. Its team  includes trained nurses who come from the local community and a world wide community of volunteers and well -wishers. The THI has also led initiatives su...

Inside the Thanjavur Maratha Royal complex, in the Royal Palace museum, you will get to see graceful figures in Bronze.  The way they capture the beauty of the human figure with its contours and posture is a treat to see. All the bronze sculptures that are part of the collection have exquisite details.  I especially love the gestures of the hands, every finger elegantly poised, much like they do in stylized theatre or in Classical dance. This sculpture was found in Mayiladuthurai in Tamil nadu. It is named as Thirupurantagar, One of the many names of Lord Shiva. I was amazed to hear of how these sculptures were made. They went through an elaborate process where an intricate wax model was first carved, after which it was covered with clay to form a mould. This was then fired to harden it. The wax melted in the heat leaving only the baked clay intact. The bronze was then melted and poured into this mould. Once it had hardened, the outer clay shell would be shattered. On...

Roosters- Crowquill and coloured drawing inks  The mud houses of Dhar  have this familiar sight of a cosy charpai under the shade of a tree in front of the house. These roosters were having something of a conference, firmly ensconced on the Charpai, turning suspicious beady eyes at me and my friend as we went for a pleasant morning walk to Dai ka mahal ( There is a Dai ki chhoti behen ka mahal too! :) I wish I had an entire building built just for me ) Mandu has five groups of monuments, each worth at least a day's worth of your time. We walked to what is known as the 'Sagar Talao Group of monuments' because it was closest to the hotel we were staying at. We saw the Caravan Sarai, Dai ka Mahal, Malik Mughith's mosque in the morning, since they cluster around close to each other. We stopped at a wayside tea stall to have chai and saw this cosy scene. The lady of the house was lighting up firewood to make some breakfast.  We went in the Winter so  it was a differ...