Of People and Places

  The world is a little fragmented at the moment,  What gets us through is the deeper connection we have and  the grace with which we say our hellos and goodbyes. 

Lying flat on my back on the terrace, it's lovely to gaze at the sky. Clouds pass ever so slowly, and my thoughts drift with them. One day, just before sunset - I saw the first star appear. I saw how relative movement is - that time can stand still and the clouds can seem still if there isn't a point of reference, I felt the earth move in tune with the clouds.An illusion of sorts when you are facing the sky. I saw that even amid clouds of darkness, the moon burns bright - even if you cant see it, it's there. You just have to wait for the clouds to pass to see the moon peeking through.  Trying to recreate all the colors that  I saw as the evening stretched into night - which one do you like?

Belgaum has many beautiful houses dating back to colonial times. With gothic arches, linear shaped buildings, terracotta tiles, they express a serenity and calmness that is hard to find these days. Some people do continue to live in these houses whereas some have an abandoned look. These buildings have an interesting blend of British, Kannada and Marathi architecture.Most of these houses are built from stone, mud bricks with high ceilings, cast iron railings,ornate windows and roofs. I wish we had a heritage walk in Belgaum where we are guided by experts on the history of these buildings. I am sure it would be an enriching experience.

A part of the Bhojeshwar temple complex Just outside of Bhopal, there is a little known town called Bhojpur on the banks of river Betwa. My friend and I went on a visit on the way to Bhopal from Hoshangabad. We got down from the bus and took a shared auto to go to the Bhojeshwar temple, and a shared ride it was indeed! The driver was more than happy to accommodate more passengers so that  there were 10 of us, not to mention our suitcase and handbags, all in 1 auto! We were crammed together like sardines, in uncomfortable positions. When I first  caught sight of the Bhojeshwar temple, I was blown away! It is a sparse landscape that surrounds the temple, and the huge structure in contrast, really catches the eye.  It is an incomplete temple, with one of the largest Shiva lingas in the world. You could see it from a distance but if you were to go inside the structure, even if you were to crane your neck you would be able to see only the bottom of the large pedestal...

Near the tower of victory inside Ashrafi Mahal, you can find ruins with beautiful stone carvings. Ashrafi mahal was originally built as a Madrassa and dates back to the time the Khilji Dynasty took over administration in the fortress city of Mandu. The Ashrafi   Mahal must have had wide spacious balconies, but   now there are no traces of that. The outer walls have crumbled and the structure is sky clad. You can witness a beautiful sunset if you come here just before closing time. The flight of stairs takes you through the complex and it has been built so that one can have a direct view of the Jama Masjid across the road. This monument, along with the Jama Masjid and Roopmati’s pavilion are close to the heart of the town with its market and small restaurants and sweetmeat shops. I can only imagine the splendour of this square in the old days, especially on a full moon day. Mandu has a mysteriousness I am yet to find in any other place.

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...

I had heard so much about baobab trees and I finally had a chance to meet one at Mandu. Mandu or Mandav is an ancient fortress town in the Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh. It is a place after my own heart with ruins scattered all over the place making it a town of breathtaking beauty. Much more about Mandu later (I haven’t even begun!) Let’s go back to our baobab tree. Fields with yellow and green dot the path to the village and in the midst stand these curious trees.   They have massive trunks that store water. To me, they look like a cross between a bottle and an elephant – and I find their shape comforting.   These trees are native to Africa. I am curious to know how they got here! Apparently, they are among the most ancient trees on earth.  Locals sell the baobab tree seeds, they are called   Mandu ki imli. They taste like tamarind but have this incredible zing and saltiness. I liked it but not a good idea to eat too much of it (My cavities are tingling at...

The way to Nainital from Kathgodam. Uttarakhand welcomed me with her arms wide open, as the bus turned yet another hairpin bend. Her pines glistened in the winter sun and the small mountain streams twinkled at me like her two merry eyes.   Two places have filled me with infinite delight because of their tininess – Gokarna and Nainital.   I cannot describe what I felt when I finally reached the Tallital bus stand.The Naini lake stood there in majesty with the town all around her. From the cycle rickshaw that I sat in, I drank in all the beauty surrounding me. Truly you do not  know what sunlight means to you unless you are out on a winter’s day in the hills. And the sun is so caressing, it fills you with warmth. Picture if you can a tiny teardrop of water, surrounded by higgledy-piggledy houses amid tall trees. Add to that a gloriously clear baby blue sky with dreamy clouds. That is what I saw on the ropeway. It must be so beautiful to see it in the night....

To the lighthouse Up, up, all the way up. The dizzying spiral never comes to an end. You hold on to the railing for balance, and then you look down and you gasp! Your climb to the top is not without its rewards. Where else would you feel on top of the world; the sea – your kingdom, the colorful boats in its eddies – your subjects. You are high enough to get a bird’s eye view of the birds! I see a family of kites and their nest in one of the trees below. There’s a delightful little stream that has escaped from the beach, like a naughty child, and made inroads into the sand. The vast sense of scale, of space in the Arabian Sea is mesmerizing. If you look closely you might spot dolphins shimmering in the sunlight as they discreetly find their way to the surface. I am atop Kapu lighthouse, a 115 year old heritage lighthouse a few kilometers inland from the quaint town of Kapu near Udupi in Karnataka. It is a functional lighthouse over the choppy Arabian Sea, having guided...

On a recent trip to Maharashtra, I saw this kaka and kaki at the Pune Railway station. They must have been on their way to Pandharpur. I have seen devotees making their way to Pandharpur in hordes singing beautiful abhangs, taking their entire family with them. The Varkaris generally make this annual pilgrimage by foot.   Elders and little children walk too, and there is scarcely a break in the singing and music. There is something divine, whether you are a believer of god or not, in voices raised to a common tune, in exaltation of something outside the self. I would like to go with them once. In the month of Ashadh Ekadashi, trains in Maharashtra are filled with pilgrims on their way to Pandharpur. Maybe I will join them. Who knows, I may meet this old couple I saw at the Pune railway station.