Of People and Places

Illustration - Mango Mastani and Pineapple Ice Cream Sharbat at Samarth Juice Center If you've been to Nashik, you've probably tasted the delicious Pineapple Sharbat that's famous at Samarth Juice Center . My friend took me there on a sultry late afternoon ( Or prevening) after a heavy lunch, with no room at all for more food. But good things always find a way to reach you :D  We had the Mango Mastani, Rose Mastani and the Pineapple sharbat. All of it was delicious and I really recommend the pineapple sharbat - it is light, frothy and absolutely yummy! Sigh, cravings.  Other food related posts -  Paddy transplanting in Harlimatha  Prawn Ghee Roast in Kundapura  UtpaDhan - Farmer Producer Companies in Rural Karnataka Fayyaz, the fish seller Japanese Food in Bangalore

On the banks of the lake Pichola in Udaipur, A folk musician played a stringed instrument while tourists milled about. He was playing a Ravanhatha, it has a beautiful sound and surprising resonance. The sound is bewitching, especially when he does a legato kind of thing (slide from one note to another after it is played) It is called  meend in Hindustani Classical  music where one note dissolves into another seamlessly. He played popular hindi songs diving into one from the other while tourists walked past to other attractions. The lake Palace stood behind him,  blinding white, enigmatic and mysterious to us outsiders. It must be quite something to stay at the Palace, which has now been converted to a luxury hotel. Right in the middle of the lake! How exciting.

On a trip to Mysore, we met this little fella in Dubare - A frisky baby elephant happy to be let loose for a little while. His mahout was a little kid of  about 8 or 9 years and I thought to myself, Well! Isn't this a great pair. They both ran into the Kabini river for bath time accompanied by a horde of tourists  wanting to  'bathe' the baby elephant while he just laid there in the cold water , happy as a lark , making gurgling noises and flapping his ears. I was one of the tourists and I was also happy to give the little one a scrub. I like elephants. As do most people. But I suppose humans liking them is not a very good thing for elephants themselves. There is a lot of cruelty involved in making them ' human - friendly'. Have you visited the Mysore Dasara and seen the elephant parade? Or seen an elephant in South Indian temples? And admired them because they look so mammoth, majestic and grand? And felt affection and warmth for them, accompanied by a lit...

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...

My favourite place to visit in Hoshangabad is Bandrabhan. It is the confluence of  Narmada and Tawa rivers. From Hoshangabad twenty of us would go there on a sketching trip and have a gala time drawing, sketching or just plain wool-gathering. I couldn't believe such a gem existed when I first set my eyes on the place. You need to walk a little way downhill to get there and cross a vast expanse of sand that leads into the river and the wind roars past you, billowing your clothes and hair. Try turning and walking backwards and suddenly everything is calm and quiet just as it was noisy and chaotic a few moments ago! ( I hope nobody was watching me. I must look eccentric doing that!) Across the river there is a temple with a structure in the shape of a  trishool glinting in the sunlight, surrounded by shrubs and bushes. It looks so tranquil in the evening.  Once, when we went in the monsoons, our feet sank down in the sand and slowed us down as it stuck to our foot...