Of People and Places

A little illustration inspired by the bus ride from Kathgodam to Nainital. I saw lovely mountain streams, valleys of giant trees and felt immensely at peace with myself. I was travelling solo, surrounded by a large family from Delhi. The children were ill-mannered and noisy.The man next to me was apologetic. "I usually come with my bike gang - we all ride royal enfield bikes." He said ruefully, as if regretting his boisterous family and longing for the quiet companionship of his fellow bikers on the sun kissed roads. And again, on the shared tempo rides from Nainital to Bhimtal and Naukuchiyatal - these pines greeted me,  over spectacular views of the mountains,  while we turned the hairpin bends at breakneck speed! I wondered what it would be like to just go, descend into the valley and bask in the sun as the clear mountain stream rushed past me without a care in the world. Wishful thinking! So, I turned to art.And decided that it makes for a perfect illustrati...

Last weekend in Mysore, my sister ( a die-hard thatte idli fan) went around the streets asking for thatte idli. One of the guys,regretfully gesturing with his hands said - "we only have the regular small idlis madam!" Sadly, we had to come back to Bangalore with our wish unfulfilled. Our Thatte idli fanaticism has always been met with raised eyebrows, rolled eyes and bored looks that seem to be saying " Oh these tatte idli crazies are here again! Why can't they just eat regular idlis and be done with it." Two places we have loved eating Tatte idli at  - A cart that is seen in the mornings near M.N Krishna Rao park, Basavangudi Pavithra idli hotel , Kyathsandra, Tumkur. Which is your favourite joint? 

We saw this beautiful couple in Kandy. The Sinhalese Buddhist wedding attire is very eye-catching and glamorous. The bride looks like the legendary heroines we hear of in the Ramayana and the Mahabharata ( Not sure if my illustration does justice, so do check out pictures online) - sparkling away in her wedding finery. The dress is similar to the Indian saree, called Osaria/ Kandyan Saree, but it has a neriya - a short piece of cloth that wraps around the midriff and unlike the Indian saree, the midriff is only partially covered.  I really love the jewelry worn on the hair - it makes them look royal and dignified. And the groom's attire is unlike anything I've ever seen before. The jacket is beautifully embroidered. If anyone can tell me more about how these traditional garments evolved and their history, I'd be happy to hear from you :) Do comment!

The beauty parlour close to my house is run by a Miss Trunchbull like personality, with whom we have only just managed to break the ice after three years. Usually, she ignores us as she expertly trims someone's hair, or does this weird walk like an Egyptian thing with her head when she is threading our eyebrows, or sharing some juicy gossip with someone who has presumably known her for more than three years. But the other day, she smiled at us and that transformed her face. It was a brief smile but it made her less intimidating. She is super efficient, barking out orders at the other girls who work there - mostly from the North - Eastern states and Nepal. They seem intimidated by her too. They are relaxed when she is not around and they laugh and giggle and horse around. I was getting a much needed pedicure to come back with some new, 'glowing' feet and one of the employees who had just walked in popped this red slab of sticky looking candy into the beautician's ...

Trunks flew overhead like missiles. And there was drool in the air! I was caught in the cross fire as the elephants shot out their trunks hither and thither to eat the bananas and other fruits the tourists were holding up for them. The elephant I was trying to feed, opened his mouth wide, patiently waiting for me to pop the banana into his mouth when, quick as lightning, other elephants intercepted the food, rolled them up with their noses and gobbled them up. Self-service is the best service, I advised the poor fellow who had been cheated. He tapped me on the head, as if trying to see if I had some stashed away on my head and hands. I shrugged and told him -         "See, my hands are empty!" I am at Pinnawala in Sri Lanka, an orphanage for baby elephants close to the Maha Oya river . They are bathed twice a day in the river and many hotels and restaurants have sprung up close by so that visitors can eat, drink and relax with the gorgeous ...

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.

On Day 2 of our tour in Sri Lanka, we took a road trip to the Pinnawala elephant orphanage . On the way, I was delighted to be on the canal road - where colorful boats lined up on the waterway on the right while tuk-tuks , cars and buses plied on the road that we were on. This is the Dutch canal/ Hamilton canal   connecting Puttalam to Colombo. It runs across many towns and landscapes and my only regret is that we did not go on a boat ride on the canal. It was constructed by the Dutch to be a supply route for agricultural produce and goods to be transported to the sea port at Negombo. It connects to the Muthrajawela wetlands in the Negombo lagoon, a marsh with incredible biodiversity, from what I've read. Next time I visit Sri Lanka, the canal  and Negombo lagoon are definitely on my bucket list.