The Christmas Eve Trek 2011

Days passed into weeks and weeks passed into months. Finally, a few of us could go out on Christmas Eve on a visit to the Malshej Ghats and the Shivneri fort. Looking back ..

Stillness in the hills, a magical feeling of belonging. Almost like home, that which we seek   all along ..

Walking along the Malshej Ghats, one of the minor privileges in this life!

After the ghats, we came to a village, at the house of one of our retired staff. He has good, cultivated fields just alongside the waters of an artificial irrigation lake 

And then we gorged on the mix veg curry and rice, and red hot chicken curry with bajri roti, bhakri with pickles :)) 


Time to move ahead, on to Shivneri fort .. 

The Shivneri fort hails from the Satvahan dynasty and then, various dynasties such as the Shilahars, the Yadavas, the Bahamani Sultans and the Mughals. It is the birthplace of the great Maratha warrior king Shivaji, born 1630. It is built on steep rocks on all four sides and the main entrance corridor has seven gates, the fifth being armored with elephant spikes ..

There is a pond at the center of the fort, and two natural water springs. Rock hewn cisterns abound. Clearly, there was a vibrant society in those times, inhabiting the citadel

The northern side is the narrowest edge and its a steep drop below. Rumour has it that traitors were thrown down from here 

And a view from the house in which Shivaji Raje was born 

Dusk. The time when temple bells resound across the plains below and the cows turn homeward. For us however, the fun started precisely at this point when we decided to take the steep, rocky slope down and quite literally, hearts in our mouths!

For the most part, the stone steps had been ground down the ages to a smooth slope and it was difficult to balance our tired frames in the fading light. The steel rope nailed to the iron post could not really help if we slipped, for the gap was too big, and the way down was too way down :))
Anyway, when we actually came down, it was pitch black with only the mobile phone lights to show the way. Altogether, a day well spent, wasn't it? 

Beyond words

Said the teacher,"How many of you know the fragrance of a rose?"

All of them students nodded their heads in affirmation.

"Now put it into words."

All of them were silent. 

"Those who know do not say

Those who say do not know."

Lao Tzu

Indore

A city in Central India, sometime seat of the Holkar clan, wonderfully ambient temperature and people so easy going in contrast to the abrasive tempers of Delhi and single minded pursuit of Mammon in Mumbai! Only city to have an IIT and an IIM both, besides other institutions. Took pictures of the Krishnapura chhatris or pagodas, built over the cremation grounds of some of the rulers of the Holkar clan. 

 Architecturally, the mix of styles would be clear to those who have been watching  temple architecture of medieval India

The Rajwada, or the royal house was a few meters away. The first three floors were built in stone and the top four floors in wood. Only the facade remains, for the edifice burned down three times, the latest in 1984 ..

From a side entrance, I came up to a pillared hall, with numerous pieces of stone and metal sculpture 

Much taller than me and clearly centuries old, this Nataraj sculpture is the largest I have seen so far

Canopied Shiva shrine inside the hall, with a massive metallic cobra protecting the deity .. the shrine of queen Ahilyabai Holkar is adjacent to it

Philosopher queen who ruled from 1767 to 1795, led her armies in battle, rebuilt the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi, the Somnath temple and built temples as far away as Badrinath and Puri, scores of rest houses  and  other public works, regularly gave audience and a firm believer in justice and fair play. Revered in the entire region and State as a saint. She came to Indore only twice however, and shifted her seat from Indore to Maheshwar, a small town on the Narmada river. 

Both the sculptures above represent Shiva as the hunter as I could understand. The Malwa region is full of Shiva temples, the Omkareshwar and Mahakaleshwar not far away, and those stories would also be told! 

Also met Ruparam somewhere along the way. A sheep grazer and nomad, he is from Jodhpur in Rajasthan and lately in Indore. 

  Embroidered cotton dhoti and kurta, traditional Jodhpuri stuff!

And finally, this rose ringed parakeet, enjoying his diet of guavas - from head to tip of his tail, he must have been a full 18 inches!

A North Eastern view

There is a huge "beel, " a natural water body outside Agartala airport, the reason why it is called Singh er beel. Visibility was poor because of the monsoon clouds that flitted in and out of the view

The air corridor crosses Meghalaya State, the abode of the clouds, before touchdown at Guwahati, capital city of the State of Assam, the largest among the seven sister States in the North Eastern parts of India.

Mountains that seemed to reach out to the sky ...

On the banks of the Brahmaputra, one of the largest Indian rivers that flows through Guwahati 

It was difficult to get pictures, with sudden gusts of rain and fast changing light, but the riverbank was glorious!

A quick tour of the town and cricket, of course! Cricket flourishes throughout the sub continent

And the War Memorial ( 1939 - 1945)

Went for lunch to a place that serves only Assamese cuisine, for travel is not complete without local food and flavour. And talking of flavour, found typical Assamese architecture to be quite charming!

There was no time to explore further, to the Vashistha Ashram (hermitage) or the Famous Kamakhya temple of the Mother Goddess, which was closed for five days during our visit. Back to Mumbai, and there was a glorious sunset in the skies at 38000 feet, above the rain bearing clouds ..

7:45 p.m. Time to go to sleep :)

Briefly, Chennai

Daylight faded as one arrived in Chennai. The Marina beach, stretching for 12 kms, is the longest beach in the world and tucked away in one corner, opposite the Fort St George, is the MGR memorial, erected in honour of the movie star turned Chief Minister of the State of Tamil Nadu

It was hot, sultry and there was so much salt content in the air that the camera lens and my specs, both misted up as soon as we got out of the car. Decided to call it a day 

And then, encounter with a DJ..

Mantu Singh, spinning mostly MTV stuff but with lofty ambitions!

The city looked refreshingly cool and clean in the morning. To one accustomed to the filth and sheer pressure of population in Mumbai and Kolkata, Chennai was decidedly nearer to civic heaven of sorts and almost all buildings wore a fresh coat of paint

The new Chief Minister smiles down to her subjects, near TTK Music Academy at Royapettah, where we had a Seminar

And then, back to Mumbai where the laburnum outside my bedroom window was in full bloom, welcoming the imminent onset of the monsoon!

In Ahmedabad

The city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat is named after Ahmed Shah (ruled 1411 to 1442), who also built a wall around the city. Parts of the wall still exist 

 On to the Sabarmati Ashram of Mahatma Gandhi .. 

  

This is the room he used to live in, spinning yarn in the charkha.

Simple living verging on the austere, adding a moral dimension to the nationalist movement of India that has influenced millions of Indians and then, Nelson Mandela in recent times.

Upasana Mandir, the consecrated place for morning and evening prayers. The river Sabarmati in the far distance.

As the sun set, we went to the old city. Yusuf, our driver, insisted on showing us around, keeping up a running commentary. There were twelve gates in the wall around the city, he said, and at Lal Darwaza is the mosque of Sidi Sayyed, famous for the jaali or stone lattice work. The middle panel out of five was dismantled and taken away by the Brits, but the ship sank in the high seas ..

And the Aalif Masjid, around which are numerous local eateries  .. kebabs and sweetmeats ..

There is never time enough, but I do mean to visit sometime again!

A painted door

This is actually not a door at all, but a painting done on a glass partition in a graphics training institute. The space between the door panels was left as it is, and the peering face is on the other side of the glass partition. Clever? Probably so, because the students of this institute have contributed to the Chronicles of Narnia in a major way and their skill has to be seen to be believed!