Posted by Uday in Nov 17, 2011, under Travel
Octopussy on Roof-tops
If Udaipur were a person…, one second. Now that I am writing an analogy, I cannot help taking advantage of it. If Udaipur is a girl, she is surely someone who flaunts her riches, filled with pride and elegance, whom battles were fought after, seen pains and glories, has lapped up the nature, arresting and impressive, flashes her colors by day and glitters her jewels at night. And importantly she rejects to age and must have attained immortality. Udaipur – the center and later capital of Mewarkingdom is truly a jewel in the crown. Its lakes, that gave it the title – The city of lakes and Venice of the east, the locale amidst the Aravalli mountains, the palaces, its reach - nearly mid-way between Mumbai and Delhi and its proximity to Mount Abu make it the best vantage point to also explore the romantic side, apart from the historic side of Rajasthan.
After writing a bookish introduction, I insist that it was not written to just make the take-off sentence to appear as one. The city portrays many faces of it – a typical town with schools, banks, colleges, hotels which makes one feel not too far from home and the other interesting side of it – with narrow lanes, paraded shops, money exchange points, internet cafes, numerous roof-top restaurants, lake-view hotels, scattered lakes and mainly the palaces that appear to have been picked from a heap and thrown recklessly; some of them emerge on lakes and a some stick out from the mountains reminding you of Scottish castles. I was charmed, wanted to wander from center to every corner and get diminishedto a tiny dot in a roof mural of so called Udaipur. After few hours I discovered that in Udaipur, all roads lead to lakes. And of all it is most likely to be the lake Pichola. The second largest among half-a-dozen or so, it is famously famous for its Jag Niwasor the Lake Palace (now a Tajhotel) on an island sprawling in its center and Jagmohanpalace (now a private hotel) on yet another island. Along its banks are the Oberoiand Leela’s. To give you an idea, all these palaces/hotels are within 1.5 sq km and comprise only a pick from the heap. I can safely say that density of star hotels here is far above average. And this is the right place to mention that Octopussy - a bond film (1983) starring Roger Moore as M16agent was extensively filmed in Udaipur. Any guesses what Lake Palace was ? It was residence of the villain(Octopussy) and as we know when Bond travels, he only stays at the best and the Shiv Nivaspalace in City Palace complex was the luckiest of the lot.
Back to the lake, the area around braces few landmarks (the area itself is the best of all if you just want to wander). It mainly has the City Palace, boating points for Picholaand JagadishMandir. Common sights you cannot escape standing in the near vicinity are - blondes confidently bargaining an intricately-worked purse or a bright-colored skirt (they always seemed to have upper hand over the vendors), numerous shops displaying Mughalminiatures, Postcards, hard-cover coffee table books on Indian Palaces and Kama Sutra,through their small glass facades, lanes that mount up and decline, that can get you lost or leave you pinned in an array of shops and cafes, welcome boards hanged outside every second hotel – TODAY MOVIE SHOW OCTOPUSSYon roof-top (most of them show the same movie every night). After all, it fun to watch fast action and chasing scenes on screen over dinner and just turn to see those locations surrounding you in real.
If you want to borrow some local flavorof Udaipur, the best tip I can give is to visit Jagadish Mandirat the time of aarti(morning 6 am and evening 6:45 pm, thanks to my wife’s suggestion). It stands in a junction at an imposing elevation, leaving little choice for us but to climb up the steep marble steps. I was greeted by monkeys mid-way that were casting harsh looks at me or my camera but luckily did not attempt an encounter. The temple had sculptured walls with other small deitiesperched in. Inside the sanctum was the black granite statue of Lord Jagadish, quite absorbing and had totally convinced me of having took all those steps. At 6:45 pm there were few countable heads inside the temple as the recorded aartisong was played. But in no time, I was trying to find space to stand in a huge amass when an edgy voice from somewhere had started the aartisong all over.. JAAI JAGAADIISHAHAREEE… a brief pause, then the air was filled with chorus masking that usheringvoice for the next few minutes. Apparently, shopkeepers and merchants constituted the majority of the crowd. They wished each other and some have profusely shaken hands while inquiring the whereabouts. The temple was very clearly a meeting point for the nearby locals. Outside the temple the city had dressed up to a new look with lights and music heard softly from far (from a roof-top). It was breezy and calling for refreshments. Fuelled ourselves with a Lassi and took ride to the hotel.
We had stayed at Shikarbadi Hotel taking assurance from my cousin who is an executive chef at Aman Bagh near Jaipur. Earlier that day, after a 6 hr road drive (with a brief halt at Chittoorgarh on the way) from Ajmer, driver Ram Singh (a native of Bheem, the village I am familiar with from my visit in 2002 on a close friend’s wedding) made few inquiries on phone and learnt that the hotel is on Ahmedabad highway. It was actually off the highway, nearly a kilometer inside, approachable only through a narrow gravel-kind of road, that left me a puzzling and a not-too-sure-of-the-choice impression . It was much unlike how any conventional heritage hotels are often imagined to be by someone like me, who had only seen marble-white gateways and antique furnishings in glossy page-size ads on Outlook Traveller. But first impression, as with first love, is not always proved correct to go with. It was not without a reason that Shikarbadi is where it is and that is the USP of the place.
Our next stop was at Sajjangarh or Monsoon Palace, located atop a hill amidst Sajjangarh wildlife sactuary in Aravalli range. It was one of the three palaces which served as royal residences in the year – the other two being the Lake Palace and City Palace. This had a striking resemblance with any European castle when seen from far outside, for e.g., from Lake Pichola – appeared magnificient and strongly etched into the mountain. It had unique water storage and pull-up systems deviced by western engineers, provides panoramic views of surrounding mountains, hunting and watch towers in the jungle, and visual evidence of why the City of Lakes is called so, which are worth to go for. 
I thank this hotel is on the highway only to have fallen in sight of hungry monsters Rocky and Mayur. We did our best imagining them emptying the plates with ease, much to the gratification of a frenzy crowd surrounding them. I do not know how well they rated the food, but it is a must visit for a delicious meal. I derived that exclusive Gujarathi thali would have sweet as a part of the recipe itself whereas its Rajasthani counterpart would have spicy dishes with sweets accompanying separately in the thali. And here you get a best mix of these two.
Posted by Uday in May 17, 2010, under Art
Picture abhi baaki hai mere dost….
I won first prize for Complete the Story contest conducted by Yours Truly Theatre. My name was announced on stage after the play Bhagwaan Dhoondoo at ADA Rangamandira last Sunday. It was chosen out of 130 entries that came from all over the country.
Posted by Uday in Apr 05, 2010, under Art, Travel
Seeing it the Chola way
It won’t be an overstatement to cite that Tanjore and paintings are as much a blend as are Agra and Taj . Below are some of those original Tanjore paintings from my D50 (as shot in natural light. No flash, no photoshop).
Its been a while since my last of the three visits to Tanjore happened. Here is the link to my previous post which detailed on the visit and a bit of history.
I pulled out the photographs that I captured which were lying under wraps all this while. They are of some murals on the roof of a temple adjacent to the mighty Nandi in the campus of Brihadeeswara temple built by Raja Raja Chola I.
The paintings need to be protected (probably by shielding behind glass) to avoid any possible damage. Photo flashes are a big NO as even exposure to natural light can cause damage in the long run.
Few interesting facts on degree of craftsmanship it takes for an outcome that is still at its best preserved state in this thousand year old temple – The Chola murals are done in the wet fresco method where the painting is done on wet plaster. The artist cannot afford to make a mistake since it will mean complete re-work. The artist also requires a sound knowledge of the chemical reactions of the pigments on the lime base and what colours the pigments will finally be transformed to.
You can find the link to the article from The Hindu here.
The fact that these frescoes are on the roof must have attributed a bit to keep graffiti and vandalism at bay.
For visitors – It is normal to get lost in the charm of this temple sculpture and miss this interesting other side of it. You can find colorful Frescos on the roof of Nandi mandapam and also on inner walls of Brihan Nayaki temple.
Below is a paper painting clipped to a board and hanged on the wall at the entrance of the temple. It depicts the construction of temple at each of its 16 levels and installation of its sikharam (weighing tons) at 216 feet. Below is a line from my older post on how they pulled up the stones – They have formed a sand slope with its base starting at 1.6 miles or so from the foot of the temple and had the elephants pull the stone to the top of the gopuram.
So, that is Tanjore for us. But there really is lot more in the temple and the nearby Saraswathi Mahal library. Just browse for it before you visit.
Posted by Uday in Mar 26, 2010, under Uncategorized
MY PASSPORT TO NEW EUROPE
Michael Jackson is undoubtedly the most popular figure. But there is another popular Michael in the arena of travelers world – Michael Palin (so is Michael Jordan with basketball) . The actor-turned-presenter has a long bibliography as a film actor, TV actor, author etc. but I have watched his shows to agree him as my favorite presenter and author. He has taken over as president of Royal Geographical Society this year (as said in his newsletter). It means his fans have to wait for some time to see him back doing presentations – realistic, factual and underplayed.
So here is Michael, smiling on the cover of the new book that was released nearly 2 years ago but joined my collection very recently (presented by my wife on our anniversary occasion). Its on New Europe – focuses on traditional, cultural, economic and political facets of 20 countries, post the iron curtain and cold war, which Michael has traveled. And I call this my passport to New Europe (no offenses to Samantha Brown).
Know more at http://www.palinstravels.co.uk/
Posted by Uday in Mar 09, 2010, under 1
New daddy’s song
The past seven months I opened my eyes
And woke up to truth that felt so nice
Thats there is going to be a lot of joy and cry
And my bed is no more going to be clean and dry
Its the parenthood.. Its my parenthood..
Laa la laa la…
Welcomebaby.com and Dr.Spock’s,
pregnancy-pillows, juices, scans and advices..
Eating right, sleeping quiet and few throw-ups
all that took me to know what it is like..
in pre-parenthood.. what a mother would..then I understood..
Laa la laa la…
And there comes my boy who put me to ride
On a roller coaster all through the time he arrived
But then told me to wait for eleven more days
So that meanwhile he can learn those plays and gaze
with a dimple on his cheek and naughty smiles
Its my parenthood.. starts to feel so good…
Laa la laa la…
As I kissed on his head and toe and wrist..
He clasped my finger with his tiny fist..
I mocked, baby-talked all round the clock
And been a baby myself that I was long back
What better it could.. than the parenthood..
I was aimed with springs that were warm and wet
got me pack more clothes next time I went..
Its the parenthood.. my parenthood.. starts to feel so good…what better it could..
Laa la laa la…
Posted by Uday in Nov 23, 2009, under 1
New write
I got stumbled upon a painting titled ‘The Last Boat’ that portrays a small boat in a sea heading towards a fortified and busy harbor seen in bright lights under the dark sky… It has triggered my imagination and I started translating to lines, chose the subject, developed the plot and characters and shaped up a story. No doubt, it is a fiction. But I attempted to showcase the lives in society timed in an era which is not modern and at the same time, somewhat but not too medieval. What I have seen in museums, documentaries and understood from books has came handy.
I hope this turns out to be a series over a period. In any case – I have named it Valencian Times.
The drawing seen above is my poor MS Paint imitation of that masterpiece.
Posted by Uday in Oct 27, 2009, under Uncategorized
Reflections
Experience of visiting wonderful places is not always wonderful. It proved to be so with Mysore palace more than once, particularly on Sundays and holidays when the palace is illuminated.
Instead of the usual horse-cart ride, we drove around the palace this time and parked on the east side gate. It is a popular haunt among locals though there is no entrance from here (in contrast with the south side gate from where the tourists are let in). It was like a drive-in eatery with a one-hour visually stunning view at free of cost. On the other side are the Chamundi Hills with a series of lights marking the trail of path to the top.
When the clock ticked seven, the lights were turned on in one go filling the place with glow. The entire ambiance of the vicinity was reborn. Children getting pampered by their parents, couples posing for what could be their next drawing room photo, girls dressed-up in their Sunday best, chat stalls, cool breeze and 27000 lights together manifesting into a palace. As if it wants to be a part of it all, my car was beaming with reflections from where my camera took over.
Above pictures are reflections on the top and windows of the car
Posted by Uday in Oct 27, 2009, under Uncategorized
SEE/OFF
A lady in burkha was busy arranging an array of bags below the seats. Two sniffer dogs with their tongues wagging out have leaped into compartments following a security personnel who was walking them along the length of the train. LED boards were showing the coach numbers. Gold Winner oil ad was playing on TVs.
Outside the window I started walking along, as the train had started to pull out from the platform and gradually marched fast to match its speed. As the distance was growing proportional to the acceleration, watching me and waving from inside were my parents. I waved back one last time before something had come in my line of vision and slowed down to walking, towards the foot-over bridge.
At that moment I had struck me – why all those famous quotes on journeys are just about the travel and destinations or places and people - at least those quotes that come often during breaks in Travel & Living. Its also who is seeing off that matter, for sure – given that for so many millions of people that travel every hour all over the world, most of them would have been seen off by their friends or relatives or partners. They must also count to millions. For some, given the situation, being seen off (or being received) could be as important as the journey and its whole purpose. It then flashed me the teary face of my mother who came of see me off on a tough day when I had left for my engineering to Bangalore, which was then a faraway land to an average teenager from a town in the times when technology has not invaded geography. Also my unwilling seeing off my father, who had gone on his job to report in a new place, knowing the fearful nights till his return attributed to unsafe days of burglaries in our locality. And the see off on the day which had left a little time, when my father had left on an official trip, for me to explain why I had got ‘B’ grade for the first time. He had signed the progress report without saying a thing which I felt I did not deserve and that had left me waiting till he was back. And the glimpse at my family in the airport that remained in my mind for weeks, when I had left for abroad. It all mattered.
The train was far and the light behind guard’s compartment gradually faded away into the dark. Platform seemed claiming back its solitude. The boy at the food stall was clearing the emptied coffee cups into the bin. Porters have settled down on a bench and were into an animated discussion. I had reached the stairs of foot-over bridge. Side by TV was playing the ad of Gold Winner oil…
Posted by Uday in Oct 06, 2009, under Uncategorized
Back to school (off the thought)
As a friend has stated, there is nothing like nostalgia. It had hit on me hard ever when I had visited my school in my native place Eluru, from where I passed out my SSC.
View of playground and hostel. We were not allowed to play in this part of the ground. The extend of ground sprawled by the tree is infamous - for eating lunch below it almost meant being a victim of crow s**t. I cannot recall the exact positon of that overflowing waste-bin but there used to be one in my times too.
Quarterly exams Time Table. Order of subjects did not change - languages, followed by Maths, Science and Social. I used to wait for the exams, not that they bring along holidays, but to see the marks I score. Whereas my knees used to go weak at the very thought of exams and results in engineering.
Now, that was my classroom in 8th std. I was always a front bencher (sparing in movie halls) and was the favorite of some teachers if not all. I won’t say I don’t remember getting punished. I remember few incidents because I got punished just those few times.
Corridor on ground floor, as seen from sports room end. Place of notice boards and also the shelter to have lunch when it rains. This wing has English medium classrooms and the other wing has Telugu medium, shown discretely as EM and TM respectively to on classroom doors, time-tables, blackboards etc. In between the wings is principal’s office. We EM students would carry some subtle esteem that would shallow down during the exams (TM’s English question paper would be very easy compared to ours but our Telugu syllabus and exams papers are same as theirs).
Above is St.Xavier’s elementary school built when I was in 9th std. My sisters and brother have studied there. During intervals, they would buy things from hawkers sitting outside the closed gate. Exchange would happen from openings below the gate and half orange topped with mix of salt and chilli powder was the popular buy. This was a well kept secret for a long time.
Back at home, they used to imitate their teachers and sing the parodies and dance to the songs performed at the school functions. Not to mention the teacher game where both the sisters would be teachers and brother duals as student and peon.
Main entrance to the school usually seen bustling with hawkers and rickshaws waiting for the children to drop or to pick. It matched very much with the last snapshot I had in my memory.
Place to assemble for daily prayer and ocassional announcements. A different prayer on each day of the week, followed by a thought for the day and news headlines. Then they would play music (as in parades) with two students playing drums and we would march till we reach the stairs on the way to the classroom.
