i had never ‘met’ an elephant!
growing up in india, i have seen many elephants of course. and not in zoos! a lot of big temples in the south would still have their stable of elephants. plus occasionally an elephant would walk down the road… and we kids would rush to see… peep out of windows… bend over from the balcony… run down the stairs and stare… in wonder…
there is this quaint part hidden in the midst of a large, hip suburb with big buildings on either side with a suspension bridge on the third stuck in time. between modernity. this little village. stays afloat. islamic architecture melts into christian porches crosses at every turn that date to the 17th century. drying teddy bears dot today’s presence graffiti welcomes in freedom of expression … Continue reading walking down the lanes of bandra…
“Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends. You are constantly off-balance. Nothing is yours except the essential things – air, sleep, dreams, the sea, the sky – all things tending towards the eternal or what we imagine of it.” –Cesare Pavese Continue reading possession… traveling makes you let go?
during my visit to chettinad, i went to a tile factory at athangudi, close to kannadukathan village.. its a common enough thing to do. and there are sufficient of them, and all tourist-friendly. that’s not a compliment. but in a village known for tiles and their aesthetics, they charge to watch them at their art! but, anyway i was there. and people had told me about it. and i had to do it.
it had been a long journey. it had been difficult to sleep all night on that tiny seat of a mini-van with loud music, only on to keep the driver awake. but, given that our train tickets didn’t get confirmed, we were forced to make do with a last-minute haphazard plan which involved two buses and two car rides to get ketti (near ooty) to trichy! and given that it eid, and thus a long weekend. there was a never-ending stream of traveling who all seemed to be better prepared than us or rather better equipped to handle uncomfortable rides!
lesson: always book in advance when there is a long weekend in india. everyone is on the road! Continue reading “driving from trichy to karaikudi”
had heard so much about chettinad cuisine over the years, but being vegetarian it never really excited me. but, then my husband and i saw pictures of some old mansions in chettinad and knew we had to visit… the old mansions looked beautiful, and there seemed to be way more to chettinad than food and saris!
first steps we had to find a nice place to stay. we chanced upon Visalam managed by CGH Earth. it seemed to have captured that old-world charm without going over-board! none of the places in karaikudi or nearby seemed nearly as good! when we reached at an early 8am, we were awed by the beauty of the house. how they had managed to renovate it! Continue reading “chettinad – love at first ‘site’!!”
merry to go around 