Sex Flies and Videotapes

I have recently moved into a new house from the one which was my home for the last 6 years. I did not 'feel' much about the move nor do I miss the place much. But I do miss someone.. cockroaches. I had written about them quite a few times before, but rarely in a fond tone. In hindsight, I wasn't perhaps spot on with my analyses always!

FLIES: I am no expert on cockroaches. But if sharing a living space with a few dozen of them for a few years can be construed as expertise-by-virtue-of-observation, then I think I am qualified to say a few things about them. After all these are creatures that repeatedly reminded me that I am not alone in here (in addition to the bank guys who call every time I miss an EMI) at times through display of camaraderie of the extreme kind - like getting on top of me at the weirdest hours of the night. I have seen the birth and death of generations of them in the last few years. Only at times of extreme annoyance that I have resorted to harm them in any way, squashing a few in rage using whatever that comes handy.

SEX: I say roaches have a healthy social behavior, especially if you observe them during those days of courtship and mating. They come out in huge numbers from hiding, making me feel like I am an alien inhabiting a planet of the roaches. I have even suspected at times that the congregation is hatching malicious plans to kill and eat me. This was in the early days when I mistook their elaborate matchmaking ceremonies as preparation for war. Only when, weeks later, I noticed offsprings running around from under every fallen object on the floor, that I realized the significance and magnanimity of those gatherings. From then on I made it a point to give them a wide berth during those nights, by shifting my bed to the other room; and they were understanding enough to restrict their amorous excursions outside of it. I started respecting roaches as a species.

Pluto, my neighbor's cat, also took a while before turning into an ardent roach admirer. He used to torment them by running them over or scratching them out of their hiding places, stopping just short of having them for snack. But then he realized the power of roaches as a species during the 2010 Worldcup Football tournament, when they predicted the outcome of every match as accurately as Paul the Octopus. Much more amazing was his hypothesis of them using Collective Intelligence. Pluto is now the Al Gore of the Roach planet, crusading for honor and glory of the roaches. I have to admit I have much awe and respect for the species after this incident. Yes I do miss the roaches!

VIDEOTAPES: Oh, I just included that in the title for the effect!

The Amphibian Church @ Shettihalli

Prior to every weekend is this bout of hectic activity - searching and finding another place to visit over the two days. Though weekend trips are a regular affair in my life now, laziness does not permit to research and keep an inventory of such places handy. It all has to start around Wednesday, when even the calendar finally says WTF. And invariably there will be some catalyst for this increased activity, like a call from a friend who has nothing better to do than suffering my company. It wasn't any different with this trip to the Gothic church at Shettihalli. Sunil cancelled his weekend trip home and called in to say that he is available to go 'anywhere'. About Sunil, he is never worried about the place, as long we are traveling and not rusting our asses in the city. He is a rare breed who rates the journey a few notches above the destination.

It was a few months back that I accidentally came across a picture of this Gothic beauty on Flicker, and this trip had indeed been finalized that very moment. There was something attractive about the picture of a dilapidated church, half submerged in a water body. I could not find much information about the place in my subsequent research, but whatever little I got was fascinating enough to look forward to the trip. I wanted to time the trip properly to see the church in all its splendor, as 70% of it goes under water after the rains. After seeing the picture Sunil also agreed to go find this place, and we started as usual on that Saturday morning. We did not have a clear idea of the route, except that we have to take a detour near Hassan from the Bangalore-Hassan road to reach the village of Shettihalli. And then somewhere close to Channarayapattana we saw a signboard saying 'Shettihalli 3 kilometers', with an arrow mark pointing left.

We knew it is too early to take the deviation, but decided to go along the side road and see what lies ahead. After driving a kilometer or so through beautiful coconut groves, we saw a huge expanse of water at a distance. We could see water lilies floating in one corner while herons and egrets were flying all along the shore; it sure looked interesting. We thought this should be the place and we would have gotten the instructions all wrong from the internet. We drove for another kilometer, entered a small village and the road hit a dead end. There we met Devarajan. He must be the village drunkard. It was hardly afternoon and yet he was already filled up to his throat with some kind of country liquor (going by the smell) He came towards us in an MJ-Moonwalk style and introduced himself. We asked him about the church and when the fourth time he said "My name is Devarajan, Glad to meet you", we decided to go look for it elsewhere :)
The actual deviation to THE Shettihalli village is at some 2 kilometers on the Haasan bye-pass road, the third left turn after Rajeev Institute of Technology to be precise. A shopkeeper assured us that we are on the right track and the church is another 12 kilometers from the bye-pass road. Though the instructions were clear we started getting doubts after some 10 odd kilometers. Fortunately we met another gentleman on the road who knew the exact spot and even some history of the place. And as we traveled another kilometer or so we saw glimpses of the church off the road; the water level had receded much beyond the church and the dam looked more like a pond in somebody's backyard.

The Holy Rosary Church at Shettihalli was built by French missionaries in 1860 for British estate owners around Sakleshpur. The church was reportedly built with mortar and bricks and a mixture of jaggery and eggs - the secret sauce that helped it withstand the elements for almost 150 years. It was submerged during the construction of the Reservoir across Hemavathy river at Gorur, to irrigate lands in Hassan, Tumkur and Mandya districts. It stays submerged in water half the year and lives above it during the other half! It is difficult to believe that there was once a thriving population around the church. When the reservoir was built, the villagers were rehabilitated to Channarayapatna and Arkalgud and the whole place has a deserted look now.

The church is an absolute architectural beauty even in its old age. Built in typical Gothic style, it has got pointed arches and ribbed vaults. The height of the structure, judging by what remains, is considerably more than its width - another standard feature of the Gothic style. It is built in the Latin cross plan, with a long nave making the body of the church towards the western facade, and two transverse arms (Transepts) to its either side. The nave and the transepts are adorned with long pointed arches in cluster of three. There is a partly destroyed tower behind the alter, which probably had a huge bell hanging on the top. I can only imagine the majesty of this structure in its hey days, with possibly stained glass covering those big arches and windows! The atmosphere was so mesmerizing, especially with the setting sun adding its own beauty to the mix.

We brought the laptop from the car and played  Mozart's Symphony No.40 and sat there listening till the sun went down well beyond the horizon. Apart from some Painted Storks, Greater Egrets and an occasional Brahmini Kite, the place was thankfully deserted. I think the music brought life back to the stone walls that I could almost hear them communicating with us, telling stories of a glorious past abruptly cut short. The structure had an impact on the music as well I think, never have I enjoyed the piece like I did that day. Before we knew it was dark, and frogs were out in plenty adding vocals to the symphony. It was time to get back to Haassan and find a place to crash.. had an overdose of beauty for one day.

Jayamamangali Blackbuck Sanctuary


Curiosity is a necessary evil. It makes you ask questions, visit places and interact with almost everyone you meet. It was one such bout of curiosity attack that prompted Sunil and myself to visit the Jayamamangali Blackbuck Sanctuary (JBS). With a weekend ahead of us, we were looking for a destination and some random article on the internet caught our attention. JBS neighbours Maidenahalli, a small village in Madhugiri Taluk, at the north-eastern tip of Tumkur district of Karnataka state. This area is a part of the plains of Deccan plateau and borders Anantpur District of Andhra Pradesh. An 800 acre patch of grassland, home to the second largest population of Blackbucks (Antelope cervicepra) in Karnataka, after Ranibennur.

There are places you visit because of their popularity, already teeming with tourists; and then there are lesser known places which still maintain their serenity and tranquility owing to their relative obscurity. JBS is one such place you like not just for its beauty, but for its exclusivity as well. Though just about 150 kilometers from Bangalore, it is a difficult place to locate. It took us a while to figure out the route, even getting lost a few times. But there are quite a few attractions on the way, like the mountain fort at Madhugiri. Here is a quick summary of the route.

- From Bangalore take the Tumkur road.
- Before entering Tumkur town take a diversion (right) towards Madhugiri.
- From Madhugiri take the Hindupura road. About 1.5 km from Madhugiri town the road splits into Hindupur Road on the left  and Chikballapur/Gowridbidanur road that goes straight. Even if you miss the left turn and go straight along the Chikaballapur road, you can take the 'Nitrahalli Cross' and get back at the Hindupura road. (You might have already guessed what happened to us!)
b- 11 km from Madhugiri town just before the bridge over Jayamangali River, you will reach Puruvara village. (Yes, we did cross the bridge and had to backtrack, no points for guessing that!)
- From Puruvara village you have to take another deviation towards ID Halli. After the villages of Badakanahalli and Giregoudana halli, the habitat abruptly changes into open plains. Travel this road a good 8 kilometers or so, till you find the Blackbuck Reserve's board on your right, with a dirt road leading into the vast plains. Keep your eyes open, you miss the board if you blink!

The mountain fort at Madhugiri set atop one of the largest monoliths of Asia, is a nice pitstop on the way. A fort built by a local chief named Raja Hire Gauda and later improved by Hyder Ali, it is quite an imposing structure that is visible from a distance. A flight of steps take you to the top where there are two temples and a few other structures. We did not have enough time to climb up the rock and left it for another day and drove on.

There is a Forest Department office and a watchtower at JBS and apart from the two there wasn't anyone or anything in sight initially. There were grasslands all around, the dried golden grass giving a nice contrast to the bright blue skies above. Apart from the vast plains of Deccan Plateau you can also see the Closepete granite hill chain that runs from Bellary to Ramanagaram. I had never seen such vibrant skies anywhere else, with prominent and well defined clouds hanging down from the blueness, almost touching the land at a distance. As we drove close to the gate we stopped to take some pictures and suddenly a pair of horns appeared along the horizon. As we watched in anticipation a lone male Blackbuck walked into view, proudly displaying his twisted horns and well tanned body. We were happy that we got to see a Blackbuck but the joy was shortlived as he sprinted out of sight in no time.

At JBS you can park your vehicle at the watch tower and walk around the area or drive along the many paths that exist here. We took the second option, unaware of the dimensions of the park, and the mud roads looked inviting as well. It didn't take us much to encounter the first herd of bucks. There were at least 30 of them with 3 males leading from the front. We stopped the car and watched the group from close quarters as the bucks too obliged by hanging around for quite a while. This was just the beginning and we spotted many more herds as we sat down to have our packed lunch of tasty parottas. The whole experience was like the African safaris you see in the Tele, with vast grass lands and these exciting animals all around us. We ran around from tree to tree to get a closer picture without disturbing their grazing. We walked around the place quite a bit as well spotting some Painted Sandgrouse (Pterocles indicus) and other common birds.

It was fun.. like going back to those hunter-gatherer days of humankind... running around like kids, after a herd of antelopes. The monsoon clouds were thickening along the horizon and the sky turned dark, giving the planes and water bodies an interesting hue. We sat there watching the rain pouring down at a distance, and finally drove back to Bangalore before heavy rains hit the plains.

The Deutsche Philharmonie Merck














Another item ticked off my Bucket List. Watched a symphony live - The Deutsche Philharmonie Merck - at Chowdaiah Hall. 60 minutes of sheer musical brilliance!
Though I hadn't even heard before any of the pieces except two, they were all quite enthralling. Of the two I recognized, one was Brahms' Hungarian dance while I couldn't quite place the other one. The revelation of the day was "Leonore Overture No 3" by Beethoven. (I found out this later from the press release). Was quite an evening and the hall was crowded with people standing on either sides and even sitting in the aisle. Good that we got the passes (thanks to Sunil) and managed to reach the venue quite early to grab some seats!

My Experiences with Ruth - 2


Ruth: Raindrops and roses and whiskers of kittens...
Me: Aahaa!

Ruth: Bright colored kettles and warm woolen mittens..
Me: Wow!

Ruth: Brown paper packages tied up with strings..
Me: mmm...

Ruth: These are a few of my favorite things.. What do you like?
Me: Egg Fried Rice

The End!

Evolution...

We as a species depend on bacteria to run many of our life sustaining processes. If they refuse to cooperate one day, or stop doing what they do inside our body, the whole species would be gone in no time. This is not just our case, but every complex form of life survives with the help of some of these so called 'less complex' versions of life.

Let us extend this argument a little and apply it to another scenario - the symbiotic relationship between machines and human beings. The present day machines do need our help to survive, they are totally dependent on us for their existence. If we refuse to start them up or feed them fuel, they are also dead. The only difference is they can be resurrected once dead, if we so desire, unlike our deal with the bacteria.

So is it time to give machines the 'species' status and acknowledge their evolutionary advantage and better survival skills?

Mystic Talakadu



Sand dunes amidst lush greenery, close to an otherwise life supporting river, hiding a couple of dozen temples, a palace and an entire township under it... the myth of a 600 year old curse that befell a village which was a cultural hub for centuries together, transforming it into arid landscape... excavated structures of architectural beauty that tell the story of the Chola, the Ganga, the Hoysala and the Wodeyar dynasties. How many more reasons do you need to visit a place? Talakadu, the temple town about 180 kilometers from Bangalore, had skipped our itinerary quite a few times when Sunil and myself bypassed it to other destinations like Somnathpur and Mysore. This time intrigued by the stories about the sand dunes and a weekend in hand, we decided to finally go there. We visited the beautiful twin waterfalls at Sivanasamudra, where Kaveri falls from a height of about 100 meters after flowing through the rocks and ravines of the Deccan plateau.

There is something interesting for everyone in Talakadu - for the Spiritualist, the Historian, the Geologist, the Ecologist and the Rationalist. A sleepy village which is only as interesting as any other you see on the way, has but much more about it than it shows. This town used to be the epicenter of the Ganga dynasty and the proof of its past glory is all still there, but buried under 20 feet of sand. Famous for its Shiva temples, a land named after two hunters 'Thala' and 'Kadu', has about 30 temples and a palace buried in the sand. The Archeological Survey of India (ASI) is still busy locating, unearthing and recreating some of these. Three temples are open to devotees for worship while a fourth one is under reconstruction. It is a mystery how such huge amount of sand reached a place which is a kilometer away from the river Kaveri, and how it submerged the structures there. Like any other 'mystery' in India, there are some legends associated with this one as well.

There is the myth of a 600 year old curse associated with the present situation of Talakadu. The story has many slightly different versions, but the crux is somewhat like this- When Srirangapatna was under the rule of Vijayanagara empire, the king's representative there had to go to Talakad to offer worship in the temple, to cure himself of some disease. He passed away there and hearing this his wife Rangamma also moved to Talkad. The Wodeyars of Mysore took possession of Srirangapatna that time and the Wodeyar king wanted to get hold of some jewellery possessed by Rangamma. But she refused to give it and jumped into river Kavery with the jewels, at a village called Malingi near Talakad, after uttering three curses - "Let Talakad become sand ; let Malingi become a whirlpool ; let the Mysore Rajas fail to beget heirs."

The interesting fact is that all the three curses kind of came true - the old Talakadu is now covered in sand, Mysore kings had difficulty in having male heirs and have adopted heirs for a while and there is in fact a whirlpool near Malangi! The only difference is that all these have alternate, perfectly rational explanations as well. Quite a few people have done research on this strange phenomena and have come up with plausible explanations. River Kauveri already had a whirlpool near Malangi, into which Rangamma jumped with the jewels, and Mysore kings having no male heirs is more a result of complications resulting from inbreeding as the adopted heirs were from close family relations. And the sand dunes of Talakad can be explained in Geological terms. (One impressive study was done by K. N. Ganeshaiah, a professor at School of. Ecology and Conservation, GKVK, Bangalore: http://www.ias.ac.in/currsci/dec102007/1495.pdf).

There is an active fault on the earth's crust under the Kaveri basin, spread across Talakad, Shivanasamudra and Hogenakal which resulted in course shifting of the river by as much as 10 kms in the last several hundred years. Kaveri takes a few sharp right angled turns near Talakad, almost circling the village as it flows by. During floods water ignore these course corrections and flow straight into the village depositing good amount of sand on the extended banks. Once the flood water recedes, the exposed sand beds are open to the strong winds which is common in the area. The wind should have carried the sand over a long period to the village. To reduce this wind effect, Eucalyptus trees were planted all around, during the time of Diwan Vishveshvarayya of Mysore. The dancing tectonic plates around the fault also resulted in the entire Talakad village sinking way below the average ground level, making it easy for the winds to cover up the structures with sand. Even now ASI is trying hard to prevent the resurrected temples getting sucked inside, by the sinking land.

In spite of these rational explanations, Talkad will always remain a mystical place for devotees. As we walked around the place, at times standing on top of some submerged temple, we couldn't help admire the little wonders of nature and the even more amazing stories we weave around them. Soon atmosphere was filled with the quacking of a flock of Black Ibis. They were flying around the Eucalyptus trees, looking for a suitable roosting spot for the night. Probably some birds who preferred a historic backdrop to the roost than the boring wetlands at the neighboring Ranganthitu bird sanctuary!

Rajasthan Stories - Day 8: The Taj Mahal

Trips without fixed itineraries and much planning always throw up surprises; some pleasant, some otherwise. As we were traveling back to Jaipur that night, where the journey had started, we realized that we had a day in hand and not much to see in Jaipur. We had plans to visit Sambhar lake, but when the names Agra and the Taj Mahal came up in the discussion the decision was unanimous. We figured that if we could manage to start in an hour's time after reaching Jaipur, we could go visit the Taj and be back in time to catch 2-3 hours of sleep too, before heading to Sanganer to catch our morning flight to Bangalore. It was kind of a tight schedule, but then we thought it would be a fitting finale for an already eventful trip; the cherry on the cake! Thus plans were made for Agra by the time we 'slipped and slid into another dream'.

So according to the plan we rushed to 'Ganga Kripa' and Shailesh as soon as we got down at Jaipur, and asked him whether he can help us get a ticket on one of the morning buses. Rakesh Jain's clout once again helped us and in no time we had confirmed tickets and a rickshaw outside the hotel to take us to the bus station. We dumped our luggage in the office room as all the rooms were booked, picked up our cameras, brushed our teeth and used the restroom for the staff and were on our way to Agra in less than an hour! Agra is about 230 kilometers from Jaipur and it takes about 5 hours by ordinary bus. We pass the Keoladeo Ghana National Park (formerly known as Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary) and Fatehpur Sikri on the way, two places to visit on another trip some day. Agra, the erstwhile capital of the Mughal empire is a heavily populated city now and it shows. The number of people coming to visit the Taj makes the situation even worse.

We hardly had a few hours to spend at the Taj before heading back to Jaipur and we were disappointed to see the long queue for tickets in front of the counters. The pace at which it kept moving made it even worse and the chances of an early entry looked impossible. But then there are always people around who knows the loopholes, and we met one such in the form of a guide. He agreed to get us in much sooner and we literally had no choice. He took us through some narrow streets, few flights of steps and some really filthy neighborhood to the South Gate of the complex. There were hardly anyone there; and though we were a bit afraid that his intentions were to steal our money in one of those shady black-holes, we found ourselves inside the complex with tickets in hand, in a matter of minutes! He had a nice mode of operation - he stands outside the complex, gets customers and pass them on to his counterpart inside the complex with tickets, who will take care of the 'guiding' part. Essentially the Marketing side of the business was independently functioning from the operational side of it!

Set on a three acre raised platform by the river Yamuna, bordered by red sandstone walls on three sides, the Taj Mahal is probably what India is best known for, to the rest of the world. Apart from the gigantic tomb at the center of the building built in translucent white marble, the other thing that strikes your mind as soon as you walk in through the main gate is the symmetry of the whole complex. Our guide Akram, explained the history and the vitals of the monument with the help of a thousand numbers and dates. Apart from the fact that it took 20 years to build it with the help of a 15 kilometer long packed-earth ramp to carry the stones to that heights, nothing else registered in my mind. Taj Mahal is a 240 feet tall structure, almost as tall as a 25 stories building! Interestingly researchers are almost concluding the use of such long ramps in the making of the Egyptian pyramids as well. We took the customary snaps with Taj's reflection on the garden pools and moved forward. There was a long queue to get inside the tomb as well.

Akram helped us in getting ahead of the queue and showed us around, the beautiful calligraphic inscriptions on the outer walls, the semi precious stones engraved into the white marble and the unique acoustics of some of the chambers. He used the torch on his mobile phone to demonstrate the translucent nature of the marble and some of the precious stones, and also recommended a full moon night visit to the monument to see it in all its splendor. Limited number of people are allowed to enter the complex on full moon nights and that was news for us... got to try it the next time. The tombs of Mumtaz and Shah Jahan is right under the dome and in fact the differently sized tombs are the only asymmetric structures in the whole complex. The four minarets and the two mosques on either side and the Yamuna adds to the splendor of the Taj. It is also a wonderful sight to sit and watch the marble changing hues with the light of the sun.

Akram also told us about some of the stories/myths associated with the Taj. You can see the foundation of a similar scale structure on the other side of river Yamuna, which according to Akram was Shah Jahan's chosen site for building a black Taj for himself. Such an admirer of symmetry that he was, he wanted an exact replica across the river, but built in black marble. It was this spending spree - according to some - that provoked his son Aurangzeb to imprison him at the Agra fort and take charge of the state's affairs. We sat there for a while, watching the sun doing his bit of the beautification. A big group of saffron clad swamis came into the complex whose attire was a nice contrast to the backdrop of white marble. Like the favorite wife of an emperor dying after delivering the fourteenth child, for whom a monument of love in marble is created, is an irony in itself.

As expected this was a fitting finale for the trip. Sowmy went directly to Delhi from there while Kannan and myself took a bus back to Jaipur in the evening. It took more than six hours for us to cover the distance and when we reached the hotel we hardly had 2 hours to sleep. Having done most of the sleeping on the bus we spent the last couple of hours remembering all the good moments, places and people we met over the last week or so. When you walk out of a place with a feeling that you are leaving a part of you there, then you know that you had a wonderful time there. Rajasthan with all its warmth and fun and excitement was much more than wonderful!

Click here for more pictures!

Rajasthan Stories - Day 1: Jaipur
Rajasthan Stories - Day 2: Jaipur
Rajasthan Stories - Day 3: Ranthambhore
Rajasthan Stories - Day 4: Osian & Thar
Rajasthan Stories - Day 5: Mandore & Jodhpur

Rajasthan Stories - Day 6: Udaipur
Rajasthan Stories - Day 7: Ranakpur & Kumbalgarh
Rajasthan Stories - Day 8: The Taj Mahal

Rajasthan Stories - Day 7: Ranakpur & Kumbalgarh

There are quite a few day trip possibilities from Udaipur - Ranakpur and Eklingji temples, Kumbalgarh and Chittorgarh forts, Jaisamand lake and Haldi Ghati to name a few. You can club some of them into a day's trip while some like Mount Abu needs more than a day. We decided on Ranakpur temples and Kumbalgarh fort for our day trip and started quite early that day. Ranakpur is almost 90 kilometers from Udaipur and the drive across rural Rajasthan in the company of Akbar Khan (Ph: 7742567154), our very knowledgeable and well traveled driver, was quite a delight. We got to see the other side of Rajasthan, the lush green fields and heavily vegetated countryside. We stopped by a waterwheel (Rehant well) to see an efficient way of getting water from wells using bullocks. A series of buckets attached to a belt is rotated using two wheels, and the water is redirected to various parts of the field through a network of canals, all without much manual intervention.

We stopped by a restaurant named 'Badal' on NH76, some 47 kilometers before Ranakpur, for breakfast and had some awesome parottas. They were so good that we packed our lunch also from there, parottas again! Ranakpur is in Pali district of Rajasthan and in the shades of the Aravalli range. Though the Jain temple built in white marble during the 12-13 century, is what Ranakpur is famous for, there is also a much older temple dedicated to the sun god. This one is much smaller compared to the main temple, but got some impressive craft work on its outer walls. Being a sun temple, all the gods are depicted as riding a chariot pulled by seven horses, representing the seven days of the week. Away from all the attention received by its bigger cousin, this temple is a tranquil place worth spending some time.

The Jain temple at Ranakpur is a celebration of architecture and craftsmanship, and is dedicated to Rishabha, first of the Jain Tirthankaras. This massive four-faceted structure by the banks of river Magai, is a breathtaking piece of work in marble, commissioned during the reign of Maharaja Kumbh. It has 1,444 marble pillars, each with unique carvings and designs from top to bottom. The sculptures and artwork on the walls and ceilings is an exhibition of the talent of the times. It was so beautiful that the next day when we stood in front of THE Taj Mahal all we said was "Oh Taj, so what!". Taj Mahal's beauty is all about the scale, the symmetry and the translucent marble used for construction, while the Ranakpur temple is all about fine masonry and excellent craftsmanship.

You can wander about the many halls and shrines within the complex for hours. We spent close to four hours inside, going round and round, admiring the same statues on the walls, craning our neck to get a clear view of the beauties adorning the ceiling. You have to cover your legs upto the ankle before entering the temple. Unfortunately we all were in shorts and fortunately they supply pajamas in a counter outside the temple. When we finally returned the rented pajamas, the guy at the counter was surprised to see us and exclaimed what we were doing so long inside the temple! Looks like he is used to people running in and out of such a beautiful structure in a matter of minutes. There is an inscription on one of the walls here, left by an impressed Emperor Akbar, which says he will never allow the destruction of such a piece of art.

Our next destination, Kumbalgarh fort, the birth place of the Maratha warrior prince Rana Prathap, is another 70 kilometers from Ranakpur. Built on a hilltop overlooking the Aravalli ranges and protected by 36 kilometers of perimeter walls and seven gateways, it is a formidable fort built by Raja Kumbh. It holds the record for having world's third longest continuous wall, after the Great Wall of China and another one in Iran. (Some argue that it is in fact the second longest) We regretted that we did not kept aside a full day for Kumbalgarh. There are more than 200 ancient temples within the fort walls, both Hindu and Jain. The fort is also very vast, with various chambers and shrines inside, that the couple of hours we spent there wasn't enough to get even a glimpse of everything.

Once we left Kumbalgarh, it was a race against time. We had to collect some bags from the Udaipur city market - goodies to take home as advance payment for hassle free approvals for future trips - and then catch the night bus back to Jaipur. All went well and en-route we even hatched a plan to go visit the Taj Mahal the next day!

Click here for more pictures!

Rajasthan Stories - Day 1: Jaipur
Rajasthan Stories - Day 2: Jaipur
Rajasthan Stories - Day 3: Ranthambhore
Rajasthan Stories - Day 4: Osian & Thar
Rajasthan Stories - Day 5: Mandore & Jodhpur

Rajasthan Stories - Day 6: Udaipur
Rajasthan Stories - Day 7: Ranakpur & Kumbalgarh
Rajasthan Stories - Day 8: The Taj Mahal

Rajasthan Stories - Day 6: Udaipur

We reached Udiapur early in the morning and without wasting much time dumped our bags in a hotel and started our city walk. Our first destination was Jagdish temple which is situated on a small hill in the middle of the buzzing marketplace. The 'poah' stalls on the way were just starting the day's business, and we had to cajole one of them into making us some quick breakfast. Jagdish temple is built in the Indo-Aryan style and is a beautiful piece of work. Devotees were rushing around the sanctum sanctorum for their morning 'darshan' and we sat there in a corner of the courtyard watching the commotion! We did get a chance to spend some time appreciating the sculptures and architecture once the rush subsided. The city palace complex at Udaipur is a short walk up hill from the temple, and it was our next destination.

The city palace is a complex with palaces built in and around the shores of lake Pichola. Only some of them are open to general public while others are run as heritage hotels now. The main palace was built as the center of activity of the Sisodia empire after they moved the capital from Chittor to Udaipur. The complex was built in over 400 years by different rulers and it houses the government museum and the present royal family as well. In addition to the many treasures there is an enclosed garden also inside the main palace dedicated to the sun god, which gives an excellent view of the lake Pichola. You can easily spend a day inside the complex, lost in the beauty of the many structures and the exquisite collections. Tickets are also available inside, for a ride across the lake to the Lake Palace on Jag Niwas island.

We took the boat near the Fateh Prakash palace and had a short trip to the Lake Palace hotel. You get to spend only about half an hour in this island palace, from where you get some excellent views of the City Palace complex, the Jag Mandir, the Monsoon palace and the Aravalli ranges that encircle the city; not to mention the blue waters of the lake. The monsoon palace, otherwise known as Sajjan Garh is atop the Bansdara hill overlooking all the lakes and the countryside, and was too enchanting a sight to miss. So we decided to go visit the palace. We took a rickshaw till the entrance of the Sajjangarh wild life sanctuary. From here you have to either walk up the hill to the palace, or get into one of the taxis that ply up and down the hill. We took a taxi though with enough time in hand we would have loved to take a walk amidst the lush wilderness.

The Monsoon palace is an incomplete construction which rose to fame after getting featured in the James Bond movie 'Octopussy'. People in Udaipur are so thrilled about this, that even these days there are some cafes where the film is played all day! The Sajjan Garh palace offers beautiful views of the city and the lakes and the Aravalli ranges. Built as a resort for monsoon cloud watching and hunting, it is now maintained by the Forest department. We did not stay long enough to watch the sunset as we had other plans for the rest of the evening. We got back to the banks of Lake Pichola just in time for another spectacle. The waters of the lake and the city palace complex take up an enchanting saffron hue as the sun sets. We went to Hanuman ghat near Amet haveli and took our positions well in advance.

There were quite a few people gathered already around the ghat. Once the sun recedes after painting the waters red and darkness descends, the lights of the palace complex comes on. The brightly lit palaces along with the reflection on the lake is a view worth carrying home for keeps. We waited there till our stomach started complaining. It was time to check out some more Rajasthan delicacies. As suggested by many, we went to hotel Nataraj, on the station road, for dinner and had some awesomely delicious food. As was the case with Chokki Dhani, the only thing you can think of after having a full course Rajasthani dinner is sleep.. and sleep only. After arranging for an early morning pickup the next day, for a trip to Ranakpur and Kumbalgarh, we yielded to the temptation pretty early.

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Rajasthan Stories - Day 1: Jaipur
Rajasthan Stories - Day 2: Jaipur
Rajasthan Stories - Day 3: Ranthambhore
Rajasthan Stories - Day 4: Osian & Thar
Rajasthan Stories - Day 5: Mandore & Jodhpur

Rajasthan Stories - Day 6: Udaipur
Rajasthan Stories - Day 7: Ranakpur & Kumbalgarh
Rajasthan Stories - Day 8: The Taj Mahal

Rajasthan Stories - Day 5: Mandore & Jodhpur

How do you like to wake up every morning? I know the 'in the hands of my beloved' track; but even that might sound a lot less romantic if the background score sounds like a fusion of the neighbor's mixer, the milkman yelling and vehicles honking on the road. That is why our Thar morning was so special, waking up to peacock calls amidst an otherwise complete silence! People in Rajasthan respect their animals and it was a common sight to find Blue Bulls roaming around in the Thaara-Meera or Ragi plantations. Om Prakash's dad was no exception and his morning routine included feeding a flock of peacocks who diligently come by the house and sound the morning alarm. These birds had grown so fearless that one of them was almost staring right at me from a fence by my bed. I did lie there for quite some time, admiring the mesmerizing colors of this awesome bird. The sun was slowly rising above the distant sand dunes, bringing the thatched huts back to life. The birds were busy having their breakfast as Om Prakash's dad stood there throwing grains all around.

After a sumptuous breakfast of Onion rotis and ginger tea we soon started our journey to one of the Bishnoi vilages near Osian. Omprakash also decided to accompany us this time. He goes to a school some six kilometers from his house and he walks all the way with his neighbor friend Nila. School has a different meaning for him and that day he decided to bunk school and join us on our journey. I envied the kid because he could make such a decision, and there was no fuzz about missing classes, dropping grades or falling behind peers. So he just tagged along, talking us through the various scenes and structures as we passed through some of the desert settlements. We met a couple of his friends on their way to school, who were happily singing "Ladai vadai naa karo, kothaka donga saaf karo" (Do not fight, but do clean the toilets after use) and running along the crest of the sand dunes. Om Prakash waved proudly at them from atop 'Manak' as we strolled past them.

A little later Omprakash's big brother came with a few other travelers in his jeep and we swapped rides for the rest of the journey. The Bishnoi village of Kethasar was quite far from the place and the jeep safari helped us to cover the distance pretty quick. Bishnois consider themselves the caretakers of the land and the flora and fauna around them, and hence live in peaceful coexistence with them. Black bucks and Blue Bulls roam quite fearlessly amidst their thatched huts and farm lands. The otherwise endangered Black Buck owes a lot to this community for their existence in Rajasthan. We visited the house of a potter to see how he makes those beautiful earthen pots. The people were very friendly and happy to show us around their small but neatly kept houses. We left Osian to Jodhpur before lunch time and got down at Mandore, 9 kilometers before the city.

Mandore used to be the capital of the Marwar kingdom, and is now famous for the fort and the Cenotaphs there. Mandore cenotaphs, built in memory of warrior kings of the erstwhile Marwar empire, are exquisite pieces of architecture. Though they are 'empty tombs' made in memory of dead people, they look more like a display of the architectural prowess of the times. There are memorials as well as temples spread across the many gardens. You find a lot of Gray langurs here as well, sharing the space with musicians and tourists. You will find a lot of talented musicians playing the "Ravan Hattha" in and around the gardens. There is something so soothing about the instrument that we wanted to spend a few hours there, just sitting and listening to them playing. But as we had to visit the Mehrangarh fort before leaving for Udaipur that night, we quickly grabbed some lunch and took a rickshaw to Jodhpur city.

If you can visit only one place in Jodhpur, then I think that should be Mehrangarh fort, a magnificent structure erected on a hill and surrounded by formidable granite walls. This fort was built by one of the Rathore kings, When the capital of Marwar was shifted from Mandore to Jodhpur. I don't think even a full day is enough to walk around the fort and admire the many treasures there. This is one of the largest forts in India and is also a classic example of the enviable luxuries enjoyed by the kings those days. No, I am not just talking about the many beautiful wives, but the Palanquins, jewellery, sculptures and other artifacts you get to see in the fort museum. You also see the palm imprints of the queens on the walls, who committed 'Sati' by jumping into the king's funeral pyre. In spite of all the luxuries enjoyed during life, such an unfortunate death awaited those beautiful ladies!

The winding stairways, the many treasures stored, and the exquisitely designed rooms with stained glass windows and mirrors makes the museum in the fort a must watch for art & history lovers. There are huge cannons kept on the rooftop and the terrace offers some nice views of Jodhpur city as well. The famous Umaid Bhavan Palace, which is a hotel now, is also visible from there. We wanted to see the palace but there wasn't enough time. After spending a wonderful afternoon in and around at Mehrengarh, we got back to the city and took a bus to Udaipur at 10 in the night.

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Rajasthan Stories - Day 1: Jaipur
Rajasthan Stories - Day 2: Jaipur
Rajasthan Stories - Day 3: Ranthambhore
Rajasthan Stories - Day 4: Osian & Thar
Rajasthan Stories - Day 5: Mandore & Jodhpur

Rajasthan Stories - Day 6: Udaipur
Rajasthan Stories - Day 7: Ranakpur & Kumbalgarh
Rajasthan Stories - Day 8: The Taj Mahal

Rajasthan Stories - Day 4: Osian & Thar

We woke up to a beautiful morning at Jodhpur. Our plan was to cover a few places outside town the first day and explore Jodhpur the next day. Though Rajasthan is at times called the region of death, 'Marushtali', owing to the Thar desert, most of us go there to see this very arid landscape. No different was our situation and we headed out to Osian early in the morning. Osian is an oasis in the Thar, 65 kilometers from Jodhpur towards Bikaneer. Lacking time to include Bikaneer in the itinerary, Osian was our best bet to get a feel of the desert. Camel safaris are available from Osian which takes you into the Thar and let you spend a night in one of the camps or huts there.

There are frequent buses available from Jodhpur to Osian from the main bus station. Osian is also famous for the two ancient temples, one Jain temple and the other dedicated to Sachayi Matha. Both are exquisite pieces of architecture worth spending some time at. The most famous personality in Osian is Babloo guide, whom we met as soon as we got down at Osian. He arranges camel safaris and has been mentioned in articles written in Lonely Planet and Outlook Traveler. Soon we struck a deal with him for a safari and a night halt inside the desert. Having half the day to spend at the temples, we soon headed out to the Sachayi Matha temple. The temple is situated on a hill on the either side of the road to the Jain temple.

The temple, supposedly dedicated to Sachi, one of the wives of lord Indra, is a place of worship for both Hindus and the Jains. The temple complex is pretty big with awesome views of the distant sand dunes and Rodea trees adorning the courtyard. The carvings on the ceiling are truly fabulous and the outer walls are full of well detailed sculptures of Hindu and Jain deities. The guide who accompanied us had already fled the scene suggesting that we spend way too much time at every point; he is probably used only to the slam-baam-thank you mam kinda tourists. Anyway, we were better off without him as we could linger around the amorous figures as long as we wanted! We even found a villain figure with resemblance to Shrek, which made us hypothesize that the story of Ogres originated in India.

After spending quite some time there we walked towards the Jain temple. This one is in no way behind the Sacahayi Matha temple in terms of architectural splendor. There are a few serpentine figurines portrayed all along the outer walls and there is even a small shrine dedicated to the entwined serpents or dragons or whatever they are. Time flies when you are roaming amidst these ancient monuments and we soon realized that we had to catch some lunch before reporting for the safari. Fortunately we found a brightly colored house just outside the temple where they serve lunch on request and we barged in without further delay. After a simple but tasty Rajasthani lunch we headed out with Babloo to a place just outside the village center, to meet our ride for the rest of the day.

Mahipal and his elder brother Rajesh were ready with the camels when we reached there. One of the camels 'Heera -The Diamond' was quite a celebrity since some article on him got published in some travel magazines. But he had none of the egos we normally associate with celebrities. The other two camels Manak and Pappu-Don were equally fabulous animals. Soon we started our journey and it was quite an experience. You have to hold on firmly to the animal when it sits down and gets up as you are lurched forward when it stands up on its hind legs first. You also need to get used to the rocking motion as they move and let your body sway with it than trying to be stiff. The guys we were riding on were quite well behaved animals, except for an occasional charge towards a low hanging branch of the Khejri tree. Mahipal was quite a talkative kid who kept on talking throughout the journey about life in the desert.

As we marched on the vegetation grew thinner and sand dunes took their place. There were occasional shrubs and Khejri trees with Black Bucks and the Blue Bulls running amidst them. We also spotted few quails and peacocks running across the camel trail. Apart from these the only other inhabitants were the desrt rats who peeped from their tiny holes and went down the instant they spotted the caravan. We stopped by Mahipal's elder sister's house on the way for some hot tea and red carrots. We reached a big sand dune by evening and decided to watch the sunset from there. Mahipal's house, our night halt, was visible at a distance from there. Leaving us there to spend some time playing with the sand Mahipal and Rajesh went home taking the camels with them. We ran up and down the dunes and posed for pictures with the dunes and the setting sun in the background.

By the time we reached the house Mahipal's elder brother and Dad were also back from work. His family consists of his mom, an elder brother and an elder sister as well. We were offered cold beer, an offer quite tempting to reject in-spite of the chill that had befallen the desert as the night walked in. Lying down in desert sand, sipping beer and watching the multitude of stars in the open sky.. this is truly the stuff dreams are made of. After a simple but tasty dinner with the family we decided to sleep out there in the open. As I snuggled into the comfort of the mattresses I envied the life of the people in the deserts, in-spite of the all the perils they might have in their daily life. I was soon overcome with the satisfaction of a day well spent and in no time sleep was over me!

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Rajasthan Stories - Day 1: Jaipur
Rajasthan Stories - Day 2: Jaipur
Rajasthan Stories - Day 3: Ranthambhore
Rajasthan Stories - Day 4: Osian & Thar
Rajasthan Stories - Day 5: Mandore & Jodhpur

Rajasthan Stories - Day 6: Udaipur
Rajasthan Stories - Day 7: Ranakpur & Kumbalgarh
Rajasthan Stories - Day 8: The Taj Mahal

Rajasthan Stories - Day 3: Ranthambhore

Spotting the ultimate beast in its natural surroundings was one of the items on my bucket list for long. Ranthambhore figured in the Rajasthan itinerary precisely to fulfill this desire only. One of the well known tiger sanctuaries nestled in the valley where the Aravallis meet the Vindhyas, I had read many a stories about travelers encountering these fearless beasts there. So if I say that I woke up with stripes in my brain and mind, it is definitely not an understatement. Though the sanctuary is a few kilometers from Sawai Madhopur, the forest office from where the safari tickets are issued is just outside the town. Charged with anticipation, we woke up quite early and reached the forest office at 5:30 in the morning and met Rajesh, the contact arranged by Rakesh Jain.

Ranthambhore sanctuary is divided into different zones for the purpose of tiger safari and only a limited number of vehicles - gypsies & canters - are available in each zone. Private vehicles are not allowed inside the reserve, thank goodness for that! Some of the zones, for example 1 and 2, are considered the best ones for spotting the striped beast and hence there is a rush to get tickets for these. Though the tickets are supposed to get allotted in random, if you know the right people you can get tickets to the right zones. We did not get tickets for the gypsies, but we did get them for zone 1 with the help of Rajesh. The morning tea tasted much better after securing the tickets and by 6:15 we started with 12 others in the canter. Rajendar had reached the forest office early enough to ensure that we get the tickets.

The safari was like a card game, in spite of having the best hand we did not win the game.. his highness the striped beauty did not turn up! Perhaps he decided to have an extended nap; can't blame him considering the chill in the morning air. The 3 hour journey was through exciting terrains, and we spotted herds of Spotted Deer, Sambhars and Nilghai. There were quite a few early riser birds too - the Jungle Babblers, Lapwings, Cormorands, and a white owl. Like many other places in Rajasthan we found that the Tree Pies were quite fearless here also. Unlike their shy cousins down south, they flew around the low hanging branches which were literally inches away from our heads. We waited around the waterholes for quite a while, expecting a tiger to come out of the bushes to have a drink, but all we got to see were the crocodiles and an occasional herd of Sambhars.

Adding to the hurt some co passengers started telling their own tiger stories, how a tiger smiled at them the last time, how close it came the day before that they could smell its sweat, and so on. Though initially I felt like stuffing deer shit in their mouths, I realized I would have blabbered quite the same way if I had ever spotted a tiger! I would have dedicated one full paragraph in this post to describe how I had goosebumps when the tiger stared at me and all that. So I patiently listened to the stories. The driver told us that there are only 30 odd tigers in the sanctuary and spotting one is not an easy thing. Barring the tiger disappointment, the safari was enjoyable and by the time we got back we were damn hungry. We had to catch the 2:30 train to Jodhpur and we hardly had enough time to catch some brunch, vacate the room and rush to the station.

It is an eight hour journey by train from Sawai Madhopur to Jodhpur via Jaipur, Sambhar and Makrana. Sambhar salt lake looked beautiful as the setting sun cast its spell over its waters. We would have loved to get down at Sambhar to see the Flamingos but time constraints forced us to keep it for the next trip. In the train we met Mukesh, who was traveling back to his hometown near Makrana from Jaipur. Overhearing our exclamatory comments on Rajsathan and the people there, he decided to join in the conversation. He was an interesting chap who told us stories about the haunted town of Bhangarh, the marble industry of Makrana, shape shifting ghosts in his native village and so on. Had we agreed he would have taken us to his village to prove us that ghosts indeed exist and they are not just figments of imagination! It is always good to have local company during long journeys like these, as you get to know interesting aspects of places you pass through.

Finally we reached Jodhpur by 10:30 and found an interesting hotel 'Shanti Bhavan', right across the railway station. This was an old haweli of the local administrator which was converted into a hotel later. It had more than 50 rooms at three levels! We got a nice three-bed room with a huge balcony overlooking the busy street and the railway station at Rs.600 a night. It was a nice sight to watch the moon shining right above the clock tower of the station with a beer in hand! We had dinner at a nearby hotel named Kalinga and it was a rip off; but we hardly had any choice at that time of the night. With another exciting day in the offering, we soon retired to the room. To spot the striped beast in the jungle, still remains an item on my wish list!

Click here for more pictures!

Rajasthan Stories - Day 1: Jaipur
Rajasthan Stories - Day 2: Jaipur
Rajasthan Stories - Day 3: Ranthambhore
Rajasthan Stories - Day 4: Osian & Thar
Rajasthan Stories - Day 5: Mandore & Jodhpur

Rajasthan Stories - Day 6: Udaipur
Rajasthan Stories - Day 7: Ranakpur & Kumbalgarh
Rajasthan Stories - Day 8: The Taj Mahal
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