Destinations -2009

Ive travelled the most in 2009 and I guess thats the best thing about this year. While my personal milestones and journeys were nothing to write home about, most of the destinations have been new and I have had new travel companions as well.Its been the year of Incredible India for me. I saw the Himalayas for the first time in Ladakh and in Shimla .Arun and I launched Travelwise and we did 4 weekend trails this year - Hoysala Trail and Vignettes of Coorg.

I attended the NTP, a Naturalist Training Programme organised by Jungle Lodges in Bannarghatta and got hooked on to birding. I did a lot of birding tours in and around Bangalore and in some of the JLR properties this year. I also visited Kumbalgarh and Shimla thanks to Club Mahindra as a part of their activities - Cerebrate and Bloggers Meet. I also got my new DSLR this year thanks to my brother and attempted photography . Cities like Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai were part of my itineraries.Its difficult to compare each journey or rate destinations as they are unique, but I believe that every trip has had something special for me..so here I go, on a nostalgic trip as I recall some of the key destinations in 2009

January 2009, Mysored - First Destination of the year
I spent my birthday last year in Mysore, one of my favourite cities after Chennai and Mumbai. January also saw me going to a new destination, thanks to Club Mahindra. I had an assignment in Ashtamudi, in Kerala and a tryst with ayurveda . I visited Kollam on the banks of the lake and an old Portuguese settlement,Thangaserry . I also got my new DSLR and used it extensively during this trip .



February - Mostly at home in Chennai - a photowalk series near by home .A day trip to Bheemeshwari near Bangalore to understand angling and Mahseer.



March 2009 -Pilgrimages galore .The coffee blossoms were in season when I went to Malnad, Chikmagalur and a visit to Sringeri . Yaadgiri near Gulbarga and a visit to Mantralaya .Rivers crossed - Tunga,Bhadra,Hemavathy,Bheema,Krishna. Pepper picking in Malnad and chillis near Mantralaya . NTP in Bannarghata and an addiction to birding . A lot of birding in and around Bangalore subsequently followed during weekends.





April 2009 - Kumbalgarh, Rajasthan - part of Cerebrate. An amazing fort and a mix of interesting people, this was a wonderful trip. I still remember star gazing the entire night when I saw my first meteor.


May, 2009 - Birding trips to Galibore and a detour to Melkote, but I ended the month with the launch of our first trail - Hoysala Trail . We did 4 more trails including one to Coorg.



June 2009 - Sindhudurg and the Konkan coast thanks to Rashmi who is promoting tourism there and a weekend at Goa with hubby .



July 2009 - A new travel companion and a new destination as I reconnected with a school mate, Ramya The Coromandel coast and its colonies - Tranquebar


August 2009 - A trip to Mahabalipuram to watch the sunset with a friend , Kamalee and another day trip to Kanchipuram, Sandras ,and more temples with Aarti,cousin and a new travel companion. Left for Ladakh towards the end of the month




September 2009 - The craziest spell of travel . Ladakh followed by Delhi, Agra and Fatehpur Sikri,back to Bangalore, Chennai, Bangalore and then Shimla for a week and finally the jungles of Kabini . The sun became villain , as I turned allergic to UV rays .






October 2009 - A quick weekend at Coorg, otherwise a month of rest , mainly birding around TG Halli, Hesarghata lake and a visit home to Chennai. The allergy just got worse after every birding trip.Had to make a quick trip to Mumbai to visit an ailing person .



November 2009 - Anniversary weekend to Daroji and Hampi and lots of sloth bears and birds to give me company. Another quick trip to Delhi and a weekend in Orange County kabini - luxury and birding at its best . Had to miss Coorg trail cos of severe rashes.




December 2009 - Malnad and Sringeri, followed by a weekend in Chennai and a trip to Galibore and Doddamakkali on an assignment from Jungle Lodges. Travel came to a halt as my health gave me a reality check. Landed in the hospital and now recuping for a while . January 2010 looks like will be Bangalored at home.


To end the year, I finally won the Best Travel Blog in Indibloggies -2008. Thanks everybody who have voted for me and for being part of this journey

Driving down the Coromandel Coast - Part 3

We are back at the coastline as I bring you the last leg of my journey down the Coromandel Coast . A quick recap here for those who have just joined me on the trail.We left Chennai and drove down to Sadras in Part 1 and then we continued towards Pondicherry where we crossed Alamparai and the salt fields at Marrakkanam in Part 2. I now bring you guys back to the coastline where we will visit more erstwhile colonies of the colonial era.


The traffic shakes us out of our reverie as we continue towards Cuddalore, an ancient port which wears the mask of an industrial town. We leave the bustling town and delve into the past. The old town presents itself, boasting of a Roman connection. But in Cuddalore, was the very foundation of the East India Company .The seas have witnessed battles fought between the arch rivals here .We skim through layers of history and learn that Fort St David, an erstwhile fort on the banks of the river Gadilam was the headquarters of the British before Fort St George in Chennai took over. A passer by tells us that this fort was under the control of the Marathas and it was later on bought over by the British . The story goes that the purchase was decided based on a shot from a gun. The area which came under the range of the canon included the entire town and Cuddalore became a British settlement.


We move on as canons echo in our ears as we take another detour to enter a crowded town.� This is where the Parangis stayed , so its called Parangipettai,� says a school teacher with whom we have a cup of tea at a local stall.� In Tamil, Europeans are called Parangis, but this small port is a trade centre for the Arabs and the Yemenis. Parangipettai or Porto Novo as it was called by the Portuguese was also colonized by the Dutch and English . I couldn�t find any ruins here, but I heard that the Nawab of Arcot minted the Porto Novo Pagoda, the gold coins from here. I leave another noisy town and move on towards Tranquebar or Tharangambadi.


The breeze lifts our spirits. We know we are getting there. The roads get narrower as we finally get to hear the music from the sea shore. Tharangambadi means just that � the town of the singing waves. And as we walk towards the waters, the lilting tune haunts us. The waves gently stroke the rocks which seem to be a remnant of an old wall. The beach is littered with colourful boats .The nets are scattered as the kids run around. A big Indian family jump on to a boat and take pictures , while a few enjoy a swim. Couples stroll around as I watch the skies come alive with the evening colours .


Tharangambadi or Tranquebar (Trankebar) as this Danish settlement was called found its way in the history map in the 17th century when the Danish East India company built the Fort Dansborg . Today the fort , with a Scandinavian feel about it opens out into the sea and is now a museum that tells a story of a busy port which has now become a wind blown village.


We take a heritage walk with Asai, an architect from INTACH who are doing their bit to preserve the unique architecture here which is a blend of European and Indian styles. When we enter the portals through the � �Landporten� or the town gate, we walk into a past that has a washed out charm. The gateway sports the Danish Royal seal and leads us through a row of colonial bungalows and ancient churches.


Asai takes us on a historic trail. He says that in 1620, a Danish fleet landed here and the captain identified it as a strategic trading centre. The village was then ruled by the Nayaks from Thanjavur . A deal was struck between the king, Vijaya raghunatha and the Danish admiral Ove Gjedde. A small strip of an insignificant fishing hamlet was leased from the king for an annual rent of Rs 3111 and Trankebar was created with the Dansborg Fort built right in the centre of it. While the Danes traded in spices and silks it was finally sold to the British for Rs 12.5 lakhs in 1845 .


The quaint streetscapes lend an old world charm. We walk down the small bylanes called King street, Queen Street, Goldsmith Street where buildings have been restored. �To begin with the bungalows of the British Collector and the Danish Governor ,� says Asai pointing to the Bungalow on the Beach which is now a sprawling mansion overlooking the beach. �The latter is next on our agenda,� he adds.
The tsunami he says swallowed close to four streets in this lost forgotten town and he takes us to see the ravaged Masilamani Nathar temple, the oldest monument that has survived in Tranquebar, An inscription says that this partially eroded temple was built on a land granted by King Maravarman Kulasekara Pandian in 1306. The village was then referred to as Kulashekarapattinam or Thayangambadi.

We walk with Asai to the 18th century Zion Church, the oldest protestant church of India . The New Jerusalem Church, he says was built a bit later by german missionaries Bartholom�us Ziegenbalg and Heinrich Pluetschau who translated the Bible into tamil . The trail ends near the beach as we see many tattered monuments waiting to be restored.


It is dusk and the melody from the waves reach a crescendo. We sit on the rocks and watch the sun set sipping a hot ginger tea when I hear a haunting tune from the past. The little snippets of history from these forgotten ports play in my mind. The passage of time may have eroded their identity and they may have slowly faded away from the political maps , but the glory of these long lost towns would probably never fade away . Its hidden , waiting to be discovered�

Thanks for joining me in this journey. It would be wonderful of you travelled with us as well.Travelwise, managed by Arun and I will soon be doing a trail in Tamil Nadu. Windows and Aisles, the inflight magazine of Paramount Airlines published this story in their December issue.

Driving down the Coromandel Coast - 2

We had paused in our journey from Chennai to Tranquebar at Sadras in Part 1. Part 2 continues as we drive towards Pondicherry . This article was published in Windows and Aisles, the inflight magazine of Paramount Airlines in November 2009. Travelwise is launching this trail in January 2010. Join us as we resume the journey again and take you down to the coast.


As the past merges with the present, we are driving into another time zone. Bordered by coconut trees, the backwaters looks inviting. A few boats lie scattered. We take a detour from the village of Kadapakkam and enter the portals of another port lost amidst the ruins, located right next to the seashore. There is no one in sight. Coconut and palm grooves shelter the broken bricks as the rubbles resonate with the glory of the past .


We are at the 17th century Alamparai fort also called Alampara. Built during the Mughal era it was ruled by the Nawab of Carnatic and was later on gifted to the French for their support. The British eventually destroyed the fort and the dockyard which was more than 100 metres long.

A rusty ASI board gives us more information. Alamparai, it says was the ancient land of Idaikazhunadu, mentioned in the literary work, Siruppanatruppadai. The sea port was used for trade by the Arcot Nawabs and zari , salt and ghee were exported from here. Coins were minted from here as well and later on the mint was shifted to neighbouring Pondicherry. The mint built on a highway near Alamparai here even housed a Shiva temple, a �choultry � and a pond and was built for the benefit of the travelers coming down this route towards Rameshwaram.


We are unable to find the highway, but the breeze takes us on a different route. A local fisherman offers us a ride in his catamaran. The sky and the sea merge into a vast expanse of blue . We watch him deftly stroke the waves as he entertains us with stories of film crew who have shot many a scene here.


The sun gets kinder as we drive towards what is left of French India in Pondicherry. The smell of the salts however makes us pause at Marrakkanam . The entire stretch is filled with heaps as a group of workers extract the salt. We chat a bit about their day as a couple shyly walks up to us and asks us to photograph them. � They are getting married,� laughs another woman, while a grumpy man wants money to talk about salt extraction. We take him with a pinch of salt, show the couple the photographs and move on towards the quaint streetscapes of Pondicherry .

The French connection with Pondicherry is often waxed eloquent by the tourists . But not many speak of the Portuguese , Danish and Dutch who have all laid claim to this port which was another centre of trade . Eventually the French, though defeated by Dutch bought it from them for 16000 pagodas. Pondicherry or Poudoucheri as it was called became the capital of French India. There was a time when Madras was controlled by the French from Pondicherry, says the local policeman with his tall unique hat.We stop at Auroville , grab a quick bite and slip back in time again as we continue our journey.

Shades of sky over the Taj Mahal

The sun sets over the Taj Mahal. As the minars of the Taj reach out to the sky ,the latter changes colour from a bright blue to a cloudy grey .



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