Of kings and empires

Here is a portrait of a map depicting the empire of the Chola Dynasty that ruled South India and parts of South East Asia under Rajendra Chola 1 in the 11th century. This map lies lost in a thatched hut which houses the museum as well. And the thatched hut is in a forgotten town called Gangaikondacholapuram, the erstwhile capital that once ruled over this entire empire. Today the town doesnt exist, except for an unfinished massive Brihadeshwara temple that resembles the one in Thanjavur, built by Rajendra's father, Raja Raja Chola . Here is a painting of the king , Rajendra himself - in the same museum .

Please click on both the pictures to see the enlarged versions

Kollam - Once upon a time..

I will park down the road, madam�you can take as many pictures as you want..I will be waiting here,� smiles my taxi driver as he opens the door for me . He had just returned from the Gulf where he says his retail business had gone bust .A couple of busses whiz past and the Needakara bridge fans out in front of me. On either side of the bridge is a fabric of deep blues that merge with the horizon. A flock of kites fly into my path interrupting the seamless blue as they scoop down and then fill the sky. This is where the Ashtamudi lake joins the Arabian Sea . A small fishing hamlet, now a tourist spot with ferries and houseboats � it tells the story of Kerala tourism



The bridge vibrates as busses speed past on their way to Kollam, or Quilon , the erstwhile Designanadu. �You know , madam, there is a proverb in Malayalam which says �Once you have seen Kollam you would no more need your illam (Home)" There were so many palaces here ,it was a very rich town � he says in a mix of English,Hindi,Malayalam as I get in . He sounds proud to be back, I thought as there was no remorse regarding his homecoming .



I look at my watch and realize that I have just an hour to go . I do not have the time to see the palaces , I tell him and he agrees to take me around the town with two halts - the Kollam beach and the old Thangasherry lighthouse. He continues,� Tourists go to Kochi, Azhapura, Kumarakom , Kovalam, but not many know that this is the original Travancore kingdom. We call it Kollavarsham �the beginning of our Malayalam calendar ..� And that�s where I get my little dose of history.



Kollam,located on the banks of the Ashtamudi lake was once a prosperous ancient sea port, carrying on trade with Chinese , the Romans . Phoenicians ,the Portuguese, Dutch and the British . You take a look at the Chinese nets on the Ashtamudi lake and realize they are reminiscent of the old Chinese settlement that used to be here. It is said that Marco Polo, the Venician traveller, who was in Chinese service under Kublahan in 13th century visited Kollam and other towns on the west coast, as a Chinese mandarin.



The 144 ft tall Light House of Thangasherry look down on me as I see the coastline .The bright afternoon sun does not allow me to linger further . I shut down my guide book and listen to my driver who regales me with more stories.

This story was published in my column, Inside Story on Metro Plus a couple of months ago. The pictures posted here were taken by my husband Sharath . Please do us a favour by clicking on the pictures you like and see the enlarged versions.To see more posts on Kollam and Ashtamudi, click here and here .

I also thought that I could submit this post as a part of Skywatch Fridays, a meme dedicated to the skies worldwide. To see more skies, click here.

Markets and temples

Patteeswaram, Tamil Nadu

Just before you enter any temple in India, you have to pass through a market. In some cases, shopping happens right inside the temple complex. Very often I find the markets more interesting.


Madurai, Tamil Nadu


Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu


Chidambaram , Tamil Nadu.


Thirukadaiyur,Tamil Nadu

India through my eyes - Its Red hot !

Rustic India is indeed colourful and its not just greens and browns that we are talking about.Its red hot too..Chilli and Andhra Pradesh are quite synonymous..they say Telugu food is quite spicy too. I was crossing the Andhra -Karnataka border near Mantralaya when we stopped by this fiery colour. I think India is red hot ! what do you think ?


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Where are the tourists ?

Probably its the recession or maybe the season is getting over..but we hardly found any tourist in Kumbalgarh, but for a few Indian families on a summer vacation..the fort was not their destination as they preferred to swim in the pool and beat the heat..I didnt speak to the couple in the picture, but the guide told me that foreigners have not been coming of late..Sad, for tourism !

In Kumbalgarh still

Meet Dimple..

She's from Udaipur and has come to Kumbalgarh for a dance performance with her friends .


Dimple has just appeared for her Class X exams and says she has learnt the dances from her mother


She says she has been dancing she was eight years old.

And she is very clear when she says -" yeh math samjho ki mein eh paise ke liye kar rahi hoon . Mein heroine banna chahathi hoon. Mera favourite hero hai John Abraham."
("Dont think Im doing this all for money..I am doing all this because I want to become a heroine. My favourite hero is John Abraham."

I couldnt take a video of her solo performance, but here is a short clip .I love the haunting music.Thanks for watching.I think its people like Dimple who make your travels worthwhile..At 15 she is so sure about what she wants and where she wants to go..With stars in her eyes and great talent, hopefully she will go places.

Kumbalgarh Fort-Voices from the past

Travelling to me is all about the sights and sounds of a place. The Cerebrate team visited the Kumbalgarh Fort after a brainstorming session and here I am celebrating the heroics of Rana Kumbha who built the fort in the 15th century.The wall of the fort at 36 kms is supposed to be the second longest continuous wall after the Great Wall of China.

Im leaving you with some videos, pics and audio clips of the place..The clips were recorded on my mobile as the guide narrated the stories..Im just posting a couple of them here with our own English translation as well, courtesy Rashmi who was one of the participants at Cerebrate .


One talks about how the fort was built -the legend talking about the sacrifice of a priest who asked Rana to build the fort . The second talks about the war between Rana Pratap and Akbar and then the many gates of the fort..


I do not have a high end gadget..so I do hope the quality of video and audio is fine..Im also a bit lazy now and I do not want to write too much..but will soon do another post on the fort soon.

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Cerebrating at Kumbalgarh - a celebration of passions

When you are in a room with ten achievers speaking about their lives and ideas that build their lives, you are stuck with one thought - that they think with their hearts and not their brains. I have just come back from a wonderful brainstorming session from Kumbalgarh where Cerebrate 2009 was held.Organised by Club Mahindra, the event is an unconference . The achievers included Cmdr. Satyabrate Dam who has scaled the two poles besides being an acclaimed mountaineer, best selling author Tim Murari, IIT-ian turned agriculturist Madhavan who is a pioneer in creating entrepreneurship among farmers, wildlife photographer, filmmaker and naturalist Kalyan Varma, singer and actor Andreah Jeremia, social activist , Rashmi Dhanvani , designer Abhijit Bansod, RJ Anjaan and entrepreneurs Sriram Bharatam and Suresh Sambandam .


It was a celebration of passions - thats what I call it .Inspired, overwhelmed and humbled after meeting so many interesting people, Im now charged to do something on my own as well.And one of my best moments - spotting a falling star at 4 am in the morning under a jewelled sky..

More pictures of Cerebrate here

India through my eyes - Work is worship

At the entrance of an ancient Hoysala temple , Adagur near Hassan. No one has probably entered the temple portals for days while it stood in the wilderness , but work must go on. The coconuts were on their way to the Hassan market.


Im going to be travelling tomorrow for an event.You could look me up at Cerebrate.I will see you all next week.