Travel Tuesday - Buddhas in Kulen Mountain Cambodia

Kulen Mountain in Cambodia is very sacred to the locals . While walking up the rocks there, I saw these many Buddhas around 

Skywatch this Friday - My native village

I belong to a village called Kallidaikurichi, located down south in Tirunelveli district in Tamil Nadu. Ringed in by the Western Ghats , the River Tambiraparani flows here while KMTR - Kallakadu Mudanthurai Tiger Reserve is located barely a stone's throw from my village . Picturesque, the region is surrounded with forests, waterfalls, rivers and streams. I visited the Manimuthar waterfalls and the waters later get collected in a large dam. The entire journey is a feast for the eyes, but here is a little stream formed by the waters before it flows into the reservoir.

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A blast from the past - The Dutch Cemetery in Pulicat and a virtual tour of the coastal town

My uncle had this old photograph that he had taken several decades ago of the Dutch cemetery in Pulicat.  I decided to scan it and post it here - the photograph was almost faded and there was very little correction that i could do - so I just let it be the way he gave it to me.  For all those, wondering how the cemetery looks today, here is a peek.

Dont miss the skeletons engraved on the gates and the tombs here are in Dutch

A little background for those who are wondering what Pulicat is. Pulicat or Pazhaverkadu is a small coastal town with a historic past. A port that dates back to ancient  days, ruled by the early Tamil kingdoms to the Vijaynagar kings.  It had its bit of international regime too � by the Portuguese, Dutch and British A ruined Chola temple lies adjacent to the Dutch cemetery, guarded by skeletons . Ask for the fort and the locals point to another marshland , dotted with shrubs and trees . You can squint through the wilderness and spot some broken walls.  

Walking aimlessly through the streets of  Pulicat ,we saw old ruined houses that still smack of colonial rule .The town  was once known for its slave trade practiced by the Dutch, but it was also a flourishing port , home to some migrant Arab traders. 

And there are several old temples - mostly in ruins, like this temple here 

However the single most attraction for travellers and birders is the Pulicat lake and the flamingos that land here every year. Read my story on Yahoo on the flamingo watch and I hope you enjoyed this virtual tour of Pulicat

Inside Story - Pondicherry beyond French India

� Did you see those trees madam ? � asked my driver as I looked out to see a road lined with a handful of  trees with stunted and bare branches. � It was such a beautiful stretch, now the trees have all gone after the cyclone,� he added,� First it was the tsunami, now it�s thane .� 

I was on the road , on the outskirts of Pondicherry town, driving past a huddle of villages and fishing hamlets. It was my millionth visit to the erstwhile French territory and my first after the cyclone Thane had ravaged the town, destroying homes, resorts, streets, trees, livelihoods and plans at one go.  The villagers were yet to come to terms with the cyclone that had raged more than five months ago.

We drove towards the sea, away from the main road and arrived at a secluded beach , except that there were mounds and mounds of sands everywhere. We drove past the dunes and  saw the last mile of land jutting out into the sea.

The Bay of Bengal presented itself  - a canvas of blue surrounding us, as the sea gulls chased imaginary boats. A lone biker stopped at the edge of land�s end as we walked along and looked out into the sea . A handful  of locals were swimming . I was told that adventure and water sports was planned on the sea shore, but had been shelved after the cyclone.

As I drove past the French quarters,  I hoped to see a different perspective of Pondicherry, besides Aurobindo ashram and Auroville.  �Maybe Arikamedu ?� suggested the driver, but I told him that I had already been to the excavated site where trade relations with Romans was discovered ,way back in the first century.  We nevertheless drove towards the ruins and saw some brick walls, remnant of an old monument  , surrounded by wilderness and overgrown roots,  lending an eerie air to the atmosphere.  Cyclone Thane had left its mark here as well.

My journey resumed and  then I met fifty two year old Muthulingam, who showed me another facet to this town.  A therookoothu artist, he was engrossed in an intense performance at  the Big Beach resort, where I chanced upon him. A group of men and some men dressed as women, wearing bold make up danced around, throwing dialogues in the air. Fascinated, I watched as the performers lost themselves in a world of epics, filled with demons and demi gods.

Muthulingam told me that there were performing a play based on the Ramayana and the story veered around Bharata�s son and a demon who came from Ravana�s lineage . He narrated with gusto, breaking into a dialogue , while the other artists danced around in tacky costumes. The performances however were power packed.

Muthulingam later told me that today there were less than 50 therookoothu artists in Pondicherry. He handed his card to me and proudly proclaimed that he had been performing since he was seven . � They put some  powder on my face  and said , go act..That was the first time I had ever played  a role. I was Sahadeva from Mahabharatha, � he added, getting nostalgic about how his cousin got him interested in the world of plays and performances. 

Muthulingam and his troupe�s diary was blocked for the next six months. They had selected their plays based on the Ramayana and Mahabharata and the Siva Purana.  �Temples, resorts, villages � we will now go from village to village performing,� he said adding that the shows will be usually in the night and could go on for eight hours.  � We are paid Rs 9000 a show and we would do about ten shows in a month . Sometimes a show would have even 20 players, but we share all the money � he shrugged .

Muthulingam was a self taught artist but he lamented that there were not many takers for street theatre, even from his own family today. � We are too cultured for our own good . No body wants to dance, yell, perform on streets, people do not even consider it art anymore,� he complained as the lights went off on the show.

The sea called .I walked along the shore, letting the waves wash away patterns on the sands . The cyclone might have affected the life of the city, but here were folk artistes trying hard not to let their art go into oblivion. � Well tourism helps to some extent, today it�s the Big Beach Resort , tomorrow, we may be in another place , but six months later, when the season ends, we will have to  find jobs  as security guards or something else,� Muthulingam�s words echoed as the waves flowed and ebbed. 

 I was on invitation by Club Mahindra for the relaunch of their Big Beach Resort post Cyclone Thane that had ravaged Pondicherry on new years eve last year. This story was published in my column, Inside Story in The Hindu Metro Plus

And its skywatch again - Yours truly in Jerash, Jordan

So, its been a week since my last post and the last Skywatch series. Nothing much has happenned  in this week except that I suffered from severe pain last Friday and had to be hospitalised for a few days..so while I am recouping at home, I am going to be a bit narcissistic and post a photograph of me , taken by a dear friend Aditi De in Jerash an ancient Roman town in Jordan

Skywatch - At Shettihalli Church

When I first visited the ruins of the submerged church in Shettihalli ,  four years ago, I could barely go near it as it was almost floating under water. During my second trip , I found it still surrounded by the backwaters . However I managed to go near the church during one of the dry seasons and this is how it looked then.

Another photograph of the church is here. To see more beautiful skies visit Skywatch

India through my eyes - My home is my basket

I was on the Naanjil Naadu tour to down South Tamil Nadu and I saw these kids having a blast in Nagercoil. They were obviously oblivious of my presence as I photographed them . At first it was just one kid and then I saw another hiding beneath another basket. He removed it and spotted me and grinned ear to ear as I took their pictures

Getting rid of all the excess baggage

One of the challenges that I always have is to travel light and that brings to the next issue, which is travel right , in terms of luggage ..While I prefer a simple trolley and a backpack, I always get the size wrong. And I seem to have an entire collection of various sizes and shapes of baggage at home and the ideal one is never available.

This weekend , however I have a task to do..I am picking up all the unwanted baggage and getting rid of it, thanks to an email that I received from VIP . I can exchange any old bag or baggage and get a discount of Rs 2500/- on select luggage.  You are probably thinking that this is a sponsored post ,..well it is not.

 As a traveller, I have had my share of grief with luggage - they have got lost, broken, missed by airlines and many a time I need to lug it with me if I had to travel from one place to another..so this seemed to be of relevance to me . I wonder if it is of relevance to you too..the offer is apparently only till end of the month

Skywatch Friday - An evening in Parangipettai

Parangipettai is just another fishing hamlet on the Coromandel Coast. But centuries ago, it had another name and an identity - Porto Novo. It was then a colony of the Portuguese who had set up a trading post initially but later ruled parts of India. This Skywatch we visit the shores of this erstwhile port. The entire jetty that we see here was once a thriving port , but today we see no evidence of the same

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