India through my eyes - Faces of Orchha

In Orchha, you meet a medley of mendicants and musicians, often in the guise of saffron clad saints. I wouldn't know too much about their saintly qualities, but their music is rather melodious

Skywatch Friday - The Western Ghats from my village

Driving around my village Kallidaikurichi, views like these spring up on you. The Western Ghats border the open fields as you walk along the stretch .

To see more glorious skies visit Skywatch 

Skywatch Friday - A scene in rustic India

A vignette of life in rustic life . To see more skies across the world, visit Skywatch

Alamparai -a photo feature

The milestone says about 50 kms to Pondicherry, when I pass a fish market in Kadapakkam. I take a detour and drive through a lost hamlet surrounded by backwaters.  I take another detour and enter  the portals of a 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.

 This is the 17^th century Alamparai fort also called Alampara or Adamparai.  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 rusted 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.

�Do you want to go boating  ?� asks a local . The sea looks inviting, but the sun sends me a warning . I decide to give it a pass although the salts of the sea did beckon us.

Chithral - a Jaina site on a hillock

The clock strikes noon and the sun is at its peak. A group of heritage enthusiasts are climbing up a small hillock in a village called Chithral, near Kanyakumari. I trudge along with them and pause for a moment, waiting to catch my breath.  The scene is virtually breathtaking. 

The sky is clear, the floating clouds touch the distant peaks of mountains, the greenery is refreshing and the breeze comes calling. The weather gods seem to be on our side for a while as the trees create a canopy for us, sheltering us from the mid day sun. For a moment, I forget the heat and lose myself in the journey, for as always, these journeys are filled with legends and myths of cults and beliefs. 

Chithral is part of the itinerary of the Naanjil Naadu tour, organised by INTACH, Tamil Nadu, as we set out to explore heritage among caves and hillocks. Dr V Vedachalam, Retired Senior Epigraphist from Tamil Nadu State Archaeology Department explains to us that the site was known as  Thirucharanattumalai in the ancient times.

 �Jains believe that this is the abode of the monks who had lived in the natural caves here. In fact �charanathar �according to Jainism refers to those celestial beings who fly in the skies and are seen in places of worship which could be mounds or mountains, sometimes inside towns and living spaces too,� he says. 

We continue to trudge along a bit until the rocks part ways and create a narrow tunnel like approach for us. And then we see it. The rocks are carved with bass relief sculptures depicting Thirthankaras and yakshis. 

There is the serene Mahaveera, the snake hooded Parshvanatha along with Neminatha, the yakshis - Padmavathy and Ambika, also known as Dharmadevi looking out into the open. Hillocks surround us in the distant horizon as we see pools of water reflecting the colours of nature.

Dr Vedachalam says that the sculptures date back to the 9th-10th centuries as inscriptions refer to the patronage of the AY dynasty ruler, Vikramaditya Varaguna who reigned around the period. More inscriptions written in �Vattaezhuthu � (one of the oldest Tamil scripts) refer to monks and nuns who have lived here and also speak about a well known Jaina monk Akshanandi, who was a donor and a patron. 

Right atop the cave is a small structural temple dedicated to Bhagavathy deity. Dr Vedachalam says that it was earlier a Jaina temple as the yakshi cult gave way to the Bhagavathy cult over the passage of time. A later 19th century inscription in Malayalam belonging to the Travancore king Moolam Thirunal Maharaja refers to the shrine here. 

As we sit in the cave, gazing at the sculptures, Dr Vedacahalam points to the carving of yakshi Ambika or Dharmadevi and narrates the story about her cult. �It was believed that Ambika was an ordinary housewife who was thrown out of the house by her husband as she had given away all the food to the Jaina monks. As she walked away with her children, people noticed her divine powers and started worshipping her.  

One version says that the trees flowered and gave her fruits and even a dry reservoir suddenly filled up with water, while another version mentioned that a �kalpavriksh� or a wishing tree gave her all that she desired. When her husband got to know about her � divine powers� he came over to call her back, but she out of fear committed suicide and became a yakshi ,� says Dr Vedachalam adding that today one can always see Ambika as a yakshi with Neminatha and she is usually flanked with her children and a lion, which is her vehicle. Inscriptions in vattaezhuthu had been found here with references to the yakshi cult as well. 

We spend more than a couple of hours here, losing ourselves in a world of arts and cults, completely cut off from civilisation. For miles and miles around, the mountains and forests circle us as we wonder if the celestial �charanathars� are watching over us as we walk downhill.

This story was published in my column, Inside Story , in The Hindu Metro Plus 

And its Skywatch already ..There is no way like the highway

Rooted at home for the last few months , my wander lust is satisfied by just taking a good look at some of my old photographs. And I believe there is no way like the highway

To see more beautiful skies around the world, visit Skywatch

Birding diaries - Crested serpent eagle in KMTR

I was driving through parts of Kalakadu Mudanthurai Wildlife Reserve in Tirunelveli last January. Located very close to my native village, Kallidaikurichi, this is one wildlife reserve that I would like to revisit again. We did not see much wildlife, but we managed to spot this crested serpent eagle there

And the eye of the eagle, although I wish that little green spot vanishes

Skywatch Friday - Sunset in a barren field

There is beauty in barrenness. Many a time I have stopped in the middle of a road journey while journeying through obscure villages just for moments like this. 

This was photographed while driving through some cotton fields in North Karnataka. To see some amazing skies around the world, visit Skywatch. And if you like my photographs, you could join me on my Travel Page on Facebook.