Fly far away, dissolve and quite forget�

These words from John Keats� Ode to a Nightingale means more to me now than it did when I was studying literature in college. As summer approaches, its time to plan my holidays yet again. I am wondering if I should go to the forests or the hills . Maybe its a good time to plan another trip to Europe. Last year, I was happy to have toured quite a few cities but I had to leave Prague out unfortunately. I would love to go back to the UK again. As for India, the Himalayas beckons.
I love trains but domestic fares have indeed come down and I am going to start booking flights early this time around . I would prefer destinations in India as fares are now as cheap as Rs 2000/- one way to certain destinations. I am for instance flying Trivandrum � Bangalore this Sunday on a similar fare .Ever since Jet lowered their prices a while ago, other airlines like Go Air, Indian Airlines have already joined in the bandwagon. But seriously, it does not matter which airlines as long as they do take off and land on time. 
What do you say ? So where are you planning this summer ? Meanwhile am off to Nagercoil and Kanyakumari today. See you guys in a bit.

Travel Tuesday�Padmanabhapuram palace

 

I am off down South India to Tirunelveli again this week for personal reasons ; so here is a post on Padmanabhapuram palace that is located near Kanyakumari. This story was published recently on Yahoo in the series on lesser known palaces of South India

On a hot sultry afternoon, we have our little tryst with history in a small wooden palace. There are no red carpets that are rolled out as we enter or bells that announce our presence. No brightly lit chandeliers greet us at the entrance. Neither do we find marble statues in a scenic garden nor magic fountains that burst out in a musical symphony. Our entry is quiet and unnoticed except for an old caretaker who barks an order at us as we fumble for money to buy the tickets.

Palaces in India can either be the ornate magnificent edifices that glow in the aftermath of their past glory or humble structures that live almost in obscurity, hoping that a few tourists will grace them with their visits. They vanish from the political maps and slowly make their way into tourist maps, only to be lost there as well and be tagged as offbeat destinations.

But there is nothing really nondescript about the Padmanabhapuram palace. The Western Ghats form a dramatic backdrop as the palace rises from the ground, spreading itself and forms a part of a granite fortress . On a bright sunny day, the peaks of the mountains peep out from behind the whitewashed walls and the thatched roofs and the clouds pose for the tourist, who is hoping to take home a little digital souvenir.

We walk through the tiny door, bending almost in reverence to the sovereigns who built this palace and made the town their capital. Home to the Travancore kings, we are at the Thai Kottaram or the Mother�s Palace , that refers to the oldest part of the monument, that was built way back in mid 16th century. It is the mother of all the buildings here, as none of the mothers really stayed here, says the guide . We are in for a whirlwind tour of history.

It was called the Kalkulam Palace and was built initially by Iravi Perumal Kurukshetra Perumal in the 16th century says the guide. I marvel at the courtyard, the traditional �nalukettu� where the sloping roofs seem to hug me as the four pillars support the structure. A small room of solitude, aptly called �Ekantha Mandapam� opens into some intricate sculptures as the guide beams , looking at a single pillar made of jackfruit wood.

The palace I hear has had a makeover two centuries later by Marthanda Varma. Varma dedicated his entire kingdom to the deity Padmanabha and named his capital and palace after the God, but the kings seemed to have left their origin once they shifted the capital to Thiruvananthapuram.

We walk through the Mantrasala, a dark but intricately designed chamber for the King�s Council and admire the traditional wooden carvings, the hanging lamp, the coloured mica on the windows and every stamp of the Kerala style of architecture. The journey into Travancore history takes us into the Natakashala or the Hall of Performance and the Upprika Maliga which leads us into the rooms of the royalty and the Theekee kottaram or the Southern Palace.

The guide is careful to lace the history with trivia. He occasionally pauses to show us an intricately designed cot which he says is made of 64 wooden pieces gathered from the trunks of the medicinal trees or to show us the toilet of the kings. I am however taken in by the Ambari Mukhappu, the structure in the form of an Ambari on an elephant, where the king would sit and view the chariot races.

After walking across several rooms displaying pots and pans, cloaks and daggers, curios and carvings, I step into the virtual art gallery where the the paintings showcase the lives and the events of the Travancore kings and murals depict scenes from the epics. The tour seems to end for a few here , while I wander around watching the sun play with the latticework, casting reflections on the dark smooth floor, which the guide had painstakingly explained was made of a special mixture of egg white and coconut shells among other materials.

The sun is sharp for a moment but the reflections fade as the clouds join the party. The play of light puts me in a reflective mood. Palaces I realize are also symbols of fading glory. Even as kingdoms vanish, new states are formed, borders blur, monuments live and die everyday in India. Some come back with a new identity and a renovated face to the tourists, while others languish in ruins and disappear with the passage of time, keeping all their stories within them. As I turn to leave, the 300 year old clock tower in the complex brings me back to the present times.

The skies have just become affordable again

I have just got off the internet. I am off next week on a quick trip down South Tamil Nadu for some personal reasons and I was quite worried about my last minute bookings. But I was in for a surprise. My flight ticket to Bangalore from Trivandrum cost me almost the same I would pay for a 2AC tatkal train ticket . Yes, it was about Rs 2000/- one way.
In case you have missed the news yesterday , Jet Airways along with Jet Konnect, Jet Lite led the pack by announcing cheap air tickets and the site was down almost the entire day, behaving like IRCTC. But we did manage to pick up the tickets. More airlines am told have followed suit, so if you are planning a holiday, this is the time to fly. Even if you are not planning a holiday, this is an excuse to fly.

Celebrate Nicolaus Copernicus� 540th birthday in Torun

In a small little fairy tale town, I am reminded of a legendary fairy tale . I get a whiff of the freshly baked gingerbread and am transported into the tale of the gingerbread man who comes alive from his mould, only to be devoured by a fox. Torun in Poland is a World UNESCO site with loads of history but it is its legendary gingerbread that makes it irresistible.

We follow the scent and walk into a quaint where we join a group of excited children, waiting to get their hands dirty with chocolate and flour. I am as wide eyed as the children, when I hear that Torun�s legendary gingerbread dates back to the 13th century and India has had a role to play , for the ginger to make this �pierniki� came through the spice trade route.

I am for a moment intoxicated, not just by the flavour but the entire setting that seems to be out of a fairy tale . Large wooden tables with rolling pins, wooden ladles, spoons and buckets lie scattered with wisps of flour and chocolate around in this gingerbread museum.I follow the gaze of the children and see a girl, looking straight out of the medieval times , shying away from the camera as she lovingly massages the flour in her hands. I realize that if I stay a moment longer, I will probably be lost in a medieval world of charming knights and maidens.

I step into the streets of Torun and it does have the effect on me. A chocolate brick tower looks askance at me from an angle. The streets are lined with quaint monuments that look straight out of a colourful postcard .The silence just adds to the quaintness . I stand at an angle to photograph the leaning watch tower as I hear that it was a technical fault that led to its posture. But the heart likes to believe more charming stories like this one. A love story between a knight and a nun goes awry and the knight builds the structure out of redemption, only to find it leaning for like his attachment. Locals say that you can clear your mind of all the guilt by standing below it for just ten seconds as I wonder if I should fight my conscience for all the indulgence in a quaint town.

I am beckoned by some history as we walk down the Old Gothic Town that has miraculously managed to ward off many battles, including the World War 11. Torun �s tryst with the medieval times goes to the era of the Teutonic Knights , who were actually men of a religious order from Jerusalem
Invited by the Polish princes to fight against the pagan Prussians, these men of militia decided to build a castle on the banks of the Vistula and make Torun with its river port , their home. Constant wars between the Polish and the knights continued, until the people of Torun eventually rebelled against the knights and laid siege to their castle. It lies in ruins here, but Torun�s medieval monuments have stood the test of time, even the World War 11 which has left the town unscathed.

The fortress, the gates to the city, the medieval walls, the town hall and the Gothic churches , the Baroque granaries, the ancient houses - all lend a quaint touch to Torun. As I gaze at the top of the cathedral tower, I see a huge bell, weighing seven tons referred to as God�s Trumpet . I am however told that this is not a landmark of Torun.

The city revolves around one astronomer, who literally lives today in the city � Nicolas Copernicus Thorunensis. The 15th century astronomer lives today in Torun as we walk into his elegantly designed two storeyed house that retains the original flavour since his time. We climb a wooden staircase and look out into the street from the study. The house , now a veritable treasure house and a museum gives you a peek into his mind.

Copernicus lives on in Torun even till date. Statues and shops, universities and restaurants are all named after this man who observed that it was the earth that rotated around the static sun. The church where he was baptised , his house where he was raised are all living symbols of his life in this city. Even the company that sells gingerbread bears his name. And Torun is proud of the man who showed the world the ways of the universe.

As we leave Torun, we give one last look at the town that lives forever steeped in its medieval era .The Vistula would have probably flowed here when the knights walked around, brandishing their swords and when Copernicus showed that the sun shone bright amidst the all the stars. If you can think of a place where time would have liked to stop, it is probably Torun.
Getting there
Torun�s Old Town is one of the World Heritage Sites and it is absolutely one of the most beautiful sites to visit. Located near Gdansk and about three hours by train from Warsaw . It is well connected by road as well. For details contact www.visittorun.pl.

This article was published on Rediff.com . Check out a photofeature on Torun in Yahoo.com

Skywatch Friday�Jordan is all Greek and Latin to me

I was in Jordan a couple of years ago and we went to Jerash, which was an ancient Greco Roman city called Gerasa. The ancient city was buried under the sands of time, until excavations discovered it less than a century ago.

For lovely skies around the world, visit Skywatch every Friday

Couples around the world - Lets get hitched

So here is a confession � I do not believe in Valentine�s Day as an expression of love . But that said, going by the spirit of the moment, love is all pervasive. You do not need a designated day to celebrate just because the retailers and the marketing men told you so. However, I have seen love blossoming where ever I travel.

From London to Avila to Alcala De Henares to Siem Reap, I have seen couples posing for their wedding photographs against the backdrop of a beautiful city .

We often ask them permissions before taking their pictures as they pose for that perfect moment. And I wish them all happiness wherever they are right now.

Markets of the world�Red hot peppers

On a dusty highway somewhere between Karnakata � Andhra border, I saw a little colourful market � red hot in colour

Have you seen the other posts in the Markets of the World series ?

Celebrating Chinese New Year�Say it with lanterns in Hong Kong

 

Celebrating Chinese New year..a entire photofeature was published in Yahoo . You can see it here

Birding Diaries� A pied kingfisher looking for its dinner

Somewhere on the way between Tranquebar and Karaikal, late one evening, I found this pied kingfisher looking for dinner in some thorny bushes. The colours had anyways faded and hence, I chose to post it as a black and white version..I like the black and white better..what do you think ?