India through my eyes�A vendor outside Azhagar Temple, Madurai

Look around any temple in India and you would find vendors selling anything from balloons to masks. This was photographed outside the Azhagar temple, dedicated to Vishnu located near Madurai.

Travel Tuesday � India through my eyes - Messaging in Mussoorie

 

We have seen messaging on mountain roads, on trucks and lorries and on random boards. But this is interesting . We were walking around Landour, in Mussoorie when I ran into these messages. Interestingly these were printed on bins..now that is a great way to either notice a bin or to read a message !

 

Now that is rather profound !

India through my eyes � A family at Kanatal

We met this family in Kanatal near the temple. A small little town near Uttarakhand, Kanatal has a Club Mahindra resort and I was invited as a blogger for CONCLAY last year.

Happy Deepavali folks

It is all about lighting up your own life . Smile. Live for yourself. Celebrate.

 

India through my eyes - Drying appalams or papads on the doorstep

Kalladaikurichi appalam or papad is quite famous and popular in my village . Here is a typical sight of a lady drying them before you can fry or roast them .

India through my eyes - Guardian Gods

While driving in and around my village Kallidaikurichi in down South Tirunelveli, I chanced upon a temple in Ambasamudram where these Guardian Gods were housed. I learnt from family and some friends on Facebook that the deity was referred to as Vandimaricha Amman. It is near the Agasthiyar Temple

Ayyanars are also referred to as Guardian Gods and here is a post on them.

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 - A scene in rustic India

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

Asia through my eyes - Drummers in India and Puppets in Bali

Posted on May 2, in my 365 project as a part of India through my eyes - Drummers on a beat

India is filled with Gods, temples , festivals and legends . Here is a temple festival which happens on my street every year in Bangalore . The local performers were waiting for the temple festival to begin as they were practicing their beat .. 

Posted today in my 365project as part of Asia through my eyes series


Colour and Asia go hand in hand - whether it is India or Indonesia, the colours attract people . In a small market in Bali, these puppets were for sale . Being a sucker for souvenirs , I was tempted to pick a pair, but I finally decided to take this photograph and retain this as my souvenir. 

India through my eyes - A performer at a temple festival

Many years ago, I had started this series called India through my eyes and had posted a few images ..The posts became a bit irregular and slowly died..When I started my 365 project a few months ago, I decided to revive it again and so - here I am with the first post

India is filled with Gods, temples , festivals and legends . Here is a temple festival which happens on my street every year in Bangalore , when a performer dons the role of Veerabhadra, an angry form (avtaar) of Lord Shiva . Was quite amazed to find some locals,  falling at his feet and seeking his blessings .

Fengshui on the highway - it happens only in Kerala

India never ceases to amaze you especially if you are on a road trip. There are surprises in almost every curve of the road. During my recent trip to Kerala, I was prepared for churches, mosques, temples, synagogues ..but this completely took me by surprise. 

A Laughing Buddha  was standing tall on the highway, in the middle of nowhere with a beautiful garden surrounding the statue. When we slowed down a bit, I found a board that announced that this was a nursery and a fengshui consultancy rolled into one. Now this is something that probably happens only in India 

To see more dramatic skies , do log on to Skywatch

India through my eyes

You find them anywhere- atop old temples, inside fields, sometimes even at homes - King, God, Demon , Soldier - he seems like a mascot, protecting every temple in the south.

To see different worlds, please visit  My World Tuesday 

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India through my eyes - rustic life

While returning from Daroji, we stopped by at a small village near Hampi to have tea. The locals gathered around us and the mothers asked us to take photographs of their kids. They were extremely happy to see the photographs and within minutes, the entire village, which probably consists of a few houses had gathered around us. As I left the hamlet , I saw the happy faces of these people and told myself that happiness is not that elusive after all. 

Its festival time in India !

Indians are forever celebrating - births of Gods and Goddesses, their marriages and the victory of deities over demons. For some the celebrations are wrapped in a religious fervor, but for me, its always been more of a cultural tradition , rather than a religious affair. I love most festivals because of their color and vigor and very often , they bring the great Indian family together. All celebrations begin and end with food.

Today we celebrate Krishna Jayanthi or Gokul Ashtami or Janmashtami as it is called in various parts of the country. The celebrations are also as diverse as it can get and today most of the festivities spill from homes and temples to the streets.  The legend goes that Krishna in his childhood used to steal butter from earthen ware pots held aloft or hidden around the homes. In towns today, young boys or girls perform acrobatics by forming a human pyramid to break the pots which are tied up in the air on a rope.  The pots normally carry money and the spoils are celebrated by the community . 

In South, some families welcome Krishna home. As a child, my mother used to tell me that Krishna  will visit our homes during midnight. " He was born in the midnight, remember, " she said and narrated the story all over again. She used to painstakingly create designs of tiny feet on the floor , leading from the entrance to the puja room.Very often I used to wake up and wonder if Krishna had walked down the path. Sometimes I used to place my feet on those designs and pretend to be in Krishna's shoes and get yelled at in the bargain ." Krishna will not come home if you do that, " she used to warn and I used to run away to play. While most of these are rubbished today as superstitions, I believe there was so much of innocence and belief in those little things that made our day. Today, most festivities lack those little things, which gave us so much of nostalgia and connected us to our community and our culture. 

I was in Madras (Chennai ) recently when the street vendors were busy selling terracotta idols of Krishnas to families. With Ganesh Chaturthi , Navratri and Dasara around the corner, the painted terracota idols are making a quick sale. I am down with a bad stomach and hence can  neither enjoy the butter, the sweets and the savories today, nor am I painting feet of Krishna on my floor - but I would just like to revel in the festivities around. 

India through my eyes - Breakfast at Ranganatittu Sanctuary

The juvenile painted storks along with the adult painted stork having a go at their breakfast in Ranganatittu Bird Sanctuary .

I would also request you to join me on Facebook, where I share my travel stories, photographs and some published writing, some of which are not yet on backpacker. Please click the link here to be part of the journey and to share your stories as we go by 

India through my eyes - In the days of twitter and FB statuses

I saw this quaint little postbox just before I entered the portals of the Hoysala temple, Somnathpur .One day I told myself, I will shut myself from the digital world and return here , just to send a real post card to myself at least .I did that during my first international trip, when I was 21 and all excited to cover South East Asia and Australia. I sent a post card to my parents from every country and each post card was a souvenir . I didnt have money to buy anything and my memories lie in those post cards

India through my eyes - A fishy story

A poster in Mahabalipuram ..they know how to bring on the fishy tales

India through my eyes - A formula for a clean city

As we walked in Kasauli rather aimlessly, we saw this warning near the Kasauli Club.Must say it works..the place was rather clean

Btw, I was pleasantly surprised when I found a mail in my inbox informing me that I have been nominated for Indibloggies -2008 in the travel category. There are quite a few blogs out there in other segments as well. I would appreciate it if you can take a few moments and vote for me .

Another temptation for travel buffs out there. Arun, my partner at Travelwise is planning a trek to Goecha-la, a high pass in Kanchenjunga National Park in Sikkim. The details are here and if you are tempted to join him, he would be more than happy.

India through my eyes- No Please !

Very often when we travel we tend to take pictures of local people. Usually I ask then for permission , but sometimes I like to take a candid moment.

I was in Thiksey in Ladakh when I saw these boys chatting. I asked them and they gave me an exasperated expression..Not another of those tourists , pls ...said their look. I couldnt help laughing when they hid their faces with a lid as a mock show of protest . And thats when I took the picture..I showed it to them later and we had a laugh and they later allowed me to take a couple of more pictures.