Kaleidoscopic Kerala

Its not for zilch they call it 'God's own Country'. Needless to say, Kerala transports you to a verdant landscape, some untouched by the vagaries of ruthless mankind. And you revel in it, allowing the scenic beauty, and not too seldom - the simplicity of it, to captivate and overwhelm you. In many ways it is very similar to Karnataka, my native state, however more lush and beautiful than the latter. Stately coconut trees and lavish churches are conspicuous by their multiplicity, you'll find them in every nook and corner. The people of Kerala are an amiable lot too - simple and extremely helpful. And special mention goes to the men (no, this is not about their potbellies and giant moustaches)... chivalry is their code! Every man, right from the bellboy to your taxi driver is so respectful towards women! This is evident in their behaviour - little things like holding the door open, not gawking/staring, passing rude comments.... I have never come across a disrespectful man in Kerala, yet - not even the hippies on their religious journey to Sabarimala (I saw hordes and hordes of them, clad in black). Hats off & more power to you guys!

As for Kerala - I'm coming back again!! I've not had enough of you! :) I miss the banana chips, home-made chocolates and the heavenly smell of spices already! Here are some snapshots of our stay at Thekkady, Munnar, Ashtamudi & Kollam.... Madurai too, but that's in Tamil Nadu. The pics defy the mere 6 MP Kodak camera that I was armed with. That's because each place is so beautiful, you don't need a fancy camera to capture their beauty!

Is any trip to Kerala complete without an elephant ride? Here's the beloved Bhagya (that's what our elephant was called) giving us a tour of a spice plantation... look at her posing for the camera....!

When we asked a firang who also rode the elephant to describe the experience, he replied, 'It was nice, it was funny.... it is kinda hard to explain'..... lol.... that aptly sums up our experience as well :)

The verdant spice plantation - the guide gave us a very detailed explanation of all the spices growing there - right from the king of spice (pepper), queen of spice (cardamom), price of spice (saffron) and princess of spice (vanilla).... phew! Bet you didn't know that too! :)

The mahout and his giant, but gentle ride... elephants are such docile animals!! But then, who wants to annoy them too?

The famous Kathakali mudra-dance - the costumes and face-paint are intriguing.... I wonder how the performers handle the complexity of it all!

The beginning of Kalaripayattu - the famous martial art from Kerala. They had dimmed the lights at the beginning of the performance giving the entire stage an ethereal feel.... beautiful, glowing diyas!

The performers were brilliant, each performing stunts more dangerous than the other, with swords, knives, spears and burning rings. What were their names??? Can remember only 3 - Muthu, Saijju and Kinchu (funny, na?)

Gladiator, anyone? These guys are menancing... swords clashed so hard and swiftly that they created sparks!

The very agile Muthu jumped through 2 fiery rings simultaneously. And I thought this sorta thing only happens on TV.... watching it live was unnerving. Brilliant stuff, though!

The breathtaking view from our resort at Munnar - a place well known for its numerous tea plantations

A tea garden at Munnar

A hill bedecked with tea plantations (Munnar)... the tea shrubs are short and stubby, and need constant tending to.

Whatta view! (on the way to Munnar)

I want to be on that little island!

The waterfall at Chellarkovil (near Thekkady).... we walked a good kilometre, through a narrow winding path, just to spot it

The view from Chellarkovil hills

That's the entrance to our resort at Ashtamudi - wondrous, wondrous place!

Our restaurant was on one of these rafts

I SO wanted to stay at Ashtamudi for much longer! Love the clouds in this pic...

Postcard-perfect!

Coconut trees and Kerala - you can't separate them!

Lazing in a hammock

The stately lighthouse (functional one) at Kollam

Why does this remind me of a candy bar?

The spiraling staircase to the top of the lighthouse. 200 steps in all. To the ones suffering from Vertigo - beware!

The view from the top of the lighthouse - see that church (in the middle) engulfed by coconut trees around it?

View of the Kollam coastline

Another spectacular view

And another...

Isn't this just beautiful? The Kollam coastline - pure and unadulterated!

Kollam beach

Mom insisted on visiting the Meenakshi temple at Madurai.... disinterested at first, my stance changed as soon as I spotted the temple - a magnificent, massive structure with so many details, it will stump you... indeed, God IS in the details!

Each sculpture of the massive structure tells a mythological story

You have to crane your necks to capture a picture of the Meenakshi temple, here - the South Tower

From aboard the aircraft, back home!

Wedding Wows

PS: (added on 8th Dec, '09): This post has been selected as a 'Tangy Tuesday' pick at Blogadda, here!! Thank you SO much guys!! I am so delighted - this is my first blog award!! :)

'Tis the season of happy unions, and for some unfortunate fellas - a fate worse than a lifetime of prison. But why oh why, do weddings throw up the same cloud bubbles over your head - of the grinning, marked-for-life couple with garlands (noose, anyone?) around the necks and never-ending rows of the world's yummiest cuisines awaiting thy much-emaciated presence? What about us, the harassed invitees (womenfolk, mostly), who are hounded from the day the wedding invitation arrives at the doorstep? Right from which outfit to wear (gentlemen please ignore, this does not apply to you.. I mean, how difficult is it to pick a shirt/kurta and a trouser?), which shoes to trot in, what purse/bag/clutch to hold (it should be 'matching-matching' with the outfit - Ma says), what accessories to wear, what gifts to buy and..... oh wait! This is most crucial - how to lose those extra kilos gained by OD'ing on your favorite cheese-burst pizza at Dominoes last week? Ok, ok... I admit... I don't have to worry about the last part (yet)... I am blessed with a terrific metabolism... a big *muah* to God! I must be your most biased creation! ;)

In case you don't have an outfit saved aside for a rainy day, one that your relatives/friends haven't already seen.... you are doomed, woman! Repeating outfits is a total no-no, a fashion crime, an unforgivable sin! A quick and desperate departure is made, to the nearest mall/boutique or wherever it is girls buy their threads from. In case a tailor (call me a stylist, dahling!) is involved - 'Bhaiyya, bahut urgent hai.... kal hi chahiye' is hastily muttered, only to be met by a pair of severely arched eyebrows that could give the Arc de Triomphe a complex - telling you you're not the first to order him around, so don't 'bhaiyya' him please. But you coo and boo-hoo, and he finally relents. Ha! One down, several more to go! Hasty purchases of shoes, bags, accessories are then made at the speed of light, that long-impending haircut is niptao-ed and your nails are scrubbed until they scream luminosity. The more enterprising will go to the lengths of fixing an appointment with the local salon to turn them ugly ducklings into beautiful white swans (I never understood bleaching, scrubbing and whatever it is that women do to their faces). A hairdo is picked with a carefully manicured finger from a glossy magazine - that should make me look like Angelina Jolie.... huff-puff..... damn! The 'pitts' we go to!! ;)

The D-day finally arrives. You're more nervous than the poor groom himself. Who will come today? I hope that irritating aunt doesn't come, she always bores me to death (beta, when are you getting married, tee-hee... as if she cracked the world's funniest joke) and I hope uncle forgets to set his alarm - he is always cracking dumb PJ's, to a sparse audience of mostly - me! Oh, but I hope... really really hope *insert-droolworthy-crush-here* DOES come, I have gone through SO much effort for him! Once you've made a mental list of who is worthy to come and not come to the wedding, you arrive only to find all those you detest are there first! The entire place reeks of dirty, sexy money (I borrowed that phrase), opulence and some heavy-duty flaunting about. You have the fattest aunties bedecked in more jewellery than the bride and her mother put together, you have all the mota-boys (uncles) flashing their multi-ringed fingers and dual/triad mobile phones at each other. The kids are running helter-skelter, dropping a drink here, sullying the carpet there.... and the waiters (poor things, they look the biggest lost souls of all!) are hurrying around, catering to many whims and fancies. The whole occasion is of apparent merriment, but it is also of muted, and more often - vicious jealousy - 'how the hell did that tramp manage to get her hands on such an expensive sari?' Or, 'look, how much gold she is wearing - is she a walking-talking goldmine?' Or, the judging 'look, such a short, tight dress.... I wonder how she breathes!' Note that all these observations come from women (surprise, surprise!). The most vile of creatures!

But not all behave in a petty fashion - some are really happy for the bride and groom.... especially me - whenever I am witness to a love marriage! So lucky these chaps are! To find your love and then to marry him/her.... just wonderful! You greet the newly-weds and wish them all the success and happiness in the world!

Who can ignore the protesting, growling belly by now? A beeline for the food counter is made; suddenly people appear from nowhere - 9 pm is when the guests actually start trickling in... JIT.... what a coincidence, na? You have to contend with large plates, larger bowls and that stupid napkin under the plate that threatens to slip away anytime. Soon you are juggling them all like a jittery circus clown on his first show. Paneer is inevitably the hot favorite and you find the long queue clogging up at that one mecca of gastric indulgence. After you've cleaned up the Chinese, Chaat and Mexican counters, you hop over to the dessert section and maul it. After you've let a belch or two out (yes, I heard that Uncle... it must be yucky being you!) you know you've had enough. Haath khaali, peth full. Time to go. Another day well wasted.

I haven't even given you a full glimpse into the Great (Indian) Wedding Tamasha. Lest the reader (yes, poor you.... if you've managed this far, you deserve a large medal for tolerance) doze off, I have curtailed my severely itching fingers to type more. I would love to hear from you guys any anecdotes/tales of a big fat wedding that you have attended. They always fascinate me.... nowhere will you see such a kitsch of emotions, blessings and colors blend into one perfect product - the Indian version of the 'happily ever after'. The bottomline being - *addressed to the couple in question* - you better not break up, dearies.... after all, we spent so much on the wedding! We don't want all that to go in vain!

Mad over Bandra!

If there's one place in Mumbai that I could visit again and again.... it would undoubtedly be Bandra. Such a intriguing place it is! Consider its myriad attractions - it has some of the most chic neighbourhoods & is centrally located - not too crowded though. It is also home to some of the best restaurants, pubs, bakeries & salons, nestled in the most unheard of bylanes (I have been through some very tapering lanes & was surprised to discover some very reputable hangouts there!) & is the undisputed shopper's paradise (two words - Linking Road!). For the star-struck, Bandra also boasts of addresses of most Bollywood stars, heritage-rich buildings, the famed Jogger's Park, heavenly churches and of course, the long, beautiful (ok ok.. slightly messy) promenades of Carter Road & Bandstand. I never tire of this quaint lil' neighbourhood :) So it was only inevitable that I visit the Bandra festival, if not to participate, yet only just to celebrate the place....

We (including Deepz... who has wonderfully described our night-out) started our soiree in Bandra by visiting the famed Mount Mary church..... it is so serene here, you can actually hear people breathing..... the altar looks more beautiful everytime I visit!

Everyone has seen this! The view from Mount Mary.... that building jutting out into the sky and the calm sea beyond..... beautiful view, if you ignore that stupid wire running across!

Tough on Tobacco, a band that I instantly liked..... with the talented Sid Coutto at the vocals & someone spectacular on the violins.... dunno his name (or number!)

Behold my surprise when I saw the kids of Ashray (where I go to teach) performing a dance!! I was delighted to watch them & cheered them on (apart from donating my water bottle to them - it was empty when it came back to me!). Strange as it may sound, I felt so proud of them, as if my own kids were on stage! :) I was beaming, full of pride throughout their performance & clapped the loudest at the end!

This is Monica, from Shair 'n Funk.... an emerging, exciting new band. Her eccentric ways took a little while to getting used to (more because she had a shock-to-impress style about her, what with bindis- yes, plural - dotting her face & her wild hair flying in the air), but nonetheless, the music was spellbinding....

Monica again, bathed in psychedelic colors

Pentagram came and conquered! The crowd which was until now just swaying to the music, suddenly became boisterous! Here's Vishal Dadlani of Pentagram (he was so close!).... they rocked the crowd with a cool rendition of 'Smack my B#tch Up' by Prodigy, amongst many other hits of theirs. Vishal came across as a talented crooner & an engaging entertainer, however he needs to tone down the foul language, please! Not cool!

I like this pic (took an effort to take pictures, what with the head-banging crowd thoroughly outta control!), Vishal here looks like he's eclipsed! An awesome night of good music & fun!

Starry, Starry Night

I'm fairly acquainted with Western rock music, having spent most of my teenage years listening to various rock bands (thereby angering many a flustered neighbour). The Indian rock scene is vague to me and I can only take a few names without resorting to the 'search' button on Google - Motherjane, Pentagram, Indus Creed etc. Now I can add Parikrama to the list. Having attended their concert at NITIE this Friday, I'm convinced our 'desi rock bands' (as Anusha Dandekar irritatingly chirrups on MTV) are as talented as their Western counterparts. We're not far behind!

The beautiful and sprawling campus of NITIE (It has a lake! It looked fabulous by night!) at Powai served as a perfect backdrop for this 2-hour rock extravaganza. Having entered the grounds, I nudged my way forward with my pals to the front, towards the moshpit of the sweaty, smoking, head-banging crowd (quite an eclectic bunch; we had one whale of a time yelling out at them!) and voila - there they were - Parikrama in their element! Special mention goes to Sonam Sherpa (we lovingly called him 'Motuu') who plays the lead guitars (and also the harmonica) in the band. He was the cutest & best-est!!! His fantastic rendition of 'Saare Jahaan Se Achcha' was superb and had us all chanting in rhythm. Another guy who stood out was the violinist - Imran Khan. What a stunning performer! He played the violin like someone possessed. Hats off to these wonderful, gifted guys - it ain't easy to get to the top - especially in a niche market like India. A google search revealed a surprising fact - these guys have been around for nearly 18 years! Sad that only a handful know of this extremely talented band's existence. Here are a few pics from the concert - hopefully these guys will be around, enthralling us for a long time to come :) Heartfelt thanks to Mayank for the passes and Vibz for some of the photos below (your digicam was a lifesaver!)

When we entered...

Lights, (my camera) and Action!

Imran, doling out a spellbinding performance

Imran & Sonam (Motuu.. I luv uuu) - what a duo!

Lakeside, fooling around :)