Images from the South 2

Snapshots of Pondicherry, Chidambaram and Mahabalipuram
The lighthouse at Pondicherry; Chidambaram temple; One of the Rock cut temples of Mahabalipuram; the Shore temple

Images from the South

Here are some of the amazing snapshots of Pondicherry. The statue of Saint Joan of Arc; Hotel de Ville now the Municipality office; The Promenade; The Aurobindo Ashram; The Bay of Bengal

A trip to Pondicherry, Chidambaram and Mahabalipuram

I barely got 24 hours to prepare myself for a trip down south and normally I like to be mentally ready, not that I am going to battle. So leave from work, adjustments at home and there I was flying to Chennai with my husband early in the morning on 24th March, 2011. Landed and then drove down NH 45 to Pondicherry which took about three hours and to our hotel Seabay GRT Grand, a comfortable place. I tucked in to my fill at the buffet for lunch and had a good sleep. In the evening, went for a walk on the promenade by the sea. This road is also known as the Beach road. In fact, this is one of the main attractions of Pondicherry or Puducherry, though the former is very much in use. Perpendicular and parallel roads lead from the Beach road into the city and these are mostly the original French areas with 19th century buildings, each one better then the other. The French names are still retained and you have Dumas street, Surcouf street, Bussy street, Francois Martin street, Saint Martin street and Compagnie street, to name a few. But it is worthwhile to walk these streets if you like heritage buildings. Some inportant buildings next to the sea include a lighthoude dated 1836, Our Lady of Angels Church facing which is the kneeling statue of Saint Joan of Arc, the French War memorial, a recent addition of Mahatma Gandhi's statue and Le Cafe. Getting back to my first day, well, it ended with a sumptuous dinner at the Promenade (this one is a good hotel) and India won the cricket match against Australia. Next morning, left for Chidambaram since Mr Ravishankar, our host thought to absolutely essential that we see this temple of the Nataraja signifying the Chidambaram Rahasya. Took us about an hour and a half to reach and we crossed Cuddalore which had been badly mauled by the tsumani (2004). On the way, I saw salt fields as well. This time our host was Mr Bhaskaran who kept us informed about each and every aspect of the place. On the way to the temple, I breakfasted on iddyappam for the first time and was really satisfied. On our return, I had the South Indian Thali and cleaned out most of the food except for the very spicy dishes. The payasam was a favourite. Also whenever I could, I had South Indian filter coffee.
Between the return to Puducherry and the South Indian thali I did what I enjoyed whole heartedly - exploring the city. First visit was to the Aurobindo Ashram and I visited the samadhis of Rishi Aurobindo and the Mother. The place was crowded but there are peace all around. I was disappointed though at not being able to explore the house where the great revolutionary lived. Apparently, it is not for public display which is strange. Next visit was the famous Ganesha temple where ganesha is known as Manakula Vinayaka. Thanks to Mr Bhaskaran's contacts, as in the Chidambaram temple, here too we were granted a smooth darshan of the idols. An elephant greets worshippers here and blesses them. Next I explored the streets taking in my fill of heritage buildings, most of them well maintained.
In the afternoon, we left for Mahabalipuram and the Shore temple by the East Coast road and had a lot to capture on camera. Returned tired and happy, dined, caught some sleep and early the next morning were on the way to Chennai airport sleeping most of the way. Caught the flight and were back to the Capital in no time.

Water Issues

Attended a workshop called by the US Embassy on Water Issues in India: Opportunities and Challenges. Various well known water experts like Ashok Jaitly, Himanshu Thakkar, Kapil Narula, Sanjay Pahuja, Renu Gera, Amit Kanodia, AK Bajaj, Anupam Mishra, Amit Bose,Deepak Saxena and many others spoke their minds. Well, one thing is pretty clear - the Water Crisis is here. So what are we doing about it?? Why does the Govt. not pass a law making it mandatory to have water harvesting systems in all housing societies, independent homes, office buildings, etc. Also age old water storage structures as old as 500 years and more in Rajasthan are even today providing pure drinking water to the desert state. Shouldn't we follow these examples rather than build water tanks that crumble in no time or fix tubewells that are always bone dry?
Water management is the key area to be focussed on and I hope we are not too late.

Tughlaqabad Fort - a walk

On Jan 30, 2011, I had the opportunity to visit the Tughlaqabad fort in the Tughlaqabad area of Delhi. This came about when I registered for one of the heritage walks organized by IHC and the guide was journalist, Sunil Raman, who seemed quite at ease with the surroundings. It was quite a big group and most of us were interested in the historical drama of the place. The fort spreads over 6.5 kms and is in ruins. In fact, it is said that there is no historical record describibg the city within the walls as a thriving place. Early travelers have also described this place as a ruin. The founder of the Tughlaq dynasty, Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq rose from the ranks of the Khilji army and took over from his masters and constructed this fort as a protective measure from Mongols attacking from the south. Unfortunately or fortunately, no wars took place in the five years that the fort was occupied. After the death of Ghiyas-ud-din (some say he was murdered by his son, Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq), the fort was abandoned and turned into a ruin.
As we took the walk, the administrative area and the residential area could be demarcated. Interestingly, there are quite a few water reservoirs within the fort. Some excavation work conducted by ASI has left its mark. Across the Mehrauli-Badarpur road, lies the tomb of Ghiyas-ud-din. Before the road was built, the fort connected directly with the causeway over an artificial reservoir. The causeway still stands though there is no trace of water. The tomb is a beautiful sloping squarish structure with a single dome. The outer walls of the tomb are made of red sandstone. Inside are three tombs with the central one belonging to Ghiyas-ud-din. The two other are said to belong to his wife and son. Within this complex lied the tomb of Zafar Khan, a favoured general of Tughlaq. Another interesting tomb is that of Tughlaq’s dog. The entire structure is quite bereft of elaborate carvings or inscriptions.
As the fort walls and the mausoleum catch the rays of the setting sun, it is not difficult to imagine the beauty of the place with water filling the reservoir and serenity emanating from the forest area around.

Streer Potro

The Rangmahotsav 2011 brought with it great theatre and as usual I managed to catch a play on the last day of this theatre festival on January 22. But I am glad I got to see this throbbing enactment of Tagore's Streer Potro (The Wife's Letter), performed by Neelam Mansingh Chaudhary's The Company. Ramanjit was the protagonist and very cleverly her role was divided into two, the other essayed wonderfully by Rocky.The story and the characters were able to move the audience to tears. Raman's histrionics were truly impressive.

India Art Summit

Visited the India Art Summit on January 21, 2011 at Pragati Maidan. Needless to say, I was awestruck with the creativity around. Just taking in all the work placed around was a surreal experience. Enjoyed every bit of it.