Mysuru Odyssey

Can I have a plate of pizza, oh I forgot... Give me drumstick sambar as topping. Well, this is Mysore (lately mysuru) for you. A mix of cultures. People saying distances in 'furlong' units, People wearing jeans and whizzing away in their unicorns. Well, I decided to taste this unique mixture on a holiday, and by coincidence it happened to be a 'holi' day as well.(28-feb-2010)

I always believe that Trains are the best mode of transport invented by mankind. Somehow nature has agreed to include this man-made thing into its coterie. I took the early morning train which leaves Bangalore at 4.50am. To underplay, it needs hundred eyes to capture the splendor that you can cherish with a window seat in a morning train. Green fields leave way to bunch of trees only to come again a few yards later. Its like seeing a soliloquy. I reached mysuru at dot 8.

Odyssey #1: The Mysore palace - Where perfection meets the grandeur

The colonial city was basking in the morning rays when I reached there. The gothic inspired arches of railway station has imperial style written on its mortar.

Just leave the railway station, you catch the Sayyaji Rao road which forms the main artery of Mysore. Dotted with colonial buildings and a typical freshness in air which is so common in Karnataka, It took a walk to city bus stand. On the side, of the road we can catch the glimpse of St.Philomenas church whose outlay makes you think that you are in Scotland.

Then we cross some squares, and then we see the Persian inspired bulbous domes of Mysore palace emerging out of thin air. The palace in itself has a rebirth.

The earlier palace used to be a column and beam structure made of wood (available in plenty in this part of Karnataka) which got razed because of kitchen fire during the marriage ceremony of one of a Wodeyar princess in 1897. (A side story here is, in the same year 1897 an outbreak of bubonic plague killed half the city`s population). The royal Mysore king took no time in deciding to reconstruct the new palace, this time more lavish and more fire-proof!

So fire-proof was the design that the Maharajah ordered to make the main pillars of the 'marriage pavilion' in cast iron!

The electricity came to Mysore in 1906, much before the palace construction was completed. So one can see those vintage fans and lifts traversing the rooms whose style is a mix of saracenic, native-indian and european. It makes no compromise with the use of ivory, teak wood and glass-works. And in every direction we see, our eyes always end up in the royal insignia (double headed hawk). Every corner is blended to perfection and it was not so difficult that I started drawing parallels with the city palace in Jaipur (another masterpiece).

The public hall for audience is huge and overlooks the grand garden. Its arches are islamic and its ceiling paintings are Victorian which carries paintings of Hindu deities. This mixture of diametrically opposite culture is quintessentially Mysore.

Here, I would take a stop to mention about the hall of private audience. Its more exquisite than anything and I am running short of adjectives to describe it.

One needs to see the palace in night on Sunday nights.. Thousands of light smile away the splendor of the palace to the night sky. Its a photographers delight. It cannot get more royal than this.

Odyssey #2: SriRanganatha swamy temple, Srirangapatna - Back to those stone henges

We read a lot of history. Many say that first millennium (1AD - 1000AD) is the most golden of the ages that India has seen. Different parts of India had this so called 'Ram Rajya' at different timelines in first millennia. But we have awfully little sculptures of these glorious days.

Some sculptures though have stood against time and conquests to tell the magnificence of those days. The origins of the Sriranganathaswamy temple in Srirangapatnam can be traced to 9th century AD and I decided to make the tryst with destiny on the dusky february evening.

The river kaveri forms an island in three different places on its course to bay of bengal.

One of them is Srirangapatna. Located 15kms from Mysore, this is one place where history puts a comma in it long narration.

So often this place has gone into the history that the present-day municipality has decided to give it a break by negligence.

As we walk inside the temple, you cannot control to connect yourself to the past. The same steps that you have taken would have been treaded by the Hoysalas and the Rashtrakutas and Vijayanagar kings. The sculptures in the pillars (of pillar & beam structure typical of pre-islamic buildings) are lord Vishnu in various poses and gives a eerie feeling which takes you to distant past.

This along with Shivasamudram and Srirangam forms a holy trinity of Ranganatha swamy where Lord Vishnu poses in a reclining posture on top giant snake after taking elixir from the sea of milk. This tri-rangam forms the core of Vaishnavite belief.

Odyssey #3: Dariya Daulat Bagh, Srirangapatna - The garden of sea of wealth

War is the catalyst for change in history of a nation. The history takes a U-turn in such episodes and brings forth tremendous human characters and their bravery. A fitting example for this is Hyder Ali and his son Tipu Sultan. Their arsenal and men matched the finesse and discipline of British. Even the great French Napoleon (after conquering egypt) dreamt of having an alliance with Tipoo sahib to uproot British from Indian Soil.

"Having occupied and fortified Egypt, we shall send a force of 15,000 men from Suez to India, to join the forces of Tipu-Sahib and drive away the English" Writes a French diplomat from Napoleon times.

The mighty soldiers of Tipu won three main battles against East India company. In the fourth mysore war, the Tipu`s soldiers were outnumbered by Company troops which now included forces from Nizam of hyderabad and Marathas.

Yet, Tipu provided a stiff resistance before falling. The defeat of Tipu in fourth mysore war (called as battle of seringapatnam by British) is one of the major events, along with victory of company-men in Battles of plassey and Buxar, which marks the beginning of company rule in India.

The Tipu sultans summer palace (Dariya Daulat Bagh, now a museum) has a lot of this scenes captured in pictures drawn by the company artist Hickey. The murals in the walls of palace depicts the victory of Tipu over red-uniformed company men.

One thing to notice here is that, Tipu is always depicted in paintings smelling a rose flower which is typically mughal style.

A few kos from the palace is this place called 'Gumbuz' which is mausoleum built by Tipu for his father Hyder Ali. The company soldiers later cremated Tipu too in the same place.

As I told in the beginning of this odyssey, so many times war acts as a catalyst. It creates heroes.

It defies future. The battle of Seringapatnam will surely be remembered for the bravery of Tipu and his men.

On the Gumbuz (on the eastern corner of srirangapatna) now connected by a single town bus which always runs 1/2 hr late, lies the tomb of the person who as a scientist pioneered rocket science and as a scholar wrote poem and basically as a soldier thrusted his sword and made company`s uniform more red. This is Sultan Fateh Ali Tippu (Tipu Sultan) for you.

For more information on how to travel to this places, Please do leave a comment.

So. (A short story)

"Last call for Prasanna.. who is Prasanna out here.?" The loud thud of the voice calmed down hundred whispers. For a moment, There were some faces which showed grief..there were some faces which showed anger... After that brief pause, the faces reconciled and started looking for that soul.

Now, that person in waist coat started yelling.. "Who the hell is Prasanna.? Should I arrange a Merc to bring him in front of me.?"

The faces in the crowd started looking more frantically at each other. No one knows who is Prasanna. But they waited to see him. Sometimes, a victory parade is nice to see even if the defeat is cast upon thy.

"Now.. I am calling off the selection.. The next selection list will be announced after lunch" the waistcoat rumbled a big announcement as the crowd begun to disperse with a ray of hope.

Prasanna was not far away from the place where the action took place. He was sitting in a city park a few yards away. The forenoon sun was frying the park benches. If you can count the dog that was pee-ing in the corner, and some butterflies.. there were hardly any living organisms that moved. The tree, devoid of air, were still like a scene in the canvas. Oh! Forgot.. Prasanna was also still in the park bench.

Suresh came running to Prasanna. "what the heck.. Seeing the sky.? star gazing.? You have lost an opportunity DP" he yelled.

"Ya. I missed it." Prasanna tried to avoid the conversation as he walked away.

"So. what are you going to say to her today.? That you were not able to earn a penny because you were looking for Orion constellation in broad daylight.?" asked Suresh.

"No.. Not Orion.. See here.. Newton circles"

"No wonder.. That you have not yet found a job.. Well, I am trying my luck in the afternoon.. May be I will get my turn in the afternoon and that time I will not be caught star gazing" Suresh left.

---

The door opened after the third knock, the smell of urine of a new born child filled the air. A frail woman was lying in a corner. She was weak and hunger had made her weaker.

"Vinay, From when your mother is sleeping?" asked Prasanna.

The 7 year old Vinay showed a sand-clock.

The frail woman got up now, "Hey Prasanna.. when did you come.? sorry.. I dozed off a little.?"

"Just now.. And again with empty pocket" said Prasanna.

"It okay, I have mortgaged my bangles.." she said.

"No.. You know, I know nothing of construction.. How can I sustain if i take that job.?"

"Its okay DP.. wait for a astrophysics job.."

The yet-to-be named kid started to cry. Prasanna picked the sheet of paper which advertised for 'post third world war' building reconstructions. Half the city of bangalore had to be reconstructed.

"Ok. I am giving it a try tomorrow..Now let me read Feynman"

Jaipur - The beginnings

My name is Ram Singh Gehlot. Jaipur had been a safe haven for us for five generations. Our great forefathers were traders of semi-precious stones. I retired from the Indian Army (Rajputana Rifles regiment) last year. I had never thought life existed beyond Jaipur, for our Maharaj had brought the splendors that the heavens can offer right into our doorsteps.I am coughing now, and years of army rum has given a slight metallic taste to the cough. The reverse process of becoming a civilian from army man is not always simple. There will be high profile parties, more visits to Delhi(hardly five hours from Jaipur) and more wine. What else..?

I find the past more beautiful and prominent, than the present and the future. The city of Jaipur has history written on it walls. Its royal clan has the the valor running in their blood, for how else they would have survived the most tumultuous of invaders with the might of their sword and their mind. I have to do my little bit to Jaipur.It was then i decided to write about Jaipur.

But I had to ask myself about how much I know about my hometown?.

I had visited many of its historical monuments over the years and have taken photos.

As I child, I had gone to see the Jaigarh fort in Amber. There, I had stood near the largest cannon in Asia. Those days, photography is only for firangees.

Later, After my marriage I had visited the Amber palace sometimes. By then, I had bought a canon model F1n camera (with power winder). We clicked a few snaps Jodily. Later my job took me to different parts of India and landed me finally back to Jaipur couple of years back.

Now, I have a lot of time for reading. Its one thing that keeps me going to forget the loneliness that my wife`s departure had brought. I socialize so little, as i always say it too difficult to become a civilian back again. Rather I find solace in visiting the past.

The next day I took my contessa classic car for service to some second hand repair shop near sindhi camp. I had to cross the walled city of old Jaipur at two places to reach there. I had got up early and whizzed past the old pink city. The red sandstone walls stood ablaze in the morning sun. My car flunked on the Tripolia bazaar and refused to start. The bonnet let out fumes of vapour from it sides. I opened the bonnet and let some hawa to enter. Somewhere do

wn the road is a structure known for its forced circulation of air, the Hawa Mahal. But my cars cooling system seemed to have given up.

As I was sipping a tea to cool myself as the car cools itself down, I saw a an elephant driven towards the direction of Amber town in a truck. It would have completed it regular service unlike my Contessa.

A day later, I decided to drive towards Amber with my loyal palanquin called as Contessa classic (1980 model) which churns out 39 horses power and gives a maximum speed of 30kmph.

It would have been the beginning days of Jaipur, Sawai Jai Singh I formed the new city of Jaipur on the foothills of the ancestral town of Amber. I had always loved to visit the town of Amber which is around 15 mins drive from Jaipur. In my contessa, it took more than an hour. The carburettor breathed heavily as it neared the Amber. With a lot of ooomph-imphhh I reached the foothill of the mountains which house the Amber palace, Jaigarh and Nahargarh forts. Understanding this place is important to know about what made our kings so strong.

For this we have to go back a little, to the humble beginnings of Kachchwaha clan of Rajputs.

Amber had been the seat of power for the Kachchwaha clan of Rajputs (Jaipur Rajputs) right from the 11th century when the procured the state from the meena tribesmen.

Once our kings were the most powerful among the Rajputs, but fate had made us to be defeated by the moghuls.

Our Kings served as distinguished governors and generals for the imperial mughal empire. Mirza Raja Man Singh served as governor of Bengal under Akbar. Later when he was deputed to tackle the troubling tribesmen in Afghan by Akbar, Man Singh secretly learnt the science of making cannon. He then made a cannon foundry in Jaigarh fort in Amber.

Mirza Raja Man Singh was a loyal general to Akbar and was connected to him through a marital alliance. His later days were not so smooth as Jahangir badshah had a bitter relation with him.

At the top of the Jaigarh fort , I saw the five coloured Jaipur flag fluttering in the breeze. The five colours are from the flags of the five troubling tribesmen in Kabul whom Man Singh I tackled.

As I finally parked my car, I decided to take a more reliable form of travel to reach the Amber palace in the top - Well, How about an elephant ride.?

A prologue for a Travelouge

What makes the train journeys in India so special.? Is it the people we meet or the rustic countryside that swiftly passes through your window.? Is it that little beggar boy who sings in a metallic voice or that American traveller with a mineral water bottle, a dirty backpack and a big travel book.? If you have not travelled in second class compartment in a train in India, You are really missing something.

I feel that trains are subtle microcosms of the diversified yet strangely united country of India. Well, I travelled alone this year. Many Indians don`t do that really. I took a backpack with some books, a couple of tardy jeans, few economy class T-shirts , some underwear and a Olympus camera. With this minimal luggage, and with the assurance that mineral water bottles will be available all over India, I travelled around 7000kms during this vacation. Sounds a bit Forrest Gump'y, but as know 'Travelling alone is like a box of chocolates'..

October is a month, when the rain gods had gone back to slumber and leave a little time before they cover themselves with blanket for the cold Decembers. But the fog never gives up, as they keep kissing the landscape even after sunrays made the eastern sky ablaze. The mornings in north India is the most photogenic landscapes one can see on earth.

As the evening draws a curtain, and as the womenfolk cook the rotis with the stove fuelled by the cow dung that they had collected the morning before, another kind of fog covers the land.

But these are pictures only of landscapes in the countryside.

I have always felt that globalization had made our cities flat. They wear a same look all over India. It was beyond those buzzing cities and the crowded bazaars lies the real places where one can find solace.

Watching the ruins of Tughlaqabad where honey bees have made a dynasty of their own, During the elephant rides to the top of Amber palace in Rajasthan, When you stand below the magnificient Mughal arches of Buland darwaza in Fathepur sikri, And when you view the mighty Ganga mata in Varanasi.. you begin to feel the minutest part of timescale that our lifetime is composed of in the face of earth.

In the coming posts, lets know more about India. As we proceed..We will together travel to a city which was a dream for every king during the medieval age, to the most beautiful building in the world, to the most sacred places one can visit , to the most planned city in India and so on. Sometimes we will be travelling through Camels or elephants. Briefly We will be eating some real spicy Kachoris and some sweets which brings heaven to earth for a brief moment. Come lets travel..

God and Krish!

Its a strange thing. God never pays visit to earth in this kalyug. But he did so yesterday afternoon in unforseen circumstances. Krish was waiting for his girlfriend in coffee day and the god just took a seat nearby.

God! Krish would have been pissed off coz of that. Reshma is always late and now a puffy guy with a long hair sits next to him with a coffee.

"I like this Irish coffee with Hazlenut" said god.

"Hmm! If you dont mind, I am waiting for someone." krish was restless.

"I know that dude, but I am sure I could give you a good company till that someone comes".

'Goddamn' thought Krish. "I dont talk that much to strangers, you know" Krish reverted back.

"Oh! Sorry. I have not introduced myself. My name is Kailash. I am from North... We are no longer strangers Krish" said god.

"Holy cow! How did you know my name" said Krish putting back the ID tag of a popular software company in his pocket.

"I know. So, I have come" said God with a sarcastic smile.

"What the heck you want from me.. Mr.Kailash something.."

"I just wanna know if there is any referral in the esteemed company. I am just fed up of my previous work." Said god.

"Brrr..Yet another job seeker.. by the where are you employed now.?" asked Krish.

"Well.. I cant disclose now. But to say for sure, I have a quite an experiance to fit into any software company"

"So.. Why switching jobs.. no hike.. no onsite..ah..? Its same old stuff here dude. You know, the recession has really hit the rock bottom" grunted Krish.

"Not really.. I just wanna see more people... you know.. contacts really help" said God.

"Hmmm.. then.. new to Bangalore ah..?" asked Krish.

"Ya.. first time.. It looks so developed and advanced.. But only minus point is the traffic"

"Ya.. Chill up dude.. you will get used to it. Swalpa adjust maadi.. as simple as that" said Krish.

"I have got myself chilled up already.. Kingfisher" said god with a smile.

"Oh! ya.. Thank God its a Friday. I will buy a can or two.." said Krish.

"Thank me.. I am the god" said god.

"You are #$#$$# drunk.. Get lost.." said Krish.

(A neo modern adaptation of Kadavulum Kandasamypillaium)

Kubera Halli

Kuberahalli is a place not known for its wealth, If you can ignore the evening crowd in its wineshop.

Its a beautiful place when it rains, The gutter overflows into the road and the rainwater and sand forms a colloid with it. Children with weather beaten looks play in the rain and brazen the harshness of the reality.

The street-lamp is not glowing today. Ahh! Its a full moon today. The municipality had made an agreement with lunar gods and poor chap I did`nt know that. But alas, the municipality have not made an agreement still with the wavering clouds which makes the full moon night into a pitch dark canvas. I walk through the streets of Kuberahalli trusting nothing other than my next step.

The outskirt has railway line close to it and a railway station half a mile away. But of course these children have a strange liking to play on the rails when the trains are about to come. What if a steamer hits a kid or two?

No wonder, their parents would be happy if it had by it wilder probability hit a girl child.

My neighbour in Kuberahalli, Malappa makes a living by driving an auto rickshaw. Everyday morning he fuels his rickshaw in the HP gas station in Bomannahalli, and late in the evening he fuels himself in the kuberahalli wineshop.

That day he fuelled himself more and therby hit a rammed his rickshaw with a raging truck. His right arm got jammed and his eyesight partially lost. But good in the bad, he was drunk for he didnt know the pain. Parvathamma, his wife, cried so loud that night that the entire kuberahalli gathered to console her.

These days she visits the VAO office so often in the late evening and returns back home in the veil of darkness. She gets a few thousands from the officer every month and pities the sane world which talks of something called - Culture!

A great week of movie-ing

Last week had been dull and sultry in bangalore. The monsoons have officialy failed and the Indian cricket team got banished in the carribean. Thank god, there is a DVD lending library near my office which has a decent collection of movies. Here are the few movies worth mentioning (which i saw last week... listed in no particular order)

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button:

Academy awards nominee for Best film and Best Actor of 2008, Just to lose behind Slumdog millionaire. Brad Pitt in his best performance ever. The lead character in the movie undergoes a reverse ageing process wherin he grows younger as years pass by.

Certainly a noteworthy movie for it 'out-of-the-bush' theme and some very good art direction.

1947-Earth:

Second movie in the elements trilogy of Deepa Mehta. Story is set in Lahore during the partition times and shows the real pain of partition atleast in couple of scenes. Solid performances by Aamir Khan and Nandita Das and some good music by none other than the legend - A R Rahman.

If you want to see an off the shelf hindi movie with some real life characters, then here is one.

Seven Pounds:

The same team that worked for 'In Pursuit of happyness' have paired up for this masterpiece, though you cannot avoid drawing parallels with the former. The story becomes very emotional towards the end and is ideally suited for people who have the tear bags overflowing in their eyes. But this sullen looking and slow moving movie suddenly becomes watchable because of one man - Will Smith.

Fight Club:

The second David Fincher movie that I saw in the week (following 'TCCBB') . A movie that remained in my 'to-watch' list for a long time and it surely didnt disappoint my long wait. Brad Pitt again in the lead again with Edward Norton with a psycho realistic storyline. A stylish and trendy screenplay typical of Fincher`s movies stand apart. If you like movies like Memento, you should never miss this one.

The Onion Movie:

Its a 'good-for-nothing' movie and its USP is it being 'good-for-nothing'. In US of A..You can make movies in which you can make racial abuses, unparliamentry abuses on popular people and policies all in the name of 'Satire'. If have a long and stressful day in office and want a laugh without applying your mind, then here is one.

Mystic River:

I always wanted to see this one dark movie from Clint Eastwood. It was his 'Million dollar baby' which I liked most. But preceding that, this Sean Penn starrer set a critical acclaim in box-office.

A movie to watch on late saturday night.

The GodFather:

May be this is the 17th time i was watching this movie. And to tell you the truth, each time I see the movie i understand how movie-making should be.

The one scene where Marlon Brondo talks to Al Pacino (towards the end, where he says someone is going to be traitor) is an epic and should be framed and shown to all those people who aspire to be directors.

GODFATHER - A legend.