Going ahead with SS Challenge, day 2 is for duo merry! Food, when shared, is always fun. Exceptions do exist, when solitude gives good company while having food.
Nanari Sharbat, a cooling drink
Sharing good times, along with a good friend, with good food for company, remains etched in our memory for a lifetime!
Chocolate Icecream!
Gaining a friend, who has same taste in food as self, is a boon, rather a blessing! I’m sure not everyone is going to disagree with me here!
Spiced Buttermilk
With these thoughts and pictures, let me conclude the second post on the SS Challenge! And gear up for the third post!
It’s a new month, a new coach added to the rollercoaster of 2022! With my A to Z April Challenge still struggling to go ahead, I thought of undertaking a simpler challenge for September, and decided to carry out the Savour of September Challenge!
Well, I’m going to just post some colourful pics, some memoirs, some info, some thoughts on Food, throughout the 30 September days, and that’s going to be my Savour of September Challenge!
Potato curry, jointly cooked and aligned with friend!..few years back..
Food, has always been quite an intriguing topic of conversation, throughout the history of mankind. Being a basic necessity for survival, food is quite an important part in every living being’s life on earth (and beyond too, probably!)
Food, being a necessity to everyone, is a luxury to many, a commodity, fun, topic of debate, thrill, and lot more..
Quoting my own quote, I wish people be conscious of what one self eats, and not be conscious (well, not bothered) of what others eat! (that’s a huge topic of debate, for another day!)
Thus saying, let me start the SS Challenge and conclude the post for the day!
It’s that ‘hot’ month of the year, when not just the mercury rises, but also the blog posts all around, given the April A to Z Challenge.
I had participated in this challenge a few years back and was able to complete it successfully too. As I advanced in my personal and professional life, time became quite a luxury and I couldn’t concentrate much on blogging.
At the beginning of this year, I was pondering over certain things, where revival of my blogging habit was a top priority. As a result I posted few Wordless Wednesday posts. Yet they were just photographs as the subject goes and there wasn’t any written (typed) posts.
Hence, I decided to take up the April A to Z Challenge (AAZC, henceforth), yet again, for 2022, and try to complete it!
The topic I chose to post for this year’s AAZC was on some of my favourite movies.
PhoBlost i.e., Photo-Blog-Post is a series of posts with pictures, taken by me, pertaining to a topic, place, or event.
Dandeli
Dandeli is green little, rocky town along the banks of the swift Kali river, in northern Karnataka. These pictures were taken by me, during a short visit to Dandeli.
Every ‘soul’ that owes its existence on this earth, would yearn to wander i.e, roam around, at times, and soujourn i.e, stay calm, at times. The definition of soul, is at times, beyond what can be comprehended by our mind. One such beautiful soul, is the river Cauvery, also spelled as Kaveri, who has captivated many other souls, by her grace and bounty.
This blog post, is more of a photo blog, travelling along the river Kaveri, from its source at Talakaveri to its ultimate destination, the great Bay of Bengal.
I have had the opportunity to visit many significant spots along the river, and capture some beautiful moments, which I wish to post here!
The origin of Kaveri, Talakaveri at Kodagu, Karnataka. The river starts as a small spring here, along the Brahmagiri hills, which are a part of the mighty Western Ghats. Seen here is the arch of the Talakaveri temple.
The spring, overflows into a small pond, which is enclosed by the graceful temple!
The plaque, at the sacred confluence, at Bhagamandala, Kodagu says it all
A beautiful scenery, again at Kodagu.
Kodagu, again!
One beautiful fine evening..Kodagu!
The mighty Krishna Raja Sagara Dam along the river, at Mandya District.
The Goddess Kaveri, blessing by her bounty, with the mighty KRS dam in the background!
Gushing through!
Flanked by nature!
The mighty, more than 1000 year old Kallanai, or Grand Anaicut across the raging river, over the plains at Tiruchirapalli! This ancient wonder, is still in use and is a major water regularotyr system across the river, in Tamil Nadu. The river splits into two major distributaries, Kollidam, the northern channel and Kaveri, the southern channel which retains its original name. There are also very other streams which split from here, spreading fertility all across the delta districts.
Another view of the Kallanai.
Frothy water, gushing out of the slucies at Kallanai!
A soothing sunset, over the wide Kollidam, at the border of Chidambaram and Nagapattinam districts..
Kollidam, again!
The southern Kaveri, meandering near Swamimalai, near Kumbakonam.
A small check dam across the Kaveri at a place Mappadugai, in Mayiladuthurai.
The green canopy, over the gentle currents, in Mayiladuthurai!
Flowing through the heart of Mayiladuthurai! (This pic was taken in July 2018)
The same in August 2019
At the same location, in June 2020!
The graceful Nandi mandapam, at the centre of the river, in Mayiladuthurai. The place is the famed Thulakattam, locally called as Lagadam, where the annual festival dedicated to Goddess Kaveris is celebrated for the month, during the Aipasi Tamil month (mid October – mid November)
The many temples across the bank, in Mayiladuthurai!
The ancient, grand mandapam, across the river bank in Thulakattam.
The elephant of Mayuranathar Temple, at Mayiladuthurai, enjoying its time, chiling out at the river!
Thulakattam, on a festive night!
The northern Kollidam, forms a great mangrove forest, at its confluence with the Bay of Bengal!
In continuation of the previous post about Chidambaram, let’s travel to the Pichavaram mangrove forest!
Mangrove trees at Pichavaram
Pichavaram is small coastal village, situated to the east of Chidambaram. The huge Kollidam river and the Vellar river pour into the Bay of Bengal here, forming two massive estuaries. Several sand bars are formed between these two estuaries, over which the mangrove trees flourish. The mangrove forest here, is the second largest in the world, with the Sundarbans being the largest.
Mangrove trees
There are many state and private operated boats, steamer and rowable, that take us for a ride through the mangrove forests, over the shallow waters.
The mangrove trees are quite hard and strong, than they appear to be. They support a variety of life forms within them, forming a major eco system of their own, within the marshland. There are also occasional trees of other variety nestled within these mangrove shrubs.
Waterways through the mangrove forest
The boat operators are well versed with the routes, and they maneuver the boat smoothly. The water ways are quite shallow a places, with knee deep water, and deep at other places.
That’s me, during our boat ride!
The coastal ecosystem is quite suited for cashew plantations, many of which are present along the coast.
Thus said, Pichavaram is a must visit, for any adventure seeking traveler!
In continuation of the previous post Travelogue – Delhi, I carry on herewith with my next post, on the trip to Agra.
It was a misty Sunday morning, that we mobilized, to set out over the widespread Yamuna Expressway, enroute to Agra. The path was lined with occasional fields, some abandoned stations, grazing cattles, random buildings, Dhabas, huge electric transmission towers.. the list of interesting sightings are endless. Though these weren’t anything new to be seen, all of them had an inquisitive quality, which seemed as if they wanted to display to the South Indian visitors!
Fortified Gateway of Taj Mahal
Too obvious to be said, our visit stop was at the Taj Mahal. The crowd to enter the fortified enclosure of the wonder, was quite huge, given the weekend, with about two hours being spent in the serpentine queue. Honestly speaking, I wasn’t that big a fan of the Taj Mahal, and have even commented on how over rated the building is! Well, the marble wonder, proved me wrong at the first live sight I had. The mausoleum stood calm, bathed in the shining rays of the sun. The monument seemed to grow in size, as we proceeded further towards it!
Taj Mahal!
We got to spend some quality time relishing on the beauty in stone. The interior of the mausoleum housed the tombs (or replica) of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz. The mighty Yamuna was smoothly meandering along.
Close up of the fortified gate way of Taj Mahal
Basking in the sun!
Gateway of the Agra Fort
After spending some quality time with the Taj Mahal, we bid adieu to it, and moved to the Agra Fort. It was this, that came as a surprise. The Agra Fort Complex is one severely underrated destination/monument. Built of red stand stone, with interior chambers built of white marble, and also some splendid inlay works, this is yet another monument, matching (or should I say towering) the magnificence of the adjacent Taj Mahal!
Marble ‘window’
The fort complex, was well designed with demarcated quarters for the royals, soldiers, public meetings, and various other Mughalistic occasions. The Mughals seemed to have a specific love towards setting up artificial water formations, that were designed in a quite interesting manner, be it the formations at the fort, or the fountains at Taj Mahal.
Another interesting feature of the Mughal architecture is the extensive usage of marble inlays, be it a fort, or a mausoleum, or a private chamber, or a public gateway!
Few other clicks of the majestic Agra Fort…
The sole day tour to Agra, was worth every minute spent, though it requires several days to explore through the streets of the old city!
In my previous post, I had mentioned that professional commitments had kept me quite busy for the past few months, and travelling had been a part of it. As a part of my work/training, I had to travel long miles, and these travels were quite memorable, professionally and personally!
Travelling wide, makes us realize the never ending width of the infinite horizon, bringing in new experiences and memories, good and at times, sad. Travelling wide, brings in a lot of changes within us. It makes one more adaptable to the environment, people, situations, and our own mind imbalances!
Enroute to Delhi
In one such instance, I had to spend a fortnight at Noida, which gave me the opportunity to explore the nearby National Capital and the other splendid town of Agra, on a weekend cramped between two hectic weeks.
It was the first time, that I got to travel towards such higher latitudes, and I was indeed excited over it. The trip started along with 2 other colleagues, and we flew north directly, from Bangalore. The flight had a smooth sailing among the wavy clouds, and we landed to a sunny afternoon at New Delhi. The journey continued towards our actual destination at Noida, directly from there, where we were to spend the forthcoming two weeks of time.
The stay at Noida was quite comfortable, with occasional late night visits to Delhi, on weekdays, and the long organised journey to Agra over the intervening weekend.
Iconic, Majestic Red Fort
One of our stopping was at the iconic Red Fort. The fort, built by the Mughals, seemed more majestic in real, than in pictures. The mild mist surrounding it, created a mystique atmosphere around it.
The majestic walls of the Red Fort, built of Red Stone
Inner Hall of Red Fort
Inner Hall of Red Fort
We got to visit another iconic landmark of Delhi, the tall and majestic India Gate. The majestic structure was illuminated after sunset, giving it a graceful radiance.
Illuminated India Gate
We did visit some other places – Lotus Temple, Connaught Place, Sarojini Market, Akshardham Temple. Due to lack of time, we got to spend few minutes at each place, and not gaze at ease.
Dandi March – 11 Murthi Monument
Lotus Temple
Bangle Shop at Connaught Place
Though we got to spend few hours, over few days, roaming about Delhi was a good experience. I’m looking forward to, when I could explore Delhi with much time, at comfort!
My next post would be much detailed, about the trip to Agra!
I’ve been in and around Tumkur for quite a few months. A place that I’ve heard of, located in maps, heard occasionally, and had never thought would visit, forget ‘live*’ here.
A calm, and vibrant place, when compared to the neighboring Bengaluru, Tumkur (oops it’s Tumakuru now!) is famous for the Siddaganga Mutt and the 109 year old and still rocking Swamiji. He is referred to as Nadedaduva Devaru (Walking God), and no amount of praise can be attributed to the yeoman service that he has done, and is doing for the betterment of the society.
Nandi near Siddaganga Mutt Entrance
Tumkur is also famous for its numerous colleges, that it is known as the Educational District of Karnataka [FYI, Chennai also has a lot of engineering colleges 😉 Only a Chennaikaaran/kaari can appreciate a subtle joke here!]
Mahatma Gandhi Stadium at Tumkur
Tumkur has got another nickname – Kalpatharu Naadu – A place that gives boons to all! Yeah it has given several boons to me, that I’d treasure for a lifetime and more [Again FYI, Chennai is known as Vandhaarai Vaazha Veikum Chennai – A place that helps a person to thrive, when he comes here, to Chennai]
Siddaganga hostel and playground. Seen at the background is the Siddaganga Hill.
Tumkur is surrounded by hills, small and large which gives an opportunity for a lot of sceneries and weekend escapes. The Siddaganga Mutt itself is situated at the foothills of a range of hills, with the Siddaganga Temple situated over a small hill. Siddarbetta, Siddagange, Chinnaga Betta are few other popular hills with temples, in this region. Madhugiri (which translates to honey-hill) is another rocky place, bit far from here, which has the second largest monolith of Asia, along with some ancient forts.
Along the Bangalore-Tumkur highway, on a winter morning!
Tumkur, already a city with good facilities, is under development to be a smart city, with facilities like full wi-fi connectivity, rapid transportation system, and to name. Tumkur is very well connected to Bangalore, around 75 kms away, with bus and train facilities. Tumkur enjoys the same climate as of Bangalore, with almost same facilities, yet lesser pollution, lesser traffic and cheaper cost of living. No wonder it is already a smart city!
Old Building of the Siddaganga Mutt
*I didn’t want to use the word stay, for you’d have understood that I haven’t stayed, but lived in Tumkur!
Spring season is loved by everyone. And more by those, for whom, the springs blows away the harsh and cold winds of winter, literally and metaphorically!
It could be the truth, or psychological effect, or a beautiful imagination, the onset of this period of time (last final weeks and February, and the beginning weeks of March) brings a sudden gush of energy and happiness into me, every year, right from childhood.
Probably it could be, because of the anticipation of completing the annual exams (I’ve never feared exams 😉 ) and enjoying the long summer holidays, the happiness of playing on streets without fear of rains disrupting (actually I loved rain, but the fact that I’d be pulled into home, by grandma, made me detest it slightly) the excitement of family tours, the joy of watching TV without any restrictions, the happiness of relishing pulpy, sweet-tangy mangoes, and the reasons could go on and on, in the days of childhood.
Meanwhile, semester holidays which arrived during spring/summer gave me uninterrupted time to read books, start blogging 🙂 , occasionally go out and play (I stopped playing out, once getting into college, unlike my friends. Not sure if a good or bad thing 😀 ) and few to name, to happen in the later days of my life.
Now spring/summer doesn’t make a difference in the routine or ‘timetable’ of the day. Yet the spirit of spring remains intact and brings in a fresh wave of energy, from nowhere.
Well, on a second thought, if we make and take the best of any situation, and derive happiness from it, everyday of life is spring, with flowers blooming around and butterflies abounding everywhere!
Sharing an all time favourite song of mine..that matches the situation here!
P.S..the title for this post was inspired by one of the chapters in my 6th standard English Literary textbook – Songbird in Spring Time – a short biography on M.S.Subbulakshmi. One of the few chapters from my school textbooks that I can never forget!
It’s a while, and it seems like I’m on an exile. And when I decided to return back to post, what can be better than one of my favourite topics, rather the favourite of many – Food, Glorious Food!
Food is the basic necessity, for survival for any organism. For some organisms, food is a matter of life and death, for some it is a luxury, for some a celebration or a fantasy, or happiness, or divine, or something beyond.
I was always taught from childhood that food (any food) is divine, and should always be treated with respect. Food must never be wasted, but at the same time, our body must not be overloaded. This is perhaps the only lesson I’ve religiously followed until now!
At this moment I recollect a conversation from one of my favourite books – The Pregnant King. //And I run to fetch the book, to type the lines as they are, from the book//
– – Once, while wandering in the woods, they came upon the carcass of a wild buffalo teeming with maggots. ‘How disgusting’, cringed Shilavati.
‘I don’t think the maggots will agree with you’, said Prasenajit. Shilavati realized the wisdom in her husband’s simple words. The human way is not the only way in this world. – –
One’s disgust is someone else’s food, someone’s waste could be one’s food, and that’s the way our beautiful universe is meant to be.
Let’s stop with philosophy and move to the fun part. Did miss saying food could be fun? Yes food must be respected and not wasted, yet there can be a lot of fun over food. Trying out new cuisines to eat, or cook, trying new recipes, spending a calm afternoon with only food for company, a romantic time with beloved and food! And wading through the tough times, or celebrating happiness, or nothing for that matter, food always and should come in, to be a part of that moment to complete it, in my honest opinion!
When it comes to food, one habit of mine seems to be a boon as well a curse. I’m still to determine, from where I’ve acquired this habit of eating slow. I have no idea of when, or how it started, but I’ve always eaten slowly. This comes as a great boon because, eating slowly come with a lot of benefits, as discussed everywhere. And it becomes a nightmare while having a formal lunch with team members!
I’ve got several advises too, to speed up the process of my eating. But why would I give up the temptation to relish the moment, slowly 😀
I’m left with nothing to do, for next 2 weeks. And I chose my favourite pastime – doodling. Here’s one of them, just a random doodle, without any theme. Open to interpretations 🙂
Words & Lines 