Rishikesh

The Ganges has always been held in a particularly high regard by most Indians. For me the fascination was mainly of the power of the great river flowing undiminished down to the plains of India from its high mountain origins. Rishikesh is the place where the Ganges descends down to the plains from its mountain abode, a place made all the more relevant as a holy place for the Hindus. Without any doubt the main attraction of Rishikesh is the Ganges. Here it is pure, unpolluted by all the wastes downstream.
Reaching Rishikesh in the early morning around 5, I was surprised to find the town asleep. I kinda expected the place to be abuzz with activity, being a temple town and all....but only encountered deserted roads and a few sadhus stirring awake. From the maps the place seemed small enough to explore on foot. So off I went wandering through the main road. The town was slowly awaking from the slumber...a few roadside shrines opened up with the priests cleaning in front, the tea stall person was setting up his stuff with a few saffron clad sadhus waiting impatiently for their morning chai...

New dawn at the Triveni Ghat

The Triveni Ghat along the bank gave me the first sight of the Ganges. Here, flights of steps extend down to the water running for a very long length along the bank. The water is still dark black, the sky hasn’t brightened yet. The flow is pretty fast here, made all the more conscious by the swift sound of flowing water. There are lots of people sleeping in the open plaza on the bank, in front of one of the dozen temples there...Bells are slowly reacquiring their voices after a night’s slumber...the place is coming to life. There are scores of sadhus here, most clad in their saffron robes, some in white. The air is cool, the sky still black and a full moon throws silver light down on the rippling water...

Pilgrims

Soon, there are people wandering down to the water’s edge for the morning dip in the holy river. Men, women and children of all ages brave the cool air and submerge themselves in the water washing their sins away, as the Hindu belief goes...You feel a very frightening shock when you first step into the water...it is as cold as ice!!!...and it hurts!

The fascinating thing here is that, there are sadhus or holy men of all sizes and shapes; in fact, scores of them. The only common thing that I could discern among them was their walking stick and begging bowls...most of the walking sticks are simple wooden ones, but there were some pretty amazing ones shaped like serpent heads, ones with ‘rudraksh’ inserted etc. Most of the sadhus are devoid of much worldly possession...their loin clothes, dhotis, stick and begging bowl constituted the universe for them...some of the better off ones had cloth bundles over their shoulders. All had ash or saffron markings on their foreheads, arms and chests. They throng the ghats, plazas and almost the entire town. A typical day for them starts with a dip in the Ganges...some meditate on the banks, while others head for the temples...
The sky gradually brightens as the sun slowly starts his daily journey from the east. The mountains form a mighty background of blue, partially hidden in the morning mists, while the river flows in between the slopes. With the daylight the ghats become abuzz with activity...there are sadhus, there are families splashing about the water, there are people meditating, there are even the morning joggers in their sneakers utilising the long flat stretches of the ghats...

The entire town actually arranges itself along the banks of the river. The Ram Jhoola offers the first sighting of the true beauty and power of the Ganges. It is fairly wide here. There are a couple of floating bridges across the river, just above the water level. You really appreciate the might of the Ganges standing on this floating walkway. The waters are unimaginably fast and furious. The sound created is almost like that of a constant roar of thunder. The walkways are a perfect spot...you feel like standing right in the middle of the flow, standing as it were merely a meter and half above the water - to feel the might, the force, the majesty that drives the water down from the mountains down to the vast plains below.
The Ganges is truly beautiful here. Pristine clear waters surrounded by the gentle slopes of mountains, with the odd eagle soaring above. But human greed is slowly taking hold here with the slopes gradually being raped for insensitive concrete jungles of resorts, ashrams and lodges.

The banks are littered with ashrams, temples and facilities for pilgrims. Narrow lanes with curio shops on either side, shops selling religious paraphernalia; creating axises of movement. It is crowded in these narrow lanes – pilgrims, tourists, sadhus, beggars, cows, dogs; all hustling and bustling along to create a truly vibrant ambience.
For the adventure junkies too there are lots on offer; right from white water rafting to mountain biking to trekking, camping etc.

Kala Ghoda arts festival, Mumbai

The Kala Ghoda arts festival was organised this year from February 6 onwards for over 9 fun filled days. The first thing that attracts you is the amazing transformation of the public space. There are countless stalls, street artists, exhibitions, fortune tellers, heritage walks, music shows, literary events, handicraft stalls etc, which transform the open air space into a vibrant bustling streetscape.

Displays

The street stalls

The photo exhibition

The exhibition of photographs organised by one of the local colleges was a big crowd puller. The pictures on display were of a very high quality and the display boards innovatively placed on the edge of the road so as to attract a constant stream of visitors.

There were plenty of street artists showing off their skills. There were portrait makers, caricaturists, landscape postcard artists, sculpture makers...adding amazing creativity to the place. The festival was a great opportunity for these guys to interact with the common people and to generate a lot of revenue. There were items on display to suit all ranges of pockets.
In addition to the street artists, there were displays of professional quality paintings. Also, there were photo exhibitions highlighting various issues like the vanishing tribes of the north-east...which were definitely an eye-opener for me.

More exhibitions...

Interesting masks!

There were rock shows in the evening, theatre performances, documentary viewings, movie screenings and a whole lot of literary events all through the 9 days. My only regret was that I couldn’t visit daily to really experience all the activities.

The evening crowd

Tatoo corner

A potter teaching a young kid

Elephanta Caves

Just off the coast of Mumbai lies the Elephanta island. This strategically located island has been used as a base by the different colonial powers who, at various time periods had ambitions over the Indian mainland. However, these days, the islands are a major attraction because of the caves in the mountains.
After an hour’s journey from the Gateway of India in one of the innumerable boats available, one reaches the little jetty on the island. There are lots of islands scattered around, barely visible through the morning mist...and lots of sea traffic – from the smaller boats and yatches to the larger container ships, of various sizes and shapes, some so weirdly shaped that one wonders whether they’ll stay afloat at all??...

View from the boat jetty

From the jetty, there is miniature toy train for taking the people till the base of the mountain. I preferred to walk the distance, as it was alongside the water edge and it was fun to walk on the small rail tracks...
The path to the caves is through a steep uphill climb lined on either side with stalls selling curios and handicrafts. There is plenty of shade here, which along with the brilliant colours of the products create a beautiful atmosphere. There are people who will carry those who are physically not fit for the climb, on seats carried on shoulder.

On the top, one can get magnificent views of the sea extending to the distant horizon. The first thing about the caves one notices is their monumental scale – huge gaping openings are carved out of the face of the mountains. Massive columns prop up the voluminous interiors creating beautiful perspectives...the scale is massive. The play of light & shadow is pretty amazing. There are a number of shrines inside dedicated to various deities, with beautiful sculptures and carvings adorning the walls. In the main cave, there is a huge stone sculpture of Lord Shiva with all his 5 faces shown, while actually only 3 faces are present...the fourth face behind is implied and the fifth is not carved as it transcends the sight of mortals.

Entrance to the caves

Interior of a cave

The right side face is that of Bhairava – the fierce & terrifying form of Shiva, with serpent locks. On one side is his feminine face and on the centre is the face symbolising absolute knowledge.

The statue of Shiva

There are various caves with different images and sculptures. What one must really appreciate is the thought process behind such marvellous works...and also the technological advancement required to create such massive caves and sculptures. Truly, some of the caves are real engineering feats, with massive openings carved out from the mountain face, with huge cantilevered spans without even columns for support.

Further up, right on the summit are the Portuguese outposts, manned by 3 massive cannons of solid metal, each around 10meters long. From here, one gets unobstructed views in all directions...one can easily imagine the invincibility the Portuguese would have felt....

The massive canon on the hill-top

Sunset with the Mumbai skyline in the distance

Wagah - Border closing ceremony

Thirty kilometres away from Amritsar is the border between India & Pakistan – the Wagah border. Here is one of the few transit points between the 2 neighbours, for people and goods. The Atari railway station, through which the Samjhauta Express between the two countries passes, is just a couple of kilometres from the border. The border is fiercely guarded on both sides. The gates are closed at sunset each day and over the years, the closing process has evolved into an elaborate ceremony.
Scores of people come from all over the country to witness this amazing event. There are galleries on either side of the road for the spectators to sit. We reached there around 5 in the evening. The stands were jam-packed with people and after a bit of acrobatics we managed to get into a spot which offered a good view.

A mounted BSF jawan

Thats the view of the gallery and the crowd

A young patriot!

There... just a few metres from us was Pakistan...the land with which we share so much in common, yet which over the years have been such a huge cause of concern. How different is it from our land...I wondered? What about the people?...surely, there wouldn’t be such a lot of variation from us, after all they were our brothers till half a century back...All these thoughts passed through my mind as I gazed across the ‘border’ into Pakistan... The song from the movie ‘Refugee’...’panchhi nadiyaan pawan ke jhonke.....’ aptly describes the conundrum... Personally I feel that if both the countries were to invest the same amount of effort into other areas, the common people will benefit hugely. The amount of money spend on this ‘enemity’ is mind boggling. If it were to be channelized elsewhere into say, education or healthcare, the aam admi will benefit hugely.
Well, the border closing ceremony is truly something to behold. The Border Security Force on our side and the Pakistani Rangers on theirs put up a spectacular display of aggression, passion and competence. The atmosphere is really charged with the crowd shouting slogans like ‘Bharat Mata ki jai’ and ‘Vande Mataram’.
The children in the crowd are allowed to come onto the road and run with the Indian flag till the gates...its really amazing to see the tiny tots full of enthusiasm proudly carry the flag...
The energy of the crowd is infectious. There are people from different parts of the country next to me...people of different colours, languages, religions, cultures...yet; the unifying factor is that we all are Indians!! The diversity is there for all to see, yet the passion that runs there is really something...
The one noticeable difference between the people on two sides were that while we were shouting, cheering and having a blast, the people on the Pakistani side were much more quieter.. probably because those were the rules for the closing ceremony on their side. Here, we had music blasting from the loudspeakers; of patriotic yet foot tapping bollywood songs like those from ‘Rang De Basanti’. There were girl students dancing on the roads and in the stands, both men and women were dancing...yet there was no such uninhibited joy on the Pakistani side. They were forced to adhere to a very formal code of behaviour...and thats when I realised how a few things were starkly different, things which we often take for granted like freedom of expression and also of the greater role enjoyed by the women....

The soldiers during the actual ceremony

Soon, the actual ceremony started. Two smartly dressed lady officers from the BSF marched out, swiftly marching to the gate with ‘goose-steps’ and saluting...One actually feels great pride on seeing the young woman officers, who symbolise such a lot of things – freedom, progress of woman...
This is matched by officers on the Pakistani side(male officers though, as there werent any lady soldiers in their side) replicating the actions step for step...Soon male officers follow, whose aggressive steps, actions and stares suggest-‘this is our land, our soil! Don’t ever think of harming it!!’ the actions are so exaggerated on either sides that its almost like a co-ordinated pageantry...the marching steps are such that the soldiers raise their feet so high that one wonders whether they don’t hurt their knees...of course, it looks like their boots will probably last for a little over a week only, what with all the stamping they do!
The ceremony lasts for almost an hour and in the end, the flags on either side are lowered and the border is closed for the day...we got down to the road and went upto the gate and the BSF officers to shake hands with them - to thank them for guarding us, for giving us the freedom to carry on with our lives....
Do travel to Wagah for a sheer patriotic experience...

There...thats Pakistan beyond the gate

Evening at the Jama Masjid

The soft evening air is filled with the fluttering of the pigeons, sounds of children running around in the courtyard, giggles and murmurs from discussions...a gentle wind wafts through the place while you sit down on the sandstone courtyard floor, still warm from the day's sun. The sun gently lowers and the sky turns orange red. The wind picks up slightly and then the muezzin calls the faithful for the prayers. The atmosphere is one of pure simple joy...

The concept of the courtyard as a gathering place for people and families is best illsutrated here. The space is so vast and immense yet is held together by the collonaded verandahs all around, with the ablution pond in the centre and the huge structure of the mosque as the focus. The flying flocks of pigeons create a special ambience - settling down and flying together in groups around the space. There are scores of people - families and children of all ages. A lot have come to pray, some just to sit in the courtyard and collonades and soak up the atmosphere. Children are running around playing. There is a place where the pigeons are fed grains, flocks of birds eating...and being disturbed from their feeding by the running children. They rise up into the air as one. There are people deeply immersed in prayer, facing the Mecca. People from the surrounding bazaars come in for the evening prayers while the muezzin calls....soon the power of the place takes hold of you and you are transported into another world in another age...

Corner tower

The fluttering pigeons in the evening create a magical ambience

Delhi extending into the horizon

Bird's view of the courtyard

Mahabalipuram sojourn

If you are in Chennai, Mahabalipuram makes for a perfect day trip, especially a biking one. As an additional bonus, one can visit the Cholamandalam artist village and Dakshinchitra, which are both on the way. The route to take is the scenic East Coast Road or ECR, which essentially follows the coastline.
Once in Mahabalipuram, one can wander around on foot to the various places of interest. Mahabalipuram was one of the settlements of the Pallavas, during their heydays. After 'chai' from the local tea stall, we first went to a rockcut wall called 'Arjun's penance'. This is a large wall which has been converted into a 3-dimensional canvas of sculptures of tales from the Mahabharata. Nearby are various caves with sculptures depicting different stories from history. The sculptures give a great portrayal of the life of the people, their clothes, accessories, jewelleries etc..
The main attraction is the Shore Temple next to the beach. This beautiful double spired temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and its well proportioned vimana is beautifully set against the deep blue sky. Set back from the water, the grounds are a good spot for relaxation..ie.. if you can find some shade from the sun....

A short distance from the temple are the 5 rathas dedicated to the Pandavas. Conceived off as small shrines in themselves, these granite structures are an interesting composition, with a massive elephant sculpture of elegant beauty alongside.

Light and shade
One can get beautiful all round views of the distant sea from the lighthouse top...but beware of the monkeys there.

There are workshops of stone workers making amazing sculptures on the road just outside the settlement. A visit to one of this will definitely be worthwhile to see the exacting process, skill and precision with which they carry out their works..The sculptures on sale are sometimes so huge that you wonder how it will be transported!!

Whitewater rafting in the Ganges!!

For someone who doesnt know swimming, trying my hand at white water rafting was one of those moments when you listen more to your heart than your head..all the apprehensions (and the quite genuine fear about drowning!) were not quite comforted by all the info I managed to gather...was especially sceptical of those life jackets which were said to allow one to float completely (which in my case was my only line of defense if I were to fall into the water).
Inspite of all these thoughts 'swimming' around in my head, I thought what the heck???...you dont get to do these things daily...so I finally made the leap of faith required and went forward. You can register yourself with one of the innumerable agencies offering rafting facilities in Rishikesh, for around Rs.500 (you can bargain on that). We set out at around 9.30 in the morning - a group of 8 people. Had a fun loving group of college students from Delhi and a retired couple...Actually was calmed down quite a bit when I saw the aunty n uncle joining our group...If they could do it, then so could I...
We set out to the 'base camp' which was like 20km upstream in a jeep with our raft sitting rather clumsily on the roof..the way is absolutely breathtaking n gorgeous...we reached, inflated our raft completely, donned our life jacket n safety helmet...n....got a class from our instructor on things to follow...n also on things to do if one were to fall into the water...he assured us that he didnt know swimming!! n that the jackets are unsinkable...

Thats our team
Thats me

We set off down the river soon.. I must tell you that the Ganges is absolutely gorgeous here...not polluted but crystal clear icy water, surrounded by mountain slopes on all sides...we encountered 5 different rapids of varying intensities, rated on a scale of 1-5 for difficulty...

From the stretches with the gentle flow of water, you suddenly encounter the rapids...honestly they are something to be really experienced!! the raft is tossed into the air one moment and the next you go right down..all the while you are desperatly holding on for dear life n trying to row in between... seriously, theres no substitute for the adrenaline rush!!!

The waters are notoriously swift and strong...yet, you finish one rapid and look forward for the next one, secretly hoping that it'll be bigger than the last!! on the longer stretches of calm water, the other guys in the group jumped into the water and 'floated' along with the raft. Well inspite of not being entirely convinced, I also jumped overboard...n felt the bitting cold of the water!! Well it was quite enjoyable, and as they said the life jacket actually works!!

Thats how the rafts are transported to the base camp...looks funny though

The base camp for setting off

Jumping off the cliff

Well after over 3 hours, we reached back to our starting point near Ram Jhoola and..... was left wanting more!!

Humayun's Tomb

Who would've thought that there would be a structure similar to the Taj in pretty much all respects??(except the marble ofcourse!)..well, tucked away in a corner in the Nizamuddin area in Delhi is the tomb of emperor Humayun. This can rightly be said as the precursor to the Taj. The proportions are slightly different but the overall effect is no less imposing than that of the Taj. I particularly liked the combination of white marble & red sandstone, which is done pretty neatly...

The elements of symmetry, perspective, attention to detail, magnificient jaali openings, monumental scale, sense of place.....the simple beauty of the building is delightful.

You must give it to the Mughals for making a statement.

Somehow, for me personally, I actually liked the Humayun's Tomb more than the Taj Mahal(oops..!!). Must be 'cause of the larger colour palatte..I think the Taj is much more of an idea, the romantic story of the emperor who built the monument in memory of his wife....is that what makes it 'more' special? If you kinda overlook those facts, somehow the Humayun's tomb made more sense to me as an aesthetic composition. Of course the Taj is much more refined in terms of its proportions, approach etc, mainly as it was built a lot later when the mughals had perfected their craft. However, the 'blunt' beauty of the Humayun's tomb has a special appeal.

Amritsar Diaries

What can one say about the Golden Temple?? It is something that has to be experienced..to be felt, to be soaked up...The rays of the morning sun adds fire to the already brilliant dazzle of gold...there are scores of families, mostly Sikh families, who come to the temple in the morning for a dip in the holy pond. Sat there on the marble steps of the pond for over an hour soaking up the atmosphere...didnt knew how time flew..

Early morning sun sets the gold ablaze...

Reflectionzzzzz....

Devotee taking a dip in the holy pond

Getting inside the actual temple accross the pond is a pretty time consuming process. The access is through a single walkway over the water. There is such a huge crowd always because of which the progress is extremely slow..sure is a good test for your patience...but more to the point, we reached the temple after spending almost 3 hours in the que..but the wait was well worth it...the interiors are so rich and permeated with the holy chantings and singing...even if you are not a Sikh, you can feel the divine presence inside...and, there are some really beautifull marble inlay works...

A Temple Guard

One of the things that strike you most is the brilliant range of colours present...especially of the people...the white marble around the pond acts as a brilliant backdrop for the myriad colours- the gold of the temple, the innumerable bright colours of the people's dresses and ofcourse the different colours of the turban...all in all it is a visual treat...

The community Kitchen or the 'Langaar' is truly one of the most simple yet truly brilliant idea for serving the people. Here everyone is given free food irrespective of caste, creed, religion or social status, thus helping in bridging the glaring gaps in our society. One has to see the amount of people making use of this facility to really comprehend the scale of operation..It is said that on any given day, close to 20,000 people have food here!!! The food is the basic roti chawal with dal n sabji, yet is really tasty. The amazing thing is that inspite of such a huge number of people taking part, the place is really neat and clean. The food is free but one may offer his services in the kitchen or for cleaning or even can contribute voluntarily donation.

This particular concept which has been implemented sucessfully for so long left me wondering how it may be replicated on a larger scale, benefitting people all over the country? We may then perhaps ensure that no one goes to bed on an empty stomach....