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Lalbagh Flower Show 2010 – Slideshow

Posted by Prashant - 16/08/10 at 01:08:11 pm

You can access the album here

Lalbagh Flower Show 2010

Posted by Prashant - 15/08/10 at 01:08:02 pm

Flower shows are about colours and the Lalbagh flower show this year did not disappoint in that regard. It was blue, purple, red, white, Yellow, Green and many many more colours galore. I wish I had a macro lens, but then 28-80mm did not do a bad job. Here are few snaps of my attempt to capture that brilliant and lively colours which was so much in abundance.

Belur & Halebidu trip:Splendor of Hoysala Art and Architecture – Part 2

Posted by Prashant - 12/08/10 at 01:08:30 am

One of the highlights of Belur and Halebid temples are the exquisite carving of the shilabalaki or damsels on the outer walls of the temple. Looking at them I wondered who could inspire the sculptor so much so that he chisels life into a soap stone block and allow it to become something that exudes so much beauty. Each cut is immaculate and each carving is impeccable.

It really takes a different level of skill and vision to take something as mundane as a lady looking in to mirror or lady inspecting her hairdo or a lady being assisted by her companion in adjusting her toe ring and bring it to life and make it look so beautiful on a stone block. The level of details that have been carved, most of the times on a single block of stone, is simply astounding. Thinking about it, it is not like Ripley’s believe it or not museum where you get to see people doing un-imaginable feats which can attract visitors time and again to the site, Belur and Halebid temples showcase damsels looking at themselves in mirror, decked up with bangle and “mini skirt”, plaiting her hair in bathing costume, holding a Japanese style fan, sharpening her sword, in various dance positions and so on. Why in the world would anyone be interested in traveling quite a distance to watch this. But people do come and they come in large numbers. The reason I guess is the level of details. It could be something as simple as a lady watching herself in the mirror, but then look closely, the face does not look happy, the sadness is carved in stone. You wonder why she isn’t happy, so you look around. The sculptor would have cleverly placed some visual cues which ultimately will let you build a story around that. Like poetry, it lets you build your own stories. Next time you visit, you come with new experiences and that will let you construct a different story all together. This continues every time you make a visit and I guess this is what drags you back. Its kind of a visual delight of sort. Probably that is the reason why DVG who is one of the greatest literary figure in Kannada literature looking at the sculpture said;

ಶ್ರವಣಕೆ ಸಿಲುಕದ ಲಲಿತಾ
ರವ ಸುಖುಮಂ ರಸನೆಗೊದವದಮೃತ ದ್ರವಮಂ
ಎವೆಯಿಕ್ಕದ ನಯನಗಳಿಂ
ಸವಿವುದು ನೀಮೆಂಬ ಮಾಯಗಾತಿಯರಿವರಾರ್

When translated to English it means The joy and delight that ears and tongue cannot experience,here you get it through your eyes.

Belur & Halebidu trip:Splendor of Hoysala Art and Architecture – Part 1

Posted by Prashant - 05/08/10 at 02:08:55 pm

In a span of close to 350 years of their rule, the patronage that art and architecture received from the Hoysala rulers have few parallels in the history of India. It was a over a dinner on saturday night that we decided to make a trip to the cradle of Karnata Dravida architecture, Belur and Halebidu. This is not the first time we are going there, but every time we make a visit these places, the splendor in stone, the exquisite detail that the sculpturer has chiselled into the stone and skilled craftsmanship that they have demonstrated in every inch of the stone, just enamours you like nothing else.

It takes skills of a genius to take a block of stone and carve such exquisite details on it and get all of it absolutely right the very first time. If you err then there is no undo button, it is a start allover again. We are just plain lucky to still have a chance to see the work of innumerable geniuses who toiled for more than 100 years to build the temples at Belur and Halebidu. This and several of forecoming blog posts are just a small attempt to catch that unmatched beauty on as minuscule as a 12 Mega Pixel Nikon D300 camera.

On one hand this trip gave direct access to what is probably the epitome of Hoysala’s architecture, on the other hand looking at the broken statues, vandalized sections, it makes you feel sad how carelessly we are treating this treasure trove. Right in front of my eyes, I saw a tourist climbing one of the temple structure only to be stopped by a security guard, who came in and ordered him not to do that. Now I find it impossible to understand, why does it take a security gaurd to tell you that you are not suppose to climb on something that delicate. Doesn’t the idea of you damaging something so beautiful prick your conscience even before you start doing it. I guess not. Anyways, if we cannot save something this beautiful, then I guess we really do not deserve it.

High Resolution photographs can be found here.

Belur & Halebidu trip

Belur & Halebidu trip Post	URL
Belur & Halebidu trip Part 1	View Post

Goa trip

Posted by Prashant - 29/06/10 at 01:06:58 pm

As we all can see, we as a society are showing more and more characteristics of restlessness and mobility than ever before. One of the tangible metric that we all can readily use to gauge this the amount of travel we do these days. Recently I too added to the characteristics of restlessness with a short Goa trip. Here are few of the glimpses of Goa as seen through my camera.

Photography – Periyar trip

Posted by Prashant - 31/05/10 at 04:05:19 pm

Flowers are one of the most beautiful things to photograph..Vibrant colours and blissfully swaying in the wind. They drain the tireness out of you. Some of the flowers during out trip to Periyar.

Orissa and Sandak Phu Travel Log � Part 6

Posted by Prashant - 16/05/10 at 01:05:16 pm

26 Dec 2009

Commotion because of the chaiwala blocking the way with his huge steel barrels containing hot beverages was the wake up call that allowed me to transcend from the state of deep sleepiness to wakefulness. I enjoyed extremely good sleep. As I woke up and tried to make sense of things around me, I looked outside the window. Not that I expected to figure out where I was, but then was hoping to get a glance at some banner which can announce where I currently was, but then saw nothing but buildings passing by. I thought I had already reached. But when I checked with my fellow passenger, I got to know that we are close to Howrah but not yet there. I then freshened up and then called Raj et al. They had already reached Howrah but their train was in queue to get into the station. That meant that my train will take lot more time before I can step foot on the Kolkata soil for the first time. So ordered a cup of hot tea and as I sipped it nostalgia crept in. I was missing the yummy tea from the road side vendor and also the beautiful beautiful sunrise from Puri beach, which I had become so accustomed to. As I looked outside the Kolkata sun was hot, blazing unlike the autumnal, kaleidoscopic sun I had grown used to during my sojourn at Orissa.

The train came to an halt for some time and then later started to move. This time I guess we had been given the green signal to enter the station. So within not time my train moved in and at around 7.45 am on 26 of December 2009, there I was, in the land of Goddess Kali, the land that has a spectacular literary and artistic heritage, a land once hub for scientific excellence, a and which has to offer the most the most delicious and mouth watering desserts, the land of sunderbans, Kolkata. By the time I got out of the station, Raj had already checked into the hotel. So when I called him the instructions given to me were crisp and clear. It was like the game show in the Travel and Living channel where in you get a hint on your cell that will guide you to your first destination. Once you are there you get the next one. First set of instructions were for me to get off the train and head towards exit. Once out I need to check where I can catch a ferry to the Millennium Park. My second set of instructions would arrive once I reach the park. So I did exactly that. I headed out asked directions for the ferry service, it was less than 5 mins walk. Once I reached there I bought a ticket that would allow me to use the ferry service to reach the Millennium Park. Coming from Bangalore, buying a ticket in Kolkata in itself is an new experience. Rs 4 and a max of Rs 8 for tickets is something unheard of in the place where I come from. Once I procured the ticket, I headed to the dock where I need to get on to the ferry. It was bit of a struggle for me here as I was not aware which side of the dock I need to go to reach the park. So I was shuttling between two dock points and after I did it couple of time I decided to check with people around. One person was kind enough to tell me the right place where I need to wait. In couple of mins a ferry arrived and I hopped in. As the ferry sailed, It was good to see the hallmark of Kolkata, the famous Howrah Bridge. I couldn�t help but remember the scintillating, bubbly song Mera naam chin chin chu from the movie Howrah bridge. While I hummed the tune, the ferry sailed on and within a short period of time I reached my destination. I got off and walked towards the park. While taking a stroll near the park waiting for Raj to call, I saw this reporter and his camera crew getting ready to cover something, out of curiosity I checked with them as to what was that they were covering. He replied that dada aka Sourav Ganguly was suppose to show up there and they were getting ready to cover that story. Even though I am big fan of Saurav, but am not that crazy to wait for him to turn up. So I continued with my stroll. In some time, I got my next set of instructions from Raj. I was suppose to take a taxi from Millennium Park to our hotel Tiger Inn. So I did. By 9.30 PM I was with the rest of the gang at Tiger Inn. I was delighted to see the whole gang especially after being that lone traveller for one complete week. We talked about my adventure in Orissa, the gang�s train trip, upcoming trek, camera gear etc. over a cup of tea and several bites of yummy Britannia rusks. I guess among the group at the hotel, Praveen was the only person I had not met earlier. Others, Dhi, Raj, Yamini, Neetha, Sohail and Nithya, I already knew them all. So after finishing sipping tea, I freshened up, had shower and was all set for Kolkata tour. So was rest of the gang.

It was close to 11 am on 26th, when we stepped out of our hotel to explore Kolkata. As the volume of the potbelly outweighed the volume of Britannia rusks that went in during the tea break by an insane number, my stomach grumbled and growled in hunger. So the first thing we did after stepping out was to hunt for a place to have our breakfast. We did not have to go far, just 50 meters from the hotel we encountered a vendor selling yummy Puri, Sabji and Tea. We feasted on them like it is going to be December 21, 2012 the next day. The best part of the breakfast was the tea which was served in earthen pots. Yummy. It tasted real good. So after quenching our hunger, we headed towards the famous Birla temple. The idea was to experience the true spirit of Kolkata, the tram ride, but unfortunately we got to know that from the place where we were there is no tram to Birla temple. So we were forced to take a taxi. The group divided themselves into two groups and hopped into two taxi which delivered us to Birla temple. Once there we got to know that the temple is closed and will open only in the evening. Raj who was familiar with this city because he was working in Kolkata for a period of 5 years, suggested an idea that got all of us really excited. It was time for a metro ride. One might wonder what is the big deal about metro to get that excited about. I say its the way the word is used. While metro is a noun in Kolkata, which refers to a means of transport that will help you move from one end of the city to another at lightning speed, back in Bangalore its more of a verb indicating big excavators digging the earth, creating more potholes, act of destroying trees and well laid roads and pavements, act of creating more confusion in terms of one-way, no-way roads and last but not the least act of creating more traffic jams. So while people of Kolkata, inefficiently, say �Morning hour peak traffic�, back in Bangalore we have a short and sweet name for it �Metro hours�. So with so much difference in the meaning of the word, the excitement was because we were about to experience what Metro was actually suppose to mean.

From Birla temple we took a bus to Jatin Das park from where we were suppose to take the metro to S-Planet. What struck us first when we entered the metro station was the cleanliness, the ticket price and the security. Unlike the Kolkata that is projected in media so often, it was super clean and the prices were jaw dropping. Maximum of 8 rupees. Single digit numbers are not something you associate with transport in Bangalore anymore. So when we saw these single digit numbers we were surprised. I was wondering if there is some catch like an asterix saying conditions apply or probably they had a superscript number which indicated square or cube of that number. But none existed. We bought the tickets. Raj informed us about the do�s and don�t�s, basically it translated to �if you want to reach S-Planet, you better move your fat ass quickly�. I did not understand the importance of the word �quickly� until the train arrived. Darn thing happened so fast. We probably had less than 15 seconds to get in and make sure that no part of your body in whole or parts are outside of that train door because after 15 seconds what ever is outside of the line of the door will stay out and rest of it moves to the next station. It was insane but luckily all of us were in and safe. The train was jam packed. I tried to squeeze in and make some space for myself in middle of the sea of people. The neighboring guy shot a �how much space does this guy take� glance. But then I thought the logic was simple larger volume need bigger space. By the time I wiggled and made some breathing space, Raj announced that we will be getting down in the next station and �moving your fat ass quickly� advice still holds. I was like what the heck!! we just boarded the train. Have to say metro is awesome and super super fast. WROOOOOOOM and within no time we were at S-Planet. While getting down also, Drawin�s theory of the fittest getting off the train successfully holds good. I pushed, prodded and jabbed so that I do not join the IUCN red list and finally the list of extinct species. It worked. I was able to get off the train and so were others. As we walked out, S-Planet welcomed us.

S-Planet is a shopping center. So as few folks had to buy scarfs we went around and thanks to the master negotiator Yamini, we could get a good deal for scarfs, gloves and also camera battery. After the initial shopping we were even more excited about our next destination, the famous, the one and only, KC Das. If you are a connoisseurs of sweets, you look no further from this place. This is like the holy grail for Bengali sweets. As your spoon cuts effortlessly into the spongy casein balls boiled in sugar syrup, breaking it into two. Then you pick one half and then as you put it in your mouth, your eyes close and ah! that first contact with your taste buds. You know by then your taste maker neurons are already dealing with over voltage of brain signals derived from the heavenly taste. Your taste buds are ecstatic. As more and more parts of your mouth come in touch with the manna from heaven, dopamine shoots up and the reward circuitry within the brain is full abuzz and says �Oh yeah baby!! Keep it coming� . Slowly you swirl and turn it inside your mouth and then push it down the esophagus to complete the cycle of unearthly bliss and delight. Who says one cannot attain Nirvana through Rasogulla .

We spent lot of time at KC Das enjoying the Rasogulla, Rasmala, Sweet curd and innumerable types of Sandesh. It was awesome. After we had stuffed more calories than we will ever burn in the entire trip, we again went shopping. After the second round of shopping it was lunch time and this time we wanted to try another speciality of Kolkata, the rolls. Very oily but they have a great taste. I enjoyed the paneer roll while other feasted on egg roll. After our lunch, the group split into two. Raj and Praveen parted so that they can make arrangements for tents, sleeping bags etc. So the plan was they would go, dump the necessary things in the hotel and join us when they are done.

After Raj went their way, rest of us walked to the nearest tram station to catch a train for Victoria Memorial. You might have traveled in the best of the �toy� train setups earlier but tram is a completely different experience and something that you must experience at least once. Being the elite among the egalitarian communist society of the Kolkata we decided to travel first class in the tram. Being up in the social ladder certainly has its associated perks. As against the common proletariat, while traveling first class we enjoyed two huge over head fans which did not work.

Rest of the journey was smooth. It was fun watching the electricity guzzler wade through the traffic, stop at traffic signal and be overtaken by a human powered cycle. All this entertainment for just 4 rupees. At the end of it we were dropped of at Victoria Memorial. As it was a holiday crowds had poured in to see the white marble beauty build in memory of Queen Victoria. There was a long queue for the tickets. It took considerable effort from Dhiraj, Sayed and touch of magical jugad from Yamini to get tickets. Once in Dhi, Sayed, Yamini and myself settled down on the grass lawn while Neetha and Arti decided to go on a tour inside the memorial. While Neetha and Arti were enjoying the royal artifacts inside, Dhiraj and Sayed were busy trying their hands on photography. While Sayed was genuinely trying out some artistic portrait photography, Dhi was zooming in on �people� but as there were no photos clicked, it still remains undetermined as to what the actual intention was . While waiting for Neetha and Arti �s return, Raj and Praveen had dumped the luggage and had joined us at Victoria memorial. While all of us were relaxing on the lush green lawn, Dhi, Sayed and Nitya were contemplating on who eats so much of sweets that are available at every nook and corner of Kolkata. Then as an really obese kid passed by, I guess they got the answer to their question. While the conversation on food and calories continues, Raj was fanatically working his fingers on the keypad of his ubercool smart phone to check the status of the tickets for that night�s journey to NJP. Later Neetha and Arti returned from their date with royalty inside the memorial, we all were ready to move toward our next destination. Birla Temple. As we started to step out, Raj announce another great news, All of us would have a confirmed berth for out journey from Howrah to NJP. Everyone exhorted. Sandak Phu here we come.

After stepping out of Victoria memorial, we split into two groups and took a taxi each to Birla temple. The taxi I hopped into was driven by an old man. Going by the age we thought its going to be a slow, snail pace drive to the temple. But we couldn�t have been more wrong. From the moment the taxi doors closed and he stepped on that accelerator pedal to the point when we reached our destination, none of us actually remember even a single moment when he relaxed on that accelerator pedal. It was as though our driver was high on some kind of �Driver Viagra�. It was for sure one crazy rollercoster drive after which we all arrived at the temple. As per the temple rules, no camera and luggage are allowed inside. So Raj volunteered to stand outside and guard our luggage as rest of them went in to realize their tryst with the divine. For all of us in the group the definition of a temple is a place which offers good prasadam. As Birla temple did not fit that bill, for us this temple visit became nothing more than a stroll through a fantastic architectural marvel in pure white marble stone. But Neetha was different from all of us. Being a ardent devotee of Vivekananda and his guru, she was the dynamo of spiritual energy for the group and as I came to know she has a polished repertoire of acquirements to appease the one who is in everything of this world and in whom the whole world is. What started with simple prostration finally ended with a two round saunter along the perimeter of the temple. As I sat there watching Neetha and other pray, the agnostic side of me questioned the merit of all of what we do to appease someone who we don�t even know exists, but the gnostic side of me knew that the strength derived from her sincere prostration, in all humility, before the supreme and the endless will keep us all safe and protected from any nocency on this trip. So on this trip if something that is expected to go horribly wrong miraculously turns out to be totally different and good, all we have to do is lookup heavenwards and say �Thank you god for listening to Neetha� .

Once our turn was done we took the responsibility of guarding the luggage while Raj visited the temple. After that our eyes fell on nearby pushcart guy selling Jhal Muri. At Rs. 5 each this dish made of puffed rice with finely chopped onion, tomatoes, coconut, groundnut thrown in at the whim of the maker, was so yum to taste that we could not stop at one. After jhalmuri, all the gluttons proceeded to the next one. Golguppa, also know as Puchkas. This is made by taking a hollow puri, making a perforation and then stuffing the hollow with a potato filling and then dipped it in a tumbler of paani. Once this is done you put the entire thing inside your mouth at once and as this awesome concoction mixes and slides down your throat, the yummy, zingy feel you experience is beyond the capability of English vocabulary to express. Our group feasted on it. After puchkas it was time for tea served in earthen pot. The best part of having tea this way is what you get to do after finishing the tea. DESTRUCTION. Evolution has wired the reward system inside our brain in way that it awards you handsomely when you destroy something. It was no different with the tea pots. We tried to find innovative way to throw the pot so as to maximize the destruction to the pot.

Later after the tea, we split into two groups. While Dhi, Sohail, Nithya and Neetha went to the ATM to withdraw Rs 100 notes which they needed for the Butan trip, rest of us took a tram and headed towards hotel. Once there we started to pack over a cup of hot tea. Dhi and gang finished their work at ATM, purchased Paneer, egg and Chicken rolls and joined us at the hotel. All of us had a roll each as pre-dinner. After all us packed, we checked out of the hotel. We had luggage to fill 3 cabs. Looking at the luggage the drivers of the taxi saw an opportunity to make more money than a trip from our hotel to railway station deserved which led to a small argument. Raj then somehow pacified the drivers and we were all set. All the luggage was dumped in to the cabs. Dhi, Nitya and Sohail, left in one cab to withdraw more of Rs. 100 from ATM for their Bhutan trip. Rest of us split into two and reached the Old terminal in Kolkata station. The only highlight of the trip from hotel to station was the ride on Howrah bridge other wise it was yet another cab drive in between heavy traffic.

The train to NJP from Howrah was scheduled to start from platform 8 of the old terminal at Kolkata station. While the whole group was there, we were missing Sayak and Anu. But by the time we reached the station, Sayak and Anu had already reached and were waiting for us. As soon as we reached station, Raj went and met Sayak and Anu and with help of Dhiraj moved Sayak�s luggage to platform 8. We also joined a bit latter with all of our luggage. This is where I first met techi-doctor couple of Sayak and Anu.

Did not have enough time to socialize with the newly joined members of our group as we had tasked assigned to us. Ours was to dump all the luggage inside coach S3,S5,S6. Nitya was assigned to check the ticket status. Yamini, Dhi took care of dinner. Once all done, Raj was busy assigning berths to all of us. My luck with side berths continued. We had two adjacent RAC tickets in S7. I used both of them to make my palatial side lower berth. It needs a different kind of skill to plan,co-ordinate for these tickets. Many a times you have to bring in some jugad with the TC to make sure all have a confirmed berth. Raj, Dhi,Nitaya and Sayak are masters at this and their wizardry was evident when at the end all of us had a comfortable berths to get a good night sleep. We ate our packed dinner which was arranged by Yamini and Dhi. Once done we retired to our berths. We had already started to get a feel of cold which we will be facing on the trek. So to test drive the sleeping bags we decided to use them that night. So there it was, as I slipped into the warmth of cushiony soft sleeping bag and pulled the zip to enclose myself in a fortress that would protect me from the projectiles of cold, the end of our Kolkata sojourn. This night will lead us to the start of what we hope would be a fantastic trip. Amazing group,the majestic Kanchenjungha/Everest, lots of snow, lots of tiredness, lots of sweat, lots of pain, lots of fun we will have it all starting the next day.

As the train hissed and chugged towards NJP, the unpredictable psychological effects of cold on feeble human brain were already visible on few of our group members, especially Sayak. At 4.30 am on a cold dark morning, he traveled two coaches to offer his better half, Anu, a cup of hot tea.On any other day Anu would have probably melted like a butter on a hot aalu parata for such a romantic gesture from her hubby dear, but at 4.30 am on a cold morning she wasn�t very impressed. Apart from these antics from Sayak, rest of the folks slept well. As the sun rose quelling the darkness, we all gathered and enjoyed Jalh muri, tea, coffee, borrowed parathas with aachar and yummy puri subji. We conversed, made fun, had fun, talked about Neetha�s fat book, commented on perfume smell emanating from people walking by and much more while we waited for the train to arrive at NJP, the starting point of our Sandhak Phu adventure.

Orissa and SandakPhu Trek - Blog Post Legend

Blog Post Title	Link
Orissa and Sandak Phu Travel Log - Part 6	Post Link
Orissa and Sandak Phu Travel Log - Part 5	Post Link
Orissa and Sandak Phu Travel Log - Part 4	Post Link
Orissa and Sandak Phu Travel Log - Part 3	Post Link
Orissa and Sandak Phu Travel Log - Part 2	Post Link
Orissa and Sandak Phu Travel Log - Part 1	Post Link

Periyar Trip – Cloud Formation

Posted by Prashant - 16/05/10 at 06:05:09 am

This was on our way back from Kerala trip. I love the intensity of the coluds in the picture.

Periyar Trip – Kathakali

Posted by Prashant - 16/05/10 at 05:05:34 am

On our trip to Kerala, we had an opportunity to watch the kathakali art form. I always loved the brilliant and vibrant colours involved. The eye moments, the facial expression..absolutely fantastic.

Periyar Trip

Posted by Prashant - 11/05/10 at 12:05:42 pm

Back from a wonderful trip to Periyar. Drive was super fun but then we did not get to see any wildlife . But then lots of photographs. This is panorama of PEriyar lake.

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