THE STOPOVER: Book that brings together India, Fiction, Travel and Photography

A couple of weeks back I got a mail asking me to review a new kind of travel and photography book. Along with the mail was a soft copy of a portion of the book and some other relevant reading material. The book was titled ‘THE STOPOVER’ and aimed to bring together travel, fiction, photographs and India. Generally I don’t do such book reviews, but since all of these were areas that I am really passionate about, I decided to read the trailer copy and boy did I find it interesting!!

”We all know that a photo speaks more than a thousand words, but if there is a story to go with it, we feel it, get completely entrenched in it and to the extent that we believe we are a character in the story. ‘THE STOPOVER’ is such a smooth fusion of visuals and fiction, which allows the reader to feel the travels through these four pristine and lesser known places of India. After all, it is never about the destination, but the journey that has an effect on all the six senses”.

The Stopover is a book that has been co-authored by two travel lovers, Ram Prakash and Deepa Pinto. This book tries and brings together their experiences through vivid stories. These stories are built around 4 key destinations of India: Ladakh, Channapatna, Ooty and Chennai that are in turn complemented by beautiful pictures that aim to captivate the reader.

I was sad that I got to read only a portion of this interesting travel and photography book, but this makes me eager to read the entire book as soon as it hits the bookstores. I am sure you are interested to know more about this book and wish to grab a copy for yourself. To know more about this book, its stories and its publishing date, do look up ‘The Stopover Book Facebook Page’.

Continue Reading...

Wedding engagement of a kannadiga brahmin family

My close kannadiga brahmin buddy from college (Vellore Institute of Technology/VIT University), Giri Venkataramanan got engaged on a Sunday evening to a pretty Kannadiga brahmin girl. The location was Hotel Residency on G.N.Chetty Road in T.Nagar, Chennai.


This was the first Kannadiga brahmin wedding engagement that I had ever attended. Amit Kishore and I were present to view the traditional ceremony, which includes signing of names of bride and groom and their wedding date by their respective parents in a  holy log book (for lack of a better word). What followed next was a string of traditional rituals that included people from both sides of the family and dress changing events.

This was only a small gathering comprising mainly of immediate family members and close friends. Amit and I kept ourselves occupied with our roles of a videographer and a photographer respectively, which was apart from making Giri (the groom) smile :-). Once the traditions were complete and the dinner room was thrown open, both of us donned our foodie caps and set out to explore the food, which consisted of fruit salad, tossed up sweet corn soup, cabbage salad, spicy pineapple salad, papads, butter roti, naan, Paneer Butter Masala, Dal Makhani, Roasted Potatoes (urulai roast), Malai Kofta, Yennai Kathirikka (Oily Brinjal/Egg plant), Curd rice, Bisi Bele bath, pickles, gulab jamun and ice cream. After a detailed sample of the dinner menu, we came to the conclusion that dinner was truly delicious and paid our compliments to the chef. Post dinner, we chatted with Giri and his bride for a while before congratulating the group and taking our leave.


Net-net, a good-looking couple, a warm gathering, well organized and decorated event with delicious food!!!

To view the complete set of engagement photos, click the photo album below.

Giri's Engagement, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

Continue Reading...

Mahabalipuram - A 7th century wonder!

It was a bright sunny Saturday morning in Chennai and my friend, his family, my sister and I decided to drive down to the historical town of Mahabalipuram.

Mahabalipuram/Mamallapuram is 60 km south of Chennai and is situated on the coromandel coast by the Bay of Bengal. Mahabalipuram was a busy 7th century port city and houses a lot of temples and historic monuments which have been classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.


Since we had left home late in the morning, our agenda was to visit the famous sea shore temple, the pancha rathas, if possible and a relaxed evening session at the beach.

As we entered this quaint dusty, but bustling tourist town, the ladies in the car got excited as they spotted tons of shopping opportunity. Somehow, we were able to coax them into exploring our glorious past before getting into the materialistic present.


We proceeded to the sprawling sea shore temple area after having bought our entrance tickets and hiring ourselves a guide. This shore temple and its boundaries are being managed and run effectively by the archaeological society of India (ASI).


With the guide leading our way, we visited the 3 shrines within the shore temple premises, namely the east and west facing Shiva shrines and the east facing (but tucked inside) Vishnu (Ananthasayanam or sleeping Vishnu) temple. We got to know that this temple is one of the oldest forms of Dravidian architecture and South Indian temples.


The other interesting fact that we got to know was that this temple was submerged under sea for some years during which the salt and sea water corroded the rock surfaces and sculptures. Even to date, rocks and boulders lined up the sea facing territory of the temple to prevent the sea from entering the temple premises. The floor of the temple and the sea are more or less at the sea level.


Our guide told us that remnants of the 7th pagoda were discovered when the sea waters receded after the 2004 tsunami and earthquake that hit this part of the world. The archaeological society of India have been sending divers for underwater excavations since 2005 to uncover the history of an underwater city.


We were shown the place of 'bali' or sacrifice and its significance to Maha'bali'puram getting its name. The influence of the Chinese tiger in the Dravidian architecture can also be seen here. Frequent trade between China and India might have been the trigger. We also saw the place that used to be a school/training ground for the art of fighting. Sculptures in various fighting poses depicted this training facility.

After the shore temple, we made our way to the Panch Rathas or Five Chariots, which are monolithic structures named after the Pandavas of the Mahabharata.

 
These structures, which have been made from a single piece of stone, were more like the school of architecture as each of these 5 structures portray a different architecture - Dravidian, Buddhist and West Bengal styles.
 

One can just gape in wonder and admire these great pieces of architecture. After a small break in the shade and a detailed photo shooting session, we trotted towards the serene looking beach where the men could enjoy a walk in the breeze while the ladies could finish their shopping experience in the adjoining shopping shacks.


With a serene looking beach, exquisite architecture, amazing sculptures, delicious history, a quaint & dusty tourist town in the kitty, our evening had all the ingredients of a 7th Century Wonder!!


The complete album can be viewed by clicking below.

Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu, India

Continue Reading...

A modern Tamil Brahmin wedding

This event took place a couple of weeks back. The location was the Green Meadows Resort at Palavakkam in Chennai. This place is a heritage Kerala Ayurveda resort on the East Coast Road. Since this was a family event, most of us turned up with enough reason as this offered the opportunity of getting together with family after what had been a long while.

The reason for the title of this post comes from the fact that we, the family, hail from an orthodox Tamil Brahmin cult of society. Most of the auspicious and important events are celebrated in the most orthodox and traditional fashion. The ante gets upped during weddings and they can get as traditional as they can be.

Having said this, I was surprised when most of the traditional aspects of a Tamil Brahmin wedding were either skipped or replaced with modern or if I may say Western props. There was no jaanavasam (inviting the groom to the wedding) or called the Baaraat in North Indian weddings or any of the hymns and pujas associated with it. Instead, it was replaced with an informal dance programme, which I am fine with as it allows all the guests to participate and have a good time. The killer prop addition was the inclusion of a cocktail bar. Now, for all those of you who understand brahminism, alcohol is a taboo in the life of a Brahmin, rest alone, a wedding, where rituals and rites are performed and gods are invited through hymns and chants to bless the to-be-weds.  

On the day of the wedding, many traditional components, if I may, like kaasi yatra, unjal (swing), the traditional games, etc. were excluded. But, the other traditional aspects like the seven pheras, thaali (mangalsutra), traditional attire, garlands, traditional music were not excluded. Such a wedding doesn't irk me as I am also a person from the same generation, but it makes me think as to whether we are slowly losing a grip on our culture. 

I have read a fair bit on Brahminism and the reasons various processes are followed in traditional events and it makes perfect sense to me as each of these traditions have a certain deep-rooted meaning to it. But, at the end of the day, it boils down to the wishes of the couple who are getting married and I guess we should respect their decision.

Which brings me back to my question...Are we losing a grip on our rich culture? 

Overall, a great and a well-organized event and it provided the opportunity for me to meet with most of my family members and catch up on the latest happenings and musings in the family.
Having said the entire above post, I would like to say that the opinions expressed here are entirely my own and is not aimed to be offensive in any kind.

All pictures have been removed from this post as the concerned couple in this wedding sought privacy.

Continue Reading...

The famous Murugan Idli Shop!!

Murugan Idli Shop - this might sound a new name to you, but for the passengers of Indian Railways who have had their breakfast of Idlis and Vadai sambar at the Madurai railway station will tell you otherwise. These people, including me and my dad, blindly trust this brand name for the sheer taste  and quality that they offer. Murugan Idli Shop is one of the rising South Indian cuisine brands in India and Singapore. A recent entrant into the Chennai market, they have been seeing a hugely positive response from the masses. People of Chennai typically don't go out to eat Idlis at restaurants, but most people break the trend here as the Idlis at Murugan Idli Shop are much better than the ones made at home.


On the morning of Aug 16, 2009, my friends and I went to sample their Idlis for breakfast at their newly opened T Nagar branch in Chennai. We had to wait for a while as this place was bustling with people and activity even at 10 AM, which is post standard breakfast timings. Once we found our place, steaming hot Idlis, 4 types of Chutneys and Sambar was served to us on plantain leaves. On special request, one can even ask for the searing mulagai podi (gunpowder mix made of lentils, red chillies and sesame seeds) with nalla yennai (sesame oil). The food was truly amazing. It was the best South Indian breakfast I have tasted. The only breakfast that tastes better than this are the ones cooked at my Grandma's place. After a series of helpings, we topped off our breakfast list with Sakkarai Pongal (Sweet Jaggery Rice) and steaming hot South Indian filter coffee. 

While I liked the hygiene that this place offered, I would prefer if they did not serve drinking water in disposable plastic glasses and rather in traditional stainless steel tumblers. Overall, a great dining experience. Traditional South Indian breakfast at its very best!

Continue Reading...