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A Jaunt in Chettinad

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  For a place that does not exist on a Map , Chettinad has done quite nicely for itself , earning widespread fame for its Cuisine , Sarees and Palatial mansions. The region of Sivagangai Seemai was the Marava Kingdom of Pandyas in older times and part of Ramnad Kingdom in Colonial times . The folk lore is full of heroes of the soil , Velu Nachiar , Maruthu brothers  etc. But as Chettinad today, it  is all about the mercantile stalwarts , the Chettiyars , who migrated Eastward in the 19th century , seeking fortune . They  wielded considerable clout in Burma , Malaya, Malacca etc . Awesome to learn that seed money for a lot of British and Chinese enterprises in Far East during late 19th and early 20th centuries, came from those enterprising Chettiyars.  Fat ledgerbooks with meticulous entries , receipts, bank notes , legal papers from those times can be seen in the Chettiyar Heritage Museum. Not to forget the  heavy , fire proof iron Safes that once held their  fabled wealth.   Back home
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The "Ajanta-Ellora" circuit, at last.

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"Ajanta-Ellora" . That's  the common parlance . Like Ellora is Ajanta's surname.  Like they are conjoined twins who can only exist together ! So enmeshed are the names  that in an Art Mela ,a set of  prints, showing the famous Padmapani, was labeled "Ajanta Ellora Prints" ! When the two World Heritage Sites are a good 100kms apart and Ellora has nothing to do with the painted Padmapani .  Anyway , the 100 kms divide notwithstanding, no  visitor ( other than a researcher perhaps) really visits just one of them . That would almost be a sacrilege or cause for great regret.   Their historical "togetherness" can be explained away by the fact that both are rock cut wonders of great antiquity ,  cut into cliffs faces , preserving the best of ancient Indian art and aesthetics. And both are in  Aurangabad District of Maharashtra. While Ajanta Caves are Buddhist in theme,  Ellora has Buddhist, Jain and Hindu relics.  The older caves are in Ajanta. 30 of them
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Azerbaijan - a quick dip

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The Why   Why Azerbaijan ?  Bukhara and Samarkand  had been in The Bucket for a long time ; surfed the Net for a group tour that included these two pins.  Found one,  a tried & tested travel company , but alas , the Uzbek tour was labeled "Sold Out".  Scroll down . "Amazing Azerbaijan - 4N-5D "appears.  Whats really amazing is , Azerbaijan was Terra Incognita to ignoranta-me then.  'Why  would people want to travel to this ex-Stalinist pocket of  Central Asia - and where the heck is it actually? Near Mongolia ?".... No idea . Except that F1 Car racing is  ritualistically  flagged off here . And that the name routinely pops up at the Olympic parades...... But the itinerary casts The Bait : Petroglyphs and Mud Volcanos !  Decided .  _______ The Tour   Packaged group tours are convenient for lazy travelers . One just has to sacrifice the  small luxury of  having like-minded company .  When traveling with ladies who cannot do without kachoris , theplas and
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Thodikkalam- By Chance

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  It was a trip , made with a different agenda .  Visiting the  Thodikkalam shrine  was only  by chance .  Before starting out to Kannur, had to brush up a little on a few basics about the place. Weather , food , safety , the usual . The World Web is more than useful . It gives what is sought and also what is not sought . That's how the name Thodikkalam  snared the mind- a name i had not even heard of a year ago.  Google said there is a medieval Siva temple there. Not far from base camp.  It HAD to be visited.  Because of  that one picture that appeared on screen with that name ! Obsession at first sight .  Old temples in obscure places have a charm all their own . Peaceful to Dreamy to Evocative to Mysterious - adjectives glide through a gamut of sentiments difficult to express. If that old temple is situated in a lush woodland ,by an ancient pond ,with remnants of  carved stone scattered around , then  it becomes a  classical , "Lost World" site. Thodikkalam sounded lik
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Tamirabarani Run

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  A brief  log of a three-day trip along the banks of the River Thamirabarani  (Taamraparni) , in Tirunelveli district , Tamil Nadu ( March 2024), sampling random temples to get an idea of the unique culture of the land where Pandya, Chola , Chera and Nayaka influences were intermingled .  THAMIRABARANI   has a lot of historical , spiritual, cultural and emotional significance to the Tamils in general and to the people of the region in particular.  A  "lifeblood " kind of thing . It even has its own mythology in  "Thamraparni Mahatmyam". Geography : It originates in the  southern part of  Sahyadris (Western Ghats) , in the Pothigai Malai hillrange ( aka Agasthyarmalai) , runs about 120kms and empties into The Gulf Of Mannar  (a bay in Indian Ocean around Lakshadweep ) .  Name : Tamira - Parni translates to Copper Leaves .  Visualising a sparkling river sprinkled generously with  shiny russet leaves , swishing along  emerald valleys?......but no , cannot see a single
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A Theyyam Run

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Preamble- Ramble It is difficult to pinpoint  when Curiosity became Desire and when Desire turned into  Obsession . But, that it was brewing for  quite a while is true.  Our Mysore being in close proximity to North Kerala ( Malabar -Wayanad), one  grew up with the "general knowledge" that  that part of God's Own Country  also had a lively , thriving culture of  its own Spirits, Shamans and Vamachara rituals ("black magic "type), all of  which went back to the Beginning  of Time.  One also knew that they  called their Spirits  "Theyyams" ( derived from  "Deivam" meaning Supernatural Being  or God ) who made an appearance between October and April to drive away diseases , ensure good crop and give other blessings.  Sometime in late 1990s , the very early days of Web Logging, a blogpost  by an European lady had caught attention. She had documented everything about  a Theyyam ritual : selection of the candidate, his rigorous preparatory penance
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