ADHVAGATI

China was high on my Must-See list, mainly because I wanted to see The Subterranean Army of The Terra Cotta Soldiers in Xian. Year 1974. I remember being zapped by a news item in our papers about an amazing archeological find. Three farmers of Lintong County in Shhanxi, had unearthed a life size terracotta figure of a warrior , broken but with all parts intact, while digging a well. Intrigued, they had turned it over to the state officials. In no time at all, archeologists started excavating and discovered what was long rumoured, in ancient writings, to be underground, but never before found - a vast subterranean vault teeming with whole battalions of warriors, horses, officials, musicians and acrobats, all lined up in formations in honour of Qin Shi Huang, the First Emperor of China, who had died. The age of this Necropolis was established as 250 BC. Today it is a UNESCO notified World Heritage Site . When we started planning a trip to China, the only place I was very kee...

The Chinese New Year was ushered in recently ; with the usual pomp and pagentry, no doubt, in all "chinatowns" scattered across the globe. Having lived in the Far East, I have always loved the spirit of joy and merriment that erupts among the sizeable Chinese communities there. This is the season when the Markets turn red . Red + gold baubles , amazing varieties of the red "Chinese Sweet Box",( a speciality gift for the season ) and the red Hong Bao,( pretty little envelopes used for gifting money to children) . Its the season of firecrackers and dragon dances , Fruit preserves and rice cakes. China was always linked mentally with images of courtly mandarins, gong and drum sounds and celestial dancers in flowing, billowing silk robes. But in reality, China today is something quite different altogether , as I discovered on a trip, three years ago. Beijing was a stunner . The modern metropolis that has risen out of , what in early 20th. century was just a...

Year 2010 marks the 1000th. anniversary of the consecration of Rajarajaeshwaram, the magnificent temple built by the much lionised, much adored King Rajaraja Chozhan who , with the able support of his son Rajendra,  had brought unprecedented expanses of land ( Orissa to SriLanka and beyond the sea upto Cambodia ) under his reign , between 985 and 1014 CE. Rajarajeshwaram , also called Peruvudayarkoil , Brihadeeshwaram or simply, Periyakovil ( Big Temple) , the crown jewel of Thanjavur, pride of the Chozhas, has the distinction of being the world's first fully granite temple. It is said to be  built without mortar, with a system of interlocking slabs. Situated within a huge fortress , the temple complex, containing many shrines of different periods, is listed as one of the three architectural wonders that constitute the "Great Living Chola Temples"  UNESCO World Heritage Site " ( the other two, also in the same district, are Gangaikondachozhapuram and Darasur...

" Its just like the gorges of Grand Canyon, abridged! " Said one. " Its just like the gorges of Petra, scaled down ! " said the other. " Its just gorgeous ! " said I , slack jawed, "and just like the Vatapi i'd always imagined ! " We were standing on a flat rock, hedged in by GIGANTIC, craggy cliffs on all sides, catching our breath before tackling the next fleet of steps leading to the pavilion called The Lower Shivalaya. Carved into the rockface at the very base of the red sandstone massif on our left was a tiny Hanuman in bas relief, smeared with turmeric and vermillion and perfumed by a bunch of dying agarbattis. Traditionally, Hanuman is a guardian of wayfarers. Considering that the whole valley is overrun by armies of marauding monkeys, its always useful to be in the good books of the Big Boss. We dutifully uttered our prayers and proceeded left towards a lovely stone gateway heralding the Shivalaya. Another fleet of steps ran off ...

Wrapped up 2009 with a big salute to the genius of the Chalukyas, who at the peak of their power, ruled over a vast tract of the Deccan peninsula stretching from the Narmada valley to the Kaveri Basin. The heart of this empire ,that lasted merely two centuries( 6th. to 8th. AD), was on the bank of River Malaprabha, in present day Uttara Karnataka . And to that heartland we took a train on 27th. December, for a 3- day gaping-fest ! Gadag . The only associations this name used to evoke in me were the "Gadag- seeri" ( a variety of fine, durable handloom sarees) and "Gadugina Bharata"( the classical Kannada Mahabharata). Discovered a whole lot more about this place during the visit. Officially the town is called Gadag -Betageri , conjoined twin towns with a common municipality in Gadag District. The district, rather backward and under developed to begin with, was one of the worst hit during the recent floods. The land is sort of arid, but Sunflower, j...

26th. December evokes two distinct memories. One from the early years of 1980s. when we were residing in Lagos, Nigeria. We had traveled to Jos , during Christmas break, partly on holiday, partly for the husband to keep an appointment there on the 27th. When we enquired about what X'mas festivities we could expect in Jos, the capital city Plateau State, we were told that "Boxing Day", on the 26th., would be the most exciting event of the season. Thats when, for the first time, I heard about "Boxing Day" . 'Boxing ? Probably a traditional sporting event' i thought, remembering the Wrestling shows put up by the Pehlwans of the famous traditional Garadis ( akhadas) during Dasara in Mysore. An uneducated wild guess it turned out to be ; way off the mark ! I learnt that the "Boxing" in Boxing Day denoted a regular box used for collecting monetary gifts. This boxing custom apparently originated in Victorian England and had spread to its ...

Just the other day, after seeing off a guest at the Bus Station, i wondered for the n th. time why there's no train connectivity between Bangalore and Pondicherry . There are only bus services. One train line was tried out but has ceased operating. Considering the huge volume of traffic regularly heading to Pondi, thanks to JIPMER (Jawaharlal Institute of Post-Graduate Medical Education and Research) and The Aurobindo Ashram, one would think that an intercity train would work out well. Pondicherry or Puducheri is a lovely destination for a weekend getaway. Perfect mix of the exotic and the familiar. Right from my childhood days, i've had great fascination for this town, primarily because its frenchiness both amused and fascinated. The endearing hybrid ethos was quite strong in those days: The flower seller, in "kandangi" saree, betel mashing mouth, forehead adorned with a traffic signal's worth of red, white and amber markings, would look up from her st...