Treasure Trove of Life

Hampi trip for me is like that ubiquitous trip to Goa that always gets cancelled. With weather and friends taking turns in playing a spoilsport, I couldn't visit this place though I desperately wanted to. Post COVID-19, it was nearly impossible to do a trip with public transport hardly in operation. After shifting to Hyderabad, some family responsibilities put my travelling in the backseat. So finally my brothers & I decided to do the trip during the long Christmas weekend.  Boarding a long distance bus was a bit eerie given the situation.  I took a deviation from the usual budget stays/hostels that I stay at & booked a hotel kind of a homestay. We hired bicycles for a couple of days and started off. The first image that usually pops up when you search for Hampi is the iconic stone chariot and that was our first stop. An offbeat path along the course of the river Tungabhadra to cut short the distance gave way for more adventure. We had to carry our cycles at places due...

The hiatus in penning down something here was quite unexpected. The last year and half was way too dynamic and my laziness contributed its part. I am someone who gets homesick for every place I visit & ironically not when I miss home. There is this incredible nostalgia after a trip and I have an urge to go back again at that moment, if I could. This feeling got aggravated when I had to leave the place I called home, for more than 3 years. I had never been there before & I didn’t have any family or friends there. The only reason I landed there was for work.  I never imagined I’d get so attached to the place that it hurt me every time I had to change the default address on food delivery/e-commerce apps from Coimbatore to Hyderabad. It was in early 2017 when I had to give preferences for my location after having been allocated to Chennai Zone. Just like everyone, I preferred Chennai first followed by Coimbatore & Trichy. A close friend of my dad suggested me to prefer Co...

Most of the people I call these days either begin the conversation asking "Is there a good news ?/When are you getting hitched ?" or the conversation after exchanging pleasantries converges to this. Even the regular taxpayers visiting my office started offering free advice saying it's "the age" to get married. After a long period of inauspicious days, I decided to start with the process, given its complexity and the time it can take. I've seen a meme or something on the internet that said "Arranged marriage is like Tinder but the main difference is that our parents do the swiping." It was on a Wednesday that I was told about the meeting. The girl's father was informed over phone that we would like to meet and he agreed to do it on the coming Saturday. The venue and time were to be decided later and informed. There was no phone call till Friday evening. I was hoping that I don't have to take a two hour bus ride in the summer heat to a...

It's been quite long since I had gone on a solo trip. Firstly, the scorching heat during summer prevented me from going anywhere and then a wedding at the fag end of the summer, relatives visiting me for a week and a transfer kept me occupied. I usually plan a trip during August every year around the Independence Day and most commonly coinciding with some festival. The plan for an annual reunion didn't attain fruition as my friends had other engagements. So, I decided to take a week off and go on a trip to the Hoysala Temples and Hampi.  I had to exclude Hampi which was inundated, from the itinerary.   The plan was impromptu because of the floods in Karnataka and the rivers flowing in full spate. I started on a Saturday morning from Coimbatore and 2 hours into the journey, there happened to be a roadblock.  I reached Chamarajanagara after almost 6 and half hours and immediately went off to Somanathapura.  The Chennakesava temple at Somanathapura is a H...

The royal temples built by the Chola kings, (such as the Brihadeswara temple at Tanjore) were particularly magnificient..... The temple in the Chola kingdom became the centre of social activity. It was not merely a place of worship, but it was also a place where people gathered together.... It was in my Seventh Standard that I first read these lines. Though the history textbook didn't talk in detail about the Cholas as much as they did for Mughals and other empires that centred around Delhi, my teacher compensated for it. Even today, their influence is discernible in places beyond the Indian subcontinent. It was back then, I hoped to visit one of the wonders of the Chola Empire. The Brihadeswarar Temple at Tanjore built during the reign of Raja Raja Chola (r. 984 - 1014 AD) stands as a testimony showcasing the architectural might of the Imperial Cholas. The Brihadeeswarar Temple, Thanjavur Well, Tamil Nadu is a land of temples. You might be an atheist but these temples...

The modern museum has multiple purposes - to curate and preserve, to research, and to reach out to the public. They challenge us and ask us to question our assumptions about the past or the world around us - Kate  Williams Thanjavur with its rich history and cultural heritage has an art gallery, library etc within the premises of the Royal Palace. The Royal Palace was originally built by the Thanjavur Nayaks. It also served as the seat of the Maratha rulers of Thanjavur who belonged to the Bhonsle clan. They patronized arts and literature and ensured that it passed on to the future generations. I am a sucker for museums and artefacts of all kinds. I firmly believe that they are a treasure trove of learning besides serving as an inspiration. Though the reviews online gave a mixed opinion, I didn't want to deviate from my plan. Immediately after breakfast, I went to the museum. Because being an early visitor has its own advantages where you don't have to deal with any sor...