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Archive for November, 2009

A day at Melkote

Posted in DesiPundit, Heritage notes, tagged , , , , , , on November 30, 2009 | 6 Comments »

Melkote is a small temple town, just over 150 km – two hours drive – from Bangalore. It is home to a couple of Narasimha temples, a large Iyengar community and lip-smacking puliyogare (tamarind rice, for you unenlightened souls, but calling it that really takes away from the drop-dead spicy yumminess of it).
We’d heard [...]

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Faces of Hampi

Posted in This and that, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 24, 2009 | 1 Comment »

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Stories in stone

Posted in DesiPundit, Heritage notes, tagged , , , , , , , , , on November 17, 2009 | 3 Comments »

The story of Hampi is the story of stone. You disagree? You think it is sacrilege to reduce the heady might and valour of the Vijayanagara kings to the passivity of stone? Stone – inanimate, indifferent and cold?
No, it is true. In Hampi, the stones tell you more interesting stories than your guide [...]

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Future tense

Posted in Colors of the desert, Heritage notes, tagged , , , , , , on November 15, 2009 | 6 Comments »

In Shekhawati, the future looks at the past…

Update: or, the past and future look at each other, as Arun says in a comment. I have also changed the title of the post to ‘Future Tense’ as a nod to the deplorable state of many of the mansions / frescoes in Shekhawati.

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Inside the Blue Mosque

Posted in DesiPundit, Turkish delights, tagged , , , , , , , on November 12, 2009 | 4 Comments »

It is still early evening when I head to the blue mosque, at the heart of the Sultanahmet area in Istanbul. Despite the quickly fading sunlight, Sultanahmet is bustling and crowded as always, with tourists and touts, crafty shop-owners and wary shoppers. I ignore all the calls and offers of the locals and join the [...]

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United colours of Hampi

Posted in DesiPundit, This and that, tagged , , , , , , , , on November 9, 2009 | 11 Comments »

Back from Hampi – tired, tanned and happy! I will work on a more detailed post soon, but for now, soak in the colour and character of Hampi market.

And the doors and windows!

Have a nice week! Come back soon for the faces of Hampi.

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Off to Hampi!

Posted in Moving around, tagged , , , , , , on November 4, 2009 | 2 Comments »

I am off to Hampi for a photography workshop conducted by the getoffurass guys. I’ve been to Hampi before and knew I wanted to go back. And not just because of this ‘from the heart’ message!

For now: More photographs from Hampi – and ‘My heart is in Hampi‘ from long ago.

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No frills, only food

Posted in Cities that never sleep, Published, tagged , , , , , , , , on November 3, 2009 | 8 Comments »

I do not often do food pieces, but there are some places which just have to be written about. Crystal is one such – unassuming facade, with excellent food. Here is a short feature on Crystal that appeared in The India Tube: No frills food.
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Atmosphere – that is the word that describes Crystal. The tiny [...]

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A story in dance

Posted in Published, This and that, tagged , , , , on November 1, 2009 | 3 Comments »

I recently watched a Kathakali recital at the Chembur Fine Arts Society in Mumbai. The performance that evening was based on the story of the wicked king Jarasandha who is supposed to have lived in the time of the Mahabharata. Over a two hour period, the performers enacted a piece called Jarasandha Vadam (the conquest [...]

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