Just a little something

No comments! And back!

This annoying MT comments spam problem is killing me! So until I can figure out how to install the MT Blacklist program, I've closed off my comments. I am available on email (if you look hard enough on the right hand side, you should find it somewhere)...

Update: Have installed Jay Allen's Blacklist and deleted over 300 spam messages. Am hoping it's going to keep these evil people away...

The art of being absent minded

Don’t you just hate it when you travel a long distance, arrive and then realise you forgot the most important thing you had to bring?

It happened to me today. The Kodak Advantix roll that I use for my camera can only be developed at a few photo labs in the city. One of them is in Bandra. Obviously impatient to look at my trip photographs, I made a 45-minute journey there from home today, only to arrive at the shop and realise that I had forgotten to bring the film rolls.

Arrrrghhh.

Have bags, will travel

While on the topic of travel, Sulekha is running a holiday contest, if anyone is interested. The last date is February 24, so hurry!

Kerala Unplugged

If you’re planning to visit the state in the near future, I’ve put together a few tips and pointers based on my recent trip. If I had the opportunity to spend a few more days, then I could have probably written a book :) But for now, here are a few suggestions. You can use what’s useful, and ignore the rest (as usual)!

1. Unless you are planning to rough it out, plan in advance. Preferably get your hotel bookings beforehand too, since during the peak season, there are a lot of tourists! We found most of the hotels we’d short-listed full when we reached there.

2. Nov-Feb is a nice time to visit. It is warm during the day, but cooler at night. The monsoons are avoidable for sightseeing, but the right time if you’re going for an ayurvedic treatment package. The damp rainy season is apparently the best for ayurveda.

3. Because of the presence of a number of water bodies, mosquitoes abound in the state. Carry an insect repellant if mozzies like your blood!

4. Be prepared for strikes in Kerala. Apparently they are a regular feature, like in West Bengal.

5. Small resorts are comfortable, homely and the staff usually friendlier. We stayed at the Keraleeyam resort in Alleppey. We had some teething problems, but once settled in, I found the place quite comfortable. We also met a few of the other travellers during meals, in the patio, waiting to use the Internet! I got talking with a South African couple (of Indian origin) who invited me to their city (another one on my travel list now!). Larger resorts and posh places tend to be a little stiff and you are less likely to make acquaintances.

6. Stay in a medium budget hotel (within 1K for 2) if you are planning to do a lot of sightseeing. If you are planning to chill out and enjoy life, then ones which offer more amenities would make sense. In Thekkady we stayed at Hotel Ambadi, which was reasonable (but pretty comfortable except for a strange smell outside!), compared to the more flashy/expensive resorts like Cardamon County, Spice Village, Taj Retreat etc. But, since we spent most of the day outside the hotel, it worked out well for us. Of course, if you're on your honeymoon or have a lot of money to spend, then do indulge :)

7. If you are on a package, make sure you get everything that’s included. We had quite a few problems with ours at Keraleeyam and though it was finally sorted out, we had to do quite a bit of negotiating! Also, extras like Internet access are not included. So make sure to ask before you spend hours before the computer. Steph thought Net access was free and was pretty annoyed when we were charged 75 bucks an hour at Keraleeyam.

8. For a slightly more personalised experience, try homestays. Kerala is quite organised in terms of homestays and you can get a list from this site. They are usually comfortable and you are well taken care of. The food is cooked to order. And they also organise local sightseeing and are reasonably priced.

9. State transport buses are frequent and towns seem well connected, but if you are travelling in a group of about 4, hiring a car to get around makes sense. At about 800-1000 bucks a day, it is quite affordable when split. Most travel agents could organise hiring a car. Or you can contact Chaco Jose at Alleppey, who was very helpful and organised our transport. You can do a little bit of negotiating on the rates.

10. A houseboat ride seems to be ‘the flavour’ of Kerala. The private ones will set you back by about 4-8K (a day and night). If you want a more reasonably priced one, you can try Kerala Tourism. Far Horizons India runs some comparitvely reasonable trips (2200 per night). Soma House Boats is another option and offers trips of different types. Meals are usually included.

11. People around tourist areas and hotels are sometimes too friendly (and even over friendly). In Kumily, when we were walking outside our hotel, nearly every shop owner tried to coax us inside and asked us our name and where we came from. Either ignore them, or tell them you’re not interesting with a firm ‘no’. They are not as persistent as some other cities, but this I guess this is an annoying by-product of the town becoming a tourist hot-spot.

12. Also, nearly everyone we met wanted to know our name, our city and if we wanted a massage (or a plantation visit or a houseboat side), exactly in that order depending upon the town we were in, so be prepared for that.

13. Many tourist destinations (for example, Alleppey, Kumarakom, Kottayam) are all within a few kilometres distance from each other. A good idea is to make one your base and then do day trips to the other places by boat or road. We encountered quite a few scenic stretches by road.

14. Carry a map of the state! It can be useful when traveling between cities.

15. And of course, don’t forget to enjoy yourself while on the trip. You could be all worked up about the fact that the hotel guys did not get your orange juice the way you like it and miss the totally captivating sunset before you. I guess, as they say about traveling (like life), it’s not just about the destination, but the journey.

Mark Tully’s article in the Feb 2003 issue of Outlook Traveller points to an interesting quote by GK Chesterson, a 19th century writer: “The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land. It is at last to set foot on one’s country as a foreign land.”

The issue also has seven 'incredible Indian journeys' and if you like travel, don’t miss this issue.

The sun setting at Fort Kochi. Photograph taken with a Sony handycam.

Some highpoints from the trip:

• Watching motor/house boats, ferries, canoes passing by from a little perch in front of our lake front cottage in Alleppey. A totally lazy and relaxing way spend an afternoon.
  
• Catching a sunrise on the first morning. The sky was clear and it made for a beatiful sight as the sun rose over the coconut trees and the water.
  
• The cruise around the Vembanad and Poonamadu lakes early morning.
  
• Prawn masala at Keraleeyam. Yummy!
  
• Boat ride in the Periyar lake. Unfortunately no elephant sightings. But the ride gives you great view of the wildlife santuary. Early morning and evenings are the best time.
  
• Visit to the spice plantation in Thekkady. Now I know the Eugenia caryophyllus (clove) from the Pimento dioica (allspice)!
  
• The ride from Kumily to Kottayam to Cochin. It takes you through tea and coffee plantations, spice plantations and then descends to the plains through more water, rice fields and coconut trees.
  
• The sun setting at Fort Kochi. It looks like an enormous orange biscuit being dipped an immense cup of dark coffee. As the golden ball dipped against the foreground of the Chinese fishing nets, I almost caught my breath. A beautiful spectacle. Not to be missed!

Tongue Twister

We were talking last evening about how your mother tongue influences how you speak English, when we came upon another interesting question: What is your mother tongue and how would you determine it? Is it:

1) The language your mother speaks

2) The language you speak with your mother (and what if you speak two languages?)

3) The language you speak most with your family

4) The language you think in (Which might not be your technical mother tongue. For example, Assamese is technically my mother tongue, but I don't think in the language)

5) The language you're most comfortable speaking (and this may or may not be the same as the one you use to communicate with your family).

Also, what happens if you have parents who speak different languages and use Hindi or English as a common language? Does Hindi/English become your mother tongue, or it is still your mother's language that is your mother tongue?

Hmm... A little complicated I think. I'd be interested in hearing your views especially if you come from a background where your family speaks two languages.

Cochin capers

And so we come to the end of our short but enjoyable trip in Kerala. We started from Kumily early morning yesterday and after a nice drive through tea, spice and rubber plantations and Kal Ho Na Ho music (again!), we arrived in Cochin at 1 pm.

Spent a pleasant afternoon roaming around the Fort Kochi area. Then we went down to the water and watched the sun going down behind the Chinese fishing nets. There were lots of people trying to get pictures of the setting sun. Quite a beautiful sight. Even spotted a pair of dolphins.

A pleasant coincidence found Steph bumping into two of her colleagues from Switzerland on the beach when she was taking photographs. So suddenly there was a bunch of very excited women talking animatedly in French. And of course, I could understand a thing since I still haven't started those French classes on my agenda this year.

In the evening, we met them again, along with their tour guide Sandeep at a restaurant called Tandoor on MG Road. Had butter chicken, shikh kababs and momos, which were deliciously well done for a Punjabi restaurant, served with a nice tasting sauce.

Today, we found the post office a short distance from the hotel today and sent off our pending postcards. It's always a nice feeling sending them. It's like saying, "look at how much fun we're having, while you're hard at work!"

All packed and ready to leave for Mumbai in a short while. The hotel has one computer with a very bad keyboard and I've been banging away at it for a while, so I think I'll just say adieu for now!

And for the romantics, I leave you with these cute love stories to warm the cockles of your heart!

Spice and all that's nice

Well, this place is not called the 'spice belt' without reason. There are spice shops around every corner. And dozens of different fragrances entice you as you walk by. And of course, the shop vendors try their best to attract your attention and get you inside.

It was fitting therefore to begin the morning with a visit to a spice plantation, during which we were given all the inside details on how various spices like cardamon, black and white pepper, cinamon etc. are grown and prepared.

We spent about an hour, wandering around the plantation looking at various spice plants. Our guide Benni (who's even written a small tourist booklet) seemed to know his stuff, so I know my spices much better now!

In the afternoon, we took a pleasant ride around Periyar lake (all other times being booked). It was pretty hot on the upper deck of the boat, but there was a wind blowing which made the noon sun a little bearable. Unfortunately, no tiger or wild elephant sightings for us. If you're lucky, sometimes you can see them come down to the water for their daily water intake or their bath. The last time I saw an exotic animal (and I mean outside the zoo!) was the one horned rhino in Kaziranga. I must have been about ten. So, I am definitely keen to see tiger in the wild, but this is obviously not that time!

There was quite a lot of excitement in the boat when we finally sighted some sambar (wild deer). If not the tiger, at least we'd had a glimpse of it's prey! Though they were pretty far away, but we got a good view of them. Then we saw some wild bison, boars and (what I hope were) exotic birds. The lake is huge and bounded on all sides by the forest. The trip took us about two hours of leisurely cruising. The forest trek is probably a better way to see animals and birds but with the state of my foot, I had to give up that hope.

I'd recommend travellers to Kerala to spend a few days in Thekkady and do the different treks (day, night) that are conducted by the Forest department. Everything, is pretty well organised round here, as we've found, but you definitely need about 3-4 days to really experience this place.

The scenic route to Thekkady

Hail the Lord. No mobile network, but a decent Internet connection here in the little town of Kumily, Thekkady. Much better than the painfully slow connection at Alleppey. And we got charged at Rs 75 an hour!

Enjoyed the drive from Alleppey to Thekkady yesterday. It was an extremely scenic and pleasant route as the car began its ascent and the weather got cooler. The coconut trees gave way to other trees, which I couldn't identify. Thought of asking the driver but his vocabulary was limited. We made him play Kal Ho Na Ho in the car, and he seemed a little miffed, since he didn't understand any Hindi (and very little English too).

The place we checked into (Hotel Ambadi) is pretty nice with neat cottages (actually they're ground floor rooms) that overlook a small garden. The place is quite well maintained, and recommended for medium budget accomodation. Can't say about the food yet, since we couldn't have any dinner. I was still recovering from the day's lunch and Steph couldn't eat anything because of a bad stomach infection. The tomato soup she ordered tasted like hot ketchup and I was not very happy with the noodles. We've resorted to digestive biscuits, raisins and cashew nuts for the moment.

There are spice shops all over the place so I must pick up some exotic spices tomorrow. Anything to improve my cooking :)

Woke up late today, had a hearty breakfast of toast and eggs. Sketched a little during the afternoon and then the peace and quiet lulled me into sleep. We had to cancel our sightseeing plans for the day. I've got a slight sprain on my right foot and Steph's still recovering from her infection.

Hopefully, we recover by tomorrow so we can do some sightseeing around town and Periyar lake.

Alleppey to Thekkady

We're off to Thekkady after lunch. Had a good stay in Alleppey. The cottage afforded a nice view of the lake. Did quite a few things. Some walking around and a bit of sightseeing. Allapuzha beach is a pretty stretch of white sand and waves. We roamed around for a bit. Except for some idiotic young guys passing idiotic comments, it was pleasant. Walked through a village (with unpronounceable name) about 15 kms from here yesterday morning and then through the main town (there was a strike, so it was less populated).

There's a little outhouse with a thatched roof just outside the cottage, perched on the water on wooden stilts. It's nice to sit there and just look out into the water. Have loads of stuff to write but I'll keep it for later.

Steph spent some time furiously typing last night before dinner but I'm being lazy, enjoying the atmosphere and soaking in the peace and quiet. Chatting with the other people staying here. Being woken by the birds early morning. Eating big breakfasts and lunches. Sketching. Taking photographs and generally enjoying the sights and sounds of Kerala.

Post from the lakeside

Landed in Kerala after a 28 hour journey, which was quite pleasant, but we were rather glad when we reached Alleppey station. There was a delay of about 1/2 hour, so that wasn't too bad. Settled into our rather cute room on the Vembanad lake front resort that where we are spending two days. We have to steal connection time, when the admin guys here are not printing receipts! So, posts won't be too long or frequent right now. The backwaters looks green, peaceful and nice so far. Sometimes, the only sounds you can hear are the birds (there seems to be quite a few crows) and the passing motorboats...

God's own country?

Am off to Pune tomorrow to spend a day with friends. On Monday, Stephanie and I are taking off to Kerala for a week. We'll be going to Alleppey first. After spending the first two days there, we'll decide where to go next.

There are a few sights we hope to catch - like the Periyar wildlife sanctuary. Kumarakom. Spice Village. Thekkady. We might not be able to go towards the South (Trivandrum) or North (Wyanad) as we will run out of time. So, we've decided to concentrate around the central part of Kerala. If you've been to this part of the country recently and have any suggestions/ tips/ places to see to share with us, do leave us your comments.

Next week, we discover if Kerala is truly God's own country!

Movie magic continues...

Don't you just hate those smart alecky types who sit right behind you and pass crappy comments all through the movie? Like you paid 100 bucks to hear their inane and totally stupid commentary.

At one point of time, I was nearly tempted to turn around and scream, 'Cut the crap, guys'. I mean, I can understand if they were watching some time-pass comedy. But this was totally uncalled for. And it wasn't even for a few minutes. These guys actually kept it up through the whole movie. I could have strangled them by the end of it.

Why do moronic guys like these go to watch movies? They can just as well sit on the side of the street and pass comments and they wouldn't even have to spend any money doing it.

I was all excited about watching LOTR: The Return of the King and these stupid dodos nearly spoilt the fun of watching the last of the trilogy. First, we wait for two whole months for it to come to India, and then a few creepy adolescents decide that they're actually funny. Arrrrggghhhh...

Anyway, if you haven't watched the first two parts of LOTR, then this one might not make much sense. I remember taking a friend of mine to watch LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring. The poor woman was so clueless, she almost walked out. And not to mention, she was also pregnant!

For a three-part movie spread over about 11 hours, Peter Jackson does a commendable job by keeping up the pace and excitement of the first two in the third. It's a little slow to build up, but once it takes off, there's no stopping it!

Watch out for some amazing action. Especially the battle scenes. And the scenery continues to be as breathtaking as ever. New Zealand is definitely on my travel list after LOTR! Some moments to watch out for:

• Gollum talking to his shadow in the water and letting it out that he intends to betray Frodo once he gets to a pre-determined spot. Sam overhears. But Frodo doesn't believe Gollum has evil intentions.

• Gandalf riding up Minas Tirth with Pippin to confront Denethor (steward of Gondor). The aerial view of the structure. Simply awesome.

• Pippin lighting a beacon at Minas Tirth on Gandalf's request, that spreads across the icy mountains. Some lovely shots. I am not sure how much is computer generated, but lovely, neverthless.

• Legolas climbing an elephant during the war and bringing everyone down including the beast and then disembarking it in style.

• Denethor catching fire when he tries to burn his own son alive and fails. He then falls from the bridge of Minas Tirth.
  
  
• Aragorn, Legolas, Gandalf completely surrounded by Sauron's army. Aragorn charges saying, 'This one's for Frodo.'

• Sam and Frodo battling the ugly giant spider Shelob when ascending the stairs at Cirith Ungol. Shelob tying up Frodo in his yucky stuff. Truly yucky!

• And the very end, when Frodo reaches Mount Doom where he has to cast the ring into the fire...but...

The only hitch is at the end when there are quite a few false alarms. It seemed like the movie's ended and then one realises there's one more scene. The last one was really not needed. Not sure what Peter Jackson was thinking, but obviously, after spending the last three or four years making LOTR, he was really not keen on letting go!

But, all in all, a fitting end to the trilogy. I am sure even Tolkien would have applauded if he'd had a chance to watch his own imagination come alive on the screen.

Other movies I watched this week: Just Married (just about okay, but it has its moments), Rules Pyar Ka Superhit Formula (quite watchable and there was Milind Soman who is pretty droolworthy) and Down With Love (not too hot, but I can watch anything with Ewan McGregor!).

"Totully Tullified!"

I see that my smart cat has kept you updated on my moves. It's true, I've been distracted lately.

But first things first. Let me tell you what happened yesterday.

For starters, I had nearly left my entry pass to the Tull-Chaurasia show behind. I remembered at the last moment and scurried back home to retrieve it!

Then, on the ride to the venue, I suddenly noticed a January 31, 2004 date printed on the pass.

My heart did a double take. It sank. I had trouble breathing.

Did they accidentally send me tickets for the wrong day? Had I missed the event I had been preparing for the whole of the week?

Then across the other corner, I noticed the February 1, 2004 date printed. Aaahhhhh..... I let out all my relief.

Reached the venue nice and early. There was quite a crowd. All dressed up for the show. I passed my time looking around. There was a woman in tight leather trousers. Another in a shiny black and white top with silver thingies dazzling in the light. I thought I'd accidentally strayed into the wrong hall. But the average age of the people around was enough proof that it couldn't possibly be a boy band concert!

The Homi Bhabha auditorium is a pretty decent hall. The seating arrangement is good and you get a decent view even from the last rows. Unless a really tall guy sits in front of you, that is. And it's quite compact fitting a little over a thousand people. A lot of people apparently missed out because of the size of the venue. Ideally, a concert of this nature would have been perfect at the Rang Bhavan, which seats about 5000 people. But apparently the government has sent a directive against holding such events there because of noise pollution.

The evening began on the dot (what a surprise) with Chaurasia and his accompanists. Worth mentioning is the tabla player Vijay Ghate, who was really good. The tabla is a really rich instrument and it's quite amazing the depth and variety of sound that can emanate from it, especially under the hands of an expert player. I really enjoy live Indian music, especially jugalbandis.

Then it was Tull's turn with the team of guitarist Martin Barre, keyboardist Andrew Giddings, bassist Jonathan Noyce and drummer Doane Perry who came on stage. Ian Anderson then followed assuming his trademark flute and piper position.

What followed was a truly amazing session, a feast for the ears, especially for Tullaholics who have grown up with their songs and were finally witness to their masterful performance in person.

They performed many of the classics. Living In The Past, Nothing Is Easy, Bombay Valentine, Thick As A Brick (an excerpt), With You There To Help Me, Bouree, a medley of songs (Songs from the wood, Too Old to Rock 'n Roll, Heavy Horses), Aqualung, Locomotive Breath.

Of course, it would be impossible to accomodate all of them. And most were accompanied by a minimum of lyrics, with Anderson singing just portions of each song. But it was pretty awesome watching him juggle between his flute (s), his little guitar (which he said, makes him look big!) and his vocals of course. Barre displayed his prowess with a few mindblowing guitar stretches.

The last bit was a fusion performance by all the artists and though it was Anderson and Chaurasia who were supposed to be in the spotlight, the guys who stole the show were Ghate jamming with drummer Perry. Brilliant.

What can I say? I wish the concert would have lasted longer. It just wasn't enough. I could have sat there and listened for a few hours more! The band apparently were catching a flight back to England the same day, while Anderson is off to Goa for 4 days along with his wife. So if you glimpse a long haired guy with a flute on the beaches of Anjuna and Calangute, you'll know who he is!

Came back to Bandra and grabbed a midnight coffee and a burger at Mac's to break the long journey back home. While paying off the cab guy, he said he didn't have change so I had to part with an extra 10 bucks. 'You don't have the change or you don't want to give me change?' I asked him rather nastily, banged his door and then walked off.

A few minutes later, inside Mac's, I heard a jangling noise and the cab driver holding up my house keys in front of me. I had dropped it on the backseat. I felt like a little insect just then.

The day before, I watched Maqbool, yesterday Tull and am hoping to catch the third installment of LOTR on Friday. I think it's the week of cultural excess for me, but I'm not complaining!

At the movies

If you haven't watched Maqbool, then you definitely should. Convinced a friend of mine who'd already seen it to watch it again on Saturday night. And I didn't need much convincing, so that's more proof!

Reasons to watch it:

Brilliant performances, led by Pankaj Kapur. His mannerisms, voice and speech all honed to a T, for this role as an underworld don. Irfan Khan is pretty good too. He has large brooding eyes and dark foreboding looks. And he uses them well in his role as Kapur's protege turned betrayer. Tabu - whether it is seducing Khan or breaking down - a great actress and a delight to watch for the nuances she brings into her roles. And of course, brilliant cameos by Om Puri and Naseeruddin Shah who complement each other perfectly.

Great direction by Vishal Bhardwaj. He keeps a tight rein on the story and does not allow it to stray. I think that the length of the movie (a little over two hours) and what he's fit into it was a good job. It would have been really easy to go on to well over 3 hours with the given theme.

Good music too. And the songs don't intrude. Mostly, in the background. And blend in well, wherever they are used.

There are a few discrepancies like they keep talking about Bombay, but most of the scenes are set in Bhopal. And also the feeling of overriding guilt on the part of Khan and Tabu after they realise what they have done, is lacking in its intensity. But otherwise, a movie that is definitely engrossing and a notch above the rest.

So in two words: Go watch!

(LOTR is screening at Regal on Friday with all three parts running back to back. I am tempted to watch all three. I think it will be an out of the world experience! Anybody game? :)