Urban Wanderers Nirvana....

.... are quaint little settlements, in midst of nature - deep in jungle or hill-stations, far far away from hubbub and sounds of Urban life! Haaa the nirvana that every urban soul craves for ...That's exactly what we did last weekend.

We were headed to Kolli Hills ... a picturesque hill station, a six hour drive from Bangalore. The drive up to the hill station is an riders delight - a total of seventy hair pin bends(which makes it a nightmare for people with motion sickness - yours truly). The "To Do" list for a tourist is nothing to write about. Just the usual "View Points", water falls that every hill station is endowed with. This is a blessing in disguise as it makes it keeps the horde of tourists away!

We chose to stay at "Kolli Hills Camp". This is a good ten kms from the Kolli town and is in middle of nowhere. The nearest human settlement is a good three Kilometers away! This place is a camp in its truest sense - wooden cottages with basic comforts, unpaved pathway, no-frill yet hearty food. For somebody used to urban life, the prospect of  staying alone(we were a family of three) with just the boy running the place for company and absolutely no other human in sight can be a bit unnerving (The tourists staying in the adjoining cottages were running late and arrived only around midnight!). Of course, we lived to tell the tale :).


Despite all this we had an excellent evening - imagine huddling around a camp-fire with your fav book in one hand, a beer in another with some lip-smacking good country-chicken to nibble on! Well this defines the perfect holiday for us :-D

Linking this to AtoZ challenge - U is for Urban Wanderers....

Konganpada : A temple Fair

Pheno's grand mom hails from this small town called "Chittur" near Palaghat, Kerala. Considering they are all settled in Chennai, I have hardly visited this place. So when his grandma expressed her desire to visit "Konganpadaa" - I knew it was the perfect chance and what better guide than the grand old lady who has spent a good chunk of her younger days there.

The entire town of Chittur is little more than a few streets - a quaint little place. Their lives revolve around the temple of Chittur Bhagvathi  - the village goddess. The most happening event in the lives of its citizens is the annual temple fair "Konganpadaa". This fair has a interesting lore to it....

A centuries ago,  the king of "Kongan" (Somewhere in neighboring Tamil Nadu) waged a war upon Chittur. The citizens of this small village were ill-prepared to face the war. So they turn to their goddess Chittur Bhagavathi for help . Off they go to war - all warriors dressed strategically as ladies - ably led by Chiitur Bhagvati. Needless to say, Kongan warriors were taken by surprise to see these valiant lady warriors and soon lose the war!

Its this entire war sequence that's played out during "KonganaPada"....Even today, young boys(less than 5-7 years) are dressed as girls. Would you want to join me as we visit "Konganpada".....

The procession is led by the Toddy Tappers. This is interesting cause in a typical south Indian Village, in days gone by toddy tappers are at the lowest strata of society. But here they are given place of honor cause as per the lore they were the first to sight the enemy.........

Then comes the traitors... and thus their face(and body for added effects) is painted black.

After this procession starts the actual "War Procession'. Here is a facet that didn't make sense to me - In this fair, the most coveted position is the man playing King of Kongan.  Now considering, this is a war the village of Chittor is fighting against  Kongan Raja - shouldn't he be the 'Villan' instead of the hero!

The coveted Kongan Raja

Off goes Kongan Raja to wage a war in which he is royally defeated and the 'konganpada' ends with the the victorious Chittor warriors coming back.....

Linking this to  AtoZ challenge - K is for KonganPadaa....

Thus comes to an end the trip to interiors of Kerala..... 

Vellinezhi - A Journey For Life

Here are glimpses from a journey - no, make it pilgrimage - I undertook earlier this year. A journey that will always continue to hold a special place in my life, a journey that has given me memories for life....

 It was after all a journey to the tiny village of Vellinezhi - the village my daddy called home as a little boy!

Velinezhi is considered the center for "Kathakali" and many other cultural arts of Kerala. Recently it was declared as the "Kalagraamam" of Kerala. The govt. School of Vellinezhi has the honor of being the only school in state o teach 'Kathakali'.....

But somebody had a reputation of spending more time on football ground adjoining the school...

Today, daddy's house is been grazed to ground. Here's a glimpse of another house in neighborhood that was his childhood haunt

But his favorite should be this puzha - where he frolicked as a child and then as a teenager. He had the image of 'Casanova' to live upto after all ;)

Linking this to AtoZ challenge  J is for Journeys to take before you die :)


Puzha - Small river

Ramasseri Idlis....

Idlis is a staple breakfast in almost all south Indian Homes. Each region has its own slight variation - - from your regular idlis to Kushboo Idli to Thatte Idlis. A good 30 years of living in South India and just as you think you have sampled the entire plethora of Idlis  - there comes another that is subtly different from everything else you have tasted...

'Ramasseri Idli'...... from the village of Ramasseri a few kms off Palaghat district in Kerala. These idlis seem more like steamed version of Mini dosas - So thin and flat are they! Here is a picture of the idli we had for breakfast one of those days.......

Am told that in this part of Kerala, Ramasseri Idli is a regular item during feasts at home and hotels. But of course, we had to drive the extra 10 -15 kms to Ramaserri village and sample the 'original'(cue to roll eyes)

You could read more about Ramasseri Idli and its cooking procedure here


Linking this to AtoZ challenge - I is for Idli. N thus we head off to Palaghat and its interiors for the next few days.....