A peek into my backyard - Mahabalipuram

A lovely trip to Hampi and I was all enthused to go to Mahabalipuram - the remains of the Pallava empire an hour from chennai - after a lot of prevarication, went off for a early morning trip to mahabs . It's changed quite a bit (the last time I was there was in class 4 on a class excursion... ) -It's now a world heritage site, just like Hampi but certainly doesnot match the latters size and spread .... If you are on the ECR, it makes a good one hour top certainly - though avoid weekends as the place will surely be packed with school students .

What struck me was that there were no mountains/ rocky areas around the vicinity except for these monuments - which are all carved on a single rock formation! either everything is burried, or mahabs was just a "showcase" created by pallavas! All the monuments have depictions from mahabaratha and other mythological tales.

Romancing rocks and ruins -Hampi

It was a small sleepy town - like any other in India... a noisy auto stand... peddlars on the road... homes with dung washed "porches" and Kolams in rice flour... cows and crows an inherent part of the landscape - natives here seem to realise that locked in this setting is some thing very beautiful - but whether they themself identify with it is an unanswered question. The laidbackness of the town is a boon - the whole place is quiet and peaceful and the town-life in no way hampers the experience of the place.


Yes, this would have been just another town amongst the million in India, except for the fact that it sprouted on top of the erstwhile capital of the Vijayanagar Kingdom - It is surrounded by the most beautiful ruins and lies cradled in a land of rocks - as much as the place is filled with huge boulders and stark rock facades, it is contrasted with lush dark green bananana and coconut trees - you do a double take and wonder if you have beed transported to kerala. Ofcourse, the green of this place owes it to one of India's arterial rivers - the Tungabdara.

Adding to the air of this quaint cosmo town are the small shops selling bags made of mirrors and bells and the westernised version of indian attire for the firangs and dhabbas serving soem of the most exotic cuisines ever - They may not be able to spell it, but neverthless almost every dhaba serves a range of pasta's , porridges, risottos and some very good cheese omlettes - And ofcourse, the 'Mango Tree' restaurant is a must check out - it is seate on the mountain slopes overlooking the valley below - the place is even better at night when they serve dinner by lantern light!

Hmm.. I wasnt going to write much about hampi, and let my photos speak for themselves - but couldnt stop myself! I think this place deserves a very laid back visit - no need to tick off all the ruins on the list - chill out at the ones which are least crowded , maybe get a book to read - enjoy a tea on the banks of the river - take a coracle (suacer like boats) ride and laze in the beauty of the place - try the "different" cuisines. My personal favorite spot was the rock formations bang opposite to the Virupaksha- Steps and a small stage flanked by huge boulders on both sides - you trek up this place, to a point where you get a beautiful view of the achutharaya temple. While a lot of blogs mention the sunrise, I've seen better in my life - but the view from on top of matunga hill is lovely and wonderfully windy and refreshing.

As usual - some other blog info i liked ..
If dreams were made of rocks - karnataka Tuorism
A drive to hampi
All about Hampi

There is also a tourist office in the hampi market which provides u a map of the ruins plus there are tourist guides who speak english.

N’s List

There seems to be so much to do, to see …. And as I strike items off the list, twice as much gets added!!! While I am not cribbing about this, there’s just this sadness that maybe I won’t get fully done…ever!

Anyways, in the weekend that went by, dad and I drove down to Mahabs…. To take a dip in the sea….something we have been planning for the last 2 years J Drove down to fisherman’s cove (they let you use their changing rooms) … and we hit the water…while I had great dreams of swimming the sea … I failed sadly after touching the water…… (No… I did not forget swimming all of a sudden… and for my defense it’s not as easy as they seem to make it out in Baywatch!) And a breath-full of salt water is enough to convince one that floating (read drowning) is certainly not a way to peaceful death!!!@!!!!

While I scratched that one off, I’ve added on learning to sea-swim on my list…..at least this time its one for one!

On the bison's trail

It’s unbelievable how dfficult it can get to write about an experience you totally loved all because you can’t get the first line right!!!! Yep am talking about my trip to Topslip….. The 48 hours I spent there keep running through my head… first of all, after a long time , I took the initiative and didn’t get stopped for the lack of “enough people’ and trivial things like that…second of all , the place was simply beautiful!!!!!

We left for coimbatore friday night.... and from there to the Forest office in Pollachi which opens only by 9 in the morning… got the approval from the forest officer…. Booked a cab ( who btw way fleeced us) and off we were…. Even the road to Topslip was beautiful…One can feel the change in landscape as you moved closer to the anamalai’s….the trees looking greener….gulmohars in full bloom painting the sky red…

Our trek guide for the day was Mr. baby …. He was on the ‘Animal sightings’ notice board that day for spotting a tiger on his way to work early in the morning…. I was happy that we had got the man who saw the beast…maybe we too would…. He suggested the trail to Ambuli watch tower and we set off… I kept asking him about the wild animals and if we would be able to spot one , quite like the desparate traveler … and in response he pointed out langurs, hornbills and the lion tailed macaque…. While that wasn't the wild life i had in mind, I found it surprising that even the monkeys were not to be spotted easily…One had to be extremely quiet and learn to discern their presence amidst the dense green intermingled with the brown of the barks… He pointed out holes dug out by bears, elephant dung and the foot prints of deer's bears, and bisons….. Still unable to shake off the DT in me, I was praying atleast for a bison sighting!

The ambuli watch tower itself was just a single room and looked more like the water tank on apartment terraces…. We were greeted by extremely strong but pleasurable wind and an absolutely fantastic view of the entire ranges. Our guide later informed us that, had we been interested we could have packed our dinners and camped out at this spot…… On our way back, we got lucky as our man was able to pick up the trail of a bison… nimbly, he kept walking… he was sensing the animal more than following the hooves…. While we were to follow his wake and keep looking for tracks – there they were… a pair of bisons grazing… One had its back to us while the other was facing us…. The bison seemed to have sensed our presence and lifted its head – and looked us in the eye (or so it seemed!) .. we were transfixed…trying to drink in the animal and at the same time get a good pic…and suddenly with a click of their hooves they sped aways …..We (rather baby) managed to pick their scent twice again… but both times we couldn’t observe them for more than a few moments.

The other thing that made this trek eventful was the leech attack on my friends... My theory is that, the more you are concerned that they might get on to you, the more you will have one yourself!!!!

It rained heavily that night - I had made plans for an early morning trek with the guide, and was almost sure that we couldnt make it...but by morning the rains ceased ... And at about 6 o clock me and he set off... yes decided to go for a trek alone as my friends didnt feel upto it! This time, the trek was even more enjoyable...the route seemed a bit uncharted... and instead of just walking there were patches of pure rocky terrain..... and we reached a place that was close to magical!!!

We continued forward, but this time down the slopes to the valley below as against the usual upward trek to reach a peak.... and the place was beautiful...i wish i could have taken a 360 degree photo of being surrounded by tall teak trees and huge shrubs and and of being in the heart of the forest..... This time again we chanced upon bisons..... the guide was just telling me that bisons have come this way and we heard a click of hooves from the other side of the shrubs.... as we moved ahead he pointed out a spot where the bisons had slept and place where it looked like the bisons had fought..... and before long we came face to face with them again- This time around i didnt even attempt a shot with my 'only 3x' cam. Satisfied with my animal sighting, we headed back to civilization!

A quick lunch, a last look and our trip had come to an end.

All My Topslip pics on picasaweb


Some Information:
1. Getting there : From coimbatore, take a bus to pollachi. From pollachi one can either take a bus or a cab. Buses are there at 6.30 , around 11.30 and 3.30. If you are taking a cab, get one from near the bus stand.

2. To stay over night at Topslip, you need to write to the Forest officer, Indra gandhi wildlife sanctuary, meen karai road, pollachi asking for accomodation. Call them later and follow up. Ph: 04259225356

3. They have lodginfs for about 250 a day while fancier ones are being constructed... if you want some luxury , be specifi and ask for more expensive rooms.

4. There is a canteen, which is a hop , skip and a jump away from all the rest houses...you need to let them when you would like your food so they can ge it ready... and the food was simple yet one of the best i had tasted.

5. The rooms have wooden cots - but you need to cary your blankets.

6. Likewise, to return back, there are buses - one at 12.30 and one at 6.30 in the evening.

7. You can reach parambkulam through topslip itself. So if you have more time, check out that place

8. Be nice to your guide.. don't know the miracles he can perform for you. Plus dont ask for an Arumugam who seems to be widely quoted from one blog to the other - it seems to offend the other guides... its unbelievable, but yea competition exists even in wilderness!

9. To camp in the middle of the forest or at the watch tower, you might need further permissions.

10. The one blog which was almost like the bible for this trip : Naikutti's Two Days in topslip

Café De Art

While that’s the name of an Art Gallery in Hyderabad, there’s a group of theatre professionals trying to create an artist’s Café right here in Chennai. At Cedars ( a restaurant), in Kotturpuram, they show case play readings of amateur playwrights… I missed the reading last month and got to go for this one….

The feel is quite different. While there isn’t much acting happening, you get a feel of being involved … of being where the actions is and not just watching it!!!! The audience get to be critics of the play and give back feedback and also question the playwright – how often have we walked out of a play or read a story and wondered, ‘What was the author thinking???? ‘…. Unfortunately, for the one play that I really wanted to ask that, the author was not present….

Apart from the fact that u can also order food during the program, they offer everyone a free drink for the evening (this part must be sponsored by Cedars!).... Food and theatre – think it’s an interesting combination!!!