Diwali with a difference

Diwali was celebrated with a difference this year, for two reasons… firstly my wife decided that we make our own lamps to illuminate the portico and in a short while she had tiny glasses painted in elaborate ways.

Together with some water and floating candles they indeed made a pretty sight outside and inside our home.

The second difference this year was keeping away from the colossal waste of money in the form of firecrackers and spending time with the residents of Cheshire Home in Dehradun.

This is where diwali being the festival of light made so much sense to me. Not only was the place lit up to enliven a festive glow all around

…but seeing the people at the home with tiny sparklers and an even greater sparkle in their eyes will remain in my memory forever.

Happy Diwali to all of you!!!

Virasat 2012 – Handicrafts and Heritage

Virasat is a fortnight long arts and crafts heritage festival in Dehradun. It brings together artists and crafts people from the length and breadth of the country. This year, for the first time, there were performances by groups from countries across the globe. I was lucky to be at the performance of the troupe from Morocco.

Some of the instruments there were playing were works of art in themselves. If anyone knows the names I would be glad to add them out here.

The stuff that is for sale is amazing from tie and dye fabrics, lac churi, terracotta pottery, dry flower arrangements, woolens from Bhuj, Lakhnavi Chikankari, leaf painting, fine Chamba embroidery on handkerchiefs.

(Picture courtesy above goes to a friend, Aldred Gomes)

It was here that craftsman would give you a live demonstration of their work…

Other than the handicrafts there were also some marvellous culinary delights… for the first time I savoured ‘makke ki roti aur sarson da saag’!

With a range of digestives to choose from too…

Compared to similar handicraft festivals in Goa the prices were very reasonable and I have done most of my Christmas shopping

Tons River Trek

Kasiga School is lucky to have a river (or more of a roaring stream) running around the campus. Sunday saw us take a day trek to this ‘Tons river’

The Tons is the largest tributary of the Yamuna and flows through Garhwal region in Uttarakhand, touching Himachal Pradesh. The Tons valley is a remote area and has a culture unlike any other in the region. The villagers in the Tons valley are believed to be descendents of the Pandavas and Kauravas from the epic Mahabharata.

This river boasts of adventure sports in river rafting… however, we had a different kind of adrenaline rush when we explored some of the undiscovered parts of this river

Uno Party Italiano

Bruschetta, Diavola, Spaghetti…

I may not be able to pronounce these words correctly, but their memories still make my mouth water.

The event was a party hosted by a friend, Elton Fernandes.

The moment we entered his house, the menu greeted us at the door and it was buon appetito from the start

And what followed were one appetizing dish after the other to tease our taste buds

What is Italian food without the spirits to wash it down with…

the bar counter was also well laden with the choicest

Livening up the atmosphere was DJ Marc at his console, who obliged the eager party with music ranging from pop to country, and trance to jive!

But the celebrities of the show were these three

(from L-R): The Host – Elton Pinto
The Sous Chef = Juao
The Chef = Mikey

Mille Grazie!

Star Gazing

How did I spend my Sunday evening? Watching Aamir Khan live in action giving away the awards to the achievers of Sharada Mandir School!

I wondered what must be going on through the mind of a celebrity while he witnesses a a veritable display of young talent. Glimpses into the folk traditions of Goa, his own songs enacted before an enthralled audience, and listening to all the adulation about how he has made an impact with the music and dance of his films…

And does he wonder what is in the “token of appreciation” that required two helpers to carry!!!

 

Ground Realities – Torangatti

A much awaited break was waiting for us on the long weekend of 13 – 15 August. And thanks to the planning of a good friend, Jimmy, we were off to our neighbouring state, Karnataka to a place called Torangatti.

The journey had its fine share of scenic waterfalls, landslides and dense fog.

and the hard to miss macaques that lined up the climb towards Amboli.

But Amboli was not our destination. We had to hit the Belgaum – Hyderabad highway to a surprise like I had never experienced before.

This highway is a born temptation for those who want to stretch the speed limits of their vehicles (both bikes and cars)… I am not going to mention the high speed I touched on this stretch… for fear of retribution on the home front

This was our destination. It is a Jesuit Mission station in a village called Torangatti. Please note: Most of these pictures are clicked on day 2. We were lucky on day 1 to reach the right place in the pitch darkness!

The mission station of Torangatti boasts of a beautiful church which incorporates elements of Indian tradition.

The pictures will speak for themselves

There were lots of plans that we had chalked out, but faced with the enthusiasm of Fr Prakash SJ, the priest in Torangatti, everything else had to wait.

Fr Prakash, took us around the farm which he has cultivated and supervises. Vast stretches of maize fields are indeed a sight to behold

But looking closely there was a tiny world of its own in each leaf and under each stone

Besides maize there are also plots for vegetables, like the corriander below

This may appear to be a wild flower, but out there, everything had either a commercial or medicinal value !

This was one of the marvels of nature… a pumpkin growing on a papaya plant… or is it? This is a “closer look” into the pumpkin flower…

Fr Prakash proudly showed us his organic farming techniques with large vermiculture pits that provide manure for the farm. There is a big difference between merely learning about organic farming and actually holding one of those red wrigglers in your hand!

These newly hatched birds were another one of those star attractions that we attempted to capture… through the camera lens of course..Karnataka is famous for sandalwood…. and I guess the trip would not be complete without a picture of that tree

This is one of those pictures I always wanted to take…

And on our way back, I attempted a bit of “street photography” and this shepherd was kind enough to strike a pose for the lens. Apparently, every herd of sheep has goats intermingled which actually lead the way for the sheep… thus quoted our expert on the area of shepherding

The place is beginning to show signs of development… a new bridge is being constructed, but until then, the traffic has to follow the road less travelled

450 kilometres of memories… Goa – Amboli – Belgaum – Torangatti and back. The tiny bug on my hand which refused to fly off for a long time was indeed a constant reminder of this grand journey!

Lesson in Patience

Back again to Raia to spend a weekend and this time I took my nephew and niece along.

My niece, Megan, has begun to be an avid photographer in the recent past. This time, the task that I set before her was the capture the butterflies in the garden… through the camera lens of course.

She tried and tried and finally just gave up. “The butterflies are too quick” she said. And so began the lesson in patience. I had to take the camera from her and we both waited with bated breaths. The wait paid off well …

Look the other way

An important rule in photography is to break the rules!

And when a photographer is lost into composing a scene before him, there might  be something more interesting happening in the other direction…

This was my experience when Sunday evening saw my wife and me out on a leisurely drive. We landed at the quietest and most scenic place closest to home, the church on the mount. And while I was composing this picture, there was a sudden exclamation from her.

“Look the other way,” she said.  And behind me on a tiny branch, framed within the most breathtaking view of the river Mandovi was a very magnificent bird. I felt like kicking myself, because this was one day I had deliberately not taken the Sony H50 and was stuck with my cell phone camera… however I quite liked the output.

If you zoom in closer into the picture, you will just see the yellow bird right in the centre…

Summer fruits

Weekends at my Aunt’s house in Raia, Goa are always memorable. This time the highlight was the abundance of fruits in the garden.

Under the watchful eyes of these deadly red ants called domle  in Konkani, we “harvested” pineapples, cashews, mangoes and jackfruits.

Can you guess to what does this texture belong to in the pictures below?

With the smell that still lingers in my car it may as well be mistaken for a fruit cart!

The Silent Beach – Agonda

If you want to see the way beaches in Goa should actually be, visit Agonda. The very remoteness of the beach from the main cities ensures its exclusiveness and for this reason it is gets the nickname, the Silent Beach!

Agonda, does not have much to boast about. A mere 3 km long stretch of beach untouched by human incursions (read: no commercialization, no plastics strewn around, no noise of a million tourists, no souvenir stalls or hawkers).

I read online that the best way to reach this beach is by a scooter or motor bike. And that is the advise we followed.

Except for a couple of eating places and these pretty beach huts, there is nothing to draw the crowds here

For some reason, this fire dancer practicing his act reminded me a lot of Barney Stinson (from How I met your mother)

While, this chap was “para surfing” for almost 3 hours (we all assumed he didn’t know how to get the parachute back to the ground!)

Sometimes you want a beach all to yourself, and Agonda beach is gives you that chance! Not only did it provide an opportunity to relax on the beach but the long drive that got us there is something I will cherish too.

On our way back, we made a short detour. The place is called the Miraculous Cross of Baradi.

As goes with all miraculous crosses around Goa, this place too draws a lot of people from the villages around. Situated on a tiny hillock the view around was fantastic.

This panorama shows the river Sal meeting with the Arabian sea in the horizon. It is still left to speculate if this is a tributary or an estuary… but I guess that is a story for another day