A Wandering Mind

The small town of Sultan Bathery in Wayanad was originally called ‘Gananaptivattam’. It was only when Tipu Sultan arrived here, and used an abandoned ancient Jain temple for storing his ammunition, that the town got its new name. Tipu Sultan has long been gone, and so has the ammunition which gave the town its name, but the ancient temple still stands!

The Daguerreotype, a photographic process, was first developed by Joseph Nicèphore Nièpce and Louis Daguerre. On January 9, 1839, The French Academy of Sciences announced the daguerreotype process. A few months later, on August 19, 1839, the French government announced the invention as a gift "Free to the World". According to information I gathered over the net, this is the reason 19 th August is celebrated as ‘World Photography Day”. I would have been blissfully ignorant of this little detail, as well as the celebratory day itself, had it not been for an invite which landed in my mail, for the ‘Google Plus World Photography Day celebration’ held at Tote on the Turf, at the Mahalakshmi Race Course, Mumbai.

This Independence Day, remembering our visit to the Red Fort two years back, when, showing Samhith our National Flag flying high over the ramparts, I told him stories about the freedom movement. That day, he seemed least concerned, but today, studying in school about the movement, our freedom fighters, and also about naxalism and terrorism, I can see the enthusiasm that he has, rushing off to school early this morning for the flag hoisting ceremony. These days, when things look bleak for our country, the only hope lies in our children - the future. And, as long as kids rush off enthusiastically for a flag hoisting ceremony, I guess, there is still hope! There is nothing I can do better than echo the famous words of Rabindranath Tagore... Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high Where knowledge is free Where the world has not been broken up into fragments By narrow domestic walls Where words come out from the depth of truth Where tireless striving stretches

Walking up the steep path to the Edakkal Caves, I stopped for a while to catch my breath, and leaned against this huge rock - one of many such along the path.  "Amma, it looks like a face" said Samhith, and I wondered what he was talking about. It was only when I heaved myself up that I was struck by the look of the rock I had been leaning against! It did look like a face.... in fact, to me, it looked a bit like a gorilla! A throwback to the ancestors who left their mark behind on the caves? What do you think? 

It was about a month back that I first got a mail, inviting me to participate in the Mia by Tanishq contest. The mail mentioned the TV ad running then, and I realised how disconnected I was, with happenings on the TV front! I am usually reluctant to participate in contests (as most of you know well by now) and my first instinct was to refuse. Besides, it was barely a week since my father-in-law had passed on, and I had the perfect excuse too. But, I must admit, I was curious. Both, about the ad, as well as the tag line for the contest – As Beautiful as your work! Amidst all the work at home, I managed to grab one look at the ad.... And the first person I thought of, was my sister. I could so imagine her as Megha, with her taste in ear rings. She has just begun work, and I wondered if she would react like Megha too. And I hoped she would. After all, I am the one who gets her ear rings of every shape and size!!!!!

“About the beginning of the year 1896, Mr. F. Fawcett, Superintendent of police, Malabar, discovered a very remarkable natural cave near Sultan’s Battery in the Wynaad. The walls of the cave are covered with rude, fanciful drawings and bear five short inscriptions.” These are the words of the noted German Indologist and epigraphist, Dr. Hultszch, in his first description of what we call today, the Edakkal Caves.

Its been a month with no travel and no blogging either....And before I succumb to the travel itch, I keep reminding myself that I have lots yet to write about the last trip I took. Here is a glimpse of what comes next on the blog............ Mysore!!!

Life , all of a sudden, seems to be throwing things at me, one after the other. Thankfully, amidst all the sudden upheavals and tensions, some at least seem to be good... the silver lining so to speak. Among these have been publications and offers, only some of which have worked out, but at least they offer some hope... The latest among these good things is that I have been interviewed!!!  Yes!! This is my first, so you can imagine how excited and upbeat I am! The interesting thing is that I have been interviewed, not as a travel blogger, but as a book reviewer! What is surprising about it is that of the 700 odd posts on my blog, barely 30 are book reviews, and they have invited the least number of comments so far. I have often wondered why it is so, especially when I get emails from people saying they like my book reviews and that they are thinking of picking up the books I have recommended. Under such circumstances, it feels great to be accepted and picked out as a book r