A Wandering Mind

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Showing posts with the label stories

Paintings at the Pundrikji-ki-Haveli, Jaipur

I first read about Pundrikji-ki-Haveli on the ASI Jaipur circle website. It is said to be the home of Pandit Ratnakar Bhatt, the royal purohit (priest and advisor) at the court of Maharaj Sawai Jai Singh II, the founder of Jaipur. As the story goes, the pandit, originally from Maharashtra, was studying Astrology and Tantra Vidya at Kashi, where he met the King of Jaipur. Impressed with his knowledge, the king brought him back to Jaipur, making him the royal purohit . He was also given the title of “Pundrik”, probably an association with the town of Pandharpur (where he might have hailed from). The king, it is said, built him a Haveli, which came to be known as Pundrikji-ki-Haveli. The Haveli has some excellent examples of paintings, of the Jaipur style, prevalent during the 18 th century. Our visit to the Haveli is a long story.

Temples of Bikaner – Part 2: Bhanda Shaha (or Bhandasar) Jain Temple

At first glance , it appears to be just another Jain temple - Which goes to show how deceptive first appearances can be! Because the Bhandasar Jain temple is one of the most stunning temples I have ever seen!

Lonar - The Crater Lake : Meteor, Myth, Monuments

So many shades of green – from the bright green of the leaves to the dull green mixed with brown of the mountains. Even the lake was green, though it was difficult to decide if it was the colour of the water, or simply the reflection. As the setting sun cast its last light of the day on the water, the lake appeared to be a jewel, hidden away in the mountains. We were at Lonar, the site of India’s only meteoric crater lake, and from my vantage point on the balcony of the MTDC resort, as I watched the shades of green grow dark and disappear into the darkness, I wondered if I would be able to climb down the crater and discover some of the mysteries it held.

Moving on... from Dharamsala to Amritsar to Rishikesh

Amritsar wasn’t on the original itinerary for our #SummerTrip. The city was added to our plan simply because we were delayed in booking Shankar’s return flight, and the only convenient one available was from Amritsar! It was then that realization dawned – that Shankar had never visited the Golden Temple! Plans were at once re-modified, tickets booked, and I began to look forward to my third visit to the city! Somewhere on the way to Amritsar...

The Kangra Fort

The steep walls of the fort tower over us, and we strain our necks to get a better view. The car winds its way steadily upwards, and we walk into the imposing gates. Our stop at the Kangra Fort is meant to be a short one, tired as we are. As it turns out, the fort and its stories have us enthralled, and we lose track of time! The Kangra Fort, as seen from the road, with a temple on the hill behind

The Rock Cut Temples of Masroor

“Kehte hain, Pandavon ne yeh mandir banaya tha” (They say, that it was the Pandavas who built these temples), says the ASI guide, at the Rock Cut Cave Temples of Masroor. I look at him, askance, expecting a bit more information than that. “But some other king would have rebuilt the temples” I insist, trying not to override his mythological beliefs, hoping to get some historical information. He shrugs, clearly knowing nothing more, and turns instead to show us some of the depictions of deities he does know. My questions continue, and his confusion increases. “Are you studying these temples?” he asks, flicking looks between me and my son. “No, I just write about them” I reply, and he is satisfied. “Lots of people come here to study these temples and write about them. We are applying for UNESCO World Heritage Status” he adds proudly.

When stories come alive - An Encounter with a Hanuman Langur

Bheema, it is said , once came across an old monkey, lying with his tail across the path. Not wanting to step over the tail, Bheema asked the monkey to move. The monkey replied that he was too tired, and could Bheema himself move the tail, since he was so strong? Bheema, always confident and proud of his strength, bent to lift the tail, but was surprised that he couldn’t even shift it an inch! After trying multiple times, he finally gave up, acknowledging that his strength was no match for the monkey. Pleased, the monkey revealed his true form. He was Hanuman, the older son of Vayu, the wind, and thus Bheema’s elder brother. He then blessed Bheema, promising to stay by his side in the great war which was to come.

Stories of the Desert

“It takes a thousand voices to tell a single story” – Native American Saying All of last week , sitting on my computer, trying to write the next post in my Suryagarh series, I was lost – for words, for ideas, for inspiration. Most of what I wanted to say had been said by others before me, and I began wondering if I should be writing at all. Then, this morning, I stumbled onto this quote, and suddenly, the ideas poured forth, as if a thousand voices were indeed telling me their own stories! And therefore, without much ado, here they are…

Nalknad Palace, Coorg - A Story of Royal Love!

The car came to a halt, and all I could see ahead was a small, local school. “Where is the palace?” I asked and the driver pointed to a compound wall on the left. I had been expecting an impressive structure, fit for kings. After all, this was once the retreat for the royal family of Coorg! The surroundings were impressive enough, situated as it was amidst forests, quite dense even today, but the school was all that was visible from where we had alighted, and I decided to hold on to my thoughts till I actually saw the palace!

Temple Procession

Yesterday was Kumara Sasthi, a day special for Lord Karthikeya, who is also known as Kumara, Muruga or Subramanya. Muruga at Enkann Temple near Thiruvarur

Tirupati Part 3 - The Museum - a surprise!

On my (almost) dozen visits to Tirumala, I have passed by the museum countless number of times. It happens to be located very near the hotel where we go to eat, and I always wondered if it was worth a visit. This time, we had plenty of time on our hands, and since it was pouring, we thought it would be a good idea to visit the museum. For one thing, we would be indoors and sheltered from the rain, and if it wasn’t all that interesting, we could sit down and rest our weary legs. As it turned out, we spent almost 3 hours at the museum, we didn’t even sit for a minute, our legs were wearier then ever by the time we came out, and yes, the rain had stopped too! Unfortunately , cameras aren’t allowed inside the museum, a fact I knew already, and thoughtfully left it behind in the room. So no pics, just my descriptions! The pic of the museum provided is from the net, not my own. Overall , if I were to describe the museum, there is nothing I can pinpoint as unique. It is full of artifa...

My stories in print!!!!!

I first started writing stories when I was in school. Of course, then, I never dreamt of being an author – it was just something I did when I was in the mood. All I was interested in at the time was physics, and all my dreams were of publishing some wonderful scientific articles in the leading journals. All those dreams came to an end when I decided to dump my Ph.D, but then my old pastimes came to my aid and I started writing again – both, travelogues as well as stories. But now the dream raised its head again – of being published, not just on the net, but in print! One part of this dream came true when my travelogue was published in the Sunday Herald (you can see the article here). But the larger dream came true this week when a collection of my stories were published in a book! I was approached a few months back by an organisation named JK Yog . They had read some of my stories for children, and wanted me to re-tell some stories from Indian mythology and folk tales for their boo...