Lined and wrinkled, Jehangir Ahmed squats by the entrance to the famous Jumma Masjid in Bijapur, quietly pulling at his ‘biddi’. As we look up at him from the bottom of the stairs that lead up to the Mosque doors, he gestures to us from his perch, indicating that we should not hesitate, but enter…
Tag: south india
The Old Man and the Dungeon
15 kms from Mysore lies the town of Srirangapatna, the old capital of the legendary warrior king, Tipu Sultan. Despite its past as one of the great capitals of South India, Srirangapatna is today a town in anywhere India. The old fort walls stand cheek to jowl with concrete boxes of the new India, with…
Kathakali, Behind the Scenes.
Kathakali is a form of dance and story telling, practiced in southern and central Kerala which takes its roots from ancient social and religious theatrical forms dating back over 1500 years. The preparation for the dance is as elaborate as the dance itself, and getting the performer ready involves hours of intricate makeup, something we were…
Dhanushkodi and the Bridge of Rama
The dark grey skies and slow drizzle adds to the sense of melancholy as one reflects on the unpredictable fury of nature. What must it have been like to live here, so far from anything else, so close to the edge of land, at the mercy of the ocean. What would have possessed the inhabitants of Dhanushkodi to persist, on this thin sliver of land, surrounded by salt water, braving the elements, with what would surely have been an omnipresent threat of annihilation hanging over their heads? Could it have been the faith that they would be protected by their lord, or was it simply that they had lived there for centuries and it was home.
The Forgotten Chettiars…
But the red dust and eerie silence is quietly watched over by some of the largest, most beautiful, stately mansions one has ever seen. They fill this village, and all the others in the region, reminiscent of a bygone era, when the rich and enterprising Chettiar community, financiers of the royals, lived like kings.
Of Kings and Idlys
With high towering column and intricately carved ceilings, King Thirumalai’s palace is beautiful and unique. Built in traditional dravidian style, the palace has a European feel to it, which can be attributed to the Italian architect the King consulted with. You can also see influences of his travels around India, in the carvings around the columns, the curved arches and the Rajput style of windows and latticed screens.
Tamil Nadu, And so it Begins!
The first leg of our South India journey will take us down the eastern coast of India and through the temple state of Tamil Nadu. Over the next couple of weeks we will traverse a 1000+ Kms into the heart of Dravidian cultural history and walk the path of the glorious Southern Empires of yore….