Mahakuta - In Ruins

It was a sunny day when we went to Mahakuta and the best thing most of the people doing there to beat that heat was to jump into the Kalyani(Water tank).Remember the famous song  Barso Re Megha Megha from the movie Guru.This is the same tank into which Aishwarya Rai jumps in the song.

Mahakuta is around 15kms away from Badami and the temples(there are a group of temples in this complex) here are dated 6th Century and constructed by the Chalukya kings of Badami.Some of these temples are in ruins.At the entrance of this complex, i saw people drying clothes on the ground and there was a cradle tied to the tree which the priest over there was swinging it.Mahakuteswara is the main temple inside the complex.There is a Nandi in front.of this temple.In the middle of the Kalyani, there is a four faced Shiva Linga.This temple complex is home to the Lakulisha, the only known nude form of Shiva.Mallikarjuna temple,Sangameshvara temple,Vishnu temple are some of the others temple in this complex.There are many smaller shrines one side of the Kalyani(Tank),including the identical Sangameshvara and Mahalinga temples.

It looked like there was a huge forest surrounding this complex long back.I definitely felt the sense of it while walking through these temples.Except at the Kalyani where people were jumping in the water and some devotes taking a dip, the rest of the places were pretty much empty.The shout of the birds was all i could hear at the corners of this complex.

Saw quite a few people getting their food packed and eating around this complex.

My view about Mahakuta  is that this temple complex is not well maintained and neglected in spite of its architecture.

Check my previous blog about Badami to know more about Badami.

Strangers~An Ongoing Project

There are no strangers here; Only friends you haven't yet met ~ William Butler Yeats

At the traditional Stone pulling ceremony near Viswema Village,Nagaland.He was one among the hundreds of Nagas who were pulling the huge stone.There would be regular stop overs during this ceremony for the people to get refreshed.He was very active even after the ceremony was half way through.                                                                                                        

Met him near Aihole,Karnataka.Had a good 10 minutes talk .                          

Learning Kannada helps a lot to communicate during travels within Karnataka.

 Musician  at a marriage in Virudhunagar, near Madurai playing Clash cymbals.

 He volunteered to have a picture of himself clicked.It was more like a request 

 from him and i was more than happy.

At Kohima War Cemetery,Kohima,Nagaland, when he came down and asked me if i could 

click his picture. He wanted a copy of the picture sent to him, but he left without mentioning
a word nor he gave his address.I hope he sees this picture one day.

2nd April,2011 night,on the streets of  BTM,Bangalore,Celebrating India's World Cup victory against Sri Lanka When i
met this guy along with his friends who were dancing and celebrating the victory on the streets.We too joined them
in the celebrations.

Just at the break of dawn, we were walking along the Bekal Beach,Kasargod, Met this old man who was Waiting for 

the fishing boats to return back to shores.With great difficulty i was trying to understand what he was saying and 

he too understood that i don't know Malayalam.We both still managed to communicate with each other.He was waiting 

for the boats to return back with the catch so that he can buy some fish.I asked him how much would that cost(with 

gestures offcourse) and he should me a Re 10/- note. I showed my camera and asked him if i can click his picture, he 

gave me this pose.We walked along the beach for some time and while returning back, met him again on the road 

with a small cover and with some fish.

Sitting at one corner in the monastery,i started the conversation by asking him about the tibetan prayer wheel.
There is a large settlement of tibetans at bylakuppe,karnataka.

Somewhere between Virajpet and Coorg ,we stopped by the lush green fields where this boy was playing with his dog.
His mother and elder sister were working there.He ran though the fields upon seeing us and spoke to us for some time.
We offered him biscuits and chocolates. 

Near our hotel in Badami , few kids were playing in the mid afternoon just opp to the

KSTDC hotel, where i was staying.These kids were playing games climbing the trees and 

the walls.Every kid was trying to pull each other and were having fun.There was a huge 

open space nearby and some of the trees were fully covered with bats and some had lots of 

monkeys sitting on them.These kids were having fun throwing stones at the monkeys and 

teasing them.

Met him at Khonoma, Nagaland, while he was drinking rice beer standing 

outside his house.After a few minutes of our talk he invited us into his house and 

offered us the traditional Naga rice beer.It was freshly brewed and was strong.

Basically during our trip to Nagaland i found people over here are very courteous.

While trekking along the Bekal beach,Kasargod, we entered Udama Fishing Village along the beach to where
 we met a group of boys.It was very hot day and we decided to stop for sometime in the village.This kid  showed up
 his Tatto and wanted to get his picture clicked.

Uttarakhand.Hemkund Sahib,known as Gurudwara Sri Hemkunt Sahib Ji, is a Sikh
place of worship and pilgrimage site in Chamoli district, Uttarakhand, India.Met
Thakur Ramakant on top of this shrine who wanted a picture to be taken and sent to
him.I did send him his pictures taken at Hemkund Saheb.

Owns a small tea stall, Dil Pasand Tea Stall at the Mosque Road,Fraser town famous for its Sulaimani Chai.We 

stopped here during our  Christmas eve photo walk for a Tea break.We had the famous Sulaimani Chai 

along with some sweet puris.

During the traditional stone pulling ceremony at Viswema village ,Nagaland, met this father son.
More information regarding this Stone pulling ceremony

Saw them first at badami caves...in their 60's (mostly) just the two of them travelling together and later at 
bhootnath temple further down the caves...She was struggling hard to walk ,but then they were all over the caves.
He chased the monkey which attacked her at the caves before more people came to the rescue and shooed
the monkey away.And then they had this antique film roll camera with them..loved watching them.

Name unknown, working at a small scale weaving unit which uses a 

power loom to weave a silk sari.It takes 5 hours to weave one silk sari on 

these machines

Selva Raj,aged around 65 works as a watchman at a house in Pondicherry.

He has two daughters, both married and living happily and four Grand 

children.He lives with his wife somewhere closer to the beach.After a few 

minutes of our conversation which i started with "eppadi irukeenga"(how 

are you doingin Tamil) and few other words which i know in Tamil, he

understood that i don't know Tamil.He then started the conversation in 

English,a bit surprised but i felt more comfortable in continuing our 

conversation in English.He suggested some must see places along that

road.

A Village in the Mountains~Khonoma

If there has to be a green village,then it has to be in the mountains and that is exactly where Khonoma is-in the Mountains.With an estimated budget of Re 3 Crores as a part of the Green Village Project, all the roofs in this village were painted green.Now most of the color is gone.

View of Khonoma village from the peak

Around 20kms away from Kohima,Khonoma, India's first green village,is tucked up in the middle of the mountains,surrounded with paddy fields all around.It was a dusty ride from Kohima to Khonoma.We crossed a small stream of water ,granite quarries,some old and antique trucks laying on one side to reach Khonoma.

Dusty road from Kohima to Khonoma.Most part of the road is like this.

As with most of the naga villages,this village also had its own gate to protect themselves from enemies.As we climbed up the steps it was like going back in time with wooden houses,mended walls,wild apple trees and the colorful windflowers.The view from the peak was amazing with magnificent terrace paddy fields down the valley between the mountains.The peak of the hill is the memorial site for British officer G.H.Damant who fought against Khonoma who was later killed along with other Bristish officers,Sub.Major Nurbir Sai,Major C.R.Cock and H.H.Furbes.We spent some time admiring the fields and the view from the peak.Just adjacent to the peak there was a lane leading down the village.It's sometimes good to travel without any known person from that place where we end up exploring the place much better.

This pathway leading to the top of the peak made me feel like i'm walking in the medival period,with one side full of windflowers.Stepped paddy fields or terrace fields are common in the north east.Not sure about the authenticity but about 20 types of rice are grown here.

It was our seventh day in Nagaland and that probably was enough time to understand and experience the courteous naga hospitality.As we walked down the village we came across this man who was standing outside his house and drinking rice beer.After a few minutes of our talk he invited us into his house and offered us the traditional Naga rice beer.We were greeted by his daughter who gave us the rice beer.This rice beer was a stronger from what we had at the hornbill festival.Home made is afterall the best.

Father and Daughter at Khonoma Village.He offered us the rice beer at his home

Few meters down the peak, we walked into the other side of the village which was preparing for a feast later that night.A young boy walked before us holding the heads of two pigs.Most of the womenfolk were gathered at the community center preparing for the feast, few old men cracking jokes while the kids and young people were having fun playing.There was a big water tank which was one of the source of drinking water for the people of khonoma.The water was pretty cold,when i drank from it.

Women at the community center preparing for the feast.Most of these women were washing vessels,cutting vegetables.I saw this little girl sitting in a corner.

A giant rock memorial at stands near the entrance of Khonoma village.

A village known for their courageous warriors who fought against the British ,the village were A.Z.Phizo,who was the leader of Naga Nationalist Movement and regarded as the "Father of the Nagas" belonged to ,has come a long way from fighting wars against enemies to conservation of nature.
To reach Khonoma from Kohima
We hired a taxi near Kohima bus stand for Re 1000/- .Walked around the village for 3 hours before starting back and got down near Kohima war memorial.

The Angami Naga Village~~Jakhama

When i first heard about Jakhama( Also written as Zakhama) where we planned to stay during hornbill festival, i went through goggling about this place trying to get more information.Most of the articles i read through mentioned about Naga hospitality.One article mentioned about Some German tourists, who came to attend the Hornbill Festival during 2011 and wanted to camp in the open terrace fields near Jakhama and they were some much enchanted by the lush green hills and forests surrounding Jakhama village that they wanted to brave the December chill and stay out in the open fields.

They told the  village authorities that they do not need any help except a small hut where they can cook food.However the Nagas went out to extend Naga hospitality and assured the tourists of foolproof security. They said they would ensure that no untoward incident occurred during the tourists stay.One of the elders mentioned that “We want them to take home good memories of the Naga people”.Little did i know before going there that Naga's are not just great at their hospitality but are fun loving too.

Akuzha, our homestay owner was constantly in touch and guiding us on our travel from Dimapur to Jakhama.

She introduced us to her friend who was preparing for his civils exam and a local of Jakhama to take us around the village.The third day of our stay at Nagaland, we walked down our homestay early morning to go around this Angami Naga village on the Kohima Imphal highway.Few minutes walk down the bridle path  we entered the village.Our Naga friend received us near the church and as we walked through the village he was telling us about the history and the people of Nagaland.

One of the interesting fact was during the second world war,Many Japanese soldiers, supported by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose-led Indian National Army, had camped in and around Jakhama before they captured Kohima from the Allied Forces in 1944-45.

View of Jakhama Village from the community center

Headhunting is the practice of taking and preserving a person's head(enemy's head) after killing the person and  was a practice among the Naga tribes which was later abolished with Christianity introduced in the region.

The Konyaks were known for their fierce headhunting history and had a strong warrior tradition and were believed to be headhunters until the end of 1960s.A konyak warriors would have facial tattoos and tattoos on the body.They used a traditional basket specifically made to carry and bring back human heads from war. It was decorated with monkey skulls, wild pigs horns and sometimes with hornbill beaks. A necklace with bronze faces means the number of heads that were cut.During hornbill festival there was an act by the tribe how they used to attack the enemies and take their head.Probably because of these wars, villages are mostly on the hills to save themselves from these attacks.The act during hornbill festival truly depicted the way attacks on enemies happened during the headhunting days.

This house(right) is no ordinary one and not everybody can have it.People who hosts a feast for the entire village were given the privilege of having them.Feast for the entire village would include buffalos and pigs.Walking though the small lanes in Jakhama we saw a house which had many of these animal skulls at the entrance and this looked like a custom at most places in Nagaland where houses are decorated with Buffalo Skulls.This house which was at one corner of that street looked very old with spider webs everywhere and covered with dust.On one side of the wall of this house,millets were hanged on a bamboo log for drying.Nagas are meat lovers, and rice is the staple food over here along with boiled beans/vegetables and the famous Naga chilli pickle.

Naga children are taught through the stories about the survival and endurance and the use of tools.Walking down the village we saw kids carrying axe and other instruments used for agriculture.Since the village is small most of the people in the village knew the other person in the village."Tha-le-me" ,thats the word they use to greet the other person.

Though strangers to this village people wished and smiled at us.There was never a situation of unfortableness in the entire walk.Our Naga friend was continued telling us the culture and stories of this Jakhama.I read an article where it mentioned that Nagas are taught that all things stem from and continue to be tied up to the past and hence it must be continued to be respected and preserved and the reason they hand down from generation to generation the knowledge and the skills for survival.Saw these kids going to fields which are at the edge of the village.The youngest kids was carrying his toy bus along with him and an axe with the other hand.Unlike the place where i come from where kids are not given any sharp tools even to hold, Naga kids proved to be different.No wonder people from this part of the world are called as Naga Warriors.

A Family Working in the Fields

This girl was sitting outside her house trying to get some heat from the Sun

An hour after we started walking with quite a few stops for pictures we reached the end of the village.We heard that from the end point the fields below will look like the shape of India Map...though i was not much convinced after seeing or maybe we should see during the harvest time.I would definitely would come here during the harvest time when the fields are green with crops all around.We sat at the end of the village over seeing the fields below us. There was a school just next to that place where we sat.While Vaibhav and Our Naga friend sat down for sometime i got some time to chase  few butterflies and saw quite a few woody spiders around.

Vaibhav and Kye

People from different places who come here to work in the granite quarries are  provided accommodation here in Jakhama.We started walking back with Fond memories of this small village -Jakhama and it would not have been easy without Akuzha and Kye.

Though few hours ,this pristine village would always be one of the best places i have travelled.

Everything here seemed pure no wonder the German travellers preferred to stay in the fields of Jakhama.Thanking Kye for his time and amount of history and stories relating to Naga people he told us, we bid farewell to each other.

We did come again to Jakhama with Akuzha on the inaugural day of Hornbill Festival where the Angami tribe were preparing for welcoming the President of India.

Check out my blog why-to-visit-nagaland-during-hornbill and share your experience if you have been to this part of the world.

68th Independence day at highest peak in Karnataka-Mullayyanagiri

Independence day was always a special day during school days; The Celebrations,Sweets and Khara and just a couple of hours in school. A much awaited holiday for working professionals if it falls on a weekday and if its a long weekend then its just awesome.
It was celebrations and flag hoisting and people shouting Jai Hind and Wishing everybody A Happy Independence day at Karnataka's highest peak- Mullayyanagiri.

The heavy winds were literally pushing us and the hills were fully covered with mist and dew.To add fun because of the heavy winds the dew was like rains and the hot mirchi bajji added spice to it :)

Some Pictures of celebrations at Mullayyanagiri.

One more group celebrating on our way up the peak.

Walking up to the peak

The drive from Chikmagalur to Mullayyanagiri is through the narrow road up the ghat, and definitely has to be a driven cautiously.There are lots of small waterfalls on the way up where people take baths,stop by for pictures and some people booze. I just hoped that they are not driving.