Celebrating Rabindra Jayanti under Lockdown

Today marks a very important day in Bengali culture. It is celebrated as a festival in every Bengali household, paying tribute to a man who is revered almost as a God by Bengalis all over the world. Rabindranath Tagore, fondly known as Gurudev, was born on 25th of Baisakh 1338 according to the Bengali calendar. Although according to the Gregorian Calendar, he was born on 7th May 1861, Rabindra Jayanti is celebrated on 25th Baisakh every year.

On this day every year, Bengalis pay tribute to this great poet, composer and author by felicitating his framed photographs (which is proudly available in every Bengali household) with floral garlands and incense followed by cultural programmes in the evening. A multi-talented personality, he composed poems, wrote novels, essays, short stories, travelogues, dramas, and thousands of songs. He was responsible for the expansion of Visva Bharati University in the city of Shantiniketan, the pride of Bengal. And of course, awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913.

As a Bengali, I am used to the hustle and bustle of the arrangements of this culturally rich evening from the very beginning of the Baisakh month (mid-April). In my pre-teens and teenage years, I used to be involved in the celebration by participating in dance performances on some of his melodious creations and compositions. After my teenage years, I got occupied with my undergraduate studies followed by my job. But I would look forward to this evening and get immersed in the musical and cultural celebration.

This year, however, this wasn't possible. Due to the lockdown, we are discouraged step out of our houses, let alone celebrate this day like we usually do. There had to be some kind of celebration though. So we arranged a cultural programme over a video call. My parents, uncles, aunts and cousins got together over a video call, decked up in saris and kurtas, and paid tribute to Gurudev by singing songs composed by him and reciting his poems. Although unusual, this kind of celebration brought us together under these circumstances. More than anything, it made us nostalgic about all those musical evenings that we had spent together as a family.


Happy Rabindra Jayanti!

Exploring Mandalas

If you are on social media, you have probably seen at least one Mandala popping up on your feed from time to time. In the last couple of years, Mandala art has come up with a boom. With the increase in stress, millennials look for ways to relax their minds and with that people started reviving the artists in them. A lot of concepts came up in the recent past like Zen Doodling, Mandala art etc. Like I have mentioned in my earlier posts, I am not an artist. Being a stressed millennial myself, I discovered oil pastels by chance and found them relaxing. But then the mind flits and jumps to so many things and I landed on Mandala art last weekend. 

Thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, last weekend (one of the rare long weekends) was spent at home instead of on some short trip nearby to let off the steam and so I got a little curious about Mandala art. The concept was first introduced to me by my best friend years ago. Now she is a very good artist. She sketches well and creates beautiful pieces herself (Check out her art on Instagram). Then another friend of mine started creating videos for mandala tutorials on YouTube (Check out her channel). I read up a little on mandalas and that's about it until last weekend.

A little about mandalas. A mandala is a geometric configuration of symbols mostly used for spiritual and religious purposes. It's an ancient and advanced spiritual practice. If you look carefully at the ancient carvings on some of the heritage sites all over India, you will see mandalas almost everywhere. I realised how ancient it is when I came across one on one of the pillars of a cave at Ajanta. These caves date back to 2nd Century BC and some of the mandalas are still well preserved. 

Mandala Carving at Ajanta

Through all this exposure to mandalas, I remained distantly interested until last Saturday when I downloaded this very basic symmetrical drawing application on my laptop. I started with a few patterns here and there and found it oddly relaxing. Of course, what I created were not amazing pieces of art but they were good enough to show off on WhatsApp status and Instagram posts. So I got hooked on to it all through Sunday and spent a very relaxing evening. The first one I created was much appreciated by few of my friends and that encouraged me to do some more. 

The first decent one

The app is so user-friendly and easy to use that the mind started creating patterns on its own and I was able to replicate them on the screen. This was the first time I was just creating something artsy on my own instead of replicating something else. Probably that's something that got me hooked. This further motivated me to try this on paper once the lockdown lifts (I am low on art supplies). 

More Mandala patterns

I used different colour combinations, shapes and patterns. This was a fun way to spend an evening instead of moping around about my inability to step out of the house and wasting a long weekend staying indoors. We all are pretty bummed about staying indoors for such a long time but that's not entirely bad after all. You just need to find something that takes your mind off of the negativity.

In my case, I discovered a whole range of things, starting from drawing with oil pastels, mandalas and of course, writing this blog. So, find that something for yourself and immerse yourself in it. You'll probably end up liking being locked up indoors.

Stay indoors, stay healthy.

Dancing my Heart Out

Today when I checked my messenger and social media apps, people had posted photos, quotes and stories on International Dance Day among other things. I had no idea that it was today. We celebrate so many days in a year that we end up forgetting a few of them till we see them appearing on social media.

Dance has always been one of my interests. I don't mention it as a hobby or an interest nowadays because I have not actively pursued it in a long time. I was that kid who would dance in front of the television or the music player whenever Bollywood movie songs would play. I come from a very musically-gifted family. Everyone I am related to either sings or plays an instrument. So naturally, I was also expected to choose a performing art when I was a child. My mother, being an accomplished singer herself, probably dreamt of making me a vocalist. But my inclination towards dance became apparent as I grew older. 

My mom got me enrolled for Kathak, once I was old enough. It is to date my favourite dance form. Between then and now I have tried many dance forms like Odissi and Latin dance but Kathak has always been my favourite. I trained for a few years in Kathak under Shree Ankur Ballal at Gandharva Mahavidyalay. Once I started my undergraduate degree, I had to discontinue my training due to shortage of time but dance remained an important part of my life. I would perform at every opportunity without even the slightest hesitation.

Performing at an event

A few years ago, I rejoined Kathak but continuing it as a passion called for investing a considerable amount of time that I was already short on. Although I do not actively pursue dance anymore, I still enjoy dancing my heart out whenever there is music. But Kathak will always remain close to my heart. 

Ready to perform on stage

I always remembered the Nataraj sequence that we were taught in the very early years of Kathak training. We ended the sequence with the classical Nataraj pose. It is etched in my memory for some reason and a few years ago I started formulating an idea of paying a tribute to dance by getting myself inked with the Nataraj. After finalising the best possible design and gathering a lot of courage, I finally got it done on my back in the first week of March this year.

The Nataraj on my back

To all the people who enjoy dancing, wishing you a very happy International Dance Day!

In the land of Hanuman

In mid-January this year, I took a solo trip to Hampi, Karnataka. Hampi is a popular destination for all kinds of people. Ranging from solo travellers like myself to families, Hampi is always teeming with travellers and vacationers.

I did a little bit of reading about Hampi before I stepped down from my bus at Hospet. Hampi has been so prominent throughout mythology and history that you will be surprised to know how much one place can be involved in almost everything. Starting from the times of Ramayan to Vijaynagara (The kingdom of Krishnadevaraya), Hampi is loaded with wonder.

The Tungabhadra river divides Hampi into two parts. One side is rich with history and monuments, sprawled with lavish pavilions and temples. The other side of the river is blessed with natural beauty in abundance, lakes, quaint shacks and one of the biggest hippie crowd in India. This side of the river, known as Anegudi, is also famed to be the capital of Kishkinda, the kingdom of the Vanars from Ramayan.

I spent one complete day cycling around Anegudi and exploring the different sites that had connections to Ramayan or anything that was historic. Armed with a book on Hampi and a map (big nerd), I visited more than 10 sites in the sweltering heat and gulped down at least half a dozen litres of coconut water. I also clicked some good photos and Google Photos helped me put a few finishing touches to them.

View of Tungabhadra from Kondanda Rama temple

This is the serene and beautiful Tungabhadra river on the courtyard of the Kodanda Rama temple. This photo was clicked on the day I arrived in Hampi. I was still on the temple side of the river and was covering as many sites as possible before crossing over to the other side to chill for the evening. By the time I reached this spot, I was exhausted and dehydrated. On my way here, I had picked up some spiced cucumber to munch on. Once I saw this shaded spot, I breathed a sigh of relief and sat down to get some much-needed rest. The shade of the tree was so soothing and the view so mesmerising, I spent almost 45 minutes sitting there, gathering my energy to move forward.

This temple is said to be the spot where Lord Ram had defeated Vali and crowned Sugreev as the king. The temple houses massive statues of Ram, Sita and Lakshman carved from a single stone. A differentiating feature of this temple is that Sugreev, instead of usual Hanuman, is seen bowing down to Ram. The river-side is also one of the major points to hitch a coracle ride (bowl-shaped boat made of reed, saplings and hide) on the Tungabhadra. A solitary coracle was sailing on the river while I was enjoying my cucumber. 

What surprised me the most was how peaceful the monkeys of Hampi are. Known to snatch food and water from tourists everywhere else, monkeys in Hampi are well-behaved. The tree was teeming with monkeys and there were a few on the land as well around me but not a single monkey attempted to snatch my cucumber or water bottle. After a while, I got used to their presence and that really helped with my anxiety around hyperactive animals throughout the trip.

After regaining much of my energy, I proceeded to the ferry point to crossover to the other side. I had booked a bed in one of the hostels (Word of advice, book something near the ferry point. My hostel was about 4 kms from the ferry point and cycling that distance to and fro was a pain in the ass, literally).

View of the Tungabhadra form Talarigatta gate

My day in Anegudi started with this site. This is the Talarigatta gate, a lesser-used ferry point used mostly by the locals. Talarigatta means toll gate. The structure of the gate is ancient and largely damaged and houses a tiny Hanuman shrine. As this is not one of the famous sites in Hampi, no one was around, except for a few locals disembarking from the ferry that had arrived. I explored a little bit and climbed up the wall around the gate to this point. I walked on the wall for a bit, clicked a few photographs and proceeded to the next point in my itinerary.

Inside Hachappa Mantapa

One of the pillars at Hachappa Mantapa

Moving on, I pedalled my way to the Hachappa Mantapa. Mantapa or mandap, as we pronounce it in Hindi, means a platform generally used for religious rituals. This platform is carved from stone and is lined with pillars. The platform is surrounded by lush-green banana plantations with an occasional palm tree. The road to the platform itself is lined with beautiful palm trees. This platform is believed to be built before the Vijaynagara kingdom came into existence. The architectural style is that of the Hosalyas, the kingdom that preceded the Vijaynagara kingdom. Apart from the remnants of the beautifully carved pillars, you can also catch a few traces of paintings on the ceiling of the platform. Although, due to natural wear and tear, these paintings are hardly visible anymore. 

After this site, I visited many small shrines dedicated to Hanuman and other deities. But what mesmerised me the most is the natural beauty of Anegudi. The landscape was lined with mountains made of huge boulders and the road was lined with palm trees and annas and akkas selling coconut water. I made it a point to stop at every coconut water vendor and gulped down as many as possible. Although it was January, Hampi was very sunny and I ended up being dehydrated after a few minutes of cycling the sloping roads.

After a tiring day of exploring Anegudi on my own, I rested for most of the afternoon at the hostel. Before sunset, I decided to visit the Hampi waterfall near the hostel. It was almost dusk and I wanted to catch the view before it got dark. I hiked to the waterfalls following the directions of the locals and the view turned out to be the cherry-on-top for my day of exploring the land of Hanuman.

Hampi Waterfalls

The Hampi waterfall is a step-like waterfall with the water gushing through the boulders. This is also one of the points for a coracle ride. I sat on one of the dry rocks for a while and kept my eye on the setting sun (I had to walk back to the hostel on my own), ending my day with this beautiful view.

What's amazing about Hampi is that it's one of the safest places in India for a solo female traveller. I got some moments of solitude, met a bunch of new travellers and visited some amazing sites. More than anything else, the feeling of accomplishment on surviving a trip on my own and the reassurance that travelling solo is totally my thing. 

I still have a bunch of photographs from this trip. I'll reserve them for another post in the future.

I hope you enjoyed this read. You can comment below if you need any information about Hampi. I hope I'll be able to answer your queries to your satisfaction.

Stay indoors, stay healthy. 

The Emperor's Seat

How many of you have watched the movie Jodha Akbar? Or maybe caught a glimpse of the grandeur of  Mughal dynasty in the movie for a few minutes? (Unbearably long movie)

If you have visited the Mughal monuments in and around Delhi and Agra, you will know that the Mughals were as grand as it gets in India. At least, that's what I believe. Being great lovers of art themselves, they constructed beautiful forts and tombs within their kingdom. For most of the tourists visiting our country, these monuments are a must-go locations. One of them being the fort in Agra. 

Constructed in red sandstone, the Agra fort is awe-inspiring and beautiful. Once you enter, there are chambers, buildings, mosques and perfectly maintained and manicured gardens. It takes a couple of hours to see every permissible inch of the fort. The photograph above is the Emperor's seat in Diwan-i-am or the Hall of Audience. This is where the emperor received the general population of his kingdom and listened to their complaints.

Any Hindi movie buff would claim that the greatest Mughal Emperor Akbar sat on this very seat. But if you are more inclined towards knowing the actual history of a place, you'll find out that it was Akbar's grandson, Shah Jahan, who had built the Diwan-i-am inside the Agra fort between 1628-35 AD. This click brought back all the amazing memories of my trip to Agra last year. History is one of my area of interest, so this trip was an absolute delight. The best parts were the visit to the monuments and getting to know the history behind each and every street of this city. 

As I went through my phone camera album, I came across a few very good photographs from this trip and others and I will definitely share them in my future posts here.

Stay indoors, stay healthy.

Through my Lens (Phone Camera)

If you have read my bio on this blog, I have mentioned travelling as one of my interests. I love to visit new places. Travelling gives me a high. Right from the deciding, planning, booking to actually getting there, visiting the wonderful place and finally reminiscing happily.

For most people, travelling goes hand-in-hand with photography. I know a few myself. I am not a photographer though. I travel to live in the moment. The experience and its memory is all that I need to be happy. But when I see the touristy people and the photographers around me clicking away, I do take a few clicks myself and I am glad that I do. 

So, although I have not traveled extensively like many and I don't have a collection of awesome professional photographs, there are some better-than-average photographs in my phone album that are good enough for some posts. I won't call these posts a travelogue but these are some memories from some amazing trips that I have been to in the last few years. 

Hope you like them.

Hope

Umeed pe duniya kayam hai!

Such a common saying. Cannot be more true than it is now. Hope is the only thing that is getting us through in these testing times. Locked up in our homes, we hope that this will soon come to an end and we will step out, without fear. Probably visit our favourite coffee place, pub or just simply a hang-out. We even look forward to go to work, meet our colleagues and friends, exchange some workplace banter and work together. 

Whatever the situation, we always hope for the best and that keeps us going. In the words of the American poet, Emily Dickinson,

“Hope” is the thing with feathers -

That perches in the soul -

And sings the tune without the words -

And never stops - at all -

Let's keep that hope in us alive. Till then,

Stay indoors, stay healthy.

Art inspired from https://pin.it/4PuyFKT