For one last time - Idli Vada Dosa Macha, Zone 5 sexy macha!

Day before night we returned to Mysore. It must have been three or four in the morning, or as I would prefer to say, night, because we didn't sleep a wink. Along with my room mates, I dragged along my suitcase through the empty streets back home.

We had returned from the zonal convention back in Hubbali, a fest sort of, for architecture schools from the states of Karnataka, Goa, Andhra and Telangana, all participating against each other in formal design events, workshops, games, sports, band, dance, photography, fashion and much much more. 
All these serious participation were a small portion of the day. The main highlights being parts of the day where you had no event, seminar or workshop assigned to you, resulting in dance offs, impromptu magic shows, late night ragging sessions (seniors included), DJ nights, this band performance with their meaningful and heartfelt lyrics, whom you should totally check out,

'The Local Train'

and if none of the above, then bring some drums and dance along!

Rain was omnipresent; an extreme nuisance if you have to get through four days with two sets of jeans. Because of it, parade was conducted at one in the morning, with drenched clothes, aching heels and a strong desire to hit the beds. Because of it, we jumped around in muddy ground, resulting in dirty jeans, shoes and socks. Because of it, we walked like astronauts walking on the moon, one step at a time, afraid to slip and fall. But don't worry, we shall laugh about it a year from now, bragging to our juniors as to how easy they had it, because that's life ain't it? It made of these bittersweet moments, that become only sweeter as time goes by. 

So say it with me for the one last time - Idli vada dosa macha, Zone 5 sexy macha!

The Golden Hours of Srirangapatna.

There is this term in photography known as the 'Golden Hour', which alludes to the time around sunrise and sunset, when the sunlight is not too bright, and a mystic golden light is casted over everything. Many photographers are encouraged to take opportunity of this lighting, and my visit to Srirangapatna a few weeks back gave me just that. Here's a preview,

Beautiful, no?

The purpose of the visit was to video document the fort of Srirangapatna for the subject of Architectural Appreciation. This required us to drive all over town, taking photos and videos of all historic sites, and in between we grabbed our chance to have our own excursion.

We left one hot, bright afternoon, all six of us, comfortably packed in Durrani's car. We drove from a highway filled with dhabas, towards scenic views of lush green fields on both sides of the road. We entered the town, and first headed towards the banks of the river Kaveri.

Rain has betrayed Mysore for longer than a year, so the river wasn't as swell as it used to be, and dry rocks covered most part of it. Still, the bank was alive, with prayers chanted in one corner, banter between women as they noisily washed their clothes, the laughter and giggles of a large family, as they conversed with great interest, and in the distant, one man covered in soap foam, washing himself unhurriedly.

As the water level was low, you could also spot birds fishing more clearly.
One swoop down, and a fish in the beak.
Or like this one, swimming in the water to find one.

After finishing a walk along the river banks, we drove to the Dungeon, which had unfortunately closed. We then crossed the railway station and climbed upwards onto the remains of the once great fort, and watched the sky turn from blue, to orange, to pink and then eventually black.

Early next morning, six of us, on three scooters, again made our way through a (still) sleepy Mysore towards Srirangapatna. This time the air was cold, and a light fog persisted over the roads.

We parked near the Elephant Gate and climbed on top and patiently waited for the sun to rise. 

The market nearby was already buzzing, and vehicles drove in and out of the ancient gate.

After some satisfactory clicks, we visited the Jumma Masjid, where the Madrasa was already open and classes were in session. From the gate itself, you could see boys, seated in two rows, with their heads bent, reading aloud verses from the Quran. Between them two elderly bearded men sat, supervising the ongoing lesson.

The mosque was previously a Hindu Temple, which is evident from Hindu motifs on the stone columns, the ambulatory around the shrine, and the lower stone walls of the structure. After Tipu Sultan shifted his capital to Srirangapatna, the upper levels of the mosque were built, along with the minarets.

It is pleasing to hear that a structure that posses qualities of two separate cultures, is still (peaceful) intact, maintained and useful.

Vegetable Shopping outside the mosque

From there, we climbed to the point where once Tipu Sultan's army's flag would be fluttering over the town. Yellow, when he was ruling, and once the Britishers took over, it was black. 

Nida pointing towards her namesake

Anisha posing; if only that hand was a bit more down

Then, we visited the Shri Ranganathaswamy temple, my favourite. My family and I have visited this temple on a regular basis, mostly at night, first washing my feet at the river Kaveri, then a visit through the crowded lines of the temple, and then having some bajji's and a cup of chai, on the walk back to the crowd. It has become of a ritual of a sort now.

This time, I visited in the afternoon, when all the steel stanchions had been opened, and the usual long, maze like route to reach the altar was replaced by a straight walk towards it. The temple was hardly crowded, and very quiet except with the occasional rings of bells, and chants of prayer heard in between. It was dark and cool,and felt like standing in a bubble, away from the heat and crowd outside. The only source of natural light was through the opening above the courtyard with the dhwaja stambha soaring through it. 

It was a beautiful sight. The light came down in various streaks, and you could see dust particles dancing around them. The lathe turned pillars and the dhwaja stambha, were glowing, and everything around them faded away from the bright centre. Some people sat at the step of the courtyard, and the whole scene looked like a painting.

The last visit of the day was the Lord Bailey Dungeon, which we had missed the previous day. The dungeon is quite small, and was composed of a series of groin vaults. Prisoners used to be chained to the wall, and made to stand in neck deep waters of most hours of the day. Here are the two Nidas, demonstrating it for you,

By eleven in the morning, our whole tour of the major sited in the town were done. And I am glad that because of this assignment I finally got to go around the town, when the routine visits have only included the river bank and the temple.

Of course, there is work ahead of us now; putting together of all the photos and videos, but still, I am content with this sudden excursion of ours! 

Experimental Sundays.

Group works are a common occurrence in the course of architecture, and each one of them has its own special memory attached to it. It could be the midnight gossips, or the last minute tensions, but each one is a different routine all together.

This sunday, as we all sat together to work on our video documentation, the two Nidas decided to cook lunch for us.
Two hours, a shopping trip, and a messy kitchen counter later, we had this!

A delicious vegetable pulao, with onion raita, cucumbers and a spiced boiled egg curry!

And wait! There is more!
In the evening, there was gol gappas! Fresh & home made!

Pretty cool, eh?
A delightful experimental sunday (for my tummy ;) ), I must say!

Happy in the Void

Stuck in between jam packed weeks of just work, constituting of the sword of submissions and deadlines hanging above our heads, eating a delicious meal helps create a short time distraction. It helps create a void in which among all the chaos, it's only you, and your plate of food. Till that plate is wiped clean, you are within your void, and nothing can bother you for that short moment.

So, one hot afternoon, Ansaba and I decided to skip the usual mundane sambaar rice waiting for us back home and headed towards Eat And Drink, to feast on some Malabar Biryani. This restaurant is frequently visited from everyone from our college - it's cheap, the food is simple and delicious, and for my fellow Malayalee classmates, its a taste of home.

The restaurant is located on top of a juice shop, and the only indication that it exists there, is the small board kept at the bottom of the stairs, with an arrow pointing upwards.
We walk in starved and our eyes feast on a tray of fried fish going out the kitchen towards the tables. It is a long bright rectangular room, with more than ample sunlight, and tables segregated with half height wooden partitions. But just as the name suggests, you are only there to Eat And Drink, and looking for anything more, wouldn't suffice. We didn't delay much longer and settle down at a table by the windows.
We place our orders, and within five minutes we are served.

I dive right in.
I push aside the rice, and in the middle lies a large chicken piece and some curry. Mix them all together and I start eating.
I am in my void now.
It's only me and my plate of biryani.

I forgot about the hot sun burning my thighs, I forgot about the baby crying at the table behind us. I forget about Ansaba as well, and we quietly eat with no words passing between us. We wipe our plates clean. All that is left, is a few bones on the plate, and a feeling of deep satisfaction and happiness. Slowly, the void also starts clearing up, the restaurant becomes noisier, and we can feel the heat radiating from the glass.

We get up to pay the bill, and it's back to reality.

Haunting the ghosts back.

In the process of making an enormous dream catcher for the college art exhibition at 3 am. 

Dusshera Weekend

I had my Building Construction exam this Saturday and the whole week my stomach was giving off this weird squirming sensation and I felt like I was standing on pins and needles the whole time. I would be going through the study notes at basically all times of the day and talk of nothing else except about the exam. So on Saturday when the teacher handed me the question paper, a big smiled spread across my face; thankfully the paper was easy. That evening, (for a much needed break for both of us), my uncle and I attended the flower exhibition taking place near the palace.

The exhibition was quite filled; with flowers, stalls, people and loads of food. Honestly, I had no idea what to expect from a flower show; a display of different flowers? But why? You can see flowers anywhere. Why specifically come to an exhibition to see something that we see everywhere?
Then, I found the reason why.

Plants were lined up on both sides of the paths going through the ground, and at intervals, there was a display of an ice cream, musical instruments and a chariot made out of flowers,

look at the detailing,

and these flowers are changed every three to four days!
It wasn't about just displaying flowers but more about what artistically more can be done with them. Some plants were displayed in car tyres,

while some were arranged according to the colour gradient.

Vegetables were also used to make sculptures, like this magnificent peacock here,

and as a tribute, a sculpture of Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam made with semiyan* was exhibited.

The next afternoon, we headed off to the painting exhibition (or Chitra Santhe in Kannada) near Shivrampet. A section of the road was blocked off and wooden frames were constructed on either sides of the roads for the artists to display and sell their works. 

Oh, it was a lovely! It was quiet, peaceful,and not too hot. There was a perfect blend of sunlight and shade, which felt like you were viewing these works in your private space, but at the same time, it gave you a feeling of openness.

There were mostly paintings displayed, all made out of different mediums, most on canvases, 

some framed,

while, some hanged loosely.

Some artists were sketching portraits of the people as well, and around them a small crowd would assemble, watching them in awe, as they watch the lines and shades come alive to form a face. Here are two boys, who were most probably bored and decided to sketch each other to pass time!

Selfie level:Artist

It was definitely refreshing and delightful to do something out of the ordinary after a long time! Whoever is in Mysore during Dusshera, make sure to visit all the events that pop up during the month!

Wishing everyone a Happy Dusshera and Happy Holidays!

*semiyan = click here