Wanderlust

Glacier national park

  By now, I know exactly what to expect out of any national park in US. Greenery. Solace. Animal spotting. Native American souvenirs. Bad burgers.

Based in Montana, close to the Canadian border, Glacier National Park meets the bar on all these.

The Going to Sun drives blows ones mind.

A couple of day's before going to GNP, I watched Steve McQueen's 1968 flick called Bulitt. Can't help compare. The movie starts extremely slow. Making you wonder what and why you are watching it. Without any warning, you are a part of it. Simplistically plotted and intricately shot, every scene unfurls a subtle surprise. There is no spine chilling action other than the Mustang chase (added to the script purely for McQueen), it is is the sheer attention to detail, the pure strength of character, the eye for the inane (I mean how many directors would have shot the scene of two cops searching a bag the way the Peter Yates did?). At the end, you are left as drained and as content as watching an action packed Die Hard without building up as much sweat.

We started the Going to Sun drive having read up the reviews, One of the best scenic drives in North America is it's claim to fame. With a prologue like that you expect action from scene one. Going to Sun starts at the other end of the spectrum. You are driving through meandering streams, lush meadows, beautiful, beautiful mountains - but then top 5 - no ways! At some point you stop wondering. You never realize when because you are so involved. As if, at the age of 80, Dali suddenly says, "Hey guys, sorry, I have been under performing all along, here is the real me" and out does everything he ever has.

Scenery after scenery hits the retina, driving breath out of the lungs, ensuring you are no longer enjoying it, just feeling lucky to be a part of it.

I had a camera. I clicked what I could. It does not compare to being there. It is worth the 10 hour drive from Seattle. I was there. I did it.

Here are some images. Minus any people.

The hues of the Bowman's Lake	A view from the Bird Lady's waterfall	A random un-named water fall on the drive.
	The majestic weeping wall	the quintessential mountain goat
Boats on Swiftcurrent lake	The proud Mt. Grinell	Lake Josephine
The Swiss Alps of the west		Lake McDonald

 

Rhea at Glacier...

Rhea pointing at a bear footprint	Rhea at the Bird Lady's waterfall	Rhea in the Apgar village (Lake McDonald)
Burning extra calories at the Moonlight cafe in Coeurs d'Alene on the drive back	Defying gravity at a nearby farm house

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Glacier National Park Gang:

L to R: Sunil, Gayatri, Dimple, Pankaj, L'il Aditya, Pandu, Gauri, Rahul, L'il Arjun Ruchi, L'il Rhea

 

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Boston

It is not often that one gets to see sights in a city one is visiting on business. So this week, when I found two hours to spare to get to the airport, Kip lead me to the famous Charlestown district in Boston, MA.

We started with the 18 century bunker hill monument built to commemorate the first major conflict between British and Patriotic forces on July 17th 1775. 

The monument built in the shape of an obelisk (with granite brought from a quarry in Quincy, MA on barges) at one point in time ran out of funds and had to sell prime real estate property  to raise funds to complete the monument. Climbing the 294 steps (221 feet) is as much worth the exercise as the view.

 

 

 

 

 

The Boston skyline composite taken from the top of the Bunker Hill Monument.

 

 

 

 

 

Launched in 1797 under the eyes of President John Adams,  USS Constitution is a three masted heavy frigate commissioned by Henry Knox (yes, HIM) to protect America from the Algiers pirates. The oldest ship afloat, fought the Barbary wars between 1803 -1805 and earned the nickname "Old Ironsides" in the monumental battle with the British frigate HMS Guerriere in 1812 off the coast of Nova Scotia.

The frigate was forgotten and was almost scrapped until Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote the heart wrenching "Old ironsides" which  created enough public outcry to bring restore her.

Today she is permanently docked, less than a mile from Bunker Hill, all but her keel replaced.

Proud and tall and beautiful.

To round off the day, we stopped by the Warren tavern, rumored to be the first building to the raised after the battle of Bunker hill in 1775. Founded by Captain Eliphel Newell who participated in the Boston Tea Party, the tavern is quaint, beautifully maintained and expensive.

The photo in the middle shows the well preserved old quarters with breathtaking original frescoes

When character meets age, you don't expect it to be cheap, do you?

Must see!

Kuda caves

2nd May 2008

On the way  back from Janjira, we stopped by the 2000 year old Kuda caves (also spelt Kude though always pronounced Koo-day).

The caves are located about 28 KMs (18 miles) from Murud at the head of the Rajapuri Creek (18° 35' N, 73° 50' E to be precise). The road is motorable all but the last 1000 meters. While a tough car can navigate the last kilometer aswell, the hike is not too difficult or steep.

The caves are almost unknown and hence clean. Remember to carry your water and canteen. There is absolutely nothing you can buy there. You probably will stay there for an hour and a half unless you are there for the view which is exhilarating. There are a total of 26 caves with the oldest dating back to 1 century BC. They are build about 150 feet above sea level into the side of the 250 feet hill.

The caves themselves are very simple and follow the typical Buddhist cave style (similar to Ajantha-Ellora, Karla, Kanheri). The 22 "living" caves or lenis have a verandah (covered patio) with a door, opening into a cell with a shelf cutout for the monk to sleep. Each door has hinges showing the presence of a door in ancient times and proves that the caves were lived in. Each cave also has a tank cut into the floor of the rock to store rain water. The caves were funded by rich merchants of the Satvahan rule who made their money in the trade between Konkan and Greece. Each cave has Sanskrit inscription calling out commissioning sponsor. 

A few caves have the buddhist Sthupa built into the inner most sanctuary while a other caves have some basic figurines and carvings. The most impressive carving is in cave 6  starting with the 11 foot elephant with the missing trunk and tusks. On the front of the cave, behind the left elephant, is a sculptured figure of Buddha, eighteen inches high, seated on a throne with his feet on a lotus, over a wheel with three deer on each side, and upheld by Naga figures with others below. At each side of Buddha a fly-whisk bearer stands on a lotus, the left bearer being Avalokitesvara, who holds a lotus stem with his left arm. Two demigods or vidyadharas hold a crown over Buddha's head, and above the crown is a segmental arch support-ed by alligators on each side, and two flying figures above it. Beneath, to the left, is a faintly cut and much decayed inscription of a later date than the preceding inscriptions, and in Sanskrit. In the beginning is 'This meritorious gift', and then 'The honorable tranquillizer of the Sangria.' The rest cannot be read. [Click here for more details]

From left to right: The buddhist sthupa , the complex hinge system for the doors, the amazing view commanded by the caves

 

 

 

Translation of the Sanskrit inscription: 'This cave is the meritorious gift of Sivabhuti, the son of Sulasadata and Utaradata and writer to Mahabhoja Mandava Khandapalita, son of Mahabhoja Sadagiri Vijaya' together with his wife Nanda'. [Source]

 

 

Each of the cave had the up-pointing and a down-pointing crescent or pair of horns separated by a block of stone, a common ornament in the earlier (B. C. 100-A. D. 200) Kanheri and other Western India caves

 

 

 

 

Like every monument anywhere in the world, the caves have their own share of graffiti. While most declare undying, unreciprocated love for someone, this one caught my eye. It has been written in 1887 and while any graffiti is despicable, is as much part of the history. [Here is my blog about other ancient graffiti I have come across. Coincidentally, the first photograph on that blog also has a 1887 graffiti]

 

 

 

And like a well made film with a deliciously wicked open ending, I saw this sealed opening.

It has a bit of inscription, and does not seem opened. How old is it? What does it hide?

Janjira: The impregnable eggshell

May 1st, 2008

I was choking with emotion as I jumped off the dingy sailboat on to the wet steps of Janjira. It was as simple as getting out of the air-conditioned Innova, spending Rs. 400 ($10) for the boat and landing here. And Shivaji spent 20 years trying to conquer this fort. He died in 1680 without having the pleasure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are only two other unconquered forts in India other than the Janjira - Daulatabad outside Aurangabad) and Gowalconda in Hyrdabad.

In the 15th century, the fishermen of the Rajapuri village built a wooden fort (medhekot) to protect themselves from the pirates. Sometime between 1567 and 1571 it was razed down to be rebuilt. (The guide - our boatman in a second role actually, insisted that the fort was built in 1118. I really could not find other reference to support this). The workmen used the tide-table well building the outer walls during low tide and innards during the high. 

The fort was ruled y Assyrians until it became part of independent India in 1947.

The main and the only entrance to the fort becomes apparent only after coming within sniffing distance of it. It has been designed to be lost completely in the shadows of the strategically places bastions (see photo series later in the article).  The entry way has a beautifully carved royal emblem - the lion walking on the elephants. The fort, at last count has over 450 cannons including Persian and Arabic. The most famous of the cannons -  Kalal Bangadi still ominously points at the Rajapuri village

The fort has two water tanks, which have surprisingly hit a sweet water table despite being on an island. The fort, built over 22 acres,  is completely self sufficient with mosques, temples, fields, and has withstood sieges lasting over 14 months many times over.  Three and half floors of majestic Rajdarbar remains, enough, to give a glimpse of its better days

The fort is in advanced stages of decay and yet, very, very formidable. Every building needs nurturing. After all, the fort has withstood the English, the Portuguese and the Marathas for 500 years, with a bit of TLC it can go on for another 500..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

The beautiful coastal highway and the sailboat we took from Rajapuri.

Rhea framed against Janjira in the setting sun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some standard features of Deccan forts.

Left: A boorooz (turret)overlooking the main entrance allowing for sniping as the enemy makes his entry.

 

Middle: A watchtower with a 360 degree view. 

 

Right: Chor Dindi - a door that can be usedd both as an escape route as well as a way to exit the fort and re-enter from the main entrance resulting in outflanking the enemy.

In Janjira's case, the chor-dindi looks like another window from outside - another marvel of its architecture.

   

 

Fort Kasa seen from a window in the watchtower.

Sambhaji, Shivaji's son tried to build this fort to counter the strategic importance of Janjira. Sambhaji also tried to dam the creek by filling it with rocks and stones for a full frontal attack.

Sambhaji could not do what his father could not either. Sambhaji diedd in 1689 at the hands of Aurangzeb.

 

 

     

 

 

 

Janjira, the egg shell.

To demonstrate how the main entrance literally disappears ( or appears depending on the direction of your journey), here are three straightline photos I took a minute apart as we journey back to Rajapuri. By the second frame, the door is almost gone, by the third, Janjira is an eggshell

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a full blown photo. You know exactly where the main entrance is but you still cannot see it - despite the boats and the recently painted white structure being dead giveaways.

Hampi - pure "rock" music

26th, 27th April 2008

Domingo Paes beat us to it. The Portuguese horse-trader called Hampi the "the best provided for city in the world"  and found it "...as large as Rome and very beautiful to look at..." during his richly detailed visit to the city in 1520.

 

The "before" photograph. See here going clockwise:  Viayam in the red T Shirt, Kip, Ananth, Shringar, Sankara, Kunnal and Ravi	We took the Hampi Express to Hospeth to give Kip an authentic taste of India.	We picked, probably, the worst of the season to go there with the mercury perennially stuck about the 40 degree Celcius mark.
Day 1	We retained four rickshaws for the two days that we were there. For the better part, they allowed us to drive around the ruins and the town.	Queen's bath was the first stop despite telling the group that the name referred to the place not the process.
Kip proving that the moat at the Queen's bath was not broad enough to keep away the peeping toms	The handsome walls around the queen's bath were very Cuscanian	The popular victory platform in Hampi.
The stepped tank that resonated with Kip's "Abe Chup" (sic)	The team besides the super sized Kings bath	Sankar, Sunil and Shringar at Diwan-E-Aam or the hall where the king met the common man. The photograph shows the "security counter" used to frisk people as they entered.
Shringar and Vijayam near a panel depicting the Sugriva-Bali fight in the Hazararama temple	We ate some spicy food at the picturesque Mango Tree	and stole 40 winks before plunging back into the 500 year old city
Sankara and Ananth in front of a rock overhang used by Indians 8000 years ago as a canvass	The two-storied gateway on the Hemakuta hill. The three layers representing different energy levels (four is you include the photographer)	The Hampi heat had just about started to hit us before we drenched ourselves in cold water at the pre-Vijayanagar era Triple Shrined Temple on the Hemakuta hills
The metaphorical FY09 target..	.. which the girls seem to find easy	Kip's  "cow on the road" India photograph. This one near the Virupaksha temple.
Ananth inside the Virupaksha temple	Kip comes across a slightly bigger animal in the Virupaksha temple and gets his blessings	The ancient steps to the top of the Matanga hill
And the wait for the ..	.. sunset	The proud Vijayam
Day 2	The open air Bhojan-alaya with plates carved in Schist and a very, very hungry Vijayam and Shringar	The 500 year old terrakota pipeline at the Octagonal Fountain
The grand entrance to the flooded Underground Siva Temple which lay buried underground for over 500 years	The marriage mathapa in the Prasanna Virupaksha	The team atop the Octagonal Pavillion with Ravi in the gargoyle pose
Sunil in front of the beautiful Lotus Mahal in the Zenana enclosure. Was it really the harem or the HQ of the commander-in-chief?	Kip seated in the elephant drivers pavilion with the 11 pens of the elephant stable visible in the background.	The Krishnadevaraya funded Krishna temple clicked from the exact same spot that Colonel Alexander Greenlaw clicked in 1856
And once again, Kip and Ravi, unable to resist the temptation to scale the boulder of Hampi	\While the ongoing repair works prevented entry into the main shrine of the Vitthala temple (and access to the musical pillars), the 16th century courtyard kept the jaws open.	Sankara and Ravi  with KIp at the Hanuman stone in the Vitthala temple courtyard, before they took off for a dip in the Tungabhadra
The dragons in the Vitthala temple  proving that the "Chinese have been here"	Finally, the after photograph. A little sleep deprived, a bit hung-over, a tad sun-burnt and thoroughly impressed

 

 

 

 

 

Hampi resources

 

The new Cambridge history of India: Vijayanagar Author: Burton Stein ISBN:978-81-85618-46-3 Price: Rs. 195/-	Hampi Authors: John M Fritz & George Michell ISBN: 81-7508-336-0 Price: Rs. 396/-
Vijayanagara: Origin of the city and the empire Author: N. Venkata Ramanayya ISBN: 8120605454 Price: Rs. 265/-	New Light on Hampi JOhn m Fritz and George Michell ISBN:978-8185026534 Price: Rs. 2250

Krishnadevaraya

"...of medium height, and of fair complexion and good figure, rather fat than thin, he has on his face signs of smallpox. He is the most feared and perfect king that could possibly be...he is a great rules and a man of much justice..."

- Domingo Paes, 1520

During his reign between 1509 to 1529, Krishnadevaraya, amidst successful military campaigns, was instrumental in building up Hampi as a city. Almost every temple or building seems to have an extension commissioned by him.

Domingo Paes visited Vijayanagar just after Krishnadevaraya's successful mission to Orissa, and has extremely colorful eye account in his journal

"The king is accustomed every day to drink a three quarter pint of oil before day light and anoint himself with the said oil. He covers his loins with a small cloth and take in his arms great weights make (sic) of earthenware. Then taking a sword he exercises himself till he has sweated out all the oil and then he wrestles with one of his wrestlers. After this labour he mounts the horse and gallops about the plain in one direction and another till dawn for he does all this before day break. Then he goes to wash himself; and after he is washed he goes to where his pagoda is inside the palace, and make his orisons and ceremonies, according to custom."

"It has on each side two figures of women very well made. In such a building he dispatches his work with those men who bear office in his kingdom, and govern his cities, and his favorites talk with him them. After the king has talked with these men on subjects pleasing to him he bids enter the lord and captains who wait at the gate, and these at once enter to make their salaam to him, The salaam, which is the greatest courtesy that exists among them, is that they put their hands joined together above their head as high as they can. Every day they go to make the salaam to the king"

Known both for his justice and diplomacy, he had extensive relationships with Europe, middle East and the Orient. He captured the port of Malabar so that he could keep a keen eye on the Arabian horse trade.

(Krishnadevaraya with a minister and riding a horse. Both images found in the  Vitthala temple in Hampi)

Satikals in Hampi

Satikals or hero stones, commemorates the brave wife who perished usually by fire at the death of her husband. Satikals are of four types: Satikals - the sati stone, Sati-Virakal - Sati and the hero stone. Virakal - hero stone and the suicide memorial.

 

The stone on the left, found in the small museum near the elephant stable in the Royal enclosure, shows the typical iconography. The sati with her upright right arm bent at the elbow clearly showing bangles. with the hand open in abhaya mudra. The bangle symbolizes the married state. the left hand is generally extended down and a lime or a pot is sometimes grasped in this hand. the lime symbolizes fertility, also sacrifice.

 

This satikal has two panels.

The lower panel shows the sati with her husband while the upper panel shows the swarga - the abode of the kings - with the linga and the nandi, sometimes the man, alone or with his wife/wives. The sun and the moon are clearly seen

Alexander Greenlaw (1856), Sunil Shinde (2008), both Hampi

In 1856, Colonel Alexander Greenlaw took over 60 photod of structures in Hampi using the then newly developed callotype method of waxed paper negatives. The photographs disappeared and were discovered in a private collection in 1980.

I followed Colonel Greenlaw's footsteps using a digital 4 MBPS 10x optical zoom and copied the prints as closely as I could.

The undergrowth has since been cleared. Otherwise, in 152 years, very little has changed.

[The watchtower in the Zenana enclosure.]

 

[Lotus Mahal in the Zanana enclosure]

 

[Gopura of the Vitthala temple. The light-tower has collapsed and is lying in situ]

 

[The Garuda chariot in the Vitthala temple. The top of the chariot is gone, while the main shrine has new support buildups]

 

[The free standing manthapa in the Vitthala temple]

 

 

Queen's bath in Hampi

 

We started our tour of Hampi with the Queen's bath. which contrary to the name was probably a pool for male courtiers and their female companions.

And unlike the Hazararana temple, the building is bare on the outside. The artistic energy seems to have been preserved for the interiors with high vaulted domes and overhanging balconies. The floor of the pool is original and intact after 500 years.

 

 

     

 

The enclosure wall had a definite Cuscanian look.

Mahanamavi Dibba (Royal Platform) in Hampi

 

"This building stands on pillars shaped like elephants and with other figures, and all open in front, and they go up to it by staircases of stones around it; underneath, is a terrace paved with very good flagstones, where stand some of the people looking at the feast. This house is called the House of Victory as it was made when the king came back from the war against Oriya (Orissa)"

- Eyewitness account of the Mahanamavi festival by Domingo Pages on 12 September 1520

Today all that remains, is the majestic platform. Built in multiple layers over a period of time,  while impressive overall, lacks finesse in it's carvings. At the top of its splendor, In its hey days, the platform was known to have a 7 storeyed building, though that theory does not seem to hold water as the platform does not have sufficient floor area to sustain such height.

A scene depicting an elephant trampling a royal patron. The event  probably had deep circumstantial ramification as this event has been repeated about 22 times elsewhere in Hampi.

Similarly a scene which shows a tiger attacking the elephant of a royal processions. Could the two scenes be the connected?

Is that what got the elephant wild?

 

Two hunting scenes. The one of the right caught my eye as one can clearly see a "coptic cross". Shivraj explained that the symbol stood for water and probably signified a watering hole.

Surprisingly, next day, I found a tank with a similar shape outside the Vitthala temple.

   

Ala-ud-din Khilji's, as a part of his 1290 invasion, introduced horses to the warfare significantly changing both the intensity of the encounters and escalating the cost.

The rulers of Vijayanagar maintained relationships with European and Turkish traders for a constant supply of good horses. <Krishnadevaraya> held important harbors in Malabar (Mumbai) to keep an eye on the horse trade.

Anti-clockwise from top left:

1. Soldiers with Portuguese muskets .

2. Training war elephants

3. Infantry practicing swordsmanship

4. Horse traders from Arabia

5. Training the cavalry

 

Dancing courtesans and musicians. The last panel shows Arabic horse traders with their pointed hats and beards.

 

And lastly, the amorous royal couple.

Tip: The southern wall has, relatively, the more intricate carving. The platform is best visited in the evening with the sun behind you making photography easier.