Bangalore Palace

It was a bright sunny afternoon, and my boyfriend and I decided to visit the Bangalore Palace. I had wanted to visit the palace for a long time after viewing interesting pictures posted by my friends on Facebook. The drive through the vast lawns to the palace was breathtaking. The first sight of the palace evokes the feel of a marvelous fairytale castle in the English countryside.The King of Mysore, Chamarajendra Wadiyar X, resided there with his family. He was a great lover of art and a passionate hunter. 

At the entrance of the palace, above the main door is a huge elephant skull which the King himself had shot. On the right-hand side of the main door is an elevator – this is believed to be one of the first of its kinds in India.  

To the left is a spiral staircase leading to the courtroom on the first floor. A huge wall mirror at the centre of the room is the main attraction. Opposite to it is an elevated structure from where the queen and the women folk observed purdah and witnessed the court proceedings.

The interior of the palace wall abounds with artwork and paintings – replicas of world famous art and an endless collection of photographs from the king’s hunting trips. The furniture in the palace is crafted out of bamboo, wood, steel and different parts of elephants. 

There are two big courtyards at the centre; surrounded by the palace on all sides. These courtyards are decorated with vibrant colours giving the whole place a magnificent look. 

The topmost part of the palace has long cone-shaped structures which gives it the look of a castle. The view of the garden at the front of the palace from the terrace is simply mesmerising.

If you are in Bangalore, make it a point to visit this beautiful palace at least once.

Christmas Getaway :)

So, my boyfriend got a new car and we had to go somewhereJ.

Yes, five friends jumped into our new metallic silver Hyundai Accent and drove towards Kanakpura road on NH 209 off Bangalore. It was a pleasant drive through the vast lanes of NICE road and then narrowing down through the Kanakpura road surrounded by banana plantations and coconut groves. Our first stop was at Chunchi Falls. You need to make your way through a village to reach there.  The area is famous for silkworm farming and you can find the worms being laid out in the sun in front of the villagers’ houses to derive the fibre from the cocoons of the larve. Chunchi falls was calm and scerene. Not many people visit the place and so the rocks and adjoining forest area were clean and polished. We played in the river water and lazed around for quite sometime before resuming our journey.

Our next stop was Sangam, a picnic spot for many locals and people from nearby places. The fish fry was amazingly tasty there. It was noon and all of us were hungry and relished the fish to the last bite. 

The river water was particularly low at one point and you need to cross it to take a ride in one of the old Malgudi day buses which lead you to the next big spot, Mekedat. The place is wide and spotlessly clean making it a good place to hang out and eat some good food with your bunch.

We retired around 5 pm quite tired. The experience was a great one and we managed to get some amazing clicks too!!

The festivities of the Autumn season

Come October and the air is filled with delight and ecstasy. Yes, it marks the beginning of endless celebrations and cooling down of the atmospheric temperature; relieving the people from the monotony of daily chores and the hot and humid summer. What is remarkable is the vibrant nature of the festivals that take place during this season; starting with Durga Puja and Navratri to Dashmi celebrations, followed by Deepavali or Diwali. Bakri Id and Christmas also take place in the latter half, when nearing Winter!

During the Puja celebrations, all Puja Pandals are decorated with idols of different Gods. The streets become colorful with bright lights and the entire city streets are flooded with people in the best of clothes. I have memories of celebrating these festivals with my family. I used to wait for the new dresses and to go out in the evening to visit the different Puja houses and dine outside in the best restaurant in town, which again used to be flocked with people. I have also celebrated these festivities in Delhi and Bangalore. This year too I can’t wait for the time to arrive. It is enthralling to realize that the celebrations are only a week away. It is time to put on the best of dresses and venture out of the house each evening to be with the people on the streets – to rejoice, celebrate, have the best sweets and food in town!

Barfi - A Review

Barfi is set in the 1970s in the beautiful hill-station of north India, Darjeeling. The movie is the tale of unconditional love defying societal norms and man's definition of normality and abnormality. Beautifully directed by Anuraag Basu, the movie narrates the tale of Barfi, a hearing and speech impaired who falls in love with beautiful Shruti, only to be rejected in favor of a 'normal' husband. Mystically, he meets Jhilmil who is autistic and despite their odds, both share a bond of love and genuine warmth. Only later does Shruti realise her mistake, is helpless and understands how she falls a prey to the cruelty of social pressures.

Barfi is an epitome of cinematography beautifully portrayed and redefined. Ranbir Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra and Ileana D'cruz  are flawless in the lead roles. It is a light-hearted movie and crucial issues are dealt with simplicity and a sense of humor. The chase and run scenes between the police and Barfi are spiced up with comical gestures and melody which sends cheers and laughter down the crowd.

The movie makes us rethink about the chains that we have tied ourselves into - marriage, monetary pleasure, sacrifice, status and most importantly, our definition of a 'normal' life. It makes us question about the passions, emotions, feelings and values that we subconsciously and more often consciously forgo; in favor of the more obvious. The narrator (Shruti) remarks with grief in the end as to how she could have always lived the life of her favorite grandparents who died in arms together - bonded by love. She regretted not being courageous, not giving in to her passions and betraying love. She knew the life that Jhilmil led could have been hers, Barfi would have only been with her - if - she didn't miss her chance!

A weekend in Ooty - :)

It was a fun weekend in Ooty. It provided a much needed break from the monotony of the hustle and bustle of everyday life. The picturesque scenery of the green mash lands with pine and fur trees was breathtaking. It was quite foggy on the first day, and the chilled air cut through our bones like a sharp knife. The landscape was much clearer on the second day. We wandered through the tea gardens, the waterfalls and peaks and relished every bit of the journey. It was quite sad when we realized that the weekend was over and we had to start our journey back home. Nevertheless, I plan to visit the land again and very soon at that!

Here are some of the moments that I captured :

Amidst the beauty of nature, greenary and wilderness...

Roof top views from my balcony on a cloudy evening...

I cherish the beauty of the sunset on this chilly, cloudy day, as I sip my evening cup of tea.....

Hot and fast

The secret to Assam’s fast food cooking: Add one or two tea spoon of mustard oil to boiled rice in a plate. Mix the oil and the rice thoroughly. Garnish with a green chilli/pickle/lemon. Trust me, it is worth a try J