Experiments with Bhang and other animals

Today was election day in Mumbai. But I am not in Mumbai. Hence no black stain on index finger (or whatever digit they are doing now). Instead, once again, have been roaming the highways of Madhya Pradesh on work.

While all this road mileage can be taxing – driving for two hours over semi-tarred roads, doing your work in about two hours and then driving back another two hours, well you get the thing. But there are some pluses also. At least for the hidden wanderlust in me.

Sunday, one headed to Ujjain with colleagues. Four hours from Bhopal. Decent road. Nice place. Too much God.

From Ujjain Trip

The most interesting part of the whole trip was this shop.

Bhang Shop in Ujjain (c) Anannya Deb

The venerable fellow in the shop proceeded to make a glass of jal jeera spiked with bhang. While he took just one piece of bhang, the cloth he used to spike it from the look of it has traces of all the bhang he has spiked over centuries.

Making the spiked drink (c) Anannya Deb

The cloth with all the bhang that has flowed through (c) Anannya Deb

Like Carl Sagan and Albert Hoffman, I too went through a not-so-brief period of senselessness when thoughts were disappearing faster than they were appearing, the head was feeling like it was pumped with Helium while the rest of the body was all lead. Fortunately, there was a four hour car drive back to Bhopal and barring a stop for chai, all I remember is the driver waking me up saying we have reached the hotel. Then to the room and was out for the night.

Experience is recommended to all.

1200 kms of traveling

Last week, spent four days driving around Madhya Pradesh

You can see our route map on Google Maps here (Traveling in Madhya Pradesh)

Day 1: Sanchi (about 45 km) from Bhopal then to Bhimbetka (which is also 45 km from Bhopal but on the other side). This was a pleasure trip

Day 2: Went west wards covering seven villages. We were just north of the Narmada but it did not strike our minds to go have a look. Unfortunately, since I was on roaming, the network I was using did not support GPRS. So I could not use Google Maps on my phone.

Day 3: Went north east wards crossing the Tropic of Cancer. Bhopal to Bhopal we drove 500+ km in a single day.

Day 4: Went east wards, towards Raisen

It was tiring. My left leg was swollen because of an old injury gone septic. The roads were bad. But it was an experience. Much to see, much to experience, much to discover.

The Art of Elephanta

The Gharapuri Island, about 11 kms North East of Apollo Bunder (The Gateway of India) is popularly called Elephanta. It houses a set of Shaivist caves – i.e. dedicated to Shiva, probably carved around 7th Century AD. 

This is the Sadashiva – The Panchmukhi Shiva (Five Headed). This image is ubiquitious in most tourist brochures of India and Mumbai See the Full Album The Art of Elephanta

The most famous image from the Caves, indeed to main image of the page is the Tri-headed Shiva, called Sadashiva. According to the legend in the guide books, this idol represents the five faces of Shiva (Panchmukha Shiva) – three of which is visible. The fourth face is implied (at the back) and the fifth is the mythical face unseen by any mortal.

Another interesting image is that of Ravana holding aloft Mount Kailasha

Ravana holding aloft Mount Kailasha, with Shiva sitting on top of the mountain From The Art of Elephanta

For those who regularly visit historical places in India would be aware of the lousy work done by ASI to maintain these priceless examples of Indian heritage. Here in Elephanta it was sheer commerce that was keeping it thriving. Libertarians and free marketers I am sure would be very happy. The local population (who seemed to be descendents of the Siddis – taking a guess on the basis of their physical features) were doing their all – well run restaurants, shops selling all kinds of stones, palkhis, guides, cleaners, even a monkey watcher.

Cave art in India is aplenty. In Mumbai itself, besides Elephanta, we have Jogeshwari, Kanheri (inside Borivili National Park), Mahakali (Junction of SEEPZ and the Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road) and Mandapeshwar. While Elephanta is a set of temples dedicated to Shiva, Kanheri and Mahakali are of Buddhist origins.

One also saw a lot of tourists especially the foreigners making their way to Elephanta. No doubt, they were refering to the Lonely Planet and following Tony Wheeler’s suggestions. 

The enormous central bust of Shiva, its eyes closed in eternal contemplation, may be the most serene sight you witness in India.

For more photos, visit my new Picasa public gallery (The earlier one has saturated all the available free space).

Madurai

The Hairy Bikers were in Madurai enjoying what they called a “packed lunch”. I had a couple of days of work in Madurai and as is wont mixed pleasure with work to make the most of the travel.

When approaching the Meenakshi Temple, one saw this

From Meenakshi Temple Madurai

 Note the film posters contrasting with the Chennai Khadi Vastralaya. 

The gopurams of the temple were covered, possibly to protect against the rain.

From Meenakshi Temple Madurai

 For more details, click on the Madurai page in my Travelogs

City Furniture

The Pink City i.e. Jaipur in order to maintain its colour status drives people to paint their houses and the walls in the same colour

Red walls Of Jaipur

The walls have a simple red paint with a white boundary, see above. This gives a nice look throughout the city. A similar thing runs in Bhubaneshwar with tribal drawings on the walls.

One, it stops people from spitting, two, it stops politicians and others from defacing the walls.

The market in Jaipur, also red

Our cities need more such practical solutions to make the area more comfortable. With the mess around in a city like Mumbai, it is but so easy for some to put some stray objects around (with no one the wiser).

Roof Top Restaurant

I had a short trip to Rajasthan on work. The last day of the tour was in Udaipur where I got a few hours to roam around. When traversing the narrow lanes of the old city towards the City Palace, I came across a number of road signs and name plates promising “Roof Top Restaurant”

I think the issue is more ground rooted – the narrow lanes, crunched rooms, etc mean for the ambling tourist, a roof top restaurant is a space for stretching the legs out under the open sky.

Given the gora tourists penchant for a piece of sun, it seems a good business ploy. The question of course is where is the roof?

Roof top 1

Roof top 2

Ambling Tourist

If you have the money, of course, you can try the restaurant inside the Palace. Called Palki Khana (where the Palanquins used to be parked), it is run by the HRH Group of Hotels.

Palki Khana

View from the Palki Khana

I’ll be posting my Rajasthan pics shortly.

Bridge on the River Kwai

Just two and half hours bus ride from Bangkok in Kanchanaburi municipality, the famous Bridge on the River Kwai is a monument to the Second World War. For those who are WW2 buffs, this town is a must for a complete low down on the South East Asian war sector starting with the fall of Singapore right upto the Japanese advance into the North-eastern hills of India. (Remember Imphal).

The Kanchanaburi War Cemetery is the final resting place for many of the Allied soldiers who were engaged in the War in this sector including a plaque for 11 Indians.

There is a museum next to the War Cemetery called the Death Rail Museum giving the history and facts about the Siam-Burma Railway built by the Japanese.

If you have loads of time, you can stay over at Kanchanaburi and explore the place. If you trek and follow the railway line towards Burma, you will come across more sites of interest. We did a morning-in-evening-back trip as we didn’t have much time

Brahma Shrines – One in Mahabalipuram and One in Bangkok

According to Wikipedia, there are only three temples in India dedicated to Brahma with the one at Pushkar claiming to be the “Only One in the world“

In one of the rock-cut temples in Mahabalipuram, the one called Trimurti, there was a relief of Brahma. I don’t know whether it is counted among these three temples.

I came across one in Bangkok called Erawan Shrine. It is in the same compound as the Erawan Hyatt and was built in the fifties to ward off bad spirits that plagued the building and development of the hotel (Erawan Hotel). You can check the history in Wikipedia (Erawan Shrine)

For those backpacking to Bangkok, a 5 minute detour is well worth it for its neat structural and historical value, irrespective of your religious practices.

Incidentally, the name Erawan is actually Airavat, the elephant of Indra, King of the Gods.

HariHareshwar & Shrivardhan

South of Mumbai on the Konkan Coast lies the town of Shrivardhan. The historical significance of this town features in the History of the Peshwas – the early residence of Bajirao Vishwanath Peshwa, the first Peshwa under the rule of Chhatrapati Shahu. 5-6 km south is Harihareshwar, called the Kashi of South India. According to legends, this one of the places where the 5 Pandavas halted during their periods of exile.

The beaches of Shrivardhan and Harihareshwar cannot be more contrasting – the former long stretches of serene sand and waves, the other choppy waters breaking over rocks and rough terrain. In fact, the Harihareshwar beach has been off limits with over 250 drownings reported this year.

We stayed at Resort Harihareshwar and had a good time. The other option is the MTDC resort for which one has to do the bookings well in time.

The drive itself was quite a good experience. The Mumbai-Goa Highway, NH17, is a dream run, especially with a light drizzle on. Turning right from Mangaon, one drives through rolling hills covered with light green moss and grass, dark green gorges and valleys and one beautiful view of the River Savitri meeting the sea.

Key Facts:

Where: Konkan coast, south of Mumbai, drive down NH17 from Mumbai, turn right at Mangaon (170km) and drive to Shrivardhan (62km). Harihareshwar is to the south, like two prongs of a fork heading into the sea.

Where to stay: MTDC Harihareshwar, Resort Harihareshwar. The food is better at the latter. There are the usual village huts and stuff but you can board them at your own risk. It’s not like Kerala or Goa where tourism management is part of the lifestyle.