Madurai- my charming little temple town!

It isn't often that we get to go to our birthplaces, unless you live where you were born!

I recently went back to Madurai after a couple of decades. It was something of an experience- the nostalgia, grappling with history in terms of the place we come from. Situated within peninsular India, this little town is bustling with temples, the most famous of them being the Meenakshi Temple. Madurai is really steeped in the Southern Indian culture and remains hooked to its roots in idli- vada-dosai (rice pancakes and doughnuts) and kaapi (coffee).

This journey for me, was about coming full circle in more ways than one. My friends overseas in Australia and the United States often ask me about places to see in India, apart from the usual ones that Lonely Planet offers. Madurai- this is something to savour. So it was quite charming to see a lot of people from the west   in Madurai, visiting its temples, admiring the gopuram-styled architecture and taking away something that is quite unique to this part of India.

If you don't mind walking barefoot through throngs of people and trying to understand the significance of all the rituals then it can be a very gratifying experience. I had my Eat Pray Love moment with the temple Elephant at one of the temples here!

Madurai also shares a little chunk history with the Medici in Florence, who were patrons of art and architecture. The Pandya king of Madurai during the 17th century was similarly interested to build things of beauty for his people and invited architects from Italy to share their ideas.

The result is the Naicker hall, with its beautiful and ornate carvings supported by pillars. This place is open to visit every evening and hosts a light and sound show.

Madurai is home to many stories including that of the wedding of Meenakshi with Sundareshwar- who are incarnations of Parvati and Shiva.

It is also home to the popular lore of Ponni and Selvan - a story retold by Kalki and many of its temples have been featured as sets in many films based on these stories as well.

My trip to Madurai ended on many high notes, including the sighting of rare birds and driving through leopard territory on the way back to Bangalore. Hope you make time for some of these rare experiences in Madurai.

Also, if you've visited or you are planning to visit your birthplace after a long time, share what you find!

Nepal & Mt Everest: My Adventures with Vertical Limit

I have only ever drawn mountain peaks as a child in art classes, with crayon peaks and the Sun shining between them, like every other child I know.

The fact of actually witnessing these stunning peaks rise above the clouds and span the entire length of the horizon is truly amazing. Nepal is truly amazing, as I discovered trekking up north after Pokhara to Mustang via the Annapoorna ranges.

( Mt Everest and surrounding peaks)

As our aircraft, an older but reliably stable version of the Twin Otter glided and soared through the mountains, I found my senses picking up a cackling sense of excitement. The place is magical to see, as the snow capped peaks invited me to surrender my eyes. Surrender them to someone who hasn't yet seen them.

The mountains vanished now, appearing now between soft cotton clouds that rose above, themselves as tall as the peaks. The experience of witnessing this panoramic view has etched itself into my memory and now, I just close my eyes and I can see them right before me.  Isn’t this an amazing gift to give oneself?

( Devi’s Falls)

I couldn’t help but think that the experience had another aspect to it, that of the philosophical and spiritual. Do we in the mountains automatically think of higher ideals and lofty ideas, I wondered, with so many saints and sadhus making it their erstwhile home. It is easy to see that contemplation is easy up there because there is only silence interrupted by mountain winds, the chatter of sparrows and the occasional jeep passing by.

( Pokhara Lake)

Serenity is not just a concept as it is in the cities we live in, it is in the very ground we walk on, everywhere we see and inhaling it deeply relaxes and rejuvenates us. I found my pupils dilating to take in the 360 degree view and feeling this inexplicable excitement around my solar plexus, as if it were charged with the energy to trek up to the peak. With every step I took, I was looking forward to whatever was calling out to me. If this is what a purposeful stride is, then there are no limits to how many can be taken. At 22 thousand feet, the mountains are only just beginning their ascent. 

( River Gandaki)

The local sherpas and traders are very helpful because they know that the mountains are not home to everybody and acclimatizing to the freezing wind and the general expanse that nature suddenly reveals can shake things up a little bit for people who are not used to it. They are beautiful people full of a generous spirit, offering hot milky chai as we greet them and making us comfortable in their inns with blankets. There was only one main street in Jomsom and the landing strip for aircraft was behind this street. Shops have a small entrance and the roof almost touches your head as you walk in. They sell a lot of liquor to keep people warm, besides yak butter and clothing made of blue horned sheep skin.

I read in the eco museum at Mustang that in March every year, the locals host a ten day Yak Blood Drinking Ceremony. It is believed that yak blood is rejuvenating for one’s health since it grazes on medicinal herbs in the Himalayan mountains. A glass of yak blood would cost 100 rupees.

(Rocky hill slopes along the Gandaki River valley)

The locals speak affectionately with visitors, answering my questions with swerves of humor, like the canny wind that blows from high around the mountain snow.  Their dialect is full of references to stories of people who have visited before including the famous ones who have made it Mount Everest. My own view of Mt Everest was through the aircraft as it went around all the peaks for a good 45 minutes. It was needless to say, exhilarating.

( Nepali Women carry anything from cabbages to bricks in their baskets)

The locals also retain a glorious naïveté in spite of all the visitors that tourism brings to their doorstep, one that I could only compare with that of the aboriginal people of Australia. Nothing about their own practices and customs change even though they play host to so many people from so many countries. It seems like it is meant to be a one way exchange and we visitors are in many ways the better for it, indeed.

Sherpa families who know the landscape like the back of their hand take us through all the must see places, riding motorbikes up the mountains over rocks and stones comfortably and confidently. I had to hug my rider all the way up to the place from where we could see the valley below, so as to not fall down since the terrain is so rocky. Sherpa babies with their snubbed noses and fish-like eyes are so cute here and I think about how lucky they are, to grow up with ponies as friends, yaks as mountain-trekking companions and horses to take them  wherever they may roam.  

Coming home was the tough part and a part of me was sad as I re-entered the city. But the mountains will forever stay with me, and I can hear the wind blowing between the peaks as I sleep.

( Mt Gauri Shankar)