Colours : A visit to Arakal Palace

When I recently visited the Araikal Palace in KannurCalicut , Kerala, What fascinated me more than the rich history that the place holds and a cameo appearance in a recent local flick is the rich colours that the  place had to offer, The white palace with rich sky blue lining and its colourful windows drew me to my camera like a fly to the lamp. I would have be so wrong if i said that that's all the place had to offer, but besides the colourful palace and its colourful windows were the colourful exhibition of paintings. A set of works by several local artists on the palace and its rich heritage, A fest of colours both intense and soothing. It was a colourful experience in all. A day of colour in the colourful city of kannur calicut!

For those of you who have no idea what 'Araikal' family means and holds in the history of India, A bit of an extract from Wikipedia ( I am no good in history, I flunked in more than once!). There you go a small but significant slice of India's colonial history.

Arakkal kingdom (Kingdom of Cannanore, Sultanate of Lakshadweep and Cannanore) was a former city-state on the Malabar Coast, ruled by dynasty of the same name. The ruling King was called Ali Raja and the ruling queen was called Arakkal Beevi.^[1] The king's palace, which he purchased from the Dutch in 1663, was named Arakkal Palace after the ruling dynasty.

In the 17th century, one of the Padanairs (generals) of Kolathiri, Arayankulangara Nair, converted to Islam and adopted the name Muhammad Ali.^[5] His wife was the daughter of Kolathiri, and they later came to be known as Arakkal.^[5] Muhammad Ali continued in the service of the Kolathiris even after his conversion, and his successors known as the Mammali Kidavus were the hereditary Padanairs of the Kolathiri.^[5] Around this time, many Muslim merchant families became financially influential in the Malabar region. When the Arakkal family took control of Laccadives, they achieved near-royal status.

For more info visit: Arakkal kingdom

( all photos are taken by me and distributed under the creative commons licence : feel free to share, modify, use , distribute and whatever you fancy(make some money off it, please be my guest) and if its okay with you add m  name to the credits otherwise forget it)

No Distance too Short !

When you look into her eyes and when you hold her fragile hand in your all you believe is one thing, just this one thing that no matter what the world decides to throw at you the very next second nothing can spoil this moment, because the moment is already perfect in itself . You believe no distance can ruin this for you anymore, you are here, she is here and then there is love, what more can you ever ask for ?

The truth is you always wanna be close to her, you believe have you had to leave her alone for just a fraction of a second and the wolves will descent. All you want is hold her close, feel her pulse, taste her lips, look in her eyes and let the world carry on because you have everything you ever wanted. You are here, she is here and this is all you ever wanted, ever. 

Photographs courtesy : Aziz
Email : info@airaphotography.com
Website : www.airaphotography.com

Badagara: A day in this Town

Badagara( Vadakara ) is a large city located about 50km north of Calicut. This city is a real sight seeing spot and has much adventure to offer. Now! Let’s cut the crap and get to business of knowing what’s to do and not to do in badagara. The city located along the highway, is very accessible by road and rail. To start of a day in badagara start off at Lokanarkavu Temple, Run to Sargalaya : The crafts village, skip Kunjali Maraikar Memorial and get to Kappad beach for the sun set.

Lokanarkavu Temple

I have a special attachment to this temple and the reasons are cheeky, Lokanarkavu is the family temple of my college sweet heart and I have reasons to like the temple. But I can tell you this on a normal day this is what a temple should be like, immersed in spiritual tranquility this place offers that inner peace that the most famous of temples can’t offer on any day. If you do want to see the temple with lots of people with it then visit during the temple festival which falls during the month of ----. This temple is greatly tangled with the rich past of the ‘chekavar’ and appears as a central character in many folklores of this great warrior race of northern kerala.  The temple is a complex of three small temples namely a devi temple, a shiva temple and a vishnu temple each with its own principal deities and I you can chat up the temple priests then you are sure to catch a few stories of this great warrior race.

Sargalaya: The Crafts Village in Iringal

This is the place you must visit if you are in Badagara; the crafts village offers an insight into the much acclaimed handicrafts of Kerala. Here they give such a close insight to the ways and methods of making these priceless art pieces. I personally got a close up on the working of how the tradition handloom sarees are woven and they give out their products for sail their. This place is a wonderful bounty of art pieces and they are on show and for purchase. Don’t worry the best is yet to come. This place has something for everyone.

At about hundred rupees per head you can get a boat ride in the adjacent lagoon, thought the first few stretches of the boast travel is rather bad almost boring but as you reach near the sea you will the sand banks where the sea meets the river. You could be also able to see a distant Isle in the see at 600 per head and a good amount of persuasion and compelling the guard you may get to go there but occasionally they do offer to that place, I am not sure when those days will. The place is exclusive. Oh! By the way, if you really are feeling a childlike do spent a few moments in the children’s part before the security shows you the way out. Enjoy the lake and the rocks in the old quarry and if you are three in the right time they will have many cultural events.

Kunjali Maraikar Memorial

This is a place you must not go to unless you are a die hard fan of India’s Maritime past. This place is located several minutes inward of Sargalaya and offers brief insight into the history of the naval chiefs of Zamorin’s. The miniature museum only has a couple of swords, a dozen cannon balls and even tinnier house. Trust me it’s neither worth the time nor the money spent. But the other ting that could interest you would be the Olive Ridley Turtle farm where they incubate and protect the Turtle eggs and ensures the return of the hatchlings to the sea. Visit here only during the migratory season otherwise there is nothing much to see either.

Kappad Beach

Kappad beach is where you can get to go at the end of the day, enjoy a quiet sunset spent time resting at the shores, but don’t dare go into the ocean. It’s a bit dark and muddy and I don’t prefer you go in and I don’t suppose you would either. One more thing don’t expect any tides the seas this side is rather quiet.

Nilambur : In the Teak Lands

A surprisingly scenic train journey from Cherukara, a small sleepy town about 20km from Shoranur, Palghat where I was housed took us to Nilambur. A sleepy town housed among the clouds atop a rather normal looking town. Little can we tell by looks of the town that it housed one of the natural wonders of the world and it would never cross your mind even once that this is the city whose woods furnish the regal halls of the Buckingham Palace. The railway station is beautiful in its own respect, the woods, the people they are different unlike our concrete jungles. But one thing I mush stress that I cannot tell of any particular time that will be just perfect to visit Nilambur, every season has its own small advantages and the bitter misses, but I can tell you this from experience , never visit Nilambur on a Monday.

There are three magnificent places that are worth seeing in Nilambur, The only Teak museum in India; the first of its kind in India, Cannoli Plot which is home to the teak that furnished the Buckingham Palace, The Addiyanpara waterfalls. On Monday the first two of the lot does not open, so not on a Monday as I said earlier.

The Teak Museum

The Tree shaped direction boards along the sides of the road is sure to take you to the right place, However if you could arrange yourself a taxi for the whole day its sure to lift the luggage of your back and you could finish off Nilambur in a day and move on and just one more thing, please don’t may more than Rs. 4000 for a day. The teak museum is the oldest of its kind in the world and the only one of its kind in India. The Teak museum houses a spectacular Teak Trump that greats the visitors to the mystery that shrouds the majestic tree called Teak. There are many answers to the many questions about teak that you might ever have, this wonderful place even has about 300 species of butterflies that live among the Teak trees. There are many exhibits in the museum that speaks volumes about the mysterious plant and its many property and the historical significance of the place and rich history that spans over 150 years.

Cannoli Plot

It is an adobe for the nature enthusiasts in you, Located as a part of the forest departments reserve land, this place offers a unique and unparalleled view of the worlds oldest teak plantation, which was established way back in 1840’s. The plantation has the world’s oldest teak tree and a suspension bridge across the Challiyar River. The plantation has an 800 meter long scenic path way among the oldest teak trees in the worlds. The preferred time to visit here is in the evening as there will be many butterflies.

Addiyanparra Waterfalls

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Unlike the places I mentioned above I call talk more authoritatively on this place as I actually went here as I visited Nilambur on a Monday, The place is an exquisite locale located some 10-15km away from the city and is very beautiful. The thing about this place is you can visit here in two times either during the rainy season when there will be lot of water in the river and it will be a mammoth phenomenon to watch or you could view it during the dry season when you could really explore the path of the river, climb over boulders and play with water as much as you like, I personally prefer the dry season, there will be lot to do than just watch. The beauty of this spot is that the stream and the fall can be easily divided into two, the upper part and the lower part, the upper part consists of boulders and the shushing stream that passes through its passes and the lower part is mostly water ponds and everything a fall has to offer. Beware of whirlpools and deep holes there are a few such holes that can suck you down and drown you. I prefer you don’t go anywhere near the rapids for a swim. The place is treacherous to the core.

Accommodation and travel

Reaching Nilambur is easy by air land and rail, the nearest airport is Karipur International terminal Malapuram, Buses are frequently available to Nilambur, but the most preferred mode of transport is the train as it will take you to the core of the city with ease.

Accommodation can be availed in any of these places, I could not find any better accommodation in Nilambur.

1.       Hotel Mahendrapuri

2.       Peeves Nilambur Manor

3.       KTDC Tamarind 

     

     

     

A Series of Fortunate Events

When I woke up at 5 am today, I knew I could expect great things today, and guess what I was not the least bit wrong. We were a trio on a destination less journey, not exactly but it was the farthest thing from a well planned holiday that I was ever on. The fun fact about this holiday is that its kind of a journey to most of my friends birthday and it’s the first time I am going to see my girlfriends home. And guess what I decided to do a travelogue of it on my blog.

Today, was just as bleak as any would have been on any bleak day, the railway station was like a set taken out of the many country side flicks that I have seen. The biggest man made structure that I have seen in the periphery is a small thatched building and I suppose that’s the railway station. (Of course it was!). The morning was much uneventful, the long winding roads that took us to my friends home was nothing out of the ordinary, nor were the occasional shops that stood by the street. There was not much that said that the hours to follow housed much adventure.

A narrow muddy road took as close to our house of residence, a beautiful villa stationed amidst many trees, with chirping birds and hustling winds. The house was a sight to see on its own regard. Though much is said of the beauty of the house, what made its truly special is what makes it a real happy home, it love and car, both of which it had in abundance. I should say the sheer location of the house and its radiance sends out this message much profoundly.

Thirumandhamkunnu Devi Temple

No journey in the states of India is ever complete without a visit to the local temple; to be engulfed in the spiritual aura of tradition Hinduism and the tranquil air of the world around the place are birth taking. The much talked about temple and the many lives that it touched has had finally come together. There was even a slight inclination to astrology lately, no! we were just kidding around with a palm reader, nothing special I always wanted to know what they would say to the many people they come across and looking into your future is always fun. The fact she said so many things and a few she did get right and some there were no was to validate the judgments. This Temple was unique, unique in the fact that this fine example of traditional temple architecture offers no direct view of the idols unlike other temples. The many stairs that lead to the temple has many a million stories that link up to my life and my family.

The Unnamed Hill

The journey back from the temple would have been no less interesting than death. Little did I know that the adventure had just begun, and a beautiful hill full of infinite adrenaline was waiting for us to arrive. The suggestion to go to a rather unknown hill to the outside world came to as much of a surprise and I was rather skeptical in going to a place that had so less to offer when we could rather spend time at a place more worthwhile. But nevertheless I decided to go anyway; the journey to the hill was as always just as bland and boring. But things took a real turn uphill when we came at the foot of the hill. There she was, standing majestically tall and arrogant. 

The ascent was amazing, as I lead the way uphill with just gut feeling to guide, the path were just as strange as the hills could be. Jumping from rock to rock and climbing through small alley ways among the tall dry grasses that surround the whole place. The ascent took us through some rather intriguing moments of slippery and some breathe taking vistas among the way. It did surprise me that the small hill had so much fun to offer, there were moments of frivolous pleasure and there were moments of real danger, one false move would have had as roll down to endless abyss (rather exaggerated).

We spent some fabulous moments atop the hill and I could but proudly say that I was the first among my friends to scale the mountain (hill) and conquer the peak (hill really sounds boring now, right?).  The moments cannot written down in word and neither would I ever be so cruel to the exhilarating memories we made atop that grassy hill, those were the best of times and it would be rather insensitive of me to kill those bitter sweet memories by the injustice of penning them down and killing the moments. The descent was just as exciting but nothing would ever compare to the minutes we flew away in the wind.

Moments are yet to be made some that we like to cherish in our lonely times, savoring the honey that seeps out of its many pores and some that we boast among our friends and take upon ourselves as moments of great pride and prestige that we so solemnly show those battle scars away with great joy. These are the moments that talk to us over time and remind you time and again of the reason why it all exist. Let me remind the one thing today taught me with great pride and joy.

Life is for the living, Dying for the lively, Make life worth while.

To the Best of Times.

The year is at its end, and it’s a time for a toast for all that happened this year. The good things and the bad ones, the ones I will never forget and the things I never want to remember again, the things that I am grateful for and the things I wish never happened. The year had it all for me, suspense, romance, action, drama; everything a good adventure needs and I know yours where just as much fun if not better. Now that we stand at the last days of 2011, one thought keeps me alive, much more alive that I ever was. It’s the knowledge that though a lot of good things had happened and many more did not quite work out just as well, I can rest assured that this is not over yet and the best of the moments are yet to come. Now that a beautiful year is finally about to bid adieu to us all and as the clock strikes twelve tonight, a new year will be born, an year of promises, hope and of the countless to be born memories.

As 2012 rolls in, I believe we have an obligation, an obligation to raise a toast to all the good things that made 2011 and eleven special. A toast to all the friendships we made, all the moments we lived in all the people we care about and all the people who care about us. A toast for the times we laughed out loud and all the time we cried alone tucked to a corner of the dark rooms, all the pranks we pulled and all the little things we did to make our special ones happy.

2011 was no walk in the park, it was an adventure and adventure we all shared and we together made a memory of. May 2012 be only better, may 2012 bring us more joy and prosperity, may we all go forward and not backward, may our future be just as perfect as we ourselves are. Friends some of you I know, some of you I do not, but nevertheless may all of us live a life that we always wanted. So guys please rise your glasses a for 2012 is here!....................................Cheers! To the Best of Times.

Happy New Year, Ladies and Gentleman,

May all of us live happily ever after…

Speak of the Devil and ..

How strange that I write this today, when all I see is darkness and I am tired, so tired of searching for the light and hope. I am doomed, I fear my own words and I fear the death of myself by my own ideas. Its not but strange that a few days ago I was blossoming in the comfort of the illusion of security and permanence that I have woven. But now in seconds they have disappeared and I am staring at nothing but darkness all around, I can hear memories sneak up me from directions unknown, I am afraid, really afraid.

A couple of day ago, I got a call, a call that has turned my world into a mess. From the precipice of luxury I plunged into a feeble being plagued by misery and fear, I can’t neither think straight nor respond to a door bell without being paranoid. It has come back, It has come back to avenge me, the lies, the secrets. My past has come back, a past that I have worked so hard day and night to forget, The nightmares that I have consciously abolished with sleepless nights and pills that I shall not speak of again in my life.

It is not strange, I should have expected it, I should have known better. I should have known that it will come back and haunt me again and again no matter how hard I run. The initial impulse is always to run, But now I know no mountain is high enough, no oceans wide enough to keep me from myself. I am my worst enemy, a nemesis that will not heed until truly defeated. I have to take action, I have to face him, I cannot run anymore, If I do I will risk more than myself, I will risk losing my family, my friends, my life and may be those some things that I have valued more than life, I will lose myself to it. I cannot run anymore I have to face him, face to face, I should look him in the eye and end this once and for all, otherwise I will lose it all, I will lose everything.

I shall not speak about it again, But I should talk now, if have to never speak of it again, else the devil will come back to haunt me again, it won’t heed till I pay for my insolence. I should face my fate and write my history myself, even if it means that it all ends with a full stop or if there is something left to it, then with that, But I should do it and I should do it now.

My First Poem

Guys! As you might have guessed it already, I am going to tell you the story of how I wrote my first poem. Technically it was not my first poem, in fact I am not sure how many poems I wrote before this one, but I am sure about one thing, they all s**ked! So my first poem … right!..

It was a winter morning, the class was shaking of the crispy snowflakes attached to the window railing, I was watching the pupil come in to the class one by one through the frosted window, wrestling the weather and dodging the snow balls…. Oh! Who am I Kidding, There was no snow, no snow flakes and it was a summer, a damn hot one too. And if these guys were wrestling and dodging anything they were the bullies and their unmerciful punches. I will just tell the dull story of my first poem and about the narrative I have been watching ‘How I met your Mother’ Damn… Good….

So as I said earlier, it was an average summer day in an average south Indian school, in an more than average neighborhood, in fact it was so average that the only neighbors we had were the unmistakably terribly old residential apartments and the crazy ole lady that lived in one of them, I will talk about her some other day, seriously guys I am jumping around a lot with this story. SO We had our English lecture for the first hour that day and my our lecturer  Mrs. (I don’t know a another very old lady, not crazy though) had asked us to write a poem and bring. Shall we call her Mrs. Lecturer? Okay! So as I said Mrs. Lecturer has asked us to bring about a poem. And to top it all up our poem would get read by a random person in the class.

So I had a buddy who used to sit next to me all the time and whom I particularly love because he used to be take the major share of the beating because he was a tiny bit fat a little slower than me. I just ran away and he got beaten up, I would come back a little later to check on him with a tissue. So as she had asked us to write a poem and so far (taking my friends account then), I s**ked at it. We had only hardly a few minutes left before she would pop up in the class and treat a bunch of 10 graders like kindergarteners and kick them around. We were scared of her, really SCARED! So as I said my friend who took the beating for me turned to me asked to write him a poem. Yeah! Sure! He always stuck out for me and I always let him down, but seriously guys! A poem in five minutes is hard enough, now I had to write two.

So anyway I decided to write two, two poems. And I have absolutely no idea what I wrote, But I wrote two poems. I have a bleak memory that one was about winter and life and the other was ‘The Poets’. The one about the winter was kind of nice, or so I thought, It was a very sophisticated piece of words with nice hard to guess words, you practically needed a dictionary to read that poem and the other was in simple terms, really simple. So Somehow I finished and I gave him the Poets and explained the meaning of the poem to him, Okay there was nothing to explain, It was something like ‘Poets are Crazy’ themed. But anyhow I really liked the winter poem and thought this will be my great break through, I could even imagine the whole class standing up in appreciation and giving a great ceremony in honour and all those things, the girls asking for autographs, Okay! I admit I was a bit carried away.

So all that was about to be crushed, pooh! She called out my friends name and he went in with a paper clutched to his hand, Oh I forgot she forgot to mix the papers between friends, she just asked us to read our poems. So as I said he went in and recited out ‘The Winter Poem’ and explained how crazy poets are. I don’t think anyone listened but Mrs. Lecturer, she threw him out and asked him to run around the school, the first he did happily and the second he did not do. So then I was left with the poem ‘ that I wrote for him, Nope I did not get a standing ovation, She said I could sit in the class, As if I wanted that but then that got me into poetry and I have did good since then.

Oh! this has nothing to do with the post, I just liked it. So....

SO guys! That the story of How I wrote my first poem, and for the guy! He kind of did not like me sitting and he being out, once the class was over he trashed me, and now I had Another Bully to dodge and I had no one to share a beating with till I met ‘Abby’, Oh! That’s one story that’s full of lies and even if you like this one or not, I am going to make you listen to that one too, watch me!

And if by any odd chance you liked this one, give a comment!

The Many Dreams of You and Me

Every single night its in your dreams that I cherish, in the long voyages that we take through uncharted waters, in the beautiful strolls through gardens and boulevards from very pricey magazine pages. The colours and the emotions that we share and cherish are truly remarkable. Though I expect nothing less from a beautiful dream, you’re here presence makes it unimaginable magnificent. Dreams that I have are all so wonderful so are the ones I believe you have, but the ones we share like our heart and our soul are sure to be unworldly.

Its been a couple of years since I met her, I still remember it be on a very ordinary day in a very ordinary chemistry lab, She came and stood next to me , she turned and she gave a smile that told me that we are meant to be. But the blind idiot I was made sure that nothing happened for the many days to come. It was certainly not the first time we have seen. Studying in same class seeing would not have been a problem. As days went on and on, our hearts grew closer and closer, the cold winters made us come close in search of warmth and the sizzling showers in envy, the scorching summer in search of shades and finally the spring in search of love. 

I do know that every one tells it, but I promise you this that what I tell is the truth and nothing but the truth. I do believe with all my heart that I knew her way before the first time I  laid eyes on her petite being. I assure you I have enjoyed the taste of her delicate throbbing lips way before in generations unknown to me. Her being is not strange, not any stranger than that of myself. May be this is what they call 'LOVE', may be this is how being in love is, If it is so and this is what I get from being in love and being loved, then I require the warmth of no stranger bosom than that of beloved one.

When she walked into my life at the time of great crisis, A time when I have had lost faith in all the worlds love, I trusted no one not even god for that matter, sinking into the depths of despair, alas! those were the dark days. Her touch was the guiding light that led me ashore, when romantic voyages after voyages failed and I was no better than a sinking soul. I am no great lover but at the moments I despise myself I keep telling my wounded soul, its not all that wounded. But much latter only I realised that had I not made those mistakes I would never have been able to see the right things, when it appeared before me. Had I not seen the darkness and experienced the piercing thrones I would never have realised it when I saw the rose bloom before my very eyes. Love does happen but so is it a search, it’s a special journey like none other, it will show you what that is that rightfully belongs to you and you rightfully belong to.

I am no great lover and mess up a little a lot of times, but I have done no such thing that by which I had betrayed her. It weights down my neck a duty to remain faithful. I know that a girl like her deserves much more and what I have is too pure to be in such dirty hands. But I see no reason to let go, call it lust call it selfishness, for she is mine and I indent to keep it that way for eternities to come. I do wait for the days that are ours to live, and the dreams that we share are ours to realise.

-          A tribute to my other half.

 " You have taught me love and how to love, in your hands i blossomed and in your love I grew and in you arms I wish to die"