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Great destinations, Photography, Lifestyle related articles
I was on a one day visit to Bangalore the other day, and since my meeting wasn’t until later that evening, I had some time to kill. I decided to give Koshy’s (Koshys Bangalore)a try. Koshys Bangalore, if you haven’t heard of it, is an iconic cafe of sorts that has been running for more …
Ezhikkara is where my Tharavad (ancestral home) is. As kids, this is where we got together and spent most of our school vacations. A small village with lagoons and lush greenery, this place has still managed to maintain its old world charm. I was there a couple of days ago with my son and niece, …
Mullapanthal toddy shop Kochi is one of Kerala’s most popular toddy shops. Located in Tripunithura, Kochi, Mullapanthal (sometimes spelt Mullapandhal) is the top name that comes to mind when one thinks of toddy shops. What is Toddy? Toddy (known as ‘kallu‘ in Malayalam) is a local alcoholic beverage tapped from coconut palms in Kerala. The …
Located near Guruvayoor temple in Kerala, is a unique elephant sanctuary Punnathurkotta. If you are an elephant lover, this is a place you must visit. It houses about 50-60 elephants (the sad part: they’re all chained), and takes about an hour at max to explore. These are elephants that take part in temple rituals.
“You have to do upasana daily” – he replied to me in soft voice. Standing on the shores of river Souparnika, I had struck up a conversation with one of the pilgrims who’d come to take a dip in the holy waters. A few minutes earlier, I had seen him float on the river, absolutely …
This was one place that, for me, has been so close yet so far. A place I always wanted to visit, but never got around to doing it. Finally, I made time to do so, and it was a couple of hours well spent. Museum of Kerala history – located in Edappally (around 8 kms …
It was noon by the time we (wifey, sonny and I) pulled into the parking lot of Naveen Beach resort in Murudeshwar. The 150 km drive from Mangalore had taken us along the coast, offering breathtaking views of clean, white sand beaches (like Marvanthe) and backwaters. The ride, though bumpy in patches due to the …
“I’ve never been to Fort Kochi“, she mumbled, as she sat staring out of the car window, absorbing the scenes whizzing past. My mother spends most of her time indoors nowadays, and I was taking her out on a drive, that I hoped, would be a welcome change for her. Now aged 72, she had …
Places to visit in Pondicherry in 2 days: This is an account of my 2-day trip to Pondicherry. The small, charming little town of Pondicherry, located on the coromandel coast of Bay of Bengal, is known for its lovely food and amazing beaches. It was the last French colony in india, and became part of …
“The sense of impossibility is the beginning of all possibilities.”
– Sri Aurobindo (1872-1950)
I meant that in the positive sense of the phrase – past couple of weeks have been interesting and fun. It has been travel, travel, and more travel for me – mostly to the same place: Hubli. Driving down instead of taking an overnight bus makes the shutterbug in me happy, for I can stop …
Phew! Can’t believe it is mid of August already! It has been such a happening month for me, and I hope it has been a fulfilling month for you as well? To start with, we celebrated our son’s birthday on August 14. We extended that day till beyond midnight so that the celebrations could last …
“Ding-dong! ding-dong!”
Our loud door bell startled me out of my lazy semi-reading-semi-watching-TV-semi-dozing Saturday afternoon.
“Must be the maid”, I thought to myself as I rose up rather reluctantly from my comfortable couch, strewing items I had stacked up around me on to the floor.
I hate getting up once I am well settled in the couch on Saturday afternoons, and so I make sure I load up the couch with everything I would need for the next few hours of blissful inactivity. This particular afternoon, I had remote controls (we have 3 of them just to operate the TV – one for the TV itself, one for the cable set-top box, and one for…coming to think of it…I don’t know what for, but I just get all of ’em just in case), a new novel I was reading (which, by the way, could put one off to sleep faster than any sleeping pill in the market, I found out), a pack of Marie biscuits (with 10 essential vitamins. Healthy. Unlike those fatty butter cookies which are yummm…err…I mean, unhealthy) and all 16 pages of that day’s newspaper.
I walked to the door leaving a trail of biscuit crumbs, newspaper pages and remote control batteries, all the while thinking who it could be at the door.
Pilikula Heritage Village, located in Mangalore, is a 35-acre site that recreates the typical rural ambience of Dakshina Kannada region. This is a must-visit site if you are in Mangalore.
The Guthu House – a traditional house of the region, Kambala Track (Buffalo race track), Nagabana (a shrine dedicated to serpents), artisan corners, and gardens (areca, coconut) are all turning out to be great tourist attractions in Mangalore.
A trip to Pilikula Heritage village can be included in your Mangalore trip itinerary even if you are looking for adventure activities in Mangalore since there is a Zoo, a lake for boating and a water park nearby.
This Pilikula Heritage village blog is a record of my visit to the site as part of a Nikon Photo walk that was held in Mangalore. Read on.
June 22, Sunday: I wake up earlier than usual, excited at the prospect of meeting fellow photographers at the Photo Walk organized by Nikon in Mangalore to Pilikula Heritage Village.
I get dressed and drive to Pilikula, an interesting area located about 15 KMs off Mangalore city that contains a fabulous zoo, a biological park and an artisan village.
I reach on time (9. 15 AM) and notice that a group had already formed at the entrance. I join them and get introduced to the group.
The organizers informed us that we would all drive to the artisan village, a.k.a, the Heritage Village and spend some time there shooting pictures.
The place is quiet and beautiful. The typical rural atmosphere of Dakshina Kannada has been recreated in Heritage Village. The dwellings of the various types of artisans reflect their work. Visitors could interact with the artisans, and could also try their hand at some of the stuff the artisans do.
Below are some photos from my Photo Walk.
“Mangalore was an important town…Sultan Bateri, a watchtower…built by Tipu Sultan..”
What?!
This is big! I am actually sharing real estate with one of history’s greatest, though in a different timeline! I am standing at the entrance of a queer little monument; a watchtower built of black stones by Tipu Sultan in the 1700’s called Sultan Bateri. It looks like a mini fortress, with mounting places for canyons.
The blue information board erected by ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) informs me (with a minor spelling error in Tipu’s name) that this watch tower was built to contain the entrance of warships into the Gurupur river. The name Sultan Bateri evolved from ‘Sultan’s Battery’, where Battery meant firing of cannons.
But the strangest part about this historic monument is this: there is absolutely no perceptible importance/protection assigned to it by locals/authorities. It leads to the low profile life of an abandoned building!
You would probably not give it a second glance if you are ever in this area. I myself had been to this place many a time during my aimless evening rides but had never stopped to examine it carefully.
Not to mention the mindless graffiti and scribbling (well, now the whole world knows that Suresh is in love with Sini) that locals and visitors have left on this monument which has withstood the test of time.
A stairway leads you to the top of the monument from where you get a good view of the river. There is also an underground storage area (locked) that was used to store gun powder.
Here are some photos from my visit.