attu

You bite, you pull my hair,
You always move here and there;
Your kisses are wet-
Your eyes are moist;
I like you the way you are,
I love the honesty in your love.

The French Connection, Pondicherry

Beaches, French style brick roads, laid back lifestyle, French cuisine, sari clad aged women on bicycle...Pondicherry. We stayed in the house of a French lady, Patricia Michel. There are many more available in the net. Her house was on Rue Francois Martin;- the second lane from the sea-shore and a minute's walk from Aurobindo Ashram. We wanted to visit Pondicherry the French way, trying to take in the flavor of the French life there; food, home, alleys with their name written in white on a blue board, the Aurobindo Ashram and the sea.

One can spend hours on the Rue Goubert (Beach Road) eating, buying small-little things or just sitting on the rocks. We sat on the rock and watched the sea slowly moving closer with the tide and moistening our eyes, face, camera lenses. Night fell and we went to 'The Promenade' for dinner. They were doing barbecue in the terrace restaurant with a view of the old light house and the sea of course. Amazingly romantic place.
After the dinner it started raining and we walked along the empty Beach Road in the drizzle. It was fun. Even if you are not so lucky to get rains, try to come to the Beach Road at night when it is empty. You will never forget it.
Next day we visited Auroville, the self-sufficient village with handicrafts, pottery and eco-friendly lifestyle. After seeing the Matrimandir, we went to the Quiet Beach and took bath in the sea. Though Podicherry has no beach for bathing, you will find a few like this within 10 km from the city. Then we came back to the city to see the Ashram. There was a few shops in the Ashram and around it; we did shopping. The evening we sat on the rocks watching the sea again.
Today's plan was a French dinner at the most popular place among the French here; 'Satsanga'. service, ambiance, food;-were great. We spent hours drinking and having dinner.
Next morning we had French breakfast at Patricia's house and started our journey back. We were on the highway with lot of stories and memories of our French connection.

Hampi - a dynasty in ruins!

It all happened in the 15th century. Muslim sultans became united to capture the capital of Vijayanagara Empire and destroy the historical Kishkindha, the Vanara (monkey) kingdom which finds mention in the Ramayana. The city is now in ruins due to invading Islamic aggressions that treat idol worship as blasphemy.
We, a group of seven, decided to visit Hampi over a weekend from Bangalore, so booked Hampi Express, an overnight train to Hospet. We took an auto-rickshaw from the railway station to Hampi.

If you reach Hampi without any plan, like we did, believe me, you will enjoy it more. Yes, we went to the big hotels, including the KSTDC one, did not like much and followed the suggestion of the rickshaw driver and landed in Hampi Bazaar. We arranged a hotel on the bank of the river Tungabhadra, in the ruins. The rickshaw driver took hundred bucks and we got a hotel with very basic amenities in rupees three hundred per day. The great ambience was free of cost. We were happy!
The hotels have restaurants at the terrace, we went for breakfast. They don’t serve drinks, hard ones; and it’s a no-non-vegetarian place; - a sacred place for the Hindus. We were sad; - no party in this trip!
Our hotel had a great view of the river at one side, and at the opposite, the famous Virupaksha Temple.
It was a hot day; we took bath and came out of the hotel; saw a shop renting bicycles and scooters for the tourists; - we rented four in rupees 125 per scooter per day. We visited the KSTDC office in Hampi Bazaar and collected the tourist guide with a map in it and started. We had two days in hand, so we planned to visit the places on the same bank of the river where we stayed on the first day and next day to cross the river and see the places there. We loved the old structures, almost destroyed; we loved the stone pillars, big stones lying beside the road, we loved the stone gates and temples and palaces; but what we liked the most is riding through the vast ruins, the unusual combination of green land and brown stones, the smell of mystery on our every step.

On the way, we heard of a restaurant named ‘mango Tree’ on the bank. In the afternoon we went there to see the sun set and have dinner. Yellow lanterns, the moon light and the darkness; - it was a nice experience. After dinner we started riding the same roads again, to feel the night fall on the ruins. Late night; - we were sitting on the bank of the river, watching the silvery stones telling the old stories to the river, which is carrying the same to the unknown lands. ‘Nandi’ sat in the middle of the river and admired the beauty with us.
Next morning we crossed the river with the scooters with us in a small round boat. Again in the ruins, on the roads little less traveled. We came back to hotel in the afternoon, had lunch and packed our bags; - it was time to board the return train to Bangalore. That is how we ended our trip, but still now, after one year, I day dream about Hampi.

Birthday

Day passes by,
Night falls-
A new day begins;...
We cherish the yesterday,
But we love the today.