Flux of Time

Humayun Mahal Have lived in Chennai for about a year and have made several visits to the city, but didn't know a thing about this beautiful structure called the Chepauk Palace. Only came to know about it after reading this news item  Another interesting link below: http://madrasmusings.com/Vol%2022%20No%2022/index.html

This is a travelogue I wrote last year after a visit to Chikmagalur-Belur-Halebeedu. It has since been published in The New Indian Express It is to coffee land, Chikmagalur, that we finally head to, after much deliberation. The idea is to take long walks in the coffee plantations, breathe the fresh spice-scented air, and unwind. Far away from the Internet noise that everyday life has come to mean for us ‘city types’. So, we land up at a homestay, a 13-km drive from the heart of Karnataka’s Chikmagalur town, also the district headquarters. While we manage to take a stroll or two in the coffee plantations, the constant rain means no trekking, and no outdoor activities. No signal on the phone, no signal on the iPad – leave us tearing our hair out wondering what to do, unused as we are to the silence and the sound of constant rain. It is then that the manager at the homestay comes up with the idea of  Belur - Halebeedu . Why not, we say. The husband and I both vag...

The permanence of things, or the impermanence of things, whichever way you look at it. We shot this during a visit to Hampi several years ago. Hampi was once the seat of the mighty Vijayanagar Empire. The fabled city where gold and precious stones were sold on the streets. The Empire is now dead and gone, while the structures, symbols of the glorious architecture of the 14th century, still remain.

Time past and time present meet. Little India. Singapore, 2014. The colonial facades of Singapore stand testimony to its British heritage. A heritage India shares with Singapore. The juxtaposition of the past and the present is never so clearly evident as in the modern-day city state of Singapore. The past doesn't go anywhere. It is here. 

Chinatown in KL. A melting pot of cultures. 

A kopitiam in KL. They are Malaysian-Chinese coffeeshops where Malay food is also served. 

Indian exotica.  .  Fit for a queen:) Exotica. Get a henna done for an "enriching spiritual Asian experience".   Shaving bald errr....  All these at the Batu Caves complex. With Murugan lording over the hills.

The hawker centre/food stalls at Masjid India area, KL had boards selling mee kari , which is rice vermicelli cooked with coconut milk, spicy curry soup, sambal, seafood, chicken etc. Bihun sup is vermicelli in beef broth and soto is soup...at least that's what some Internet research tells me.  A food stall in KL

Kedai Makan is Malay for food shop. Wiki tells me Nasi Kandar is mildly flavoured steamed rice served with curries. Here's the link for more on Nasi Kandar http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasi_kandar The pic below of a Kedai Makan near Sogo Mall. On Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, Near Sogo

Hello lamp post! Whatcha knowin' I've come to watch your flowers growing - Simon & Garfunkel, 59th Street Bridge Song In KL Our cities in India could do with such smart planning as well

Milan, London, New York That's the inside story! Fashionistas, watch out Another day at work... But don't bite off more than you can chew! Love the facade - the one on the right

To say the streets of KL are colourful would be an understatement!

On a whim, we took off to Holland Village and were smitten by the place. A certain bohemian spirit in the air. Check this out: http://www.holland-village-singapore.com/the-history-of-holland-village/

Near Clark Quay, by the Singapore river

China Town in Singapore has a food street that is hugely popular.

Zheng Swee Kee on Seah Street is a well-known chicken rice restaurant, I learnt. A re-creation of the street food scene at the Singapore Flyer premises Yeah, China Town, Singapore At Clark Quay, Singapore. 

F&B! Street food, hawker centres, high-end restaurants (restorans in KL), you name it, you have it. KL and Singapore are a food lover's paradise, especially if you love nasi lemaks, satays, and all that blah. Except we happen to be vegetarians who settle for the roti, rice, or dosey, idli routine and a rare coffee at one of the kopitiams. Nevertheless, had fun gawking at the boards and reading out the names of dishes. Roasted chestnuts -- a common sight in Chinatown. 

"Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets, The muttering retreats Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels And sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells: Streets that follow like a tedious argument Of insidious intent To lead you to an overwhelming question. . . Oh, do not ask, "What is it?" Let us go and make our visit. " (T S Eliot, 'The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock)

It's always people who make places. And for us, it was this band in the heart of KL's Little India that made it special. Happily playing popular tunes past nine at night in front of a hawker centre, of which there are plenty in KL, this band made our evening. We asked them for 'Hey Jude' and we got it! Yeah, the lead guitarist and singer referred to their notes for awhile before that, and then jammed away. Every time you feel the pain, refrain!