The Drowning Church of Karnataka

Last monsoon around August I had gone exploring Karnataka as it's blissfully best during monsoon. The very picturesque locations, that at times makes it all so unreal. And not to mention travel by road from Bangalore to Mysore to Hassan and return for the unexpected adventure and fun.

So soon after reaching Hassan from Mysore, I had little time to either relax at the hotel or go explore the famous Drowning Church in Shettyhalli located 13 kms from Hassan. Of-course I decided to explore and glad I did it.

I discovered this church mentioned in Lonely planet, so I decided to check it out. It was close to the evening and the clouds had started to gather but that did not deter me or my friend, Inderjit Nagi, from going ahead. Luckily we had hired a cab from the hotel with a driver who was well versed with the location of this church.

The cabbie took us to the near by bridge from where we could see the church. Not very satisfied i asked him to take us for a closer look. He was quiet sporty. Brushing the muggy and slippery off track road where we almost missed the narrow mud track that takes you close to the church. There was no one around to ask for directions. We parked at a spot and walked through the high bushes along the mud track until we reached an open area from where we could see the submerged church. And the view was breathtaking!

It was built by the French over a hundred years ago and is now submerged under Hemavathy reservoir. From what I understand, the church is not always submerged under the water, but it was hard to imagine it that way as it looked like it was frozen in time. The dark clouds, the still waters and the eerie silence around added to the spookiness. We were the only ones around. It was convincing that there must be hundreds of stories lying buried within its walls – stories of hope, belief, pain, destruction and fraternity. Stories that beckoned travelers like me, but left us unsettled looking for answers.

And i went click, click, click……

Matheran!

So one fine day I decided to explore Matheran by myself as most of my friends were not in the mood to go 'that far'.

Getting to Matheran is half the fun; It is well connected and the nearest station from CST is Neral Station at the bottom of the hill. It takes approximately one and a half hour to reach Neral from CST. At Neral one can avail taxis which cost about Rs 250 to go till Dasturi. Its a very scenic one hour journey through the valley climbing the hill top. From Dasturi Naka one can either walk (its so much fun, especially as you will be walking on the red earth)or take a pony for Rs 200 to reach Matheran. Besides, shared taxis are available for only Rs 50.

Mumbai-Neral, 90 kms. Neral-Matheran,21 kms.

Ok so finally am in Matheran. The best thing about this hill-station is that no cars or heavy vehicles are allowed into the town which makes it a very peaceful place to stroll. So walking is an activity that will be richly rewarded, especially for those who love being close to the nature. I just took the toy train tracks to reach the main market area, I was not in Matheran to explore picnic spots or run towards sun set points, although the place is exploited of them, but I just wanted to explore the place as it is.

So taking the off beaten road, I went about the village from its by-lanes and almost lost tracks.

It was nice being close to the nature relishing every single blow of wind on the wild trees and soaking in the silence of the nature, at time getting disturbed by horse riders, otherwise this place is heaven for those who do not like or wants to break away from the mad city life. For sure, here, the time stops.

Just few words of caution:

Carry a good pair of comfortable walking shoes. Matheran is quite dusty and there is red soil everywhere.

The roads can be rough with many small stones in them, but they are not sharp craggy rocks. If you wear a good pair of shoes with thick soles you should be fine. Obviously, if you don't intend walking much then this doesn't really matter too much.

The weather is truly excellent as you can walk around even in summer without feeling too uncomfortable. Morning is the best time from trekking but be ready for a hazy view as the cloud covers the place at early morning.

Carry water.

Try to avoid carrying too much baggage with you.

The charges for horses differ. The horse keepers charges anything between Rs. 100 to 500. You can bargain.

Carry enough cash with you, as there is only one ATM in Matheran and unfortunately it often does not work during monsoon.

There are monkeys around. Please do not feed them or play with them. Don't openly carry any food articles with you, as monkeys would definitely try to snatch it away. Sans food they are pretty harmless

Was so inspired by the hill station, I did four watercolor-pen works as a tribute to this lovely place.

Kali

On a friend's recommendation, I decided to visit the Kali Puja Pandal put up at Andheri Sports Complex. She insisted that the decor and lighting were strictly not to be missed. I was lucky enough to reach there at the eleventh hour of the third and main day of Diwali and was awestruck with the gigantic Kali statue that stood in Pandal that was a life-size replica of a temple in Kolkata.

The approach to the Pandal was kitschtastic! The decorators were called in from Kolkata who played with LEDs, fairy lights and halogens to create pieces of art of which most were in motion. Besides the usual floral designs, there was a robot with stretched arms that reminded me of Big B's lightbulb flashing costume from his movie Yarana. Perched on a stand right opposite this robot were three LED parrots that were whistling at onlookers and were also set in a mechanical motion of grooming each other. But perhaps what stole the show was a larger-than-life LED statue of a girl who was swirling and so was her skirt, at the hem of which were small baskets attached equidistant from each other and in these baskets were tiny dolls of human babies. A very surreal exhibit, this one!

Moving on, devotees were guided through a canopy that was lined with 2-D LED displays with themes like Indian Army, Indian Navy, Air India, Zoo and Circus. These too were programmed exhibits and had some elements that seemed to be in motion.

Finally, there it was. The actual temple-inspired Pandal that was flanked by two beautifully decorated plaster-of-Paris elephants on either side of the entrance. One had to climb a few steps (which were positively not older-citizen or disabled friendly) up to enter and then climb down to step into the main hallway. From the ceiling of this hall hung a magnanimous chandelier, befitting a palace of a king and right in front stood the over-sized, breathtakingly beautiful statue of Kali Ma, complete with demon heads in her hands and around her neck, blood-shot eyes, fiery red tongue and Lord Shiva under her feet. Two idols of Bhairavi (another avatar of Kali) were placed on her either side and were seen beheading Chanda and Munda, two chief Asuras (demons). The Pandal was scented with incense and was alive with activity. Bengali women were distributing prasad (sweet offering) to devotees and were also putting teekas (marks with red colored powder) on their foreheads.

Being late in the evening (it was almost midnight, actually) it was not crowded much and allowed me to take few shots at leisure.

Outside the Pandal the Bhog Khichadi was being distributed to all, irrespective of their religion, caste, creed, class and color. I got me a plate too and relished it while the dhakis played their drums and danced in front of the Pandal.

Here are a few shots!

LED exhibit at the entrance.

Louise Josephine Bourgeois

I often wonder about painting like a child. Those uneven lines, colours not related, things and people not in proportion yet these works are striking because they are made right from the heart. Not very long ago I read about some artist quoting, “I have become a successful artist but I have not learnt to paint like a child”.

After learning and understanding art, it is little difficult to paint like a child. I, as an artist, tried and failed at this wonderful style of art. Trust me it's not easy as it may appear or feel like. So, in that search I came across this brilliant artist whose work reminds me of a child that is very free of pleasing anyone or worried about being judged, and I could not help but share her works and profile here.

And also I could not help but notice that Red seems to be her favourite colour :)

Here presenting Artist Louise Josephine Bourgeois.

The artist.

Her Profile:

Louise Josephine Bourgeois was a renowned French-artist and sculptor, best known for her contributions to both modern and contemporary art.

Her spider installation titled Maman was sold for $10.7 million at a new record for an artist at an auction also got her Spider-woman titled.

She is recognized today as a founder of confessional art.

In the late 1940s, after moving to New York City with her American husband, she turned to sculpture. Though her works are abstract, they are suggestive of the human figure and express themes of betrayal, anxiety, and loneliness. Her work was wholly autobiographical, inspired by her childhood trauma of discovering that her English governess was also her father’s mistress.

Item Number Ki Jai!!!!

Just like an over-the-top ‘item song’ instantly uplifts a boring Bollywood flick, the Mumbai-based fashion & lifestyle brand Item Number by Designer Inderjit Nagi and Artist Syed Ali Arif, too spices up, glamorizes and boosts the style quotient of your wardrobe, house or workspace. The range of products is chic, irresistible and inimitable and is ideal for anyone who wants to break away from ‘same-old-pretty-cutesy-safe’ stuff and step into a vibrant world of fearless colours, intriguing patterns and unabashed ‘desi-pann’.



The brand's biggest inspiration is the wonder that India is! It tries to capture the organized chaos seen in the everyday life. The very Indian-ness of things or ‘desi-pann’ is what Item Number stands true to. India traditionally has a huge database of design in almost all aspects—whether its clothing, food, architecture, home decor, places of worship, mode of transport, festivals, weddings—one always sees a riot of colors, abundant usage of patterns, textures and other design elements and Item Number's kitsch designs bring these design elements together, turning them to pieces of art. (And who doesn't drool over a design with pretty colors?)


Item Number is also partial to Hindi movies, popularly known as Bollywood—a legendary place where today’s nobodies are transformed overnight into tomorrow’s sensational stars. The bold and daring designs on the products often find inspiration in yesteryear silver-screen icons in their famous character roles, retro blockbusters, hit on-screen couples, cheeky dialogues, unforgettable movie moments and the extinct art of poster painting. Pop-art, designer Andy Warhol, the 60s era, vintage photographs and Indian signs & signage are also some other inspirations.


Exaggerated images and eye-catching blends of black-and-white with highly colored accents are among the brand's trademark styles, as seen in most of the products.

Launched in 2009 at a beautiful kitschy store called 'Azaad Bazaar' in the shopping district of Bandra, the brand, within a span of one year, started supplying to kitschy stores across the country including, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Goa and recently added Udaipur to their list.

Go to their page www.facebook.com/itemnumber to know the store locations, updates on their exhibitions and launch of new products and do check out their new website www.itemnumber.co.in to order the colourful quirky stuff online. :) 

Inderjit (standing) & Arif (seated)

Clutch

Coasters

Cushion covers

Laptop Bags

Messenger Bag

Wallet

Tote

Happy Diwali.