Starbucks offline Location tagging

Starbucks advertising its location near a very touristy spot in Prague (where everyone was walking around with spiced hot wine and some very greasy snacks).

 

Caged

 

It was an interesting view to see this painting through the fence as if she had been caged and imprisoned along with her dreams.

I found this on a wall somewhere near a train station in Vienna.

 

The Den

I saw this enchanting painting on a wall while walking down the beach in Hikkaduwa, Sri Lanka outside a restaurant called The Den.

 

From the streets of Shillong

Found these in the streets of Shillong, Meghalaya

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Artists of Kutch

Kutch was an unpredictable trip. I was fascinated with the idea of vast salt lands drenched in moonlight with the pleasant breeze of mild winters. While I did manage to experience the beauty, I was in for a surprise. With increasing marketing of Kutch tourism over the years, the place was flooded with tourists, luxury tents and innumerable handicraft shops selling similar popular products.

And the entry to the open lands was closed before midnight. So it wasn’t really a peaceful trip I had hoped for. However, I found something else more interesting. The art and craft of Kutch.

I met a few artists through the journey. Some were unplanned encounters, some recommended by our local driver and a part of popular Kutch travel itinerary. These artists and their art stayed with me.

 

Pottery

We met a popular local artist who lives with limited means but practices his art with dedication. He sells his creations across the country through various exhibitions. His family helps him with pottery. While he mainly works on creating the items, other members of the family prepare the clay and paints the final products with delicate designs in black and white colors.

 

Rogan Art

We met a family preserving the unique Rogan art. The art form is preserved by the family and kept within the family. The new generations continue to learn and join hands with their elders to make exquisite pieces of hand painted creations. Their most popular work is the tree of life in various vibrant colors. Our favourite moment spent with them was when he demonstrated a small flower motif using Rogan art.

 

Ajrakh Blockprints

The geometric patterns printed through wooden blocks are popular fabric designs in India but I didn’t know how and where they are made. We made an unplanned visit to this workshop on our way to another destination. It was late evening and there wasn’t enough time to sit chatting with the artists. But we managed to take a quick tour of the place. I almost felt dizzy looking at the fabric spread on long wooden tables with repeated prints.

 

 

 

Ocean Waves

I visited Sri Lanka in monsoons. There were limited tourists; the water was rough and the sky was cloudy.

The beach town was covered in different and new colours. Sometimes the view was covered in a sharp yellow of sunlight but mostly it was dull grey. The water was deep blue at times and a deep grey at other times. Often enough, the waves were scary rough.

I had fun taking pictures of the beach and waves in monsoons.

 

While I had heard of Stilt fishing, I came across this view without planing during a drive down the coastal road.

The water was rough and fishing was on halt that day. Many fishing boats remained floating near the beach.

Found this while driving down the coastal road.

View from an unplanned stopover on the way.

While we were chilling at the beach staring at the waves.

Waiting for sunset

Morning tea at the beach.

Blue water on a rare afternoon with no clouds.

Waiting for lunch… given the weather, the beach restaurants and cafes were empty… the only sound I could hear was that of the crashing waves.

 

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka was a very interesting destination for me, not just because it’s a beautiful island in the Indian Ocean but also because of its ties to the ancient mythology of Hindus. Many believe that there exists a bridge made of stones that allowed Lord Ram to reach Lanka and rescue his wife Sita. The geography of Sri Lanka is very similar to the South Indian state of Kerala. The people, clothes and food are similar to the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

The dominant religion in Sri Lanka is Buddism. I had read about it but I wasn’t expecting to see it as the central tourist theme as well.  One can see a Buddha statue around every corner. There are huge statues and temples everywhere. The statues are visible from a distance and you are left with an overwhelming feeling when you stand next to them looking up. They seem to touch the sky.

Here are a few pictures from Buddha temples I visited in Sri Lanka.

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Masks of Sri Lanka

Colourful painted masks were the first thing that caught my attention in Sri Lanka. During my visit there, I saw them often and in innumerable shapes and colors.

After talking to a few locals, we figured out that its a popular craft of Sri Lanka and traditionally made for one of their folk dance forms. Some of these masks depict evil and some are characters from stories told through the dance.

Our curiosity led us to a mask museum and then two workshops while driving through the coastal road. It was quite exciting to see the craft in process and a huge collection of masks depicting so many different emotions.

 

Mask Shop

Mask Museum

At first, it felt horrifying to see a sharp tool covering the eye of a face… even though I knew it was just a wooden mask. In the chaotic workshop, sundry tools and paints were spread around the floor with semi finished masks and other wooden objects.

I found this along with a few other semifinished wooden masks in a workshop located inside an old cottage facing the ocean.

Masks being painted in a small workshop near the museum.

Finished masks waiting for the bright paints to dry off

The relatively peaceful smiling face stood out in a shop filled with scary angry masks

 

 

 

Nainital

Nainital is a small hill town in Uttarakhand. The key highlight is the lake in the center of the town. I visited there at the onset of winters. There was a little chill in the air and a soft sunlight played hide-n-seek with us. One moment you feel warm and then cold. The whole town seemed to have come out for a walk near the lake. Some were playing in the open stadium, some went boating in the lake, a few were shopping in the small market hidden in the shadows of the mountains. And there were a few simply chilling in the sunlight staring into nothing.

The buzz around the town, people walking on the roads, the electricity wires interrupting the view of the sky and the incessant chatter of people sitting by the lake gave a very unique character to the place. While the beauty of the early winter sunlight, blue water and mountains in the backdrop would keep you enchanted, every once in a while, the people and town demand attention. You alternate between magic and reality.

Jim Corbett National Park, Uttarakhand

My recent visit to Jim Corbett National Park went quite uneventful. We spent two days in the hope of spotting a Tiger and only managed to see pugmarks. But there was something special about those two days. We were haunted by the silence of jungle occasionally punctuated by sounds of animals or light breeze passing through the dense trees. The harsh sunlight in the open fields overcompensated for the cold winds through the deep jungle. The beauty of an early morning in the forest is difficult to capture in words or images. I tried anyway.

We met on the way…

And a friendly elephant on our way back…

We stopped at two points in the safari and had rare moments to admire the beauty of the jungle. Interestingly, we had a flat tyre in the first leg of the safari on first day. We were warned not to step out of the vehicle in case the Tiger decides to show up. After 20 minutes of struggle to change the tyre, our guide allowed us to step out. We were not allowed to wander away. We stood there soaking in the eerie silence, staring into the morning sky and admiring the colors of sunrise partially visible through the trees flanking the road. There was a unique beauty to the uneven path and natural growth of trees around it.

During the second part of the safari, our guide stopped the car near a fork in the road and told us to hear the sounds of the jungle. Instead of driving around looking for Tigers, it’s important to sit quietly for a few minutes in the deep silence of the jungle and observe the sounds. ‘Listen to the jungle’, he said. While we couldn’t manage to find a Tiger, we got a unique opportunity to observe the jungle. The wild felt more real than the artificial symmetry of the city we came from. In the chaotic layout of jungle, everything felt right. There was an uncanny beauty to the irregular landscape with various waterways spread through the jungle, cluster of smooth grey-white rocks and pebbles covering a small patch of land, dense trees and large fields with uneven growth of the grass.

After 3 hour ride deep into the jungle on the second day, we reached a point near a large water body. These lands open up for outsiders only for a few months in a year. We were not allowed to go close to the water where a huge group of animals was congregated for what seemed like a daily picnic. We were so close yet so far. For the first time, we did feel like a part of the jungle. We had come in so deep but most animals felt like tiny dots on the vast open fields with a backdrop of mountains and river stretching far back to the horizon. The grandeur of the scene is hard to explain. While there was an excitement to capture some of it through the camera, soon enough I just sat back and looked at the view in awe.