Indore Diaries

A get away is not always about seeing a new place. Sometimes, it is about escaping the monotony, to take a break and to surprise a friend! We did the latter some time back when we went to IIM Indore, to surprise a friend of ours, and to take a break, with her! 😉

Our plan was a sudden one, yet again. I don’t know but I take a certain pride in sudden plans, to be able to do something in an impulse. (Although, that somehow means I find myself not so good in making planned decisions. :P)

In the little time I had, I looked up for places to see in Indore and guess what came up at the top – IIM Indore!! I dropped the idea of sight seeing there and then. 😛

First things first, August is a good time to visit Indore, with the showers pouring down without a warning and a pleasant weather at the little hill, on top of which, the IIM campus is located.

Way to Sunset Point, IIM Indore

We travelled by train, a mighty 14-15 hours journey. My friend booked the tickets a week back, and we got confirmed tickets for one side only. The way back was RAC (FYI: RAC is Reserved against cancellation. You get a confirmed travel, not berth).

For people who would like to make this a family trip and if you want to include a temple visit in your itinerary, do plan on visiting Ujjain, a place nearby indore and very famous for the Mahakaleshwari temple. You can find more details here:
http://dic.mp.nic.in/ujjain/mahakal/default.aspx

For me, surprising her was one of the best moments of the trip. It did not go as planned, coz she happened to see us before we intended it to be. But her reaction was all worth it – The way she said..”Bhai tum log pagal ho..sahi me aa gaye!!??” Later, she was proudly showing off her crazy friends(US) to all her friends in Indore. 🙂

So, What exactly we did there?

In a nutshell : Lazed around, chilled out with her, explored the campus, ate a lot and of course, partied! 😀

Life in an IIM is a full fledged race, everyone is always on their heels, there is no night or day, no Saturday or Sunday. In a way, I feel its good coz you always keep moving and it is a good kind of high! One automatically feels energetic in such an environment. Although, there are a lot of people who get frustrated too. In the end, its your choice, the way you want to see it.

My Special Mentions

Cycling: Remember, how as a kid this used to be one of your most prized possession?

To ride a bicycle after such a long time, was truly one of the most exciting moments of my trip, when my inhibitions started telling me I won’t be able to do it, but I did it, surprisingly quite easily!
We went downhill(superb feeling! 🙂 ) and uphill(ahh, well, you might have guessed, this made us realize we need to exercise 😛 ).

The one with the Cycles! 🙂

Wanna Puff:  Good food makes a trip really memorable and this place had yummy mouth watering food which all of us will not forget for a very long time. We went there for dinner on our last night in Indore. Great view too. Do visit this cute little place if you are around! 🙂

And last but not the least,

“Hum jo chalne lage, chalne lage hai ye raaste, aha haan manzil se behtar lagne lage hai ye raaste!”

O yeah!! There is always something special about journeys, and the time you spend with friends while travelling. For one, they make amazing stories because you leave everything behind and relax. For instance, one of my friend, Y, fell in love (Yeah, love at first sight still persists. I found it difficult to digest at first though :P), so we spend a good enough of time figuring out what to do next on that front.

We spent telling the entire Mahabharata to Y, and it was too, one of the memorable experiences of the trip. I learnt that storytelling is an art which not many possess. I am not bragging about myself, but about my other friend, S, who is really good at it. You know it when you hear one. 😉

There were many such anecdotes which we shared, making yet again journey an important part of my trip. Travelling with people make you comfortable with them on an altogether different level. I realized this way back when I went on my first trip with my college friends, towards the end of college. A year later, I was partly remembering that and partly reliving that. 🙂

The journey….

Munnar 101 #1 Folklore

In a breathtaking beauty like Munnar, you can simply relax yourself and let nature cast a magical spell on you. You should happily let that happen, but don’t lose yourself completely in that, coz there is a lot more on offer 🙂

1. Kathakkali , Drama of Dance

“The object of art is not to reproduce reality, but to create a reality of the same intensity.”

Its not Shakespeare’s green eyed monster, but the beautifully painted green faced character of the traditional dance form of Kerala you have heard so much about. Yes, the one in which there is bright, colourful and too much make-up, amazing costumes and of course, expressions! 🙂

To understand how grand the affair is, you will have to attend it LIVE. It is no less than a theatrical performance, it has a story, that too a mythological one, with Gods and demons. It has dance of its own kind, a bucket full of amazing facial expressions(navarasas) and hand gestures (called mudras) which make you feel the power of this art form.

Sitting there amongst the crowd, you will feel the dramatic effect which face paints and colourful costumes bring in an actor’s performance. There are no words in this dance form, it simply transports you to a world where you understand various phases of the story with the help of expressions, gestures and the occasional musical effect of drums.

As a matter of fact, the efforts made to bring out this vivid art form is in itself pretty interesting. It takes at least 4 hours to put on the make-up and 2 hours to remove it! See for yourself: https://www.keralatourism.org/video-clips/kathakali-make-up/121

2. Kalaripayattu, the undying martial art form

I grew up watching the television versions of various mythological stories(Ramayana and Mahabharata to begin with) and as a kid, my favourite part used to be when the two sides began fighting, the decisive battles, the clinging of swords, the arrows meeting up in the sky to decide the fate!! It all seemed so fantastic! Imagine my excitement when I heard about Kalaripayattu!! And a chance to see it live. 😀

For facts, Kalaripayattu is a 3000-year-old art form and is often traced back to Sage Parasurama. The Malayalam word ‘kalari’ means gymnasium and ‘payattu’ means exercise in weaponry and thus kalaripayattu also means “practising the arts of the battlefield”.

You will, rather you must see this live to experience one of the oldest martial arts of India. One by one, in the performance area, you will see all forms of combats come alive.

Fights with weapons(swords, daggers, spears and even fire!) and without weapons(kicks, punches, knockouts!), the alertness of the attacker and the defender, the knowledge of not only your strengths and weaknesses but that of your opponent as well- all the skills of battlefield are displayed transporting you to the time when kids went to gurukuls to learn everything.

And then last but not the least, watch it for the “Man and the fire ring”. You will literally hold your breath as you see them jumping through a burning ring and sigh with a sense of relief when they land safely! Admirable and adventurous much! 😀 (Not for the weak hearts!)

For all those people who love to try something new, for people who like to explore the cultural art forms and for all the other people who simply want to visit Munnar, I will say these are a few things you must try. 🙂

How and where:

Everyday in the evening, there is one show both for Kathakkali and Kalaripayattu.

Ticket prices: 200 each

For more information, see this: http://punarjanimunnar.com/evening_shows_in_munnar_kerala.html

*Pictures courtesy Google Images

Munnar 101 #0 The journey

If Kerala is God’s own country, I found Munnar to be God’s personal tea garden, where I can imagine him relishing his own creation and sipping a cup of tea on a beautiful morning! 🙂

“A well known hill station at an elevation of 5200 ft, it is located in the Idukki district in the Western Ghats.  The name Munnar is believed to mean “three rivers”, referring to its location at the confluence of the Mudhirapuzha, Nallathanni and Kundaly rivers.”- this and the name of a few more places to see was all I managed to read up on my way to Munnar.

Not only was, my decision to visit this heavenly place was very impromptu, this was my first “all girls”  trip and I can not be more proud of it! 🙂 So, all the girlies out there who are hesitant to plan such trips, go ahead coz if we did it, you sure can! 😉

I always believe that a place mesmerizes you just as much as the journey. Sometimes, the journey is even more interesting because that is the time when you have so many amazing thoughts. The anticipation on your way to the place, and the reflection on your way back!

We chose a KSRTC bus, overnight journey and we had the pleasure of witnessing a beautiful sunrise on our way, in Coimbatore. Half awake, half asleep, I happened to look out around 6 am. As the sun smiled brightly through the clouds, my eyes were busy scanning the horizon amidst the lush green covers. In the backdrop of far away mountains, I saw huge fans moving slowly and steadily. And then, out of nowhere, I realized I saw my first ever windmill farm. 😀

The next interesting part of the journey begins when you reach the entrance of Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary. Just for facts, it is one of the twelve Wildlife Sanctuaries among the protected areas of Kerala and is under the jurisdiction of and is contiguous with Eravikulam National Park to the south. 

As the bus goes through the sanctuary, you will definitely chance upon to see some monkeys and if you see some other animals, then well, you are lucky. But the best part is the ride from there up till Munnar. You will not get tired of seeing the vastness of mountains, the deepness of valleys and the scenic beauty around you which manages to get you dumbstruck!

And while I was trying to absorb all the beauty I could, I realized its a bumpy ride, just like life and it is totally worth it, just like life is!! Hold on tight, relish it as much as you can and welcome the blind turns coz the journey is what makes the end worth it! 🙂

Mumbai 101 #3 1000+ Weeks and Still on

For those who love facts, Dilwale Dulhania le Jayenge aka DDLJ(released on 20th October 1995), has won 10 Filmfare awards, setting the record at the time for the most awards. It was one of three Hindi films in the film reference book “1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die”, was ranked among The Times of India’s list of the “25 Must See Bollywood Films” and has been running in Maratha Mandir since then, except for a shocker in between, when after completing 1000 weeks it was removed for sometime but later, fan support brought it back. (Lucky for me! :D)

Well, as I mentioned before, this was one of the things I had to do as it was a part of my bucket list. 🙂

It was important not because I am a huge SRK fan, but because DDLJ has always been special for me. My realistic fairy tale!!

Realistic as I personally relate a lot to Simran – when a middle class Indian girl seeks permission from her dad for a trip and it is a big deal. And the happiness when he allows her to go ahead!! (Best feeling, trust me! :D) I am sure a lot of girls out there could relate to that too. A fairy tale as a guy like Raj (too perfect! I always wonder how any girl can not fall for a character like him!) and Simran finally get together even when Simran is about to get married to someone else!!! Special mention for Anupam Kher, the daddy cool!! Sometimes I really wonder, how amazing it would be if all Pops are like that man! 😀

Anyway, Happy Ending. Typical bollywood. Cliched. Call it whatever you want to. But this was one of the few experiences I would never forget. I still remember, not just me, but all of my friends were in a state of euphoria after watching the movie! 😀

A new movie brings with it a new theme and creativity which can make you go wow or curse yourself for wasting your money. But as Deepika says in YJHD :”Tumhe kya pata doston ke saath wahi purane qisse dohrane ka maza kya hota hai!!” , DDLJ was something everyone of us had seen before but it was a totally different feeling watching it together in the Balcony seats of Maratha Mandir with popcorn and cold drinks! 😉

We knew the timings of punches, we sang the songs, clapped whistled, laughed, were stirred when Simran was in a dilemma, were in an awe when they were finally in love, at the edge of the seats when her dad was in the denial mode..and literally danced when he let her go!! “Ja Simran jaa..ji le apni zindagi…” And it was not just us, the entire crowd was like that! Those moments, when we were so engrossed in enjoying the movie, I realized the happiness of being with my favourite people who made me complete this bucket list task! Being there, with them, watching that movie made it so damn special! 🙂

A must watch, once in a lifetime! (Only if you are a Bollywood fan. No hard feelings. :P)

How to Reach: Maratha Mandir is at walking distance from Mumbai Central Railway Station. There is a show everyday at 11.30 am.

P.S. The 1000th week completion trailer to refresh some memories! 🙂

#2 Mumbai’s soft spot- Marine Drive

A must visit place in Mumbai, this one speaks for itself. The insanely famous Marine drive is always on the checklist for every person visiting Mumbai, whether it is for the first time or the nth time. 🙂

Marine Drive

Extensively featured in so many Bollywood movies as well, I added Marine Drive to my list after I watched one of my favourite movies for the first time – “Wake Up Sid”. This movie was not only responsible for adding this spot in my bucket list for Mumbai, but for also painting a fascinating picture of Mumbai as a whole in my mind!  (So you might find references to this movie a lot :P)

Marine Drive, Wake Up Sid

Mumbai welcomed us with the hotness of 35 degrees accompained with its never ending humidity. Sulking in the not so happening weather, when we finally made it to our destination around 8 pm, it was totally worth it!

On a day when you have been running around to get things in place, when you are so fed up with all the confusions, or when you just want to be at peace in the city which never sleeps, this is one spot where you can sit, relax, lie down and let it all go. You can sit there indefinitely, looking at the sea, at the waves which never seem to end- when one dies, the other one is about to be born!  Marine drive is a place to relax, to realise the soothing effect of stopping for once in a while, only to get inspired by the sea which never seems to take a break! Fascinating, isn’t it?

Marine Drive, busy day

One of my friends on this trip had been to Mumbai before, and on our way from Church Gate local station till Marine Drive(which is about 10 minutes walk), he had been building up in my head what I was about to see. He was right when he said this is one place, where you should totally go with your friends, especially old friends! We sat there for countless hours, until a policeman came and asked us to get going 😛

Marine Drive, Mumbai

Also known as Queen’s necklace, as it appears so because of all the lights brightening it up in the night’s darkness, this place truly relieves you of all your worries.The breath taking view of the city on one end separated by infinite sea makes one wonder about nature’s beauty and our presence in it.

A perfect spot to get lost in your thoughts(for people like me :P). A perfect spot to sit with your friends and relive all the memories while making new ones! 🙂

 

*Pictures courtesy Google Images

Mumbai 101 #1 The First Impression

My trip to Mumbai was sort of a Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara experience. Four College friends, coming from different directions, meeting at one point! I was under the euphoria of this amazing feeling when I boarded the early morning flight. I dozed off with a smile on my face as I wanted to restore as much energy as I could.

The pilot’s announcement woke me up. We were about to land in Mumbai in a few minutes. I had chosen the last seat of the plane(with no recliner! ) so that I can have a good view of the Mayanagari while I land.

Mumbai, First view

A little bit sleepy, I looked outside and in the moment when I saw the above view, I could not have been more awake. Of course, Mumbai is known for being crowded, but it was surprisingly amazing to absorb this view. Not an inch of land spared! Like a deck of cards spread on an uneven surface combined with huge building blocks, it was all there – houses and buildings (tall enough to seem at par with the landing plane). There was another surprise element though, the sea, proudly keeping up with the terrain!

And as the plane approached the runway, I felt as if I am landing on a normal road! 😛 That very moment, I realized I am in a different city, its MUMBAI and more surprises are definitely on my way!! 🙂

Mumbai, Closer view

Mumbai 101 #0

Mumbai or Mayanagri, the place where so many dreams are fulfilled and broken everyday had been on my ‘must visit’ list for a long time. There were a lot of things I was excited about, mostly clichéd (guilty!) but once you put a desire out of your heart in your bucket list, you develop an urge to at least try it once.

For me, the planning was fairly simple(initially) but the experience was amazing(eventually!). 😉

The simple part was my short list- to watch DDLJ at Maratha Mandir(one of the major reasons I planned this trip a little sooner as rumours had it that after 1009 weeks, this epic show was about to come to an end!!), travel in the ever so talked about Bombay Local Train and to sit for hours at Marine Drive. The amazing part was my company. For four days, I was with my favourite people(my close friends from College) in a new city which I wanted to explore. Without them, I would have seen a different Mumbai, but I would like to cherish this version for a long time! 🙂