Arun's India

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

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Wednesday, December 07, 2005

Kumta 3: Field of Dreams

Road leading from my cousin's house to the Kumta market. It's a 10 minute walk. Bicycles are family vehicles here. Mom and infant are calmly enjoying the ride on the rack.

Note: open drains to carry heavy rain water run-off; cows resting ahead on road side.

And across is this spectacular rice field. Despite having seen this field hazaar times, I am ever in awe. Depending on the time of day, or year, its a different scene. These pics are from an evening in September 2004; the light has a golden tinge and shadows are getting long. Monsoon rains have just ended, and the crop is starting to mature.

In this God-fearing country, the parting greeting is: Dev Bare Karo! literally, May God do you good!

Sunday, December 04, 2005

Kumta 2: Main Street

The Vegetable market sits on one end of Main Street Kumta. Always a treat to walk the remaining few blocks and watch people. The stores are tiny and carry whatever you would need. Nothing fancy here, just life's essentials. Several temples are on this street, and thus flower sellers everywhere.

Notice the reddish tinged road. That comes from the reddish-brown Laterite rock this entire Konkan region sits atop. In the konkan, everything is made from laterite: buildings, fence walls, bus-stop shelters, stores and even gutters draining road sides. Crushed laterite gravel is used on the shoulders of all roads. Even the dust has a reddish tinge, and so does the normally black asphalt road. After a few days in the konkan, my sense of white clothes now account for a trace of red in it :-)

Let's take a stroll down Main Street!
The Venkateshwara Devasthan is in the center of town. I love exploring the inside of this very old, beautiful temple. Piles of sand and gravel outside point to imminent construction - pray nothing gaudy!

Nearby is the Shanteri-Kamakshi Temple. A thread-ceremony was going on inside and these girls, dressed in new clothes, were welcoming guests. Women received flower strands for their hair, men (and women) got sprinkled with perfumed water. Note the girl in red reaching for the small chrome sprinkler.

After walking in the hot sun, my cousin and I decided to gate-crash this ceremony for some cool lemonade and mithai. We smiled at the girls, got doused in perfumed water and smiled our way to the back of the temple where the lemonade was still being mixed. There as we waited, the assistant picked up a block of ice sitting on the bare floor and tossed it in the giant pot (aaarrrghhhh!) !! I had no intention of getting an upset stomach at the start of my holidays. Mithai too was nowhere to be seen :-( We walked out dejected. O yes, I did bow my head at the shrine.

Right outside the temple I tried taking a pic of the squatting flower-seller, and this women walked right into my field. Her expression suggests she was carrying a huge burden on her already drooping shoulders.

Parched throats made us dash to the corner shop with the red and white awning (Nayak's Cold drinks?). Note the women selling an assortment of flowers, vegetables or fruits. Generally whatever grows on their plot.

On the back table as we waited to order Nimbu-soda, a local person still sitting there was sipping, what looked like a glass of cold-coffee. Raagi Neeru (Nanchane water) he noted. I remembered my grandmother making Raagi Neeru for us kids playing in the hot summer sun. Then we find, the owner's wife makes it at home. So it was a no-brainer - Delicious too! They also served Teela Udak (white sesame water). Had to try that as well. After a few glasses of each, we were well prepared to brave the midday sun. Note empty glasses on table! :-)

Apparently a very simple recipe for these cool-drinks. Roasted Nanchane or white sesame seeds are ground with some coconut gratings, gur and water. Thats it! Ayurveda experts would swear at how it would 'cool' the body from the inside! Amen!
Note: See also Indu's recipe for Ragi Ladoo.

Namaskar!

Thursday, December 01, 2005

Kumta 1: Jewel of the Konkan

Every visit to India, I follow a travel ritual. We head to Goa to pay our respects at the Ramnathi Devasthan in Ponda. From there we head south along the coast to Kumta.

Kumta is a sleepy township. The busiest part of town is Main Street, called paent, which is only a few blocks long. The place for any and all your shopping. Its where all the locals 'hang-out' too. There is not much else to do in Kumta. Rest and relax.

And best of all - I get to speak konkani all over town! My konkani is good enough, I easily pass off as "from Mumbai" (which is not incorrect)! Yes, every shop-owner, rickshaw driver, stall-wallah, lady selling vegetables, and their brother speaks Konkani. :-) So even among strangers, I feel at home.

In the mornings, the local market is buzzing. It's only a few rows of vegetables and fruits. And not surprisingly, friendly folks and juicy vegetable and fruits everywhere.

Join me for a short tour of the Kumta Vegetable Market!

This pair of smiley guys seemed to have the biggest stall there.

These brinjals (?) were mouth watering. Appears to be a hybrid between a "Gullaen" and the brinjal. Can someone shed more light on this?

Yes! MANGOES! BTW, this was from our May-June trip. Those little green ones are deceptively sweet. Called manik-bhat, a local variety and very popular all over the konkan coast.

Who said, sucking up cannot be sweet!
Thats the way to eat the manik-bhat mangoes. Wash (optional), pinch the stem and make a small hole. Gently roll and squeeze the mango, so the pulp is ejected into your mouth. Suck, fast. Discard the leftover at a nearby cow who will glady finish it off :-)

As I negotiated my way around the market shooting pics and striking conversation with the shop-keepers, this girl selling a grab-bag of spices and colors was giggling. Not sure what she found humorous. When I turned my camera on her, ... she was full of modesty.

Here is a tighter crop, lightening her endearingly beautiful features.

For every guy who ever wondered: What women really want?
The largest crowd was in front of this stall which sold bangles, earrings, nose-rings, bracelets, anklets and other trinkets. Note the women who have orange flowers in their hair (3rd from left; 2nd and 4th from right). Those are the traditional aboli flower strands, very common in the konkan. (see next pic).

On the market, a woman was selling these (l to r) drumsticks topped with woven aboli flower strands; dainty lady-fingers (a longer and delicate version of the Okra available in the US); a ripe pineapple; more drumsticks (these appear less fleshy) and a bowl with more flower stringers.

My question is this: Even if the women selling flowers, spices, and the small guys selling mangoes, were to sell all their produce by the end of the day (highly unlikely), how much money would they earn? Would it be enough to buy other food for their familiy, clothes, school tuition? savings perhaps? Something to think about!

My visits to Kumta are times for introspection. While M stays at home and rests and lazes around, I walk the markets, the alleys, the temples, and talk, talk and talk. With the guy selling mangoes, the vegetable seller, the woman here, the flower seller there, the shopkeeper elsewhere. I want to know them, see the world from their eyes. With all my education and training, what can I do for them? What can you do for them?

Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Precious kids we met in Karnataka

A good part of traveling in India is, you get to meet many locals. The ones you would not meet in hotel lobbies, or in coffee shops. Hard working laborers with a few days off to visit temples. Their kids care less for the soulful art, and are scrambling around and pulling pranks on each other. These were the people I looked forward to meeting. And so many I met on this trip to Karnataka. All despite being poor, were rich of heart, of kindness and grace. Their eyes brimmed with joy. Through them life seems to keep reminding me - there is a way to live! Through them I heard - what have your done with your life? for what? And in the kindness of such folks, I find my happiest moments. Not in the bars, not in the posh coffee shops on Colaba Causeway, not with my iPod. My camera incidentally appears to be the vehicle for reaching out - rather, for them to reach out to me.

It's usually the poorest of the poor who will strike a conversation with us. Perhaps they have nothing to fear. Most are kids - certainly fearless! When they see I have a big camera, they come up and ask to take their pic. The common phrase was, "Anna (elder brother) photo!" pointing to themselves. For me this was always a thrill. I gladly shoot multiple pics and they scramble away, jumping up and down. With my big camera, they prolly feel like stars in a movie production. And I treat them like stars. Some stay back to ask where I am from. If they hang around long enough, I show them the pics on the LCD screen - then their amazement sees no end. Interestingly, most never ask for copies of the prints. They are simply content, they posed.

While I derive a lot of joy from this encounter, what's in it for them? Perhaps I hope, in approaching and dealing with me, their confidence is boosted. They may hesitate less, the next time they have to stand-up for something. Perhaps. Here I have assembled a few pics from our recent trip to Badami, Pattadakal and Hampi. Other than the actual sites, these interactions I craved the most. Let me know of your experiences.

Accompanying pic: As we parked near the Cave temples of Badami, these two came up and he confidently asked me to take their pic. They appeared to be siblings - look at their beautifully intertwined fingers.

At the MahaKuta Temple complex, some miles from Badami: The kid selling Goli Soda darted by as I tried to get his attention. The other two realized my intent and ran after the kid and brought him back to pose with them. The kid was prolly 8-10 years old, trying to make a living selling Goli Soda. The one in the center scares me!

Busily shooting at the Hazara Raam Temple in Hampi, the girl in the center asked to first take a pic of their largish family. Then she wanted a pic only with a couple of her friends. Girls, I'd have thought, would be more shy and not approach strangers, and particularly, not ask to take their picture.

These boys hanging around did not want to be left out. They came over and asked for their pics too.

These girls certainly felt left out. Either because they were tending the baby, or they just did not summon the courage to ask. I sensed, and asked if I could take their pic, and their eyes gleamed in affirmation.

At the Vithala temple in Hampi, the young girl Gouthami asked me to take a pic of her family. This girl of about 10, directed her mother and all older relatives to pose and smile. Then she wanted one with her mother (above). While I was surprised at her english, I was speechless when her mother spoke in flawless english and explained details about their trip. They were from a village in AndhraPradesh and were coincidentally also leaving for Tirupati on the night train. Gouthami wanted more pics (see below) and most unusually, wanted me to mail the pics to them. So the mother wrote out her name and address. Of the so many kids pics I have taken on this trip, this was the only time anyone asked me to mail the pics. I still need to do so.

I saved the best for last. We were visiting the Tungabhadra Dam and the adjacent gardens had a light and water show. We found a bench in front of the fountains, which was to 'dance' to the music. This group of kids were hovering along the fence at the perimeter of the fountain. They kept staring at us. To break the ice, I tried to take a pic. They being shy, ran away. This happened a few times and finally one of the boys, boldly stood in front of me and posed a body-builder's pose. I shot his pic and showed it to him on the LCD. He and his friends stared in amazement, and then they all wanted pics. Finally I got this pic of the 12 boys and girls in the group. By now they were very comfortable with me and all over our bench, squeezing themselves between M and me, and even standing behind us on the bench. I found some packs of Wrigleys chewing gum and offered it to them. They were overjoyed! They spoke Telugu and I only knew a spattering of Kannada. I did understand "uuru" in one of their queries and, "Mumbai," I replied. You could feel the sighs of approval spreading through the group. They asked many more questions, but I could not understand what they were saying. But they just kept talking, and we listened intently and nodded. There was an older gentlemen with them, and he too only spoke Telugu. We could not figure out if the kids were from one family, or neighborhood kids out for a picnic. As the show ended, our driver came to fetch us, and I asked him to inquire with the older gentlemen. We found that these kids were from an Orphanage in Raichur (?) and were on a picnic to see the Dam and the gardens!!! My heart sank like a rock!

As we walked back to the car in stunned silence, the kids waved bye. Here were kids with literally nothing in this world, not even family, and they seemed so content to be merry. M & I talked about how we had been quibbling earlier in the evening - we who have so much; and the kids, with nary a penny to their name were happily enjoying the moment. That was for me an important evening, and I hope it changes our lives forever. Even today, whenever M and I have a disagreement, we think of those orphans we met at the Dam, see how happy they were with what little they had! Certainly, we have much more.

As part of our annual charitable givings, I hope to identify an orphanage in rural karnataka and make a huge donation to them. We have also decided not to take any more gifts to our relatives in India, but to instead continue and increase our contributions to the schools and other deserving opportunities. I encourage you to do the same.

Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Sugarcane Fields: Making Jaggery

During this past visit to India, we hired a cab to take us from Belgaum to Badami - to see the cave temples - and onwards. The route goes through some of the most rural and poorest parts of North Karnataka, with whole families helping in tilling the fields, sowing, weeding and harvesting. Sugarcane (kabbu) fields lined both sides of the country road. We passed this one with a small set-up to make jaggery (unrefined brown sugar, or gur) from the cane juice.

After a quick 'tour' of their operations, the head guy in the accompanying pic insisted I try some of their jaggery! Yes, very delicious indeed! The gur has the consistency of solid fudge with a fine texture. It has a distintive taste making it ideal for sweetening indian desserts, such as payasam. A pinch of gur is also used to round-off the spice in many dishes, including the gujarati daal and the konkani delicacy - kadgi chakko.

From my childhood summer vacations in Bhatkal, I remember day laborers, even those who just stopped by looking for work, were offered a pot of water and a chunk of gur. It was fitting then, that I accepted this humble, but rich offering from a hard working laborer.

In one part of the field, the sugarcane is pressed to extract the juice. At the back, notice the composting pile.

The cane juice is first allowed to settle any impurities and then boiled in this huge open air vat. It needs to be constantly stirred to prevent sugar crystallizing at the top or settling. As the water evaporates, it starts to thicken.

The molten jaggery is poured in these rectangular trays in the ground, and allowed to harden. Then the jaggery is cut into blocks and sold to wholesalers. Jaggery is also poured into bucket shaped moulds, you can see in the back right.

The dried cane pulp is used to fire the vats. As the lady hauls the load, the young one stuffs it in the fire under the vats.

I nibbled on the jaggery all the way to Badami. No additives, nothing! Because jaggery remains unrefined, it also retains many of the natural nutrients and soluble fiber. I find from personal experience that it does not give a "sugar high," leading me to speculate that it should be better sweetener for diabetics, than refined sugar.

Certainly beats chemical laden candy bars, sold by slick marketing types making money for MNCs; so their executives can cash in their options and jet to exotic locales.

Friday, November 25, 2005

A Few Temples from Pattadakal

Posted as a comment:

Pattadakal itself was a superb laboratory of temple architecture. Here you can witness the synthesis of North Indian Nagara Style and early versions of the South Indian Dravidian style.

This is the entire temple complex at Pattadakal. Notice the curious mix of Nagara and Dravidian syle Shikaras. The Galganatha Temple is second from left.

At the Galganatha temple, only the outer Mandapa has collapsed, and the raised floor of the mandapa is clearly visible. The main garbha griha and the parakrama corridor are visible. The granite Shiva Linga is still inside (!). Right next to it is the early version of the Dravidian Shikara on the Sangameshwara temple. Beautiful!