The Dark Empress

The other side thrives on the negative we dwell inside. Unexplained synergy of energies create The Dark Empress

[shekaul]

A Tenant of a Tent

A Tenant of a Tent

‘Stay home. Stay safe.’ is the tagline for 2021. Undoubtedly, the safest place right now is our home. However, I cannot help but think of another safe place—a tent. Call me a dreamer, but this is the home that I look forward to going to soon. A tent is a home. Kedartal trek It is not nylon, polyester and canvas against bricks, stones and cement. A tent offers a roof where no house can…

View On WordPress

[shekaul]

COVID vs Travel. How far is going too far?

COVID vs Travel. How far is going too far?

Pandemic. When I say the word, a hundred things may run through your mind – virus, masks, sanitizer, social distancing, 6 feet away, work from home, cooking, cleaning. Bet travel may not make it to the list. Or does it? How far is feeling this way okay? There’s a huge spike in people who are hitting the road, braving a virus that killed thousands of people. Why? Well almost everyone has reached…

View On WordPress

[shekaul]

From Risk to Rejuvenation: Kedartal trek with Bikat Adventures

“For the first time, I realized why our ancestors prayed to a burning ball of gas, and I did the same, religiously.”

The white snow ended at the blue sky. One wrong step, I knew, would throw me several meters down into the gorge on my left. I am a Capricorn, and the mountain goat in me refused to accept my quivering confidence as I strode up.

Frozen Kedartal lake with Thalay Sagar in…

View On WordPress

[shekaul]

Journey to Isha Foundation and Ooty: A Solo Endeavor

Journey to Isha Foundation and Ooty: A Solo Endeavor

†

Manzil nayi hai anjaana hai kaarvaan Chalna akele hai yahan

— Shaan

“The destination is new and the journey is unknown

In the end, have to walk here alone”

The singer, Shaan had brought out the essence of life that I hadn’t really understood until my first solo travel. Even when the destination is decided, the journey is planned, nothing can prepare you for the unforeseen.

It was…

View On WordPress

[shekaul]

Waking Up in Udupi

Waking Up in Udupi

Under the 12 o’clock sun of April in a tropical country on a deserted rocky seashore sat a girl under the blue umbrella.

She stared at the sea and the noises that it made — it sounded like the jets that flew over her in the city. She couldn’t spot the source of the sound; all she knew was that it came from the sea.

The water level rose and washed away the mountains that she had made out of the…

View On WordPress

[shekaul]

Reasons to Ride 500 Kilometers: Bangalore to Udupi and Murudeshwar

Reasons to Ride 500 Kilometers: Bangalore to Udupi and Murudeshwar

5 Reasons To Drive 500 Kilometers: Bangalore to Udupi And Murudeshwar

“If you feel disappointed that something didn’t happen as expected, don’t worry, there is always something better waiting for you ahead.”

The trip to Udupi and Murudeshwar came out as the last minute plan B when our trek to Naramsimha Parvatha (Western Ghats, Karnataka) got cancelled due to seemingly improbable…

View On WordPress

[shekaul]

Stepping Over The Southern Edge: Kovalam To Kanyakumari And Beyond

Here we are standing at the edge of the Indian mainland and absorbing the vastness of the sea.

It is not every day that you reach the end of ‘a world’, where the vast ocean stares back at you mocking your limitations yet demanding endless reverence.

At the southernmost tip of the Indian subcontinent in the state of Tamil Nadu lies Kanykumari. From the point where the land meets the ocean, you can see the Laccadive Sea expand like an endless blue giant roaring and crashing against the rocky…

View On WordPress

[shekaul]

Know 'Me'

Know a little more about me..

I..  I think ‘I’ is a very selfish word yet it is strong and addictive in today’s world. This is ‘Me’ and I am known by the name Sheeba Kaul. Life from my eyes is constantly moving, forcing me to drift along. Everyone here is no more than a leaf flowing over a stream of water, unaware and unknown to the next curve and bend. I have built a sanctuary of my own. Repello Muggletum! You can’t really…

View On WordPress

[shekaul]

The Day That Never Comes

The Day That Never Comes

I was in the office lift going down from the cafeteria to my floor after having lunch. My friend accompanied me, with whom I usually have lunch. It was a busy day and a lot of work still remained pending for us.

Even while eating we discussed what work remained to be done, what more was coming up next week and so on. All of it continued until we entered the lift and door got closed.

(more…)

View On WordPress

[shekaul]

Father To Son

Post meeting a friend of mine, after a long time, I was returning back home by bus. Luckily I didn’t have to wait that long for the direct bus from Marathalli Bridge to my place.

So tiresome the day went that I just needed my bed to drop on and sleep. I bade my friend goodbye and climbed onto the bus with tedious steps. Luck favored again and I got a seat just behind the driver’s. With soft music…

View On WordPress

[shekaul]

30 minuscule minutes

My stomach churned, twisted and grunted shouting and crying against the acid attack it underwent. I looked at my watch 8:48, still more than 30 minutes before I lose my cab. Alone near my cubicle, I hoped my colleagues would come sooner from the cafeteria, so that at least I could marathon back there and get myself a glass of juice. (Our project has to be under surveillance 24*7.) My phone…

View On WordPress

[shekaul]

Kudremukh Trek: Passing 7 Milestones To Reach The Land Above The Clouds

Trekking to Kudremukh peak in monsoons is like finishing a milestone in your trekking career.

There is a magical and enchantingly beautiful place hidden amid the clouds and you don’t get a ladder to climb up there.

To reach there, you must follow the trail through the dense Shola forest, cross the paths of blood sucking monsters, witness excessive color green that hurts eyes, step through mud and puddles, dodge rocks across 10 streams of cold rushing water, climb altitude against stormy…

View On WordPress

[shekaul]

Day 1

The burning morning sun and the dust agitated by the passing vehicles made me think if I should have listened to my roommate.

“There is nothing in Hampi. What will you do there?”, She had said.

The First Impression

  Virupaksha Temple in the far left corner

  The only bus stand in Hampi seemed like a parking place for private cars. Rows of temporary shops awaited for their customers desperately. Auto-drivers and locals selling small items came like a swarm of bees towards the honey combs except that we weren’t honey combs — we were tourists—new to the place and almost completely lost at where to begin.

After a 7-hour journey from Bangalore in the rickety sleeper claiming to be a multi-axle, the bus dropped us at Hospete. I quarrelled with the driver as I had booked the bus till Hampi, and he claimed that the private buses weren’t allowed in there. Only when he assured me that he will provide an auto service at his own cost did I retreat. Luckily, I met my friends at the major bus depot at Hospete. From there, we took a local bus to Hampi, which took us another 30 minutes.

City That Once Flourished

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Hampi—an ancient city in ruins—stood before us, silently shouting of its glorious past. People still live there but not as they used to in the 15th and 16th century or even before. There are monumental structures that stand tall and sturdy through the weathering of time, though nobody stays in them. Hampi was one of the richest cities, and a centre of trade of horses, gems and arts and culture. If you ever heard of Tenali Raman, and the court of Krishnadevaraya, it was this place where the intelligent Brahmin impressed the king with his witty answers. Under the rein of the generous king, the city of Vijayanagar (now Hampi) rose to the zenith.

Hampi is situated in a semi-arid area of northern Karnataka. All you can see in your vicinity are stretches of huge chunks of rocks. Little vegetation has turned the air dusty, and the sunlight scorches mercilessly through the already dwindling shade. The only relief to the eyes is the water of Tungabhadra River that traces a snake-like path between lower rocky terrains. On either side of the river, the intricately cut out rocks have astoundingly taken the forms of temples, gateways, deities, animals, and other innumerable structures. These designs and carvings emanate and highlight the cultures and traditions that would have otherwise been buried with time.

After walking for a while, the sun felt warmer and took a toll on our imagination, wavering it to the wildest corners. We guessed that Hampi got its name from its range of hills that looked like the hump of a camel. Hampi was originally called as Pampi, which was the old name of Tungabhadra River. In my imagination, children ran playfully through the rows of tall stone pillars, engraved with pictorial descriptions of wars, horses, courtesans and deities. I saw women clad in saree, going to Virupaksha temple for early morning prayers, with a plate full hibiscus, banana and coconut to be offered to Lord Shiva. Few horsemen, stood patiently waiting for traders, who watched the sturdy horses, admiring their hefty, muscular built. It would have been a pleasant evening—the days much cooler and the sun not so harsh. Pilgrims visiting Virupaksha temple from far and wide, to offer prayers to Lord Shiva, wouldn’t have known that their place of worship would be functional even after 14 decades.

Virupaksha Temple

We started with one of the giant structures visible around. The Virupaksha temple—which was a prominent landmark in Pampi back in the 15th-16th century—has two huge courtyards with a giant gateway connecting them. This nine storeyed temple tower has stonework at every level that sculpts into figures, few of which may seem erotic but they rather signify the auspiciousness of fertility.

The Mortals

You have to walk barefoot inside the temple and need to pay if you intend to take photographs. The open temple courtyard has pillars on the both sides of the walkway. On the left, they had kept an elephant to amuse visitors. She was trained to collect money from them and pat their heads with her trunk, as a form of blessing. I lost the count of people who took selfies with the elephant, who was mindlessly munching on the eatables they provided to her. I stood there for long and waited for the people to disperse. I stared at the she-elephant and conveyed to her, how sorry I felt for her, to be away from home, here, surrounded by some silly people, asking for her blessings after enslaving her. I thought she might feel grateful that she is not their God—’They’ would have faced torments if ‘They’ lived among us. It was as if she understood me and brought her head closer towards me. I gave the 34-year-old a gentle pat of assurance and wished her a good life ahead.

The Gods

The temple hall had stone-carved lions on the outer side of its pillars. One could look up to find the ceilings display rows of beautiful murals—it reminded me of the typical South-Asian gods and goddesses with slender eyes and sensual gestures. The Shiv-Ling, confined to a small space inside the main enclosure, was barely visible. The walking area around the temple had its roof covered with rock slabs, which blocked the sunlight. It was quite dark and cold inside. While circumventing the temple, when we switched on our cell phone flashlights, we noticed hundreds of tiny bats hanging quietly on the ceiling of the walkway without our knowledge. In fret, we quickly circled the temple in the dim light coming from the cracks between the rocks slabs above us and hurriedly came out from the other end.

The bright sunlight welcomed us again. There were people and monkeys everywhere. The former offered prayers to the deities at the functional temple whereas the latter got all the blessings in the form of food. We walked further to reach an open space and found a few rock statues silently basking in the sun. There was also to an algae-struck pond, probably a reservoir but, thankfully, it was devoid of any human waste. The rear exit of the temple courtyard opened to a mini market along the Tunghabadhra River. A few people—mostly men—went down the step-way to take a dip in the shallow and rocky waters. Not so far from the river stood few changing rooms for the ease of the visitors though the men didn’t seem to make use of them.

Slightly tired, we sat there under the shade and waited for the time to pass and the sun to relax. Fruits were readily available along with things like jewellery and decorative items —it was sold by the locals along the roadside. I went past them like a raven attracted to their glitter. But, then, I wanted to meet the elephant again and traced my own steps back.

The silent structures speak of Hampi, a city that thrived on the banks of river Tungabhadra. Day 1 The burning morning sun and the dust agitated by the passing vehicles made me think if I should have listened to my roommate.

[shekaul]

Day 1

The burning morning sun and the dust agitated by the passing vehicles made me think if I should have listened to my roommate.

“There is nothing in Hampi. What will you do there?”, She had said.

The First Impression

  Virupaksha Temple in the far left corner

  The only bus stand in Hampi seemed like a parking place for private cars. Rows of temporary shops awaited for their customers desperately. Auto-drivers and locals selling small items came like a swarm of bees towards the honey combs except that we weren’t honey combs — we were tourists—new to the place and almost completely lost at where to begin.

After a 7-hour journey from Bangalore in the rickety sleeper claiming to be a multi-axle, the bus dropped us at Hospete. I quarrelled with the driver as I had booked the bus till Hampi, and he claimed that the private buses weren’t allowed in there. Only when he assured me that he will provide an auto service at his own cost did I retreat. Luckily, I met my friends at the major bus depot at Hospete. From there, we took a local bus to Hampi, which took us another 30 minutes.

City That Once Flourished

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Hampi—an ancient city in ruins—stood before us, silently shouting of its glorious past. People still live there but not as they used to in the 15th and 16th century or even before. There are monumental structures that stand tall and sturdy through the weathering of time, though nobody stays in them. Hampi was one of the richest cities, and a centre of trade of horses, gems and arts and culture. If you ever heard of Tenali Raman, and the court of Krishnadevaraya, it was this place where the intelligent Brahmin impressed the king with his witty answers. Under the rein of the generous king, the city of Vijayanagar (now Hampi) rose to the zenith.

Hampi is situated in a semi-arid area of northern Karnataka. All you can see in your vicinity are stretches of huge chunks of rocks. Little vegetation has turned the air dusty, and the sunlight scorches mercilessly through the already dwindling shade. The only relief to the eyes is the water of Tungabhadra River that traces a snake-like path between lower rocky terrains. On either side of the river, the intricately cut out rocks have astoundingly taken the forms of temples, gateways, deities, animals, and other innumerable structures. These designs and carvings emanate and highlight the cultures and traditions that would have otherwise been buried with time.

After walking for a while, the sun felt warmer and took a toll on our imagination, wavering it to the wildest corners. We guessed that Hampi got its name from its range of hills that looked like the hump of a camel. Hampi was originally called as Pampi, which was the old name of Tungabhadra River. In my imagination, children ran playfully through the rows of tall stone pillars, engraved with pictorial descriptions of wars, horses, courtesans and deities. I saw women clad in saree, going to Virupaksha temple for early morning prayers, with a plate full hibiscus, banana and coconut to be offered to Lord Shiva. Few horsemen, stood patiently waiting for traders, who watched the sturdy horses, admiring their hefty, muscular built. It would have been a pleasant evening—the days much cooler and the sun not so harsh. Pilgrims visiting Virupaksha temple from far and wide, to offer prayers to Lord Shiva, wouldn’t have known that their place of worship would be functional even after 14 decades.

Virupaksha Temple

We started with one of the giant structures visible around. The Virupaksha temple—which was a prominent landmark in Pampi back in the 15th-16th century—has two huge courtyards with a giant gateway connecting them. This nine storeyed temple tower has stonework at every level that sculpts into figures, few of which may seem erotic but they rather signify the auspiciousness of fertility.

The Mortals

You have to walk barefoot inside the temple and need to pay if you intend to take photographs. The open temple courtyard has pillars on the both sides of the walkway. On the left, they had kept an elephant to amuse visitors. She was trained to collect money from them and pat their heads with her trunk, as a form of blessing. I lost the count of people who took selfies with the elephant, who was mindlessly munching on the eatables they provided to her. I stood there for long and waited for the people to disperse. I stared at the she-elephant and conveyed to her, how sorry I felt for her, to be away from home, here, surrounded by some silly people, asking for her blessings after enslaving her. I thought she might feel grateful that she is not their God—’They’ would have faced torments if ‘They’ lived among us. It was as if she understood me and brought her head closer towards me. I gave the 34-year-old a gentle pat of assurance and wished her a good life ahead.

The Gods

The temple hall had stone-carved lions on the outer side of its pillars. One could look up to find the ceilings display rows of beautiful murals—it reminded me of the typical South-Asian gods and goddesses with slender eyes and sensual gestures. The Shiv-Ling, confined to a small space inside the main enclosure, was barely visible. The walking area around the temple had its roof covered with rock slabs, which blocked the sunlight. It was quite dark and cold inside. While circumventing the temple, when we switched on our cell phone flashlights, we noticed hundreds of tiny bats hanging quietly on the ceiling of the walkway without our knowledge. In fret, we quickly circled the temple in the dim light coming from the cracks between the rocks slabs above us and hurriedly came out from the other end.

The bright sunlight welcomed us again. There were people and monkeys everywhere. The former offered prayers to the deities at the functional temple whereas the latter got all the blessings in the form of food. We walked further to reach an open space and found a few rock statues silently basking in the sun. There was also to an algae-struck pond, probably a reservoir but, thankfully, it was devoid of any human waste. The rear exit of the temple courtyard opened to a mini market along the Tunghabadhra River. A few people—mostly men—went down the step-way to take a dip in the shallow and rocky waters. Not so far from the river stood few changing rooms for the ease of the visitors though the men didn’t seem to make use of them.

Slightly tired, we sat there under the shade and waited for the time to pass and the sun to relax. Fruits were readily available along with things like jewellery and decorative items —it was sold by the locals along the roadside. I went past them like a raven attracted to their glitter. But, then, I wanted to meet the elephant again and traced my own steps back.

The silent structures speak of Hampi, a city that thrived on the banks of river Tungabhadra. Day 1 The burning morning sun and the dust agitated by the passing vehicles made me think if I should have listened to my roommate.

[shekaul]

Om sans Shanti: Gokarna-> This Way

How can a beach become a dangerous place for adults?The Om sans Shanti -> Gokarna This Way

The famous Om beach in Gokarna is a stretch of coastline that is separated from Kudle beach by a rocky terrain. Somewhere, a trail without a noticeable direction or sign board leads to Om beach. Every time we asked for directions from someone, they pointed everywhere except the sea. There was a ferry to take us there, but we decided to trek and get lost.

We chose a path and started trekking over…

View On WordPress

[shekaul]

Habbits Gone Wrong

I recently started walking to and fro, from home to office. The distance being just 1 km, one way and me turning into couch potato again, both the reasons seemed good enough to take up this habit.

So there was this day, my headphones giving me a good company, and the drizzle from above, all made it a perfect walk back home. The pedestrian path was much less crowded than on any other day until my…

View On WordPress

[shekaul]

The sand started seeping in between the spaces of my feet and my footwear. It was coarse yet comforting; We had reached the sea.

Kudle ke ‘beach’ mei

There lay a vast stretch of pale yellow sand, protected under the cover of hills on one side and pampered by the sea on the other. A line of shacks calmly waited across the beach for their customers. The saline waters washed the sands gently, making sounds that gave the longing pleasure to my ears. The sun was mild, the sky was clear, the air was heavy but windy. All of it brought a streak of excitement. I took off my shoes and absorbed my vicinity as much as I could. The rushing water against my ankles and the drifting sand beneath my feet made me chuckle as I lost my balance.

Kudle – clean and calm

A warm sunny day, awaited us, as we lazily walked passed the waves, rushing in to gently kiss the land. We had booked a shack in advance and walked over to ours, across the sand lands. The rooms were pretty clean until we entered in. The sands followed our bare feet everywhere just everywhere!

Chhap-Chhap

When the waves call you to jump in!

I changed to my beach wear and ran out to plunge into the sea. Amidst all the excitement, the saline waters entered my nostrils and came out though my mouth! My eyes burned with excess salts of the sea but it didn’t stop there. The waves knocked us out, tossed us left and right, against our wishes, toppled us over and we went happily smashing ourselves against the waters. For once, we accepted the Mother Nature and embraced it with all the happiness in our heart. We floated and swam, we played dead on the surface, sometimes facing up, and other time fearfully facing down. We gave up ourselves and became a part of the nature. We became those over-advanced species of time, who finally came back home, to their roots, after following on a long tired trail evolution.

Some guys in our vicinity carried themselves semi-nude and played around in water, throwing each other against the waves. Some pretended to be new born dolphins, while others clung their girlfriends tightly, fearing they would swim off or drown away.

Nevertheless, the day was one of those, straight out of heaven!

Lunch kept us waiting, while hunger bothered us quite a lot. We noticed that our shack’s restaurant kept us waiting for long and continued serving the Goras and foreigners first, though they ordered their food after us. Racist, our own country people I tell you…: P We complained and expressed the same to them, shortly after which our lunch arrived but for the first and last time in that shack restaurant.

  This slideshow requires JavaScript.

When we played with Sandy!

The night came upon us like a guardian angel, bringing us rest, peace and contentment. We didn’t let it go so easily though, and made our own peculiar sand castles and devil faces, the beach playing our backyard. The same burning sand during daytime, turned cool and soft by night. We dug our feet below our sand dunes and sat there, waiting for the time to simply pass by.

  Dreamy restaurants, Awesome food!

*Magic of the Sea Shore*

The night sky displayed wonders with blankets of thousands of twinkling stars. All the shy brilliance that usually hid behind the curtains of urban dust, showed itself like a magical event that had always been waiting to happen. I felt as if I was doped by the elements of nature. The sound of crashing waves, the starry sky and the cool whiffs of air made me enter into a world away from the world. I felt high without getting intoxicated! Thereafter, the sleep came like a fairy carrying star-dust, and we finally made peace with our dream worlds by being in one ourselves.

  Kudle Ahoy! : Gokarna -> This Way The sand started seeping in between the spaces of my feet and my footwear. It was coarse yet comforting; We had reached the sea.