Chitradurga in pictures!

I have always been a fan of Polaroid pictures - each one telling a story of its own.Here's a blog full of such polaroid pictures of a trip to Chitradurga only because I love looking at them!

Even though I have lived all my life in Bangalore, I had only visited the "touristy" districts of Karnataka  - Mysore, Coorg and  Mangalore. When we planned the trip to Chitradurga, I was skeptical on what I would find in a place that to me seemed like the "middle of nowhere". I was pleasantly surprised when I reached the Chitradurga fort.A light drizzle on that day made the weather pleasant and below are some pics of the fort and the temples on the fort.

Chitradurga Fort

Temples in the fort

I heard of an interesting story of a brave woman name Obavva who guarded the Chitadurga  fort tower while her husband and other soldiers went on a lunch break.The enemies attacked and had to come through the small crevice that you see in the picture.  With great presence of mind she immediately hid behind the crevice in the fort and hit at each soldier trying to squeeze through the crevice with Onake, the name given in Kannada to a pestle, a wooden rod used for pounding paddy. In this process, she bravely killed several enemy soldiers. By the time her husband appeared on the scene, she had already dragged several bodies of dead soldiers into the fort wall and was standing around the dead bodies with the blood stained Onake in her hand. This brave act saved the fort on that day from further attacks. This act also earned her the epithet Onake Obavva and the crevice in the fort where she showed her bravery is called Obawa Kindi. 

Me enacting the role of Obavva and my hubby playing the enemy soldier at Onake Obavvana Kindi

There were a couple of treks that were very different from what I have ever done. One such was atop the place called "Tuppada Kola" which in Kannada means a pond of ghee. In olden times, horses used to carry Ghee and this trek needs you to go on all fours for a distance by using the footholds engraved in the stone for horse hooves. Below is a pic of a bunch us climbing up on all fours in this stretch.

Tuppada Kola

View after the trek

Next morning we did another trek to "Gopalswamy Betta".It took a good two hours and below are some pics from there.

Arial View from Gopalswamy Betta

Rangoli!

For years, a trip to MG Road has been synonymous with the view of the bougainvillea lined avenue with ample park benches to sit and watch the people pass by. During the season of ' Bangalore Habba', street art spilled all over the boulevard. I remember walking on the 'Artists Walkway' checking out the artworks, getting caricatures done and soaking in the ambience. When they broke down the boulevard for metro construction I was angry. The promises of a new boulevard once the metro construction was complete seemed distant and empty.But boy how I was wrong!

Rangoli - the new name for the refurbished boulevard is really splendid.
It houses multiple art galleries, one of them having exhibits from pictures of old bangalore, interactive fountain ,children's play area, a wall dedicated to the history of Bangalore and so many saplings and flowers. The ramp on top stills houses the bougainvilla avenue similar to yester years.The thing that I liked the most on this new walkway was the life- size 'Snakes and ladders ' game in the children's area. A huge dice was hurled and adults and children alike were engrossed on this board.

I also hear that the exhibitions and stalls keep changing every month to keep it fresh and intersting. A stroll down this lane is a must do if you are in Bangalore.

'Snakes and Ladders'

Wall adorned with ants at one of the art galleries

Just let me be!

"Just let me be" is a philosophy that screams for an existence - without being noticed or judged or applauded or criticized, to just be and not be bothered by worries of tasks or chores that don't interest you.

If being a control freak is largely considered a negative trait then shouldn't being the one who readily gives up the control reins of chores that doesn't interest you be considered a positive trait? Isn't it a sign of maturity to say " I really don't care what the decision on this matter is.. I am ok either ways..people who seem to care about a side please take a call and just let me be "? I don't know about you people but I truly believe that it is a skill to distance yourself from taking sides or even being involved in matters that are just too trivial for you. What is a good, healthy normal trait in my opinion is apparently considered to be a negative trait. I tend to get perceived of as lazy , unwilling to accept responsibility, slacker and also as a stubborn person showing no inclination to adapt. Before you jump to conclusions about me, let me clarify that this philosophy applies only to some things in life and not to all. I do genuinely care about some chores and take full charge of them. The question really is -can people accept it when I honestly admit that I don't care enough about a particular task to make any decisions and would willingly give the reins of control to whoever is interested?

With the typical stereotyping of roles in society I find it extremely hard to follow my philosophy.If not wanting to be involved itself is such a liberating thought , imagine if society in general warms up to this idea - 'just let me be' may be the best thing that ever happened to you!