Kila Raipur Sports Festival : A Weekend of Ingenuity, Entertainment and Entrepreneurship!

"We reveal ourselves in the metaphors we choose for depicting the cosmos in miniature" - Stephen Jay Gould

I don't quite remember when and how I first heard about the Kila Raipur Sports Festival, perhaps it was after its cameo in Rang De Basanti, however, I have been extremely intrigued and fascinated by it for the longest time and really wanted to go visit it once.

The festival. also popularly known as the Rural Olympics was started way back in 1933 by Inder Singh Grewal who envisioned the event to be an annual recreational meet for locals around Kila Raipur, and from what I witnessed it does live up to that vision!

How to get there?
Like most places in India, reaching Kila Raipur too is a slightly long winded effort. The closest train station is Ludhiana and the nearest airport is Chandigarh. We flew from Bombay to Delhi, took a chair car train to Ludhiana which was our base and traveled to Kila Raipur for the festival which is about 20 km away.

Why did we like it so much?
Honestly, lush green fields, clean atmosphere, nip in the air, more butter on a single parantha than you have in a whole week and even more swimming in butter chicken...what is there to NOT like!? But some of our favourite moments from the festival where literally all kinds of species test their spirit and skills are:

⤮ Hound Racing
I had never quite seen hound racing in real and to be honest was very intrigued by how ridiculously fast these dogs are!! But more entertaining is to see the hounds race into the neighbouring fields,being chased by the owners only to be finally caught and picked up and cajoled like little babies!

Hounds readying to chase the motorized chicken

You really would n't think they can run so fast!

Running into the horizon

⤮ Bicycle Racing
The stadium one must admit is quite big and well maintained we were quite excited to see a host of cyclists start from one end in their aerodynamic gear speeding towards the finish! Only when they got closer did we realise that they were all on the very humble cycle used daily, one cyclist had to stop mid way as the chain came off (!!) and another kept peddling hard as the basket attached in front threatened to fly off! Totally circa Joh Jeeta Wohi Sikandar!

Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar!

⤮ Mule cart race
Mules are capricious beings I came to realize. In almost every 'heat' there would be one mule who would start with so much gusto and brio, halt instinctively after about 100 m and just stand there thinking what-on-earth-am-I-doing-here. And then just REFUSE to budge.
My soul animals they be!

The ones that decided to run, kicked major dust!

⤮ Horse Racing
Two weekends back I went to watch the Mumbai Derby in Mahalaxmi Racecourse. The atmosphere with the immaculately dressed who's who, the well manicured horses and their petite jockeys all vying for crores of rupees in the prize money, I realised this weekend had NOTHING over the horses and their riders in Kila Raipur! With no saddles, stirrups or any sort of protective gear, it was a full display of bravado from members of both species! Every race ended with spectators running away from the speeding horses to safety, and in one of the races a horse just decided to take it to the next level and galloped in all its glory into the village!

Horses and their riders in all their vigour!

⤮ Hockey Match
So from what I read the Bhagwant Gold Cup is supposed to be a huge draw and attracts hockey teams from across the state if not beyond. Sadly there was n't much of a game we got to see. Some sort of altercation broke out on the field between one of the teams and the referee (pretty common I'd suppose in a lot of sports), which spiraled and embroiled the spectators as well (not sure how common this is) which eventually led to one of the teams just abandoning the game in the middle, walking till the periphery of the stadium, casually changing into their jeans and t-shirts and just walking off (definitely sure this is uncommon)!!!

⤮ DSP's and Daredevilry
Kila Raipur festival is marked by a multitude of events and sports all happening simultaneously making it mind boggling for all your senses to fully engage. Some of such events includes DSP's from the police forces across the state displaying their skills of standing on a booking motorbike, gyrating to Punjabi songs and even reading the newspaper all very casually while standing on a moving bike!!!

Taking Friday morning chill scenes to a whole new level!

Apart from these events, there were endless bouts of kadabbi, tug of war, people pulling tractors with their teeth, athletic events from men and women across all age groups, martial art performances by Nihang warriors and a lot of dance and show!

Not sure how the event has evolved over the last almost eight decades of its existence but it felt good to see it not being marauded by mindless commercialization like we witnessed in the Hornbill festival last year.

Goa : The Quick Fix for all Quarter Life Crises!

If we wonder often enough, the gift of knowledge will come – Arapaho

Last year a lot of my friends turned the dreaded big two – five and through out I had to hear about the impending quarter life crises, the disappointing jobs, the even more disappointing job interviews, the stagnant love lives, the static Facebook timelines when everyone else’s seems either like a dynamic atlas or a never ending wedding party! I kept thinking, bah humbug (!), when I turn twenty-five, I’ll be more sorted than sorted!

I turned twenty five a few months back, and sadly I am nowhere close to being sorted. I don’t know if there is any real crisis situation, but I guess it just makes the whole being an adult phase too much of a reality, its like now you definitely cannot go back to being useless, being drunk, eating only maggi noodles, bunking classes, even if you wanted to your body, mind and practicality won’t allow you to! Also the definition of discomfort has changed so much over the years and so rapidly. I was whining about the same to my parents and they didn’t quite relate because well what was I whining for? I live in a great city (with all its pitfalls and potholes), I have a job, I can pay all bills that appear with being an adult, I am done with my education…pretty much all boxes in the check list have been ticked and I am not even being pressurized to get married (! yay me!)! The definition of what we want in life has also changed so much and so rapidly. The best and the worst thing about the change is probably the freedom that is now accorded to us to choose what we want …or almost. Before, there were fixed notions, career trajectories, marriage proposals so in a way one didnt really have to worry so much because well a lot of your life was already planned for, whether you like it or not! But well we are the more liberated generation, and also hence a more confused one. We have our freedoms without the supporting infrastructure to actually enjoy it. There is so much of “you can do whatever makes your heart pump with joy” that you pretty much don’t know what that elixir of joy is! Well of course I cannot speak on behalf of everyone else, but at least the freedom has taught me what does not give me joy and how to ruminate on that for hours at a stretch without any concrete outcome!

In such situations the best thing to do is usually to either stare at the sea and understand the pattern of waves crashing at the shore, or to fill multiple pages of your diary, or even better to do both at the same time. And thus there is Goa, or rather the calm, quite, friendly, bursting at seems with all its greens South Goa!

Taking a quick weekend getaway to Goa especially during the rains massively calms ones frayed nerves. Where else can you drown your sorrows in endless bottles of King’s beer without then worrying about whether you need to starve the rest of the month after paying the bill!! On a more serious note, some times the sparseness of your surroundings makes you realize how futile your fretting is, the niceness and hospitality of people around makes you think not everyone is out there to get you down and not every day is an episode of a Zee TV drama!

Well one can probably do all this thinking in their own houses, but it is just more charming to do it while collecting sea shells on the beach!

Saving the Olive Ridleys, one shore at a time

The Olive Ridley sea turtle or the Pacific Ridley sea turtle is considered to be the smallest and the most abundant of all sea turtles in the world. Yet in a single generation (20 years) their population has declined drastically from more than 10 million in the pre-mass extinction era to about 800,000 as per a recent count.

In the midst of this gloom there is still hope. A tiny village in Maharashtra, which doesn’t even have 5 full sentences as description on Wikipedia, has been working with local NGOs for over a decade now towards conservation of these endangered species.

Velas is a small village in the Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra and is about an 8 hour drive from Mumbai. A decade ago the villagers were concerned about the Olive Ridleys to be able to steal the eggs once laid for consumption or for sale and to hunt the female turtles when they came on shore to breed for the meat or again for sale. However, that was before they joined hands with Sayhadri Nisarg Mitra, an organization which works with these same villagers now towards massive conservation efforts.

Over the past decade, not only have they successfully managed to change the age old habits by making villagers protect the eggs instead of stealing them, they have also helped the residents tap into an additional source of income and put this nondescript village on the tourist map for the turtle breeding months. And this is without any institutional support or a conducive ecosystem for wildlife conservation.

Come November, the female turtles swim in hordes to these shores to lay their eggs in batches of 3 to 4 where each batch consists of 100-150 eggs. It might seem a lot, however the survival rate of these turtles is only 1 in 1000. Thus, only a handful of the turtles hatched from these eggs reach adulthood and the females, it is said return to the same shores to lay eggs where they were born; thus, travelling distances across several hundreds of miles to complete the circle of life.

The eggs once laid, are pretty much left on their own to figure out their way in this cruel world. The members of Sayhadri Nisarg Mitra along with volunteers from the village transfer these batches of eggs to hatcheries to protect them from dogs and other animals. These hatcheries, though are man-made, but have to replicate the conditions created by the female turtle while she laid them. This means, the depth, the temperature of the sand and the moisture needs to be replicated. In fact the difference in these factors not only impacts the rate of the eggs hatching, but also determines the gender of the new born turtles.

After an incubation period of up to 3 months, the eggs hatch. And there can be no better words to describe the scene, other than it is what a miracle looks like. In this crazy race of conquering the world, we tend to overlook the intricate designs nature has, and how everything takes care of itself, as long as we do not poke our annoying human noses. These little hatchlings, with no motherly support around, barely with any sense of sight, only rely on their intuition as they move together towards the sea using their miniscule flippers. Majority of them do not survive even the first few kilometres into their journey of life. Several die over the years if not due to natural causes, then due to human greed. 

For the few that do survive, return to their shore of birth to start a new cycle.

On an average a female turtle reaches maturity and starts laying eggs in 20 years. It’s only a couple of years of wait to see if the efforts of this tiny village and Sayhadri Nisarg Mitra have been successful. And if out of the batch of turtles they released more than a decade ago, return to pay them a visit.

 

Entrance to Harihareshwar

Sunset at Velas

Velas Beach

Mornings in Manori

How would you feel when a gust of wind brings forth pomphrets and shrimps? Or walking down the road your eyes catch fish hanging down branches of withered trees? No, you won’t feel like a part of a sci-fi drama, you’d feel what any random day in Manori feels like.

Though it’s just an hour’s drive from Mumbai, or even closer if you take the jetty from Marwe or Gorai, but Manori feels like its nestled in some other era of technological advancement or consumerism, or lack of the thereof. The town is divided mainly into the koliwada or the koli village and the rest. For most people its best known attraction is the water park, Essel World. However, the best way to start off would be a walk through the koliwada. Walking down the narrow alleys, you’d have to squint your eyes to confirm if those are dead leaves heaped up outside every house or remains of shrimps and fish. Every household is engaged in the same activity throughout the morning. Men get the fresh morning catch, the women settle down to separating the fish and put them outside for drying, and some women busy collecting the fish and seafood that has been drying for a while. The whole village seems like an assembly line with the usual cow or kids playing with bicycle tires thrown in!

The village is located right on the Manori beach, which again is a little more of a safe haven from hordes of tourists as compared to the neighbouring Gorai beach. Though the water isn’t the clearest for a quick dip or even to get your feet wet, but there’s something about the whole juxtaposition of dogs sunbathing, carts of shaved ice and families bathing their horses in the sea, that makes the whole setting so charming and quaint and pleasing to the senses.

While on weekends it would be next to impossible to get food at any of the few resorts around, unless you manage to befriend one of the many 20-membered families out there on a picnic. But there are several tiny restaurants with basic fare, enough to satiate the lunch hunger pangs.

While on one end of the town is the koliwadi, the other end if occupied by the complete opposite of what koliwadi stands for. The other end has what they proclaim the largest water park in Asia, Essel World and Water Kingdom. And right next to it is the World Vipassana Centre Pagoda created a couple of years ago. Why would someone create a place of worship next to one of the noisiest places that there can be beats me! Its been decreed as sacred land, and ,men and women are asked to not stay very close to each other and try and immerse themselves into chanting, whereas a few hundred feet away men and women get wet together and howl and scream with adrenaline rush!

Well yeah, as if we did not know already, our country the land of paradoxes!

But for a quiet Sunday morning by the beach, do come to Manori and hang out at the fishermens’ village J

Dried fish hanging from trees

Dried fish hanging from clotheslines

More dried fish hanging from more places

World Vipassana Pagoda

Well coz it's sacred land they say!

At the entrance of the Pagoda

Kochi: Solo Indian Woman Tripping V3.0

“Never did the world makes queen of a girl who hides in houses and dreams without travelling”

~ Roman Payne

What happens when you put together the love for art, sand, the sea and the horizon melting into each other, fried fish and beef curry?

The best first solo travel weekend of 2015!!

Fall in love with your present

From the Chinese traveler Ma Huan, to the Portuguese viceroy Vasco da Gama, through a period of the Dutch to the Mysore invasion leading to dominance by the British, Kochi has one of the most colourful and rich history mostly owing to its status as one of the best natural harbours in the world. It used to and continues to attract travelers and merchants from all over the world.

But it is not just the natural beauty, or the renowned spice markets or the varied history that Kochi has to offer. In the recent years, it has become one of the fastest growing Tier-II metros, offers food that would make gluttony a virtue and in the last 3 years the magnificent Biennale has catapulted it into one of the most enticing vacation spots.

Kochi – Muziris Biennale 2014

The Biennale is an international exhibition of contemporary art held in Kochi every two years. In its second edition, the Biennale, the only and first of its kind in India showcases Indian and international artists and their works across all kinds of mediums including film, photography, installations etc.

This year, Whorled Explorations seeks to travel through the axes of time and space, to explore Kochi’s rich scientific contributions to the world, juxtaposed with today’s advancements.

Please.Do.Visit!!!

Installation by Anish Kapoor

Backbone installation by Shanthamani Muddaiah

Installation by Madhusudhan

Shortest poem - Aram Saroyan

Most expensive word - Aram Saroyan

St. Francis Church

Built in 1503, the St Francis Church is the oldest European church in India and owes most of its historical significance as the church where Vasco da Gama’s body was buried before being taken back to Portugal after fourteen years.

 

St. Francis Church

Santa Cruz Basilica

The Basilica is one of the only eight in India and is definitely one of the finest and most impressive churches in the country. The Gothic architecture again reminded me of the Notre Dame in Paris and St Philomena in Mysore closer home.

 

Santa Cruz Basilica

Pardesi Synagogue

Also known as the Mattancherry Synagogue, was built in 1567 and is the oldest active synagogue in India. The name got stuck mainly because it was built by Spanish Jews or “foreigners” . Located in the Old Jewish town of Mattancherry, the synagogue spells charm in every brick.

Mattancherry Palace

Mattancherry Palace, or the Dutch Palace was built and gifted by the Portuguese to the Raja of Cochin. The Palace features Kerala murals depicting Hindu art, portraits and tells the story of the varied rulers of Cochin.

Chinese Fishing Nets

Lining the coast, is a series of the Chinese fishing nets, which are huge fixed installations manually operated and offer a modest catch to passerbys. Earlier thought that the nets were introduced by the Chinese explorer Zheng He, was later on research found to be introduced by the Portuguese and are quite the tourist attraction. Watching the hypnotic functioning of the nets being lowered and pulled up, the modest catch and getting it cooked at a local restaurant, these nets provide the full package of Kochi tourism, food, culture, history, sea and unparalleled hospitality!

 

Chinese fishing nets at work

catch of the day!

And if you are STILL not fulfilled, go catch a Kathakali show at one of the many art centers in the city, stroll along the alleys of Fort Kochi, ogle at the fascinating street art (BBC did a piece on the graffiti artists Guess Who), and have your fill of appam and beef stew!

 

Mad crab made of plastic waste

Idyllic walks

Cheeky graffiti

we listen to Yoko Ono

My catch and last meal in Kochi!