Map In My Pocket

Month: March 2016

The Age of Colonialism

This is my first post yet from the city where my parents grew up. :)

To me, Visakhapatnam has always only been a ‘colonial town’. So, when we were there for a day visiting my grandmother I did not want to let an opportunity go by, however small, of exploring, discovering and documenting at least a little of this beautiful, laid back city.

& as we strolled along the winding walkways of Waltair Club, I could almost picture an older, more settled me spending many a pleasant, relaxed evening here. (day dreaming!)

The fact that the club was the first to introduce electricity to Vizag, house it’s first dispensary and boast of the only telephone in town stands testimony to it’s ‘colonialism’.

Whatever it’s history may be, it still is a cool oasis of serenity in the hot and humid Vizag.

The colonial style bungalows, those grey stone walls, the clean meandering roads and the lush greenery of even the old old trees only add to the still and calm of this club established by the British way back in 1883.

March 27, 2016
Save The Sunday!

Sunday before last, I was in the Indian School of Business for their Digital Summit 2016. The “workshop” was barely more than a platform for the internet and social media giants to come and ‘perform’ their sales pitch!

So, in a bid to Save The Sunday, I walked around the campus looking to photograph anything that caught my eye. Luckily I loved photographing the wonderful symmetries, à la Jantar Mantar.

Bill wasn’t unkind or rude by nature, but now he struck. ‘I appreciate your kind invitation’, he said, ‘but I never go to the Yatch Club. I’ve never been inside it.’

Mr.Smithers looked alarmed. ‘Why not, Mr.Wainwright? Surely it’s a fine club.’

‘It isn’t that. Only you see I have a good many Indian friends – some of them very distinguished – and as you know, they are not allowed to enter the club. So I don’t go either… it seems to me rather odd considering that India is their country.

-Louis Bromfield, Night in Bombay, 1940

Atleast, they did not need a debate to decide if they were indeed an Indian Institution.

Read Next: Poetry in Pink

March 26, 2016
Artisan Villages of Andhra Pradesh: Karipakam

South Indian Silk Sarees have always been known for their elegance. Be it from Telangana, Andhra, Karnataka or Tamil Nadu, every saree is unique in its design and technique to the region. & these sarees are usually eponymous of the region they come from.

One such are the Patur Sarees, which are quite in fashion today. Cotton, Silk and Zari (gold thread) threads are hand-woven together to craft these beautiful cotton silk sarees from the Village of Patur in Nellore District and the adjoining Village of Karipakam in Chittoor District.

There were around 150 weavers in Karipakam once. Today there are only 50, the lack of patronage pushing them to find work in nearby factories. Even the working conditions are not much to speak of. Though the dying of threads and getting them ready is more of an outdoor activity, the actual weaving is done in a pit loom.

What little work now comes into the village comes from the head weaver, who gets designs from speciality retail stores like Nalli Silks and distributes it amongst the weavers.

Since, the mainstay of the village is this craft, all the villagers/weavers get together every morning to dye silk and cotton threads sourced from different places. It is a sight to see. So, if you wish to see the weavers at work, do visit the village on a sunny morning. Sunny mornings, for even the weather needs to be conducive. Too much moisture in the air dampens the thread which makes it difficult for the colour to stick.

Once, the patterns and the spindles of thread are ready, they are loaded onto the loom and the weaving begins. Keeping with the trend and also the rules set by the buying companies, a design is not usually repeated.

Zari motifs are hand-woven into the saree, which takes 2-3 days to finish depending on the number of colours in the pattern. If the same saree were to be made on a power loom, these would have to be sewn on to the saree separately.

and, this is what sets these gorgeous lightweight sarees apart.

Starting at Rs.2,500/-, the sarees can be bought directly from the weavers houses.

Explorers Guide

Getting There
By Road – The most convenient way to get there is to drive down from Tirupati. This takes a little over an hour.
By Air – Nearest airports are Tirupati and Chennai.
By Rail – Nearest railway station is at Sullurpet.

Stay
Big Stay serviced apartments at Tada. With over 200 rooms, Indian, Oriental & Continental cuisines catering to people of all nationalities visiting/working at the Sri City SEZ and a travel desk that arranges your airport drop and pick up, they ensure a comfortable stay.

Things To Do
Trekking at Naagala Hills.
Kayaking at the creek in Sri City.

Nearby Places of Interest
Pulicat Lake – India’s second largest salt-water lagoon, it is the winter home to numerous migratory birds from Central Asia, of which Flamingos and Pelicans number the most. The state tourism department hosts a Flamingo Festival here in January every year.
Nelapattu Bird Sanctuary – Also known as Pelican Paradise, it is counted amongst the popular bird sanctuaries of India.
Ubbalamadugu – Jungle Pools and waterfall.

Read More on Artisan Villages of India:

Artisan Villages of Telangana: Nirmal
Artisan Villages of Telangana: Cheriyal
Artisan Villages of Andhra Pradesh: Sri Kalahasti
Artisan Villages of Andhra Pradesh: Uppada

March 12, 2016
Shamirpet: A Lake in Resort Land

Popular amongst the lakes of Hyderabad is the Shamirpet Lake. It is expansive, beautiful, not too crowded and peaceful.

Small wonder then that the majority of the resorts in town are located here. There is a deer park too in the vicinity, making it the ideal weekend getaway.

Do not fancy the cacophony of a run of the mill resort? The tourism department’s Haritha Lake View Resort is a quiet and scenic option too.

Though the water in the lake once touched both the Deer Park & the Resort, with the monsoons doing a no show last year, most of the lake is now dried up. Nonetheless it still is picturesque enough to spend a pleasant evening.

March 8, 2016
Standing Still: Moazzam Jahi Market

Named after Moazzam Jah Bahadur, son of the seventh and last Nizam of Hyderabad, The Moazzam Jahi Market is built entirely in stone.

Modelled after the ‘Universal Stores’ of the West, construction of this popular landmark began in 1933 by the City Improvement Board, whose President was Prince Moazzam Jah. Besides being a centrally located traders centre, it was supposed to have housed the fruit market that sent fruit to the Nizam living in the Falaknuma Palace then.

On the completion of the market in 1935, a clock was installed on the Minar facing the main street crossing. Today, this Clock Tower is iconic in the Old City of Hyderabad.

The architecture of this triangular granite structure is striking in its antiquity. Which is what probably prompted Nikon to conduct a photowalk here, the first Sunday of February. It is also on the HMDA’s Heritage Buildings List.

With remarkable archways, spiral staircases, colourful doors, flocks of pigeons and a flurry of activity from the 100+ shopkeepers setting up shop and scattering grain for the birds to feed on, the courtyard is the most integral part of this building.

81 years and this market has stood still. Not much has changed but the generations of shopkeepers and the kids that stop to binge on the “famous” handmade fruit icecream.

March 5, 2016