pradeepraj

[pradeepraj]

Janet showing me #cashewnuts & doing what-not in the flip-fast-forward four second #boomerangvideo #becausethishumanisawesome (at Auroville)

[pradeepraj]

#dregs the last cup of #filtercoffee on the final leg of the journey back to Bangalore from Pondicherry #roadtrip

[pradeepraj]

We think it is the same artist who does some of the #graffitiart in #Bangalore but its hard to be sure. #promenadebeach #frenchquarter #whitetown (at Pondicherry city)

[pradeepraj]

I'm chilling in Pondi. (at Puducherry)

[pradeepraj]

Digging the crap out of Church Street. (at Brigade Road)

[pradeepraj]

Sangster & I have been friends for over three years now. He's a very interesting pastor & person (there's a difference) because he'll share his life & struggle with you in an #existential way. Sometimes our #conversations are like listening to #pinkfloyd #existentialism (at Avalanche, Ooty)

[pradeepraj]

I was invited to #avalanche #camp with #thelocalcommunitychurch to hang out with the young people. It was an exciting time, very easy getting to know new people, never an awkward moment. It was a lot of fun, full of whacky 😜 coupled with deep conversation. The avalanche lake was surprisingly dry, but Sangster said that he had seen the lake like this before. We walked along a #smallstream to the waterfalls & this is where I caught Danny & Rahul moving between stones & boulders #campingindia #avalanchelake #localcommunitychurch (at Avalanche, Ooty)

[pradeepraj]

#haverimarket I am visiting with an older friend who is from Haveri; he's been telling me interesting things about the #lingayat community that he hails from. || About how they only believe in one God, or that they bury their dead rather than cremate. The community is predominant in Karnataka, they inhabit the upper tiers of the #socialsystem particular to the areas of politics, economics & as traders. || He took me around the market today. || It was particularly interesting to visit a #muslim family who are #garlandstylists & make #garlands using pods of #elaichi || they have a wall of photographs showing how their garlands were used to adorn & celebrate figures across the political spectrum. They had one picture of #presidentabdulkalam who recently passed away, but is still my President... || My stream of thought just got carried away by emotion. (at Haveri)

[pradeepraj]

Spent a significant part of the day just looking at the depictions on Hero-stones; retellings of the stories they document. || The interesting thing about small towns in India, the temple complexes serve as a cool place to shy away from the hot sun. Older folk sit around talking, a gang of young girls (obviously bunking college) were using a shaft of light that falls to the rock (almost iron) temple floors, to take pictures of each other. A small group of Burkha clad young women sat in the courtyard studying & talking (I've seen similar in the Chidambaram temple complex in Tamil Nadu). || the temples are also dating sites, where the young people in town are seen swooning over each other sitting at the soapstone walls or leaning against the carved pillars. || I'm in Haveri, looking at Herostones, walking through the market, getting a feel of Karnataka. A state that has much to see in terms of architecture & culture, & most of it, I haven't explored. || #siddhesvaratemple #haveri #chalukyas #shiva #shivatemple #travel #feeloftheplace (at Karnataka)

[pradeepraj]

SIL getting bangles at her brother's engagement ceremony last night. Tonight's the wedding. #hubli #indianculture #bangleceremoney (at HUBLI Dharwad -Karnataka Capital)

[pradeepraj]

The autos here sport #shivajithegreat on a flag, everywhere. It is a beautiful, clean city, selected by #primeminister #modi to be one of the 'smart towns' across #emergingindia? (at HUBLI Dharwad -Karnataka Capital)

[pradeepraj]

Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world

Flaubert (via bkpkme)

[pradeepraj]

We are at the entrance to a Tiger Cave at #muliyangiri #muliyangiripeak this is the tallest mountain in Karnataka. On the top of the hill is an old Shiva temple. Below are these #Caves #india #indiacaves #Indiancaves #tigercaves #westernghats #westernghatsofindia (at Chikmagalur)

[pradeepraj]

Uncle was one of the #pilgrims trying to climb up to the Shiva temple in #muliyangiri #muliyangiripeak with his small bag of offerings for #thegods. So Royal stopped & loaded uncle into the car, we slowly crawled up the increasingly steep mountain. On arrival Uncle thanks us & goes to walk the last leg, a flight of winding stairs. We slowly explore the area (we find the #tigercaves). We eventually get up to the summit where the temple is built. Uncle comes to greet us, & is stoned to the point of congeniality, on some obviously fine herbs, he greets us, introduces us to the #highpriest & an array of diverse individuals related to the temple. They tell us about the caves, invite us to pitch our tent nearby, tell us about the forest department rules for pitching tents & camping out in the open. A couple of #holycows come bounding in & are served food. A young man stands on a wall against the sky, wears his sister's #dupatta on his shoulders and poses as superman flying. I see the photograph in my mind, it is amazing! The sun has almost completed its descent; a fiery marble that has slowly sunk, almost to the bottom of a jar of honey. Our time in Chikkmagalur ends. I drive back to Bangalore. Royal stays another day & then buses to Mysore with his tent & all. For now our adventures cease. I think our temple trips will continue, we share an interest in clever design, the mystery of ritual, & the business of religion.

[pradeepraj]

At this Uttam Sagar place, hanging out with Dr. Rajendran. We had a good conversation about how #indiaischanging // I thought this was a great idea for #wallart #resourcemanagement #decor // I'm in Bangalore, soon headed for #hubli // Another batch of travel begins. I remember when I started traveling alone, my mid-teens, realising, that #travel unleashes the imagination // I'll be #following myself on #instagram. (at Bangalore, India)

[pradeepraj]

I like this picture because I see my dad in me. (at Ooty)

[pradeepraj]

The massive Rangaswamy Temple in Trichy. (at Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam)