Musings from Antique Origins

Matsya Avatar of Vishnu- Dasavatharam Temple, Srirangam- O fficial trips often take me to different parts of South India, outside Kerala. If a Sunday falls in between during the visit, I generally look out for places of historical interests. Last month, I was among the ruins of Hampi, in Karnataka on the Anniversary Day our wedding and after a fortnight when my birthday came, I was at the Salar Jung Museum in Hyderabad. Obviously, these were taken with a pinch of salt by Sindhu, my wife of 28 years. This time it was my turn to visit various places in Trichy- Tiruchirappalli - and Tanjore – Thanjavur- in Tamil Nadu. While the full fury of the south west monsoon lashed across Kerala, I was in the hotter climate of Tanjore on the summer solstice day of 21 st June when the rays of the sun were perpendicular heralding the summer in the northern hemisphere. Timeless sculptures of Srirangam Sri Ranganatha Swamy temple, Srirangam: Its history dating back to millennia, Srirangam t...

Virupaksha Temple, Hampi, Karnataka W ork takes me to different parts of south India outside Kerala. Last week, I went to Goa, travelled to Hubli and then to Hospet. Then it was to Kurnool via Bellary and to Guntakkal from where a train brings me back to Tripunithura. Each of these places is different from the other. Summer is quite felt all over but the liveliness of the country is all pervading. Virupaksha Inside Virupaksha Temple Complex One Saturday night I reached Hospet from Hubli. The next day being holiday, I decided to spend the time in Hampi, among the ruins of the forgotten empire, Vijayanagara. Mohan, an employee of our company is a local lad and he was to be my guide. He arranged an auto rickshaw for a day so that we could leisurely move around in this UNESCO world heritage site at Hampi spread over many square kilometers. This village was the site of the last great Hindu empire of Vijayanagara which was fabulously prosperous as described in the writings of travelers of t...

At Le Meredien Kochi , 29th April 2011 I have been to the famous cricket grounds of Firoz Shah Kotla in Delhi, The Wanderers in Johannesburg and the lesser known Chandrasekharan Nair stadium in Trivandrum to watch Test matches during different times of my life. However, an occasion to see some of the great players in close quarters came rather recently; to be precise yesterday. The company, for which I work now, came out with its IPO during this month which met with stupendous success getting subscribed 25 times! We also happen to be the principal sponsors for the “Delhi Dare Devils “, one of the teams of the Indian Premier League which has popularized cricket among people across the country while making itself a big money spinner. So it was an occasion for the company to invite members of the senior management with their spouses to a dinner in honour of the Delhi team at the Le Meridien Kochi on 29th April 2011. The following day, the Delhi Dare Devils were to meet Kerala Tuskers, K...

Maharajah Rama Varma of Cochin (r.1932-41) M aharaja Rama Varma of Cochin - Chowarayil Theepetta Thampuran – was popularly known as Dharmika Chakravarthy and ruled the state from 1932 to1941. Cochin made great progress under this Maharajah who was known for his extreme simplicity and lofty commitment to the country. Sir. R.K.Shanmugham Chetty, the first Finance minister of independent India, was the Diwan- Prime minister- of Cochin during the period from 1931 to 1945, thus serving most of his tenure under this Maharajah. Sir. Shanmugham Chetty, Diwan of Cochin (1931-45) Much of the developments of present day Cochin were triggered during the reign of Dharmika Chakravarthy under the able initiatives of Sir. Shanmugham Chetty. The Cochin secretariat- the civil station- was established on modern administrative lines, and the high court was opened in 1938. The development of the Cochin harbour was also completed during this time. The Shanmugham road, of present day Cochin, is named aft...

T he New Year was celebrated by us in a small family gathering with few relatives. Apparently everyone wanted to bid farewell to a year which was not too pleasant in many ways. The world at large was still under the tentacles of recession. In India we were witnessing some of the most blatant instances of corruption in public life. Inside Kerala the paradoxes were on the rise with the highly literate state getting ashamed over police excesses, systematic destruction of administration and rising prices. To top it all, the housewives were seriously concerned over the unheard price rise of onions. Raj, younger son of legendary musician LPR Varma was on a vacation from the Middle East and his house by the side of Tripunithura backwaters was the venue for our get-together. A perennial entertainer that he is, he along with his gracious wife Thulsi took the initiative. His sister Beena, brother Prem with his family, turned up along with Jamuna Varma their aunt-Cheriyamma-with whom my wife Sin...

Webbs Double Soda Waters, London c. 1830 (Murali's Collections) A s the New Year eve approaches, corks are popped up all over. Kerala is a state in which the hard liquor is sold like an essential food item and has more consumers than for the traditional hot cakes of Xmas and New Year. Soda water is an essential ingredient for hot drinks for many. Though soda water in pet bottles is popular and readily available, many people use the soda makers at home for making their drinks. I too had once bought the Butlers soda maker, a brand quite popular here. Talking about soda bottles, it is very interesting to trace the evolution of these in India. Though the concept drinking soda water was introduced by the English, the elite Indians soon developed a taste for it and buying soda water became quite fashionable in the nineteenth century. The earlier soda bottles date back to 1778. Probably, these bottles were introduced in India only during the middle of the 19th century. These egg shaped...